Humoral Elements Research Articles

A comparative evaluation of rotation thromboelastometry and standard coagulation tests in hemodilution‐induced coagulation changes after cardiac surgery

Coagulopathy after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is caused by multiple perturbations in cellular and humoral elements of coagulation. A timely and comprehensive method to evaluate hemostasis would be helpful in the management of bleeding patients after CPB. The assessment of whole blood coagulation using rotation thromboelastometry (ROTEM) was compared to coagulation tests routinely performed during cardiac surgery. Blood was obtained from 26 patients undergoing CPB surgery at baseline, at 60 minutes on CPB, at the end of CPB, and on admission to intensive care unit. ROTEM tests (extrinsically activated [EXTEM], intrinsically activated [INTEM], specific clot formation [FIBTEM]), prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, platelet (PLT) count, fibrinogen, prothrombin level, antithrombin level, and thrombin generation (TG) measurement were performed. We observed strong correlations between FIBTEM-amplitude at 10 minutes (A10) and fibrinogen level (r=0.87; p<0.001) and between EXTEM/ INTEM-A10 variables and PLT count (r=0.72 and 0.67, respectively; p<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that EXTEM-A10 and INTEM-A10 are predictive of thrombocytopenia below 80×10(9)/L (area under the curve [AUC], 0.83 and 0.82, respectively), and FIBTEM-A10 was highly predictive of fibrinogen level below 200 mg/dL (AUC, 0.96). There were only weak correlations found between TG peak and clot formation time of EXTEM or INTEM (r=0.30 and 0.29, respectively; p<0.05). ROTEM variables demonstrated clinically relevant correlations with PLT counts and fibrinogen levels. In particular, decreasing levels of fibrinogen can be quickly determined (<15-20 min) using FIBTEM.

Association between Plasma Antibody Response and Protection in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Immersion Vaccinated against Yersinia ruckeri

A key hallmark of the vertebrate adaptive immune system is the generation of antigen-specific antibodies from B cells. Fish are the most primitive gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) possessing an adaptive immune system. Vaccination of rainbow trout against enteric redmouth disease (ERM) by immersion in Yersinia ruckeri bacterin confers a high degree of protection to the fish. The immune mechanisms responsible for protection may comprise both cellular and humoral elements but the role of specific immunoglobulins in this system has been questioned and not previously described. The present study demonstrates significant increase in plasma antibody titers following immersion vaccination and significantly reduced mortality during Y. ruckeri challenge.Rainbow trout were immersion-vaccinated, using either a commercial ERM vaccine (AquaVac™ ERM vet) or an experimental Y. ruckeri bacterin. Half of the trout vaccinated with AquaVac™ ERM vet received an oral booster (AquaVac™ ERM Oral vet). Sub-groups of the fish from each group were subsequently exposed to 1x109 CFU Y. ruckeri/ml either eight or twenty-six weeks post vaccination (wpv). All vaccinated groups showed 0% mortality when challenged, which was highly significant compared to the non-vaccinated controls (40 and 28% mortality eight and twenty-six weeks post vaccination (wpv), respectively) (P<0.0001). Plasma samples from all groups of vaccinated fish were taken 0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 26 wpv. and Y. ruckeri specific IgM antibody levels were measured with ELISA. A significant increase in titers was recorded in vaccinated fish, which also showed a reduced bacteremia during challenge. In vitro plasma studies showed a significantly increased bactericidal effect of fresh plasma from vaccinated fish indicating that plasma proteins may play a role in protection of vaccinated rainbow trout.

