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A complementary understanding on quantum mechanics from a bio-psychological perspective may help better elucidate the weird aspect of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, since physics in general depends on observation and... more
A complementary understanding on quantum mechanics from a bio-psychological perspective may help better elucidate the weird aspect of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics, since physics in general depends on observation and interpretation, which are bio-psychological functions. In physics, observation is the starting point, which is a sense organ-dependent bio-psychological function allowing direct physical interaction of the brain with extra-mental reality. It is considered as more certain than interpretation based on memory imagery and abstract reflection, which do not require sense organs and can therefore be right or wrong with respect to observable reality warranted by sense organs. Quantum mechanics phenomena are generally interpreted as ontic reality. However, if they are considered unobservable, exhaustive possibilities that correspond to mental potentiality, the wave-function collapse could be explained by a mental, rather than physical “multiple-to-one collapse.” The collapse would then be similar to the one perceived in everyday life, when interpretation based on uncertain mental potentiality is confronted with the certainty of observable reality. However, physics and bio-psychology offer opposing interpretations of reality and potentiality. In physics, potentiality is treated as part of reality, whereas in bio-psychology an important gap between the two concepts is emphasized. Reality has to be directly or indirectly observable with sense organs, whereas potentiality remains partially unobservable. If seeds have the potentiality to become a sunflower, they are still lacking major factors, such as water, sun, and soil, to develop into a plant, which may never become reality for many seeds. Thus, potentiality is partially real and partially inexistent in reality. Consequently, it can only be a mental representation of a possible reality, which may or may not become actualized. On the other hand, potentiality can simultaneously include opposite considerations, such as being and not being (as in Schrödinger’s thought experiment involving a cat in a closed box whose state could be considered as living and dead) which is by Aristotle’s law of non-contradiction excluded from reality. Thus, potentiality can allow an epistemic mental representation of physics but not ontic physical reality. There are some further arguments supporting the premise that physical formalism is a representation of reality, when compared to other representations, such as a film representing reality in a different form. If quantum mechanics can be considered as mental potentiality, it would be an epistemic mental representation model with the best fit to ontic physical reality.
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Time has multiple aspects and is difficult to define as one unique entity, which therefore led to multiple interpretations in physics and philosophy. However, if the perception of time is considered as a composite time concept, it can be... more
Time has multiple aspects and is difficult to define as one unique entity, which therefore led to multiple interpretations in physics and philosophy. However, if the perception of time is considered as a composite time concept, it can be decomposed into basic invariable components for the perception of progressive and support-fixed time and into secondary components with possible association to unit-defined time or tense. Progressive time corresponds to Bergson’s definition of duration without boundaries, which cannot be divided for measurements. Time periods are already lying in the past and fixed on different kinds of support. The human memory is the first automatic support, but any other support suitable for time registration can also be considered. The true reproduction of original time from any support requires conditions identical to the initial conditions, if not time reproduction becomes artificially modified as can be seen with a film. Time reproduction can be artificially accelerated, slowed down, extended or diminished, and also inverted from the present to the past, which only depends on the manipulation of the support, to which time is firmly linked. Tense associated to progressive and support fixed time is a psychological property directly dependent on an observer, who judges his present as immediate, his past as finished and his future as uncertain. Events can be secondarily associated to the tenses of an observer. Unit-defined time is essential for physics and normal live and is obtained by comparison of support-fixed time to systems with regular motions, like clocks. The association of time perception to time units can also be broken. Einstein’s time units became relative, in quantum mechanics, some physicist eliminated time units, others maintained them. Nevertheless, even the complete elimination of time units is not identical to timelessness, since the psychological perception of progressive and support-fixed time still remains and cannot be ignored. It is not seizable by physical methods, but experienced by everybody in everyday life. Contemporary physics can only abandon the association of time units or tenses to the basic components in perceived time.
