Covalent modification of protein by drugs may disrupt self-tolerance, leading to lymphocyte activation. Until now, determination of the threshold required for this process has not been possible. Therefore, we performed quantitative mass spectrometric analyses to define the epitopes formed in tolerant and hypersensitive patients taking the β-lactam antibiotic piperacillin and the threshold required for T cell activation. A hydrolyzed piperacillin hapten was detected on four lysine residues of human serum albumin (HSA) isolated from tolerant patients. The level of modified Lys541 ranged from 2.6 to 4.8%. Analysis of plasma from hypersensitive patients revealed the same pattern and levels of modification 1–10 d after the commencement of therapy. Piperacillin-responsive skin-homing CD4+ clones expressing an array of Vβ receptors were activated in a dose-, time-, and processing-dependent manner; analysis of incubation medium revealed that 2.6% of Lys541 in HSA was modified when T cells were activated. Piperacillin–HSA conjugates that had levels and epitopes identical to those detected in patients were shown to selectively stimulate additional CD4+ clones, which expressed a more restricted Vβ repertoire. To conclude, the levels of piperacillin–HSA modification that activated T cells are equivalent to the ones formed in hypersensitive and tolerant patients, which indicates that threshold levels of drug Ag are formed in all patients. Thus, the propensity to develop hypersensitivity is dependent on other factors, such as the presence of T cells within an individual’s repertoire that can be activated with the β-lactam hapten and/or an imbalance in immune regulation.
DNA, as the basis of every living cell, is one of the most important and influential scientific discoveries. This research aims to identify and compare the organizational DNA to the leadership practices of school principals in the Sultanate of Oman and to reveal the similarity between principals’ leadership practices and the structure of DNA. In addition, it intends to identify any statistically significant differences between the responses of the participants due to the study variables: gender, job title and experience. A questionnaire was designed and data were collected from a randomly selected sample composed of (100) teachers in the Sultanate of Oman. The study found limitless diversity in the characteristics of DNA of leadership
... Show MoreThis study deals with an important area in the field of linguistics, namely person deixis.
The study aims at: (1) Describing the notion of deixis, its importance, and its place in the field
of linguistics, (2) Presenting a detailed illustration of person deixis, and (3) Conducting an
analysis of person deixis in one of Synge‟s plays Riders to The Sea according to Levinson‟s
model. The most important aim of these three is the third one (the analysis). To achieve this
aim, the researcher depends on Levinson‟s (1983) descriptive approach. According to the
descriptive approach of deixis, the category of person deixis can be defined as the encoding of
the participant roles in the speech situation. This encoding is r
Asthma is a condition characterized by bronchial spasms, inflammation, and mucous hypersecretion which leads to difficulties in respiration. Asthmatic patients are usually presented with recurrent attacks of coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath which could be life-threatening. More than three million cases of asthma in the United States are diagnosed annually. Resveratrol, a polyphenolic stilbene, is known to be useful in controlling asthmatic attacks via different molecular mechanisms within the lung epithelium and infiltrating immune cells. However, few studies mentioned the effect of resveratrol on the microbiome in ovalbumin-induced asthma mouse model. In this study, we ind
OBJECTIVE: Synthetic vertebral body replacement has been widely used recently to treat different spinal conditions affecting the anterior column. They arrange from trauma, infections, and even tumor conditions. In this study, we assess the functional outcome of this modality in different spinal conditions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-six cases operated from October 2010 to December 2017. Twelve patients had spinal type A3 fractures, 11 cases with spinal tuberculosis (TB), and 13 cases with spinal tumors. They were followed clinically for a mean period of 2.4 years. RESULTS: All the cases were approached anteriorly. Seven cases had a post-operative infection. No neurological worsening reported. We had dramatic neurologic
... Show MoreIn spite of the disappearing of a clear uniform textbook for teaching ESP at different departments and different colleges in both scientific and humanistic studies, the practitioners at those departments and colleges have to teach translation as one of the important requirements to pass the English language exam. The lack of defined translation activities is a noticeable problem therefore; the problem of teaching translation is diagnosed in that the students lack the ability to comprehend the text in English language and other translation knowledge and skills.
The study aims to suggest a translation strategy and then find out the effect of the translation strategy on ESP learners’ achievement in translation. A sample of 50 stud
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