Circulating cellular and humoral elements of immune function following splenic arterial embolisation or splenectomy in trauma patients

Background Splenectomy impairs the ability to combat infection, especially with encapsulated organisms. However, there is limited understanding of the impact of splenic arterial embolisation on immune function. Our hypothesis was that embolisation would not impair systemic immune function. This study examines elements of cellular and humoral immunity in patients undergoing splenic embolisation or splenectomy for trauma. Patients and methods Splenic embolisation (SE) and splenectomy patients (S) were compared to blunt trauma patients without splenic injury (NS). Lymphocyte counts, natural-killer cells, serum complement (C3, C4), and properdin levels were assayed. Results No significant differences in total, helper, or suppressor T-lymphocytes, complement (C3, C4), or properdin were found. B-lymphocyte counts were higher in S (602 ± 445 cells/mm 3) than SE (238 ± 114 cells/mm 3) or NS (293 ± 153 cells/mm 3) ( p = .003 for pairwise comparisons). S also had more natural killer T-cells than NS (325 ± 170 cells/mm 3 vs. 174 ± 116 cells/mm 3, p = .004). Conclusion Splenic embolisation does not alter the measured immunologic parameters. The absence of sensitive markers for splenic immune function limits the ability to assess the impact of embolisation for trauma.

A case study on the humorous load differences and cognitive effects of satirically /ironically humorous elements in subtitling from English into Turkish

Being part of a doctoral dissertation, this case study offers an analysis on satirical/ironical humour in English-into-Turkish subtitling and explores translatibility from a linguistic perspective as part of a cultural framework and specifically, investigates the humourous load differences and the relation between the cognitive effects obtained through existing and contextual assumptions, and satire/irony. To this end, as a result of purposeful sampling, one complete episode, Homer the Heretic and one section, The Devil and Homer Simpson of the episode Halloween Special IV of an animated sitcom series “The Simpsons” were chosen. Irony and Satire were analysed from a linguistic angle, whereas Humourous Load Differences between source text (ST) and Target Text (TT) were interpreted from a translational perspective. The results indicate that the reception of this series, as well as of selected episodes by the target viewers heavily relies on the comprehension of satirical/ ironical jokes, and second, that the relation between the cognitive effect and irony/satire suggests that the series benefits much from surprising people through invalidating their existing assumptions. Moreover, the complementary student reports further reinforce the literature findings that humour varies from person to person, from trait to trait and mood to mood.

“Soft governance” i förskolans utvecklingssamtal

According to the Curriculum for the Swedish Preschool, parent-teacher conferences are important practices in the intermediate sphere and in the relations between home and preschool. This article draws on a study in which the overall aim is to explore how parent-teacher conferences are constructed and used in Swedish preschools. Using transcripts of audiotaped episodes from parentteacher conferences, the analysis reveals that the interactions are charactarised by formality in accordance with institutional talk, but also to a large extent informality. Additionally, the analyses show that the parent-teacher conferences are characterised by “soft governance” both in terms of content (what) and form (how). The teachers use various communicative techniques that govern the conversation: closeness and intimacy, the use of anecdotes, references to the common interest of the child, elements of humour and laughter, and seemingly neutral questions. The article also discuss how “soft governance” is used in the construction and the assessment of a desirable preschool child and parent.

Neutralization of Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane vesicles

We aimed to determine the neutralization of Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane vesicles (blebs) by humoral and cellular elements of whole blood. The interaction of FITC-labeled blebs with monocytes was studied by spectrofluorometry. Blebs are able to induce an oxidative burst in neutrophils, and we evaluated the inhibitory effect of plasma on this process. Human plasma reduced the priming activity of blebs containing 1-3ng/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by 50-60% and bactericidal permeability increasing protein (BPI) reduced priming to background levels. A complete neutralization of LPS and blebs by plasma and BPI was measured using the limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. Furthermore, only 3% of blebs were cell-associated, while the remainder were in the supernatant. Plasma and BPI are able to neutralize blebs, with phagocytosis playing only a minor role. As such, we conclude that blebs do not behave like particles but more like free LPS.