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When phenomena in quantum mechanics are interpreted from the perspective of bio-psychology, wave function collapse from several to a single Eigen state must be plausibly explained. Quantum mechanics requires a context, yet the context of... more
When phenomena in quantum mechanics are interpreted from the perspective of bio-psychology, wave function collapse from several to a single Eigen state must be plausibly explained. Quantum mechanics requires a context, yet the context of an observer is rarely considered. On the other hand, in bio-psychology, the observer context is examined to explain superposition and collapse by different mental functions used in everyday life. Three mental functions are described, one of which is responsible for observation, and the others for conservation and treatment of information in mental representation. Whereas observation produces information with certainty, the subsequent processes result in information that remains uncertain potentiality. In order to encompass uncertainty, multiple possibilities are simultaneously considered in mental superposition, one of which should represent the unknown future outcome in observable reality. During verification by new observation, all suggested potentialities necessarily collapse to one real outcome. The collapse of superposition does not occur in observable physical reality, but in its mental representation. Some physical principles—such as superposition, infinity and nothingness before the Big Bang—are pure phenomena of mental representation, which will always remain unverifiable by observation. This argument proves that mental representation brought about by the observer context participates in the production of mental models for the best approximation of physical reality.
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Quantum mechanics has some weird aspects, which we simply have to accept, according to Tegmark. However, approaching this issue from a bio-psychological perspective allows for an alternative interpretation that avoids this supposedly... more
Quantum mechanics has some weird aspects, which we simply have to accept, according to Tegmark. However, approaching this issue from a bio-psychological perspective allows for an alternative interpretation that avoids this supposedly inherent weirdness. Physical laws are established based on repeated observations or measurements, which involve sense organs. Our capacity for memorization and abstract reflection allows us to draw conclusions on physical reality, which can thus be represented with mathematical formalism. Therefore, physical laws are dependent on pure bio-psychological functions. If quantum mechanics is seen in the bio-psychological context, normal mental functions might explain phenomena such as the collapse of the wave function. If events of interest occurred regularly, similar to classical physics, the same pattern of regular events would be anticipated in the future. Conversely, if events that occurred in the past were irregular, like in quantum mechanics, they would also evolve in an irregular manner in the future. Prediction of irregular behavior requires the ability to imagine multiple possibilities in a kind of mental superposition. Only when one of the imagined possibilities is realized, the mental superposition of the future will collapse to one observable behavior occurring in the present. However, in mental representation, similar to classical physical formalism, some aspects of reality can be lost. When time and space coordinates are replaced by calculated time intervals and spatial distances, time periods and spatial lengths become independent of their initial reference frames. Consequently, the concepts of past, present, and future become irrelevant for time intervals. In quantum mechanics, as well as in mental imagination of potentiality, the notions of the unity of one space for one time and the time arrow are also eliminated. This analogy suggests that physical formalism does not correspond to independent physical reality, but rather to mental functions, which allow establishing a mathematical model of extra-mental reality. If quantum mechanics is conceived as mental potentiality for modeling physical reality, the weird aspect of the collapse of superposition disappears and becomes a simple transition from imagined potentiality in mental representation to observed reality, which could explain the measurement problem.
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Hoffman’s interface theory of perception proposes that natural selection is based on icons, which are assessed on the basis of their value for species fitness and have no resemblance to real objects. According to this perspective,... more
Hoffman’s interface theory of perception proposes that natural selection is based on icons, which are assessed on the basis of their value for species fitness and have no resemblance to real objects. According to this perspective, perception of truth concerning objects has no value for ensuring the species’ survival. The whole truth can only be grasped if all underlying physical factors creating icons of conscious perception are known. However, knowledge of whole truth as well as partial truth is rejected by the theory. Yet, from a bio-psychological perspective, the theory has some important limitations. Perception limited to partial truth would also be adapted for fitness-based evolutionary selection, as it would result in the enhancement of the existing or the creation of new functions of sense organs. Although Hoffman’s interface theory does not treat sense organs as physical objects, their functions in consciousness are recognized. Symbolic icons on the computer screen lack any veridical representation of the manner in which the data is stored in the computer memory, but are valuable tools in accessing the relevant content. In contrast icons representing images maintain a direct relation to their stored image. Evolutionary selection over many generations is thought to create icons for increasing fitness. However, icons created in the distant past become fixed and cannot be adapted to the rapid changes during an individual learning process necessary for adaption to unexpected new situations. Human inventions of new objects would also be rendered impossible if icons were solely dependent on evolutionary selection in the distant past. The interface theory is based on quantum mechanical concepts, which are extrapolated from the atomocosm to the macrocosm, but do not consider the Heisenberg cut. The interface approach may be adequate for lower-level organisms, but results in oversimplification when applied to the highly complex human perception.
