During malaria infection, high levels of proinflammatory molecules (e.g., cytokines, chemokines) correlate with disease severity. Even if their role as activators of the host immune response has been studied, the direct contribution of hemozoin (HZ), a parasite metabolite, to such a strong induction is not fully understood. Previous in vitro studies demonstrated that both Plasmodium falciparum ...

A family of sulfonyl-hydrazone (Shz) small molecules including shz-1 was found to induce Nkx2.5 gene and subsequently -tropomyosin in P19CL6 cells. In order to understand the mechanism by which shz-1 ropomyosin , we employed Mexican axolotl ( Ambystoma mexicanum ) as the animal model, which we use in our laboratory for studying the structural/functional relationship of tropomyosin in relation t...

In recent years, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which possess the ability to specifically home to tumor sites, with the potential of multi-directional differentiation and low immunogenicity, have been reported to inhibit the growth of various types of tumors. In the present study, we isolated MSCs from the rib perichondrium (PMSCs). By comparing PMSCs with bone marrow‑derived mesenchymal stem c...

Increasing evidence points to an important role for hemozoin (HZ), the malaria pigment, in the immunopathology related to this infection. However, there is no consensus as to whether HZ exerts its immunostimulatory activity in absence of other parasite or host components. Contamination of native HZ preparations and the lack of a unified protocol to produce crystals that mimic those of Plasmodiu...

A split-virion trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine produced according to the Chinese pharmacopeia (Shz-IIV3) has been commercially available in China since 2014. Here, we describe the results of a phase IV open-label trial to describe the immunogenicity and safety of the 2014-2015 Northern Hemisphere formulation of Shz-IIV3 in individuals ≥ 6 months of age. Subjects 6-35 months of age recei...

The zoonotic Mycobacterium bovis is a pathogen of significance in the dairy industry in many parts of the world. Although the pathogen primarily affects cattle, it has a wide host range including humans. A cross-sectional study was carried out in three agro-ecological zones of Tanzania, namely the southern highlands zone (SHZ), eastern zone (EZ) and northern zone (NZ), to examine the status of ...

Although whole-parasite vaccine strategies for malaria infection have regained attention, their immunological mechanisms of action remain unclear. We find that immunization of mice with a crude blood stage extract of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum elicits parasite antigen-specific immune responses via Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 and that the malarial heme-detoxification byproduct, he...

Objective: We compared white blood cells parameters (total white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes count (LYMPH#) and percentage (LYMPH%), monocytes count (MONO) and percentage (MONO%), basophils count (BASO#) and percentage (BASO%), eosinophils count (EO#) and percentage (EO%), neutrophils count (NEUT#) and percentage (NEUT%)) in patients with schizophrenia (SHZ), unipolar depression (UD) and bip...

Identification and cloning of cold-tolerant genes that can stably express under different cold environments are crucial for molecular rice breeding for cold tolerance. In the previous study, we identified a cold-tolerant QTL at the seedling stage, qCTS-9 which could be detected under different cold environments using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cold-tolerant variet...

semi-rigid aluminum containers are being used widely in food industries. they have wrinkle shaped walls for strengthening their physical structure. the objective of this study was to assess the effect of wrinkled parts on the heat transfer and temperature distribution of the containers by computational fluid dynamics (cfd) analysis. therefore, a precise designed geometry of the wrinkled walls c...