Cellular and humoral factors involved in the response of rainbow trout gills to Ichthyophthirius multifiliis infections: Molecular and immunohistochemical studies

The parasitic ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis infecting skin, fins and gills of fish induces a protective immune response in rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss) surviving the infection and a similar protection can be conferred by i.p. injection of live theronts. A combined molecular and immunohistochemical approach has been used in this work for pinpointing cellular and humoral immune factors in gill tissue involved in the response and indicating interactions between the systemic and local responses. Fish were immunized by intra-peritoneal injection of live I. multifiliis theronts, control fish were injected with PBS and subgroups were treated with the immuno-suppressant hydrocortisone before fish were challenged with live theronts. Significant up-regulations of genes encoding IgM, IgT, C3, SAA, IL-8, IL-22 and IFN-γ were induced by immunization and challenge. Hydrocortisone treatment had a significant down-regulating effect on genes incoding IgT, IgM, CD4, CD8, IFN-γ, IL-8 and IL-22 in all groups. Immunohistochemistry, using monoclonal antibodies to detect cellular markers, demonstrated active involvement of CD8, MHC II, IgT and IgM positive cells in gill tissue. Putative T-cells (CD8 positive cells) were detected in the intraepithelial lymphoid tissue located at the base of gill filaments and in hyperplastic gill tissue but following infection a clear efflux of these cells was detected. MHC II positive cells were distributed across the gill filaments and accumulated in hyperplastic tissue but hydrocortisone treatment affected their density negatively in both immunized and non-immunized fish. IgT positive cells were present in the epithelial lining of the gill lamellae (suggesting a primary role of this protein in the mucosal defence against the ciliate) whereas IgM positive cells were found only in gill arterioles and the lamellar capillaries. The present work indicates an intensive activity and specialized function of immune cells (B-cells, T-cells and macrophages) and humoral elements such as immunoglobulins IgT and IgM which are orchestrated by cytokines in gill tissue reacting against I. multifiliis.

Why Is a Talking Bird Funny? Aspects of Humor in "The Jewbird" by Bernard Malamud

This paper explores the humor in Bernard Malamud’s story “The Jewbird”. Humor is analyzed through two aspects: the universal and the socio-cultural. The universal refers to the mechanisms that render something comic regardless of their sociocultural setting, i.e the culture from which they originate. Two existing theories of humor are used to describe this: the incongruity theory and the superiority theory. The socio-cultural aspect is a description of the elements of humor whose creation and perception depend on the local culture from which they originate. Finally, the paper reviews the significance of the elements that create an appropriate atmosphere for the comic.

Native American Stand-Up Comedy: Epideictic Strategies in the Contact Zone

Contemporary Native American stand-up comedy is a form of epideictic rhetoric in the contact zone of the performance space, using generic conventions of stand-up comedy, traditional elements of Native humor, and Aristotelian strategies to challenge what audiences think they know about indigenous experiences in this land. Specifically, Howie Miller is one Native American stand-up comedian who constructs an epideictic performance in which entertainment, education, and assumptions collide.

Localizing and Designing Computer-Based Safety Training Solutions for Hispanic Construction Workers

Despite the construction industry's generally positive reaction to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in many of its functions, some of the profession's key players reside in a digital divide and do not benefit from advances in technology. Hispanic construction workers, an at-risk population with high rates of workplace accidents, are affected by that divide because they rarely take advantage of available ICTs at work. One application of ICTs that can help Hispanic/Latino workers is computer-based training (CBT) for occupational safety. However, the design of CBT materials for Spanish-speaking workers needs to go beyond basic localization of existing products in English. A radical localization approach that uses participatory design sessions with construction workers and their supervisors is proposed in this paper. This case study reports that Latino workers reacted positively and retained knowledge from CBT materials, including videos with elements of humor and without graphic representations of accidents, modeled after the genre of a television situation comedy.

Swag-Bellied Hollanders and Dead-Drunk Almaines: Reputation and Pseudo-Translation in Early Modern England

In early modern England, alcohol abuse was criticized in numerous publications appearing in diverse genres. Several of these consider it to be a recent problem and blame the imitation of Flemish, Dutch or German drinking culture. This article traces the reputation of the Low Countries and Germany as heavy-drinking nations. It furthermore illustrates the desire of English authors and publishers to exploit this stereotype. Telling examples are Wine, Beere and Ale (1629) and Drink and Welcome (1637): both works were advertised as translations from either 'Low' or 'High Dutch', despite the fact that they are original English compositions. An analysis of these pseudo-translations shows that the forgery was not very convincing, but nonetheless added an element of humour or authority to the text, and thus highlights how they act as purveyors of cultural stereotypes about the inhabitants of the Low Countries and Germany.