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Irreducible indeterminism is considered by most physicists as an ontological interpretation of quantum mechanics, which attributes inherent indeterminism to elementary particles. This view was extrapolated by von Neumann from the... more
Irreducible indeterminism is considered by most physicists as an ontological interpretation of quantum mechanics, which attributes inherent indeterminism to elementary particles. This view was extrapolated by von Neumann from the atomocosm to the entire universe. Heisenberg proposed an epistemic interpretation, postulating that indeterminism stems from ambivalent detection systems, rather than being a characteristic of elementary particles. Transformative detection that inherently affect the measured phenomena is responsible for the indeterminism in the atomocosm. As the same does not generally hold true in the macrocosm, this discrepancy has led to the notion of the Heisenberg cut. As explained by Heisenberg’s microscope example, high-energy light can displace electrons from their atomic shells in the atomocosm, but would not induce the same effect on objects in the macrocosm, thus rendering such detection neutral. Therefore, detection systems are ambivalent in that they can be transformative under the cut and neutral otherwise. Device variation is found under and above the cut and is the essential cause of outcome variability in the macrocosm. Thus, two completely different categories of indeterminism exist simultaneously under the Heisenberg cut, but only one is found above the cut, known as measurement variations of devices. Experimental exploration of elementary particle behaviors is possible only with the help of detection systems. If these systems affect particle characteristics in any way, this would be sufficient to explain the irreducible quantum mechanical indeterminism. Consequently, the true behavior of elementary particles, whether indeterminist or determinist, would never be detectable. Above the cut, on the other hand, variations in device performance are inevitable, due to reducible perturbing factors, known as measurement variation of devices. Heisenberg discovered a general principle of ambivalent detection systems, which can also be found in the macrocosm. In the Wilson Cloud Chamber, vapor is an ambivalent detection system, since high-energy charged particles would produce straight tracks, whereas those of lower energy would leave an irregular trace. According to the epistemic interpretation, von Neumann’s extrapolation of irreducible quantum mechanical indeterminism to the entire universe would not be necessary, thereby avoiding the uncomfortable conclusion that the entire universe is based on indeterminism.
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Chalmers introduced the hard problem of consciousness as a profound gap between experience and physical concepts. Philosophical theories were based on different interpretations concerning the qualia/concept gap, such as interactive... more
Chalmers introduced the hard problem of consciousness as a profound gap between experience and physical concepts. Philosophical theories were based on different interpretations concerning the qualia/concept gap, such as interactive dualism (Descartes), as well as mono aspect or dual aspect monism. From a bio-psychological perspective, the gap can be explained by the different activity of two mental functions realizing a mental representation of extra-mental reality. The function of elementary sensation requires active sense organs, which create an uninterrupted physical chain from extra-mental reality to the brain and reflect the present. The function of categorizing reflection no longer needs sense organs, so that the physical chain to extra-mental reality is interrupted and now reflects the past. Whereas elementary sensation is an open system, categorizing reflection remains a closed system, separated from extra-mental reality. This creates the potentiality/reality gap, since prediction from the closed to the open system remains always uncertain. Elementary sensation is associated to specific qualia for each sense organ. Chalmers also attributed qualia to thoughts, with more neutral thought qualia. Thus at the qualia level, there is also an important gap, but now between specific sense qualia and neutral thought qualia. Since all physical concepts are simultaneously linked to neutral thought qualia, the hard problem might be explained by a qualia/qualia gap instead of a qualia/concept gap. The mental function of categorizing reflection induces the change from sense qualia to thought qualia by a categorization process. The specific sense qualia mosaic of an apple is reduced to physical concepts with neutral qualia by progressive categorization first to fruit, then to food, to chemicals and finally to calories. This might explain the gap felt in the hard problem, since specific sense qualia are completely different from neutral thought qualia, so that the hard problem could already be encountered at the qualia level. Since the gap of the hard problem is due to the interaction of different mental functions, it is compatible with a philosophical monism.
