1. The rate of the saponification of iodoacetic acid in sodium hydroxide and alkaline buffer solutions yielding glycollic acid was measured by means of Heyrovský's polarographic method. 2. From the bimolecular velocity constants, increasing with the ionic strength of the solution, the Brönsted factor, F, which characterizes the primary salt effect, was calculated. 3. In the borate buffer soluti...

Dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccines have exhibited minimal effectiveness in treating established tumors, likely because of factors present in the tumor microenvironment. One such factor is transforming growth factor (TGF), a cytokine that is produced by numerous tumor types and has been demonstrated to impair DC functions in vitro. We have evaluated the effect of TGFon the immunostimulatory acti...

Successful achievement of extracorporeal circulation requires that blood coagulability be temporarily interrupted during perfusion and afterward restored to normal. Heparin is accepted as the drug of choice in rendering the blood incoagulable, but there are two drugs, protamine and Polybrene (hexadimethrine bromide), available for effective in vivo neutralization of heparin, and controversy exi...

A factor present in normal rabbit sera enhanced the neutralization of the infectious complex of poliovirus with the pepsin Fab' fragment of rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody but showed no activity for the infectious complex of the same virus with IgG antibody. The factor was associated with IgG, and its activity was inhibited by the pepsin Fab' fragment of normal rabbit IgG. The data sugge...

We previously demonstrated that cell-surface gC1qR is a key regulator of lamellipodia formation and cancer metastasis. Here, we screened a monoclonal mouse antibody against gC1qR to prevent cell migration by neutralizing cell-surface gC1qR. The anti-gC1qR antibody prevented growth factor-stimulated lamellipodia formation, cell migration and focal adhesion kinase activation by inactivating recep...

Transforming growth factor beta 2 (TGF-beta2) plays a critical role in growth, differentiation and cell death, but its function in the developing cerebellum is still uncertain. In this study we analyzed the effects of TGF-beta2 on ex vivo developing cerebellar slice cultures. Proliferation of granule cell precursors peaked ex vivo in the same developmental window as in vivo (P8-P14). Addition o...

Neutralization of IL-6 represents an attractive therapeutic option in several diseases, including B cell neoplasia, osteoporosis, and autoimmunity. Therapeutic attempts in humans have shown that administration of injectable doses of a mAb to IL-6 does not provide efficient neutralization of the cytokine in vivo. Therefore, alternative approaches are needed. In this study, we evaluated whether t...

This study presents a new inventory to assess thought-action fusion (TAF). 160 college students ages 18 to 22 (M = 19.17, SD = 1.11) completed the new Modified Thought Action Scale (MTAFS). Results indicated high internal consistency in the MTAFS (Cronbach’s α = .95). A principal component analysis suggested a three factor solution of TAF-Moral (TAFM), TAFLikelihood (TAFL), and TAF-Harm avoidan...

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is linked to the acceleration of vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and transplant vasculopathy. One of the hallmarks of these diseases is angiogenesis (AG) and neovessel formation. Endothelial cells (ECs) are an integral part of AG and are sites of HCMV persistence. AG requires multiple synchronous processes that include EC proliferation, migration, and vess...