University of Mainz

About: University of Mainz is a education organization based out in Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Immune system. The organization has 37673 authors who have published 71163 publications receiving 2497880 citations. The organization is also known as: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz & Universität Mainz.

Training the Translator

Abstract: This book begins by investigating, through the use of think-aloud protocols, the mental processes of students when they translate. The creative and successful processes observed can be used directly for teaching purposes, while the unsuccessful ones can serve to find out where remedial training is needed. The book then goes on to discuss methods for improving a translator's competence. The strategies offered are based on the pragmatic and semantic analysis of texts from a functional point of view, and they include such practical matters as the use of dictionaries and the evaluation of translations and error analysis. The book is intended for teachers in translator-training institutions, but it can also be used by students for self-training.

Single-ion heat engine at maximum power.

Abstract: We propose an experimental scheme to realize a nanoheat engine with a single ion. An Otto cycle may be implemented by confining the ion in a linear Paul trap with tapered geometry and coupling it to engineered laser reservoirs. The quantum efficiency at maximum power is analytically determined in various regimes. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulations of the engine are performed that demonstrate its feasibility and its ability to operate at a maximum efficiency of 30% under realistic conditions.

Predominant pathogenic role of tumor necrosis factor in experimental colitis in mice

Abstract: Antibodies to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha have been recently proposed as effective treatment for patients with Crohn's disease. Here, we analyze the functional role of TNF-alpha in a mouse model of chronic intestinal inflammation induced by the hapten reagent 2,4,6,-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) that mimics some characteristics of Crohn's disease in humans. Macrophage-enriched lamina propria (LP) mononuclear cells from mice with TNBS-induced colitis produced 10-30-fold higher levels of TNF-alpha mRNA and protein than cells from control mice. When mice with chronic colitis were treated by intraperitoneal injection of antibodies to TNF-alpha, an improvement of both the clinical and histopathologic signs of disease was found. Isolated macrophage-enriched LP cells from anti-TNF-alpha-treated mice produced strikingly less pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6 in cell culture. The predominant role of TNF-alpha in the mouse TNBS-induced colitis model was further underlined by the finding that striking colonic inflammation and lethal pancolitis was induced in TNF-alpha-transgenic mice upon TNBS treatment. Conversely, no significant TNBS-induced colitis could be induced in mice in which the TNF-alpha gene had been inactivated by homologous recombination. Complementation of TNF-alpha function in TNF-/- mice by the expression of a mouse TNF-alpha transgene was sufficient to reverse this effect. Taken together, the data provide direct evidence for a predominant role of TNF-alpha in a mouse model of chronic intestinal inflammation and encourage further clinical trials with antibodies to TNF-alpha for the treatment of patients with Crohn's disease.

Persistent and Transient Replication of Full-Length Hepatitis C Virus Genomes in Cell Culture

Abstract: The recently developed subgenomic hepatitis C virus (HCV) replicons were limited by the fact that the sequence encoding the structural proteins was missing. Therefore, important information about a possible influence of these proteins on replication and pathogenesis and about the mechanism of virus formation could not be obtained. Taking advantage of three cell culture-adaptive mutations that enhance RNA replication synergistically, we generated selectable full-length HCV genomes that amplify to high levels in the human hepatoma cell line Huh-7 and can be stably propagated for more than 6 months. The structural proteins are efficiently expressed, with the viral glycoproteins E1 and E2 forming heterodimers which are stable under nondenaturing conditions. No disulfide-linked glycoprotein aggregates were observed, suggesting that the envelope proteins fold productively. Electron microscopy studies indicate that cell lines harboring these full-length HCV RNAs contain lipid droplets. The majority of the core protein was found on the surfaces of these structures, whereas the glycoproteins appear to localize to the endoplasmic reticulum and cis-Golgi compartments. In agreement with this distribution, no endoglycosidase H-resistant forms of these proteins were detectable. In a search for the production of viral particles, we noticed that these cells release substantial amounts of nuclease-resistant HCV RNA-containing structures with a buoyant density of 1.04 to 1.1 g/ml in iodixanol gradients. The same observation was made in transient-replication assays using an authentic highly adapted full-length HCV genome that lacks heterologous sequences. However, the fact that comparable amounts of such RNA-containing structures were found in the supernatant of cells carrying subgenomic replicons demonstrates a nonspecific release independent of the presence of the structural proteins. These results suggest that Huh-7 cells lack host cell factors that are important for virus particle assembly and/or release.