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Global perception, memory imagery and neutral reflection comprise the three main mental functions, and are distinguished by the activity, passivity or neutrality of sense organs. Global perception is composed of elementary sensation and... more
Global perception, memory imagery and neutral reflection comprise the three main mental functions, and are distinguished by the activity, passivity or neutrality of sense organs. Global perception is composed of elementary sensation and stimulated reminiscence. Elementary sensation is a physical chain of bottom-up information, extending from extra-mental reality to active sense organs and specialized brain regions. Stimulated reminiscence and memory imagery that do not involve sense organ activity represent top-down information from different brain regions. Neutral reflection without sense organs allows abstraction by categorization, structuring and establishment of relations. Elementary sensation with direct physical interactions among the extra-mental environment, sense organs and specific brain regions reflects the present and is thus primary, self-evident, intense, unchangeable and incommunicable. Memory imagery retrieval of anterior perceptions represents the past and is secondary, faint, modifiable and communicable. Neutral reflection enables the abstraction of memory imagery to objective concepts, allowing general consensus. Neurobiological investigations reveal that elementary sensation involving active sense organs activates the same brain regions as memory imagery without sense organ activity does, whereas neutral reflection takes place in different prefrontal brain regions. The different brain locations may explain the hard problem and the first-to-third person gap in consciousness. Presence of this gap precludes an identical content of consciousness in two persons, since elementary sensation of the first person cannot be directly transmitted to a third person, given that it has to be recreated with the same environment and the sense organs of that person. Moreover, differences in sense organ constitution or information processing will never allow reconstitution of an identical content of consciousness. In particular, experience gained through the activation of interior sense organs, resulting in pain, for example, cannot be transmitted to third persons. Elementary sensation is the starting point of a continuous process, commencing with bottom-up information transmitted from the sense organ to the two other mental functions, which constitute human knowledge. By initiating the global perception function, elementary sensation acquires epistemic primacy, which induces complex subjective experiences representing the present, thereafter encoded in the memory as fixed episodes of the past that can be retrieved by the function of memory imagery. Finally, the function of neutral reflection objectifies this information by abstraction into concepts. Epistemic primacy of global perception has to be distinguished from ontological primacy of consciousness at the neutral reflection level regarding the non-material existence of experienced consciousness from the material world. However, epistemic primacy remains indecisive with respect to ontological primacy concerning the philosophical theories of materialism, dualism or panpsychism.
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Quantum mechanics have always shown great predictive successes, but also some weird aspects concerning the mathematics-reality correspondence, such as superposition of contradictory events, like a dead and alive cat. Although physicists... more
Quantum mechanics have always shown great predictive successes, but also some weird aspects concerning the mathematics-reality correspondence, such as superposition of contradictory events, like a dead and alive cat. Although physicists claim that we have to live with these contradictions, a psycho-biological analysis could propose another explanation. Observation of extra-mental reality is based on direct physical contact between an object, its corresponding sense organ and its mental representation in the brain. In contrast, prediction of the future is no longer directly linked to extra-mental reality, but projects possible observations from the memory of the past into the future. Due to the uncertainty of the future, predictions require mental potentiality, meaning that it may or may not happen in extra-mental reality. Nevertheless, if past observations are regular as in classical physics, they allow predictions with high reliability, whereas if they are irregular as in quantum physics, they are limited to uncertainty and probability. Superposition in classical physics increases space or time units accordingly, whereas quantum superposition considers multiple space locations for the same object at the same time. Thus, the quantum mechanical formalism is in direct contradiction to the philosophical law of non- contradiction, which does not allow considering it as extra-mental reality. However, it has all characteristics of mental potentiality, which allows prediction of future outcomes with probability. The consideration of quantum mechanics as mental potentiality would solve the superposition problem, as well as the measurement and the non-locality problem. According to the regularity or irregularity of observation, classical or quantum mechanical formalism has to be applied for prediction of future dynamics. There is no collapse or continuation of superposition in the wave function, but simply the replacement of an uncertain prediction model by the more certain observation. With this interpretation some weird aspects could be completely eliminated.
