Mediators of gram-positive septic shock

Septic shock can occur as a result of Gram-negative or Gram-positive infection and involves a complex interaction between bacterial factors and the host immune system producing a systemic inflammatory state that may progress to multiple organ failure and death. Gram-positive bacteria are increasingly becoming more prevalent especially Staphylococcus epidermidis in association with indwelling devices. Lipopolysaccaride (LPS) is the key Gram-negative component involved in this process, but it is not clear which components of Gram-positive bacteria are responsible for progression of this often fatal disease. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effect of bacterial components on the immune systems. Lipid S, a short chain form of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) found to be excreted from bacteria during growth in culture medium was examined along with other Gram-positive cell wall components: LTA, peptidoglycan (PG) and wall teichoic acids (WTA) and LPS from Gram-negative bacteria. Lipid S, LTA, PG and LPS but not WTA all stimulated murine macrophages and cell lines to produce significant amounts of NO, TNF-a, IL-6 and IL-1 and would induce fever and tissue damage seen in inflammatory diseases. Lipid S proved to be the most potent out of the Gram-positive samples tested. IgG antibodies in patients serum were found to bind to and cross react with lipid S and LTA. Anti-inflammatory antibiotics, platelet activating factor (PAF), PAF receptor antagonists and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed to LTA, CD14 and toll-like receptors were utilised to modulate cytokine and NO production. In cell culture the anti-LTA and the anti-CD14 mAbs failed to markedly attenuate the production of NO, TNF-a, IL-6 or IL-1, the anti-TLR4 antibody did greatly inhibit the ability of LPS to stimulate cytokine production but not lipid S. The tetracyclines proved to be the most effective compounds, many were active at low concentrations and showed efficacy to inhibit both lipid S and LPS stimulated macrophages to produce NO.

Discriminant Sets of Families of Hyperbolic Polynomials of Degree 4 and 5

∗ Research partially supported by INTAS grant 97-1644

On Representations of Algebraic Polynomials by Superpositions of Plane Waves

* The author was supported by NSF Grant No. DMS 9706883.

Fractional Extensions of Jacobi Polynomials and Gauss Hypergeometric Function

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 26A33, 33C45

Estimate for the Number of Zeros of Abelian Integrals on Elliptic Curves

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 34C07, secondary 34C08.

On a Summability Method Defined by Means of Hermite Polynomials

Георги С. Бойчев - В статията се разглежда метод за сумиране на редове, дефиниран чрез полиномите на Ермит. За този метод на сумиране са дадени някои Тауберови теореми.

On the Zeros of the Solutions to Nonlinear Hyperbolic Equations with Delays

2002 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 35В05; Secondary 35L15

On the Remainders Obtained in Finding the Greatest Common Divisor of Two Polynomials

In 1917 Pell (1) and Gordon used sylvester2, Sylvester’s little known and hardly ever used matrix of 1853, to compute(2) the coefficients of a Sturmian remainder — obtained in applying in Q[x], Sturm’s algorithm on two polynomials f, g ∈ Z[x] of degree n — in terms of the determinants (3) of the corresponding submatrices of sylvester2. Thus, they solved a problem that had eluded both J. J. Sylvester, in 1853, and E. B. Van Vleck, in 1900. (4) In this paper we extend the work by Pell and Gordon and show how to compute (2) the coefficients of an Euclidean remainder — obtained in finding in Q[x], the greatest common divisor of f, g ∈ Z[x] of degree n — in terms of the determinants (5) of the corresponding submatrices of sylvester1, Sylvester’s widely known and used matrix of 1840. (1) See the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Johnson_Pell_Wheeler for her biography (2) Both for complete and incomplete sequences, as defined in the sequel. (3) Also known as modified subresultants. (4) Using determinants Sylvester and Van Vleck were able to compute the coefficients of Sturmian remainders only for the case of complete sequences. (5) Also known as (proper) subresultants.

Zeros of Sequences of Partial Sums and Overconvergence

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 30B40, 30B10, 30C15, 31A15.

Even and Old Overdetermined Strata for Degree 6 Hyperbolic Polynomials

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 12D10.

Special Classes of Orthogonal Polynomials and Corresponding Quadratures of Gaussian Type

MSC 2010: 33C47, 42C05, 41A55, 65D30, 65D32

Polinômios de Szegö e análise de frequência

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Propriedades e convergência de certas fórmulas de quadratura interpolatórias

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Differential orthogonality: Laguerre and Hermite cases with applications

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Certain problems concerning polynomials and transcendental entire functions of exponential type

Soit $\displaystyle P(z):=\sum_{\nu=0}^na_\nu z^{\nu}$ un polynôme de degré $n$ et $\displaystyle M:=\sup_{|z|=1}|P(z)|.$ Sans aucne restriction suplémentaire, on sait que $|P'(z)|\leq Mn$ pour $|z|\leq 1$ (inégalité de Bernstein). Si nous supposons maintenant que les zéros du polynôme $P$ sont à l'extérieur du cercle $|z|=k,$ quelle amélioration peut-on apporter à l'inégalité de Bernstein? Il est déjà connu [{\bf \ref{Mal1}}] que dans le cas où $k\geq 1$ on a $$(*) \qquad |P'(z)|\leq \frac{n}{1+k}M \qquad (|z|\leq 1),$$ qu'en est-il pour le cas où $k < 1$? Quelle est l'inégalité analogue à $(*)$ pour une fonction entière de type exponentiel $\tau ?$ D'autre part, si on suppose que $P$ a tous ses zéros dans $|z|\geq k \, \, (k\geq 1),$ quelle est l'estimation de $|P'(z)|$ sur le cercle unité, en terme des quatre premiers termes de son développement en série entière autour de l'origine. Cette thèse constitue une contribution à la théorie analytique des polynômes à la lumière de ces questions.