Perception of Interactivity: Affects of Four Key Variables in Mobile Advertising

There are indications that interactivity could benefit the effectiveness of mobile advertisements. But there are few guidelines on how to design interactive mobile advertisements. This study investigated the influences of various design features of mobile advertisements on perceived interactivity and the relationship between perceived interactivity and attitude toward mobile advertisements. An experiment consisting of 2 sessions was conducted to test 5 proposed hypotheses with 40 participants. Results showed that the number of user control options and the customizability of advertisements have significant influences on users' perception of interactivity. The more options a message advertisement provides, the more interactive the participants perceive the advertisement; a customizable game advertisement is perceived as more interactive than an uncustomizable game advertisement. But no significant effects of presenting instructional information of mobile Web advertisements and including humorous elements were found. Finally, perceived interactivity was found a strong predictor of attitude toward mobile advertisement.

Carboxypeptidase E, an essential element of the regulated secretory pathway, is expressed and partially co-localized with chromogranin A in chicken thymus.

Although the functions of hormones and neuropeptides in the thymus have been extensively studied, we still do not know whether these intra-thymic humoral elements are released in a stimulated manner via the regulated secretory pathway or in a constitutive manner. Carboxypeptidase E (CpE) and chromogranin A (CgA) are functional and structural hallmarks of the regulated secretory pathway in (neuro)endocrine cells. Whereas we have previously shown a CgA-positive neuroendocrine population in the chicken thymus, the current study assesses the expression of CpE in the thymus, both at the mRNA and the protein level. Our immunohistochemical studies provide evidence for the co-existence of CgA and CpE in identical neuroendocrine cells in the thymus. CpE and CgA dual-positive cells have primarily been found in the transition zone between the cortex and medulla of the thymus, an area known to contain numerous arterioles and to be innervated by the autonomic nervous system. Our findings suggest that the diffuse neuroendocrine system serves as a relay for nervous stimuli delivered by the sympathetic and/or parasympathetic nervous system. Thus, these newly defined neuroendocrine cells might play an important role in the immuno-neuro-endocrine cross-talk in the thymus, potentially enabling thymopoiesis to be fine-tuned via the regulated secretory pathway by a variety of physical and environmental factors.