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Eastern philosophy and western science have convergent and divergent view points for their explanation of consciousness. Convergence is found for the practice of meditation allowing besides a time dependent consciousness, the experience... more
Eastern philosophy and western science have convergent and divergent view points for their explanation of consciousness. Convergence is found for the practice of meditation allowing besides a time dependent consciousness, the experience of a timeless consciousness and its beneficial effect on psychological wellbeing and medical improvements, which is confirmed by multiple scientific publications. Theories of quantum mechanics with non-locality and timelessness also show astonishing correlation to eastern philosophy, such as the theory of Penrose-Hameroff (ORC-OR), which explains consciousness by reduction of quantum superposition in the brain. Divergence appears in the interpretation of the subjective experience of timeless consciousness. In eastern philosophy, meditation at a higher level of awareness allows the personal experience of timeless and non-dual consciousness, considered as an empirical proof for the existence of pure consciousness or spirituality existing before the material world and creating it by design. Western science acknowledges the subjective, non-dual experience, and its multiple beneficial effects, however, the interpretation of spirituality designing the material universe is in disagreement with the Darwinian theory of mutation and selection. A design should create an ideal universe without the injustice of 3% congenital birth defects and later genetic health problems. The western viewpoint of selection is more adapted to explain congenital errors. The gap between subjectivity and objectivity, the mind-body problem, is in eastern philosophy reduced to the dominance of subjectivity over objectivity, whereas western science attributes equal values to both. Nevertheless, there remains an astonishing complementarity between eastern and western practices.
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The observer in physics makes observations and transforms them into fact and physical laws. Observations are based on perceptions and their transformations, which are influenced by biological and psychological functions. As argued by... more
The observer in physics makes observations and transforms them into fact and physical laws. Observations are based on perceptions and their transformations, which are influenced by biological and psychological functions. As argued by the
philosopher Peirce, one might distinguish between extra-mental reality and its mental representation. An observer creates with his mental functions a mental representation of extra-mental reality due to perception based on specific sense organs. Extra-mental reality and its mental representation exist simultaneously, but are not always in direct contact with each other and can therefore diverge. Only during the NOW, the observer is through his sense organs in direct physico-neural contact with extra-mental reality. After interruption of this contact, observations belong to the past and the observer transforms with mental functions regularities of past observations into physical laws, which can be extrapolated into the far past and future. During the NOW, observations have precise time coordinates, but after interruption of the direct contact, memorized observations undergo transformations into abstract and often timeless concepts in classical and in quantum physics. In normal life, time is the perception of duration and its boundaries. In physics, time is reduced to the relation of its boundaries between different systems or can be completely discarded in timelessness. Whereas the NOW is a direct connection between extra-mental reality and its mental representation, past and future represent pure mental representations based on memorized NOWs. After their transformation, mental representation can predict future potentiality, which does not always correspond to extra-mental reality. Due to this reality-potentiality gap, physical laws created in mental representation need verification in a new experimental NOW, which alone assures direct contact to reality.
philosopher Peirce, one might distinguish between extra-mental reality and its mental representation. An observer creates with his mental functions a mental representation of extra-mental reality due to perception based on specific sense organs. Extra-mental reality and its mental representation exist simultaneously, but are not always in direct contact with each other and can therefore diverge. Only during the NOW, the observer is through his sense organs in direct physico-neural contact with extra-mental reality. After interruption of this contact, observations belong to the past and the observer transforms with mental functions regularities of past observations into physical laws, which can be extrapolated into the far past and future. During the NOW, observations have precise time coordinates, but after interruption of the direct contact, memorized observations undergo transformations into abstract and often timeless concepts in classical and in quantum physics. In normal life, time is the perception of duration and its boundaries. In physics, time is reduced to the relation of its boundaries between different systems or can be completely discarded in timelessness. Whereas the NOW is a direct connection between extra-mental reality and its mental representation, past and future represent pure mental representations based on memorized NOWs. After their transformation, mental representation can predict future potentiality, which does not always correspond to extra-mental reality. Due to this reality-potentiality gap, physical laws created in mental representation need verification in a new experimental NOW, which alone assures direct contact to reality.
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Freedom is a common perception in all free will experiences. However, classical physics supported the idea that the whole universe is determinist, which is in contradiction to the concept of freedom of the will. Compatibilists (overview... more
Freedom is a common perception in all free will experiences. However, classical physics supported the idea that the whole universe is determinist, which is in contradiction to the concept of freedom of the will. Compatibilists (overview McKenna) hold that free will is compatible with determinism, whereas incompatibilists (overview Vihvelin) required indeterminism for allowing free will expression, which is now in contradiction with classical physics. Therefore Wegner claimed that free will is an illusion.
