suis EBs. The pig sera showed a strong neutralizing activity (70-100%) against C. suis EBs and all eight urogenital C. trachomatis serovars. These results suggested the presence of common immunogenic antigens in C. trachomatis and C. suis. Immunoblot analysis, performed to elucidate the target of this neutralizing activity, showed a clear reactivity in human and pig sera against two proteins of 150 and 40 kDa MW, when tested either with C. trachomatis or with C. suis EBs.”
“In this paper, selleck chemical phonon transmission through a graphene sheet and graphene nanoribbons is investigated

using an atomistic Green’s function method. Best-fit results from first-principles calculations using a fourth nearest neighbor force-constant model are used to establish the matrices that describe interactions among carbon atoms. The effect of carbon isotopes on thermal conductance is investigated, and the results reveal that isotopic doping moderately reduces both phonon transmission function and thermal conductance.

The phonon transmission function of each vibrational branch in the heterogeneous interface is also calculated, and comparisons indicate the major and minor channels of phonon transport through graphene. Further, phonon wave effects in zigzag and armchair edge ribbons are investigated. Phonon transmission functions and thermal conductances are found to be sensitive to the edge shape of structures. The phonon transmission functions of nanoribbons with defects are evaluated by artificially creating mismatches Birinapant at interfaces. By comparing the transmission function of different defect patterns and the corresponding thermal conductances, the reduction in phonon transport is quantified. The length of defects is found to be important to phonon transport. The results herein offer a useful reference and suggest

directions for future research on thermal applications of this material. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3499347]“
“Neisseria Selleckchem MK-8776 gonorrhoeae is the etiological agent of gonorrhoea, an infectious disease characterized by acute inflammation of the urogenital tract with a massive infiltration of neutrophils. Polymorphonuclear leukocyte recruitment is one of the activities of the recently described interleukin-17A (IL-17A); thus, we analyzed the serum concentration of IL-17A, together with IL-23 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), in 27 patients with gonorrhoea. The concentration of these cytokines in patients’ sera was significantly higher than that detected in healthy controls and an inverse correlation was found between the concentrations of IL-17A and IFN-gamma. This is the first report showing a significant increase of IL-17A and IL-23 serum levels in patients with gonorrhoea, suggesting new players in the immune response to N. gonorrhoeae.