Talk About The Party: Conversations With The Swp

What do socialists do? A joke-question, perhaps? If we ignore the rich array of half-truth answers, this becomes a biographical question. Because socialists live--or try to live--according to the dictates of the super-ego and because the stumblings of the super-ego are the very essence of the comic. Put the question differently. Where can we find, in our own era, traces of a creative collective subject? Or is the collective subject always only either corporate-capitalist, or irrational-destructive, or inertly consumerist? Socialists, rather obviously, believe in socialist values, such as justice and equality. But beyond the obvious, what does that mean, day by day, year by year, to espouse justice and equality? And how exactly do we espouse a noble abstraction? What might be the cost of the requisite sublimations? How complicated and inconsistent and self-surprising is an authentic political passion allowed to be? And where do those beliefs come from? Evidently not from books alone. From one's family history? From early visions of injustice? From an inspiring leader? From the traumatic experience of persecution? Once embraced, how are those beliefs sustained, especially in times of adversity? Not the high drama of exile or imprisonment, but the grey, cheerless, prosaic adversity of boredom, weariness and disappointment. The seasons of disenchantment, when hope and energy are fading and we turn aside, in search of pleasures less austere. It has often been said, usually from the right, that radical political commitment withers away, in the course of a lifetime. Can that be so? What about all the old socialists? Are they the exception? What makes them exceptional? The year 2008, being the fortieth anniversary of 1968, prompted the asking of these questions a little more insistently than usual. Perhaps such questions invite collective inquiry rather than individual introspection. Thus it was in a mood of maturely affectionate scepticism that I contacted some actually existing socialists, to ask them about their beliefs and about how those beliefs had been woven into their lives. This would be a compelling biographical project, as well as an opportunity to revisit my own years in the party. The enterprise was prompted by a commission from BBC Radio Four. I was asked to prepare two fifteen-minute programs on the history of the Socialist Workers Party, for their late-night Sunday politics program, The Westminster Hour. The brief was simple. 'We want you to look back', said the home current affairs producer. 'Look back on your own time in the party. Talk to your old contacts. Twenty, thirty years on, where are they now? On the buses? On the dole? Or thinking about the next BMW? Find out what the party is up to. Describe where it came from. How it survives. Where it's heading. That sort of thing. Serious material, but with an element of humour. The regular audience for your slot is one million. Which means that most of the nation's political community will be listening'. I decided to interview half a dozen members and ex-members of the SWP. I would invite them to explore the whole experience of political activism. What made you join? What did you do? What kept you in? What made you decide to leave? I would be speaking--as it were--from the left. I would be sympathetic and receptive, and well-informed. I was intrigued to learn, from my first informant, that the Central Committee of the party had said that it was OK to talk to me. This was a project that asked me to reconsider my own practice as a biographer. My previous subjects had all been long dead. I had written about Sartre, Flaubert, Napoleon, and George Sand. What I did was called literary biography. I was drawn to that congenial generic mix of story-telling and conventional academic research. Literary biography is defiantly idealist, in its celebration of agency, identity, and--often enough--unreflective class-privilege. …

Modulating tone: the overture of S1P receptor immunotherapeutics

Modulation of complex functions within the immune system has proven to be surprisingly sensitive to alterations in the lysophospholipid sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor-ligand rheostat. This has become increasingly evident from both chemical and genetic manipulation of the S1P system, with pharmacological effects upon lymphoid cells, dendritic cell function, as well as vascular interfaces. The integrated immune system, perhaps as a result of its relatively recent evolutionary ontogeny, has selected for a number of critical control points regulated by five distinct high affinity G-protein-coupled receptor subtypes with a shared ligand, with receptors distributed on lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and endothelium. All of these cellular components of the axis are capable of modulating immune responses in vivo, with the impact on the immune response being very different from classical immunosuppressants, by virtue of selective spatial and temporal sparing of humoral and myeloid elements of host defense. Pharmacological subversion of the S1P rheostat is proving to be clinically efficacious in multiple sclerosis, and both the scope and limitations of therapeutic modulation of the S1P axis in immunotherapy are becoming clearer as understanding of the integrated chemical physiology of the S1P system emerges.

(Almost) All-male Shakespeare in New York City, 2006–7

(Almost) All-male Shakespeare in New York City, 2006–7 Jeremy Lopez In the 2006–2007 theater season, three major all-male Shakespearean productions were staged in New York: two of Twelfth Night (one produced by Edward Hall's Propeller company and the other by the Chekhov International Theatre Festival, both at the Brooklyn Academy of Music), and one of As You Like It (Poortom Productions, at the Here Arts Center). These productions dealt in various ways with the unique dramatic possibilities—and difficulties—faced in presenting a modern audience with male actors dressed (by contemporary standards) in drag. As will be seen, the way each production chose to address this issue bore directly on the imaginative engagement of its audience: while both the Twelfth Night shows encouraged spectators to suspend their disbelief, the production of As You Like It deliberately drew attention to its own artifice, sharing its self-awareness with the audience. Interestingly, despite these differences of approach, all three productions felt the need to interpolate moments of humorous pop-culture-informed spectacle. In the pages that follow, we also review a fourth show that ran simultaneously: The Merry Wives of Windsor (Oberon Theatre Ensemble at the Lion Theatre in Theatre Row), which was staged in an explicitly modern idiom heavily colored by elements of broad physical humor. This production was similarly informed by concerns of audience engagement, and addressed this issue by clothing itself in the sort of comedic spectacle that emerged at various moments in the three all-male productions. Copyright © 2008 The Johns Hopkins University Press