The conflict in discussions on Free Will is due to an incomplete conception of "determinism" not including biological determinism and a sort of verbal dispute (Chalmers) concerning the meaning of "free" without considering the experiential context.
Determinism was conceived by van Inwagen as an unbroken causal chain thereby resembling physical determinism. However, autonomy in biology rendered determinism much more complex. Autonomy like locomotion autonomy of animals is partial independence from physical environments, thus resembling a broken causal chain, which has periodically to interact with its environment for resource restoration. Multiple favourable or unfavourable alternative environments require a selection in a completely determinist system. If the selection is random, the animal's survival is not warranted. Therefore, survival requires a mental selection system allowing the choice between favourable and unfavourable environments. In higher animals, all precursor conditions for human free will are realized through the presence of alternatives and the requirement of selection by a mental selection system. Thus, biological determinism is compatible with free will.
The concept of free as completely undetermined does not correspond to experiential free will, since free will limited by a context is only relative free, as illustrated by free decisions in the menu of a restaurant. Within their context, free decisions require knowledge and motivations to obtain a sense, a situation quite different from free decisions for lottery numbers. Knowledge is deterministically acquired from the society and motivations from personal experiences. Thus, free is limited to the period of deliberation only when in the beginning multiple attractive alternatives appear, which have to be reduced by deliberation to only one realizable alternative. "Deliberation freedom" can be illustrated by a puzzle game. In the beginning there is the freedom to start with every piece, but at the end all pieces are in a determined order. Freedom limited to the deliberation period reflects the experience of individually perceived freedom, but does not correspond to the abstract concept of free as totally undetermined. Thus free will could be conceived as an illusion (Wegner). However, the experience of free will is not a false perception like a fooler, but a real perception of freedom. If a general reduction of experience to an abstract concept has to be considered as illusion, many other experiences like red, the sound or temperature have also to be considered as illusions, since red is physically an electromagnetic wave, a sound a mechanical wave and temperature molecular agitation. Only if experientially perceived free will is considered within its context and compared to biological determinism, free will remains compatible with determinism.
The conflict in discussions on Free Will is due to an incomplete conception of "determinism" not including biological determinism and a sort of verbal dispute (Chalmers) concerning the meaning of "free" without considering the experiential context.
Determinism was conceived by van Inwagen as an unbroken causal chain thereby resembling physical determinism. However, autonomy in biology rendered determinism much more complex. Autonomy like locomotion autonomy of animals is partial independence from physical environments, thus resembling a broken causal chain, which has periodically to interact with its environment for resource restoration. Multiple favourable or unfavourable alternative environments require a selection in a completely determinist system. If the selection is random, the animal's survival is not warranted. Therefore, survival requires a mental selection system allowing the choice between favourable and unfavourable environments. In higher animals, all precursor conditions for human free will are realized through the presence of alternatives and the requirement of selection by a mental selection system. Thus, biological determinism is compatible with free will.
The concept of free as completely undetermined does not correspond to experiential free will, since free will limited by a context is only relative free, as illustrated by free decisions in the menu of a restaurant. Within their context, free decisions require knowledge and motivations to obtain a sense, a situation quite different from free decisions for lottery numbers. Knowledge is deterministically acquired from the society and motivations from personal experiences. Thus, free is limited to the period of deliberation only when in the beginning multiple attractive alternatives appear, which have to be reduced by deliberation to only one realizable alternative. "Deliberation freedom" can be illustrated by a puzzle game. In the beginning there is the freedom to start with every piece, but at the end all pieces are in a determined order. Freedom limited to the deliberation period reflects the experience of individually perceived freedom, but does not correspond to the abstract concept of free as totally undetermined. Thus free will could be conceived as an illusion (Wegner). However, the experience of free will is not a false perception like a fooler, but a real perception of freedom. If a general reduction of experience to an abstract concept has to be considered as illusion, many other experiences like red, the sound or temperature have also to be considered as illusions, since red is physically an electromagnetic wave, a sound a mechanical wave and temperature molecular agitation. Only if experientially perceived free will is considered within its context and compared to biological determinism, free will remains compatible with determinism.
