A method was developed by which films could be prepared from commercial isolated soy protein (ISP). ISP was treated with alkali (ATISP) to alter film properties. Water vapor permeability (WVP), ...oxygen permeability (O2P), tensile strength (TS), percent elongation (%E), and appearance of ISP and ATISP were compared. Alkali treatment had no effect on WVP, O2P, and TS, gave higher %E, and improved film appearance. Films properties were also compared at pH 6, 8, 10, and 12. In general, pH 6 gave higher WVP and O2P and lower TS and %E; while higher pH gave lower WVP and O2P and higher TS and %E. ATISP films could not be produced at pH 6. Film appearance generally improved with increased pH
To investigate whether anti-GM2 antibodies in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) are induced by molecular mimicry with cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Antibodies against ganglioside GM2 are ...frequently present in the serum from GBS patients with an antecedent infection with CMV.
The authors detected inhibition of anti-GM2 reactivity after incubation of GM2-reactive serum samples with fibroblasts infected with a GBS-associated CMV strain. Control sera consisted of GQ1b-reactive samples, and control antigens included uninfected fibroblasts and fibroblasts that were infected with other herpes viruses.
Serum immunoglobulin M reactivity with GM2 was decreased in a dose-dependent manner after incubation with CMV-infected fibroblasts. Incubation of anti-GM2-positive serum samples with uninfected fibroblasts and fibroblasts infected with varicella zoster virus did not inhibit anti-GM2 reactivity, whereas this reactivity was slightly decreased after incubation with herpes simplex virus type 1 in one patient. Antibodies against ganglioside GQ1b did not react with CMV-infected fibroblasts.
CMV-infected fibroblasts express gangliosidelike epitopes that recognize specifically anti-GM2 antibodies. These results support the hypothesis that antiganglioside antibodies in CMV-infected GBS patients are induced by molecular mimicry between GM2 and antigens that are induced by a CMV infection.
Diversity and Moral Address Brandenburg, Daphne
Journal of applied philosophy,
August 2022, 2022-08-00, 20220801, Letnik:
39, Številka:
4
Journal Article
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ABSTRACT
This article evaluates communicative approaches to responsibility within the Strawsonian tradition. These approaches consider reactive attitudes to be forms of moral address and consider ...responsiveness to moral address a condition on responsible agency. The article consists of a critical and a positive part. In the first part, I identify a risk for these theories. They often provide an overly narrow account of how we can communicate with others about perceived moral disregard. I argue that, when read this way, a conversational approach has implausible implications and falls prey to a familiar objection to Strawsonian theory: it would incorporate social injustices inherent to our responsibility practices. In particular, it would affirm ableist attitudes towards autistic individuals, by exempting them as moral agents on the basis of irrelevant criteria. In the second part, I propose an inclusive reading of the communicative approach. This inclusive account steers clear of ableism towards autistic individuals and accommodates diversity. Although it is also derived from our practices and psychologies, it does not incorporate the biases and injustices that are part of those practices, and instead it provides us with a means to criticize them.
Vitamin K antagonists, known as oral anticoagulants, affect the synthesis and function of the matrix Gla protein, which is a potent inhibitor of tissue calcification. We performed multislice spiral ...computed tomography in 86 patients (53 men, mean age 71 ± 8 years) with calcific aortic valve disease to quantitate the amount of calcification in the aortic valve and coronary arteries. Patients with long-term oral anticoagulation therapy (mean duration 88 ± 113 months; n = 23) were compared with those without anticoagulation (n = 63). No differences were found in the demographic, clinical, or echocardiographic characteristics between the 2 study groups. Patients on oral anticoagulant therapy had increased coronary calcium (coronary Agatston score 1,561 ± 1,141 vs 738 ± 978, respectively; p = 0.024) and valvular calcium (valvular Agatston score 2,410 ± 1,759 vs 1,070 ± 1,085, respectively; p = 0.002) compared with patients without anticoagulation treatment. The results of our study have demonstrated that oral anticoagulation may be associated with increased valvular and coronary calcium in patients with aortic valve disease, presumably due to decreased activation of the matrix Gla protein.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the most prevalent cause of severe respiratory disease in infants. It also causes considerable morbidity in older children and adults with underlying ...risk factors. RSV vaccine development has been complicated by the need to administer the vaccine at a very young age and by enhanced disease observed after vaccination with formalin inactivated RSV. For infants live attenuated vaccines, which may not be expected to predispose for vaccine induced enhanced pathology, hold the greatest promise. However, the balance between attenuation and immunogenicity appears to be delicate. For older risk groups, results with subunit vaccines are most promising.
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