Logic and Humour in the Fabliaux: An Essay in Applied Narratology by Roy J. Pearcy

II22 Reviews Logic and Humour in theFabliaux: An Essay inApplied Narratology. By RoY J. PEARCY. (Gallica, 7) Cambridge: Brewer. 2007. 25I pp. $90. ISBN 978-I 84384-I22-7. Defining the fabliaux has occupied scholars forover a century,whether explicitly, in decisions over which texts should be included in collections such as Recueil general et completdes fabliaux byAnatole deMontaiglon and Gaston Raynaud (6 vols, Paris: Librairie des Bibliophiles, I872-90) orNouveau recueilcompletdesfabliaux byWillem Noomen and Nico van den Boogaard (io vols,Assen: Van Gorcum, i983-98), or im plicitly, in those numerous studies of characterization, themes, and humour, where critics fromBedier onwards have selected textswhich they consider representative of the genre. The objective of Roy J.Pearcy's volume is to reappraise what makes a fabliau, by rejecting Bedier's definition of 'des contes 'a rire en vers' and instead analysing how logic structures fabliau narrative, thus facilitating an appreciation of fabliau humour, a definition of thegenre, and the establishment of a corpus. Pearcy begins by demonstrating the linkbetween logic and humour with reference to classical genres such as fallaciae and sophismata (pp. I-5) and suggests thatpropo sitions debated in logical treatises often underlie the interactions of protagonists in fabliaux (p. 7). At the heart of Pearcy's theoretical approach lies the concept of a conjointure (a term borrowed from critical studies of romance) between a rhetori cal narreme and a logical episteme,which results in that element of fabliau humour which may be termed 'wit' (pp. 31-33). Pearcy's analysis of individual textsdraws on twomethods of defining relationships between characters and their interpretations of events. The Greimasian model of actantial analysis is used to demonstrate how characters interact along axes of desire, communication, and power, while epistemes are considered by applying notations fromBoolean algebra to different scenarios in order todemonstrate how plots are structured and how confusion is resolved. Pearcy ismeticulous in his application of these systems to a range of representative texts, including Cele qui se fistfoutre sur la fosse de sonmari, Auberee, and La Vieille et la Lisette, and his aim of classifying the fabliaux according to a rigorous analytical method is to be applauded. However, the complexity of the systems used requires an advanced level of understanding of logic on the part of the reader and may be somewhat impenetrable to thenon-specialist. Nevertheless, there are many aspects to the discussion which would appeal to a broader readership. The study of the relationship between fables and fabliaux consi ders how marital conflict and sexual violence are associated with the biological im pulses topromiscuity and rape in fableswith animal protagonists (pp. 87-I00). The development from fable to fabliau is traced partly through the increasingly significant role played byfin'amor in later fabliaux and a change in the attitudes to thehusband, who moves frombeing comic victim to the object of vicious derision (pp. IOI-2I). Furthermore, it is suggested that the true subversive nature of the fabliaux is to be found in logical aporia, whereby the linkbetween logic and truth isbroken and con sequently Aristotelian reasoning and the existence of absolute truths are challenged (pp. 208-o9). Pearcy's inventory, listed in an appendix with references to themajor fabliaux edi tions,numbers I22 texts,all ofwhich share similarities of narrative structure and in clude 'at leastone false inferenceand one reversal of truthvalues' (p. I25). He excludes thosetexts classed as tableauxdemceurs (e.g.La Veuve, Les TroisDamesdeParis), pious parodies (e.g. Saint Pierre et lejongleur), and jugements (e.g. Le jugement des Cons). Having adopted a new approach to the classification of the fabliaux, Pearcy antici pates inhis conclusion how theestablishment of this revised canon may contribute to furtherscholarship on the chronology and authorship of the genre. Notwithstanding the above-mentioned complexities of the logical and algebraic methods adopted, this MLR, I03.4, 2oo8 I I23 work isencouraging proof thatnew approaches may be fruitfullyapplied to the study of the fabliaux and thatmuch of the received wisdom of the long tradition of fabliau criticismmay be ripe for re-evaluation. SWANSEA UNIVERSITY ALISON WILLIAMS The Cloister and the World: Early Modern Convent Voices. Ed. by THOMASM. CARR, JR. (Studies inEarlyModern France, i i) Charlottesville, VA: Rookwood Press. 2007...