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Sense-oriented reasoning (SOR) was analyzed by comparing the reasoning of tribal and modern societies on a specific subject, the conception and birth of a child. Tribal societies have beliefs, which are difficult to understand by modern... more
Sense-oriented reasoning (SOR) was analyzed by comparing the reasoning of tribal and modern societies on a specific subject, the conception and birth of a child. Tribal societies have beliefs, which are difficult to understand by modern societies. Their reasoning becomes understandable only when considering that their observations are limited to the macrocosm. Modern societies have access to the microcosm with a microscope, where different biological mechanisms for the conception of a child were discovered. Since the tribes’ macroscopical observations were different, their conclusions became necessarily different. The inheritance problem can only be solved by genes at the microscopic level, to which tribal societies had no access. With observations limited to the macrocosm, tribes logically invoked invisible child-spirits of ancestors wanting to be reincarnated in children of the same tribe. Besides the different access to observation, the reasoning of both societies is similar and built around the investigation of a final sense. Reasoning progresses after a phase without any quest for sense through three progressive levels: (1) primary sense, (2) corrected sense, and (3) verified sense. In tribal societies, reasoning is interrupted at the primary sense level when it seems consistent with their general beliefs and traditions. This resembles coherentist theories of epistemic justification, in which justification is only a function of coherence between beliefs. Tribal societies realize the input problem of these theories, since they have no access to the microcosm and also illustrate the Gettier problem. Modern societies progress to the higher levels of corrected and verified sense reasoning, even if inconsistent with their prior beliefs. They initially imagined genes as a hypothetic missing link for inheritance, which relies on a start observation concerning the character of ancestors to the target observation, the similarity with the character of children. If the missing link is definitely verified, it shows a chain of justified beliefs between both observations, allowing the initially hypothetic missing link to be retrospectively considered as the real cause. The SOR of modern societies resembles the externalist version of foundationalism of epistemic justification, in which the necessary non-inferential justification is represented by the target observation.
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Quantum mechanics based on uncertainty measurements are generally thought to be associated with weird conceptions, not conceivable in the macrocosm. Nevertheless, quantum mechanics and consciousness seem to have some isomorphism. At the... more
Quantum mechanics based on uncertainty measurements are generally thought to be associated with weird conceptions, not conceivable in the macrocosm. Nevertheless, quantum mechanics and consciousness seem to have some isomorphism. At the first person viewpoint the present and the recent past can be considered as observable reality in consciousness, which is associated to certainty, the far distant past and future can only be considered as potentiality, linked to increasing uncertainty. Similar to quantum mechanics, uncertainty represents a major component in consciousness, which has to be controlled for allowing predictions with probability. There is a general rational principle consisting of superposition with probability and applicable to physics, biology and psychology, which allows prediction, if precise information is unavailable. This principle seems to show isomorphism between quantum mechanics and consciousness.
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Time is thought to be non-existent in the formalism of quantum mechanics. But time can also become unobservable and hidden in classical physics as well as in human consciousness. All physical or societal laws show timeless invariance,... more
Time is thought to be non-existent in the formalism of quantum mechanics. But time can also become unobservable and hidden in classical physics as well as in human consciousness. All physical or societal laws show timeless invariance, indicating that time-dependent movements can show timeless behavior. Therefore timeless behavior includes an unobservable form of underlying movements implying time. Movements in the present can be directly observed and necessarily show time coordinates, but movements accomplished in the past can no longer be directly observed and only leave traces of grouped movements, similar to animal tracks. Invariance of movements can only be stated when individual movements are grouped together in traces and already accomplished in the past. Then time can be estimated and, when necessary, associated with the traces. Time is no longer required, when different traces of movements are compared with each other. Nevertheless, invariant traces give evidence of underlying regular movements and therefore of time, even if time itself is no longer observable in the traces. In a similar way physical formalism includes the present, past and future of movements at a more highly concentrated information level. Since only the present is observable, information including past and future becomes unobservable, thereby hiding time. Time is also hidden in the digit codes of music on recorded CDs and becomes only observable again after reconversion by means of an appropriate device. The phenomenon of hidden time can be found in human consciousness and in classical physics, but becomes dominant in quantum mechanics.
