Signaling through the T cell antigen receptor leading to elimination (negative selection) or differentiation (positive selection) of developing thymocytes generates a self-tolerant T cell repertoire. Here we report that the serine-threonine kinase MINK selectively connects the T cell receptor to a signaling pathway that mediates negative but not positive selection. Analysis of this pathway sugg...

The rapid increase in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases over the past two decades cannot be explained solely by genetic and adult lifestyle factors. There is now considerable evidence that the fetal and early postnatal environment also strongly influences the risk of developing such diseases in later life. Human studies have shown that low birth weight is associated with an inc...

Objective: a fetus with a ring chromosome 20 is presented. Methods: at 16 weeks’ gestation, ultrasound examination evidenced no apparent structural malformation. Amniocentesis was performed for maternal anxiety. Results: chromosome analysis identified a ring chromosome 20 and array-CGH demonstrated that the ring including micro-deletion of the short arm in 20p13, that was extended for about 632...

To investigate the effect of surgical treatment of hydrosalpinx on the expressions of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in the endometrium in implantation window, a total of 60 patients with hydrosalpinx and 30 patients with fallopian tube obstruction were recruited. In the implantation window, immnohistochemistry was carried out to detect the expressions of ER and PR in the...

Experiments are performed to correlate and model CHF during subcooled flow boiling of dielectric fluoro~rbon (FC-72) liquid on a smooth 12.7 x 12.7 mm* sirn~at~ electronic chip inside a vertical rectangular channel. Two distinct CHF regimes are established based on flow visualization and experimental data. At low flow velocities, CHF is accompanied by the formation of a continuous vapor blanket...

The progress made in the last few years made available a large amount of information that needs to be integrated and ordered by oncologists. Tumor markers are one of the pieces that physicians need to fit into the bigger puzzle. This article will detail the most frequent etiologies for the surges in the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer-related antigen 72-4 (CA 72-4), cancer-related antige...

Measurements of space and time resolved subcooled pool boiling of FC-72 in low, earth, and high gravity environments were made using a microscale heater array. Data from each heater in the array were synchronized with highspeed digital video. The boiling behavior was dominated by the formation of a large primary bubble on the surface which acted as a ‘‘sink’’ for many smaller bubbles surroundin...