FERRO E IMUNIDADE HUMORAL EM SUÍNOS ALIMENTADOS COM FITASE E NÍVEIS REDUZIDOS DE FÓSFORO

Endogenous enzymes such as phytase have been widely used in swine production to increase phosphorus, amino acid and energy availability from feeds. This study aimed to evaluate the immune system through quantification of blood components associated to iron metabolism and determine humoral immune response elements in pigs fed phytase-added diets without micro minerals and vitamins and partial or total deletion of inorganic phosphorus. Forty-eight crossbred females with initial weight of 60 kg were randomly sorted into six groups of eight animals each, as follows: G1 -standard (complete) ration (control group); G2 - standard ration except that micromineral and vitamin supplement was deleted; G3 - group 2 ration with phytase, G4 - group 2 ration less 1/3 of inorganic P with phytase, G5 - group 2 ration less 2/3 of inorganic P with phytase and G6 - group 2 ration without inorganic P with phytase. Statistical difference (p>0,05) was not recorded neither in white cells and platelet counts nor hemoglobin, serum iron levels, considering all the animals in all treatments. Nevertheless, pigs up to 100 kg that consumed diet without micro minerals and vitamins, total deletion of inorganic P and phytase addition presented increased ferritin levels (p>0,05) when compared to animals fed similar diet with inorganic phosphorus and phytase. The enzyme guaranteed maintenance of iron stocks even in the absence of supplementation. Such difference was not recorded with 120-kg animals fed similar rations. Average total protein, IgG and IgM levels were not influenced by phytase, mineral and vitamin supplementation or inorganic phosphorus levels. The results demonstrate that decrease of inorganic phos-phorus, withdrawal of vitamin and mineral supplements and phytase addition in diets of finishing pigs do not lead to significant changes in hematological, biochemical and humoral immune response parameters. Key-words: Immune system seric ferritin, IgG, IgM, white cells count.

Identification of squalamine in the plasma membrane of white blood cells in the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus

It is well established that innate mechanisms play an important role in the immunity of fish. Antimicrobial peptides have been isolated and characterized from several species of teleosts. Here, we report the isolation of an antimicrobial compound from the blood of bacterially challenged sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus. An acetic acid extract from the blood cells of challenged fish was subjected to solid-phase extraction, cation-exchange chromatography, gel-filtration chromatography, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, with the purified fractions assayed for antimicrobial activity. Surprisingly, antimicrobial activity in these fractions originated from squalamine, an aminosterol previously identified in the dogfish shark, Squalus acanthias. Further chromatographic and mass spectrometric analyses confirmed the identity of squalamine, an antimicrobial and antiangiogenic agent, in the active fraction from the sea lamprey blood cells. Immunocytochemical analysis localized squalamine to the plasma membrane of white blood cells. Therefore, we postulate that squalamine has an important role in the innate immunity that defends the lamprey against microbial invasion. The full biochemical and immunological roles of squalamine in the white blood cell membrane remain to be investigated.

Friendship, Wit and Laughter in Heinrich Bebel's Facetiae

Heinrich Bebel is the primary German exponent of the genre of the 'facetia' or short witty anecdote. His three-volume collection in Latin prose dates from the early sixteenth century and is often regarded as a German response to the 'facetiae' of Poggio. The genre as whole is informed by notions of friendship and companionship, the humorous elements ostensibly reflecting the sparkling, quick-witted conversation characteristic of the gatherings of sophisticated men. This article examines the strategies underlying the ways in which Bebel chooses to thematize — or not to thematize — friendship in his selection of anecdotes. In particular, it argues that Bebel was reluctant to present any material, however entertaining in itself, which might undermine the ideal of harmony between literary patrons, readers and colleagues.