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Free will is difficult to classify with respect to determinism or indeterminism, and its phenomenology in consciousness often shows both aspects. Initially, it is felt as unlimited and indeterminate will power, with the potentiality of... more
Free will is difficult to classify with respect to determinism or indeterminism, and its phenomenology in consciousness often shows both aspects. Initially, it is felt as unlimited and indeterminate will power, with the potentiality of multiple choices. Thereafter, reductive deliberation is led by determinism to the final decision, which realises only one of the potential choices. The reductive deliberation phase tries to find out the best alternative and simultaneously satisfying vague motivations, contextual conditions and personal preferences. The essential sense of free will is the introduction of personal preferences, which allows a higher diversity of reactions to vague motivations. With an oversimplified model of determinism as a chain of events, incompatibilists define “free” as “undetermined” so that determinism becomes incompatible with any free choice between alternatives. In consciousness, free will requires a more complex model of network determinism as well as the consideration of unconsciousness as a causal factor. When “free” defined as “undetermined” is applied to the context of consciousness, it should be reinterpreted as “unconscious of being determined” or not aware of underlying determinism. Lacking information on determinism generates a feeling of “free” in consciousness and, therefore, gives the impression of indeterminism. Lacking information may be induced by an uncertain future without determined events—an unconscious past with biological reactions suddenly emerging from the unconsciousness or an unknown present unable to distinguish determinism of complex events. Therefore, at the level of human consciousness, the experience of free will is associated with apparent indeterminism although it is based on unconscious determinism. The concepts of compatibilism and incompatibilism are only two different aspects of the same phenomenon and correspond to consciousness and unconsciousness. Nevertheless, they can be considered together with a free will concept based on relativity depending on two different reference frames—the first person’s experience frame or the Laplace’s demon frame with knowledge on every molecule of the universe. Only relativity of the free will concept avoids the contradiction between “free” and “unfree” for the same phenomenon and could be a compromise for considering compatibilism and incompatibilism equally.
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Superposition of physical states in the wave function of quantum mechanics is difficult to transpose to the macrocosm, as illustrated by “Schrödinger’s cat” thought experiment. Nevertheless, in this example, consciousness does not seem to... more
Superposition of physical states in the wave function of quantum mechanics is difficult to transpose to the macrocosm, as illustrated by “Schrödinger’s cat” thought experiment. Nevertheless, in this example, consciousness does not seem to be shown in its complete reality, when evaluated from a biological view-point. Although consciousness functions with reality systems, it also uses potentiality systems, which essentially consist in superposition of several probable situations. Some examples of superposition in consciousness are described, to illustrate the requirement of potentiality systems in order to predict situations in the future or to complement events in the past. Incomplete observations, such as lacking time or space coordinates, automatically induce potentiality systems in the consciousness, in order to complete the lacking coordinates by only potential but most probable coordinates. In contrast, reality systems are only present, when complete observations with exact time and space coordinates can be obtained. Potentiality systems in human consciousness also show the characteristics of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, as well as non-locality and entanglement and are compatible with interfering conditions. Superposition in potentiality systems is an essential function of consciousness and is the only way to allow a perception of future and past events. The basic concept of superposition without corresponding mathematical formalism, seems demonstrate partial isomorphism in the larger sense of Douglas Hofstadter, between consciousness and quantum mechanics.
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Anti-ricin-A-chain monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were raised in order to study epitopes of the A-chain involved in the initiation of its transmembrane passage. Five nonoverlapping epitopes were selected by cluster formation using a... more
Anti-ricin-A-chain monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were raised in order to study epitopes of the A-chain involved in the initiation of its transmembrane passage. Five nonoverlapping epitopes were selected by cluster formation using a cross-inhibition assay of mAbs from 172 specific hybridomas. For each cluster, representative high affinity mAbs were selected. These mAbs were disulfide-linked to F(ab')2 fragments of a mAb directed against the CD5 antigen. The cytotoxicity of ricin A-chain bound by affinity through different epitopes to these hybrid mAbs was explored on the CD5-positive CEM cells. Without any enhancer, the hybrids displayed cytotoxicity varying in IC50 within a range of 1-10; in the presence of the enhancer NH4Cl, this variation of activity was maintained ranging from 1 to 20; with the enhancer monensin, the variation of cytotoxicity of hybrids extended over a 1-80-fold range. These differences of cytotoxicity were not correlated with mAb properties such as the inhibition of A-chain enzymatic activity, the A-chain binding affinity, the capacity for releasing A-