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.
Background. After tooth extraction, alveolar bone resorption is inevitable. This clinical phenomenon challenges dental surgeons aiming to restore esthetic and function. Alveolar ridge preservation can be applied to minimize dimensional changes with a new socket grafting material, an autogenous dentin graft, produced by mechanically and chemically processing natural teeth. This study assessed the safety and efficacy of using autogenous dentin biomaterial in alveolar ridge preservation. Materials and Methods. Patients with nonrestorable maxillary anterior teeth bounded by natural sound teeth were included in this study. After a detailed clinical and tomographic examination, eligible participants were randomly allocated into two groups
... Show MoreTransmission lines are generally subjected to faults, so it is advantageous to determine these faults as quickly as possible. This study uses an Artificial Neural Network technique to locate a fault as soon as it happens on the Doukan-Erbil of 132kv double Transmission lines network. CYME 7.1-Programming/Simulink utilized simulation to model the suggested network. A multilayer perceptron feed-forward artificial neural network with a back propagation learning algorithm is used for the intelligence locator's training, testing, assessment, and validation. Voltages and currents were applied as inputs during the neural network's training. The pre-fault and post-fault values determined the scaled values. The neural network's p
... Show MoreThe presence of antibiotic residues such as ciprofloxacin (CIPR) in an aqueous environment is dangerous when their concentrations exceed the allowable. Therefore, eliminating these residues from the wastewater becomes an essential issue to prevent their harm. In this work, the potential of efficient adsorption of ciprofloxacin antibiotics was studied using eco-friendly ZSM-5 nanocrystals‑carbon composite (NZC). An inexpensive effective natural binder made of the sucrose-citric acid mixture was used for preparing NZC. The characterization methods revealed the successful preparation of NZC with a favorable surface area of 103.739 m2/g, and unique morphology and functional groups. Investigating the ability of NZC for adsorbing CIPR antibioti
... Show MoreThe species of Opilio kakunini Snegovaya, Cokendolpher & Mozaffarian, 2018 was recorded for the first time in Iraq; as well as to four species belonging to this order which were recorded previously. In this paper, we added a new species to the checklist of Iraqi opilionid fauna with a description of the most important characteristics, along with genitalia, for both males and females are presented with digital photographs. Specimens of males and females were collected from Al- Rifai district northern of Dhi-Qar Province, southern of Iraq.
This work aimed to investigate the prevalence of pathogenic fungi and evaluate the antifungal activity of Trichoderma orientale FMR12486 crude extract against pathogenic fungi isolated from patients attending the National Center for Thoracic and Respiratory Diseases (having a history of tuberculosis) and consultant of Dermatology of Baghdad hospital, Iraq. A total of 80 clinical specimens were collected: 20 skin scrapings specimens and 60 sputum specimens. The results of direct examination by KOH 10% and culture showed that 11 (55%) cases from 20 skin specimens were positive for fungal infections, while in the sputum specimens, 28 (47%) cases from 60 were positive. Candida albicans represented the most common fungal infection isolat
... Show MoreSemi-active suspension systems have emerged as an attractive alternative to fully active suspensions because they offer a superior capacity to improve vehicle ride comfort and handling performance with significantly lower energy consumption. Conventional semi-active control strategies, however, such as skyhook damping, often cannot accommodate the nonlinear and time-varying dynamics of vehicles in operation under impulse or severe road disturbances. In this context, an intelligent smart-damper controller is proposed in this paper by incorporating a Modified Fuzzy Adaptive Fuzzy Logic Control framework in a half-car suspension model. In the developed controller, the effective damping force is adaptively tuned using real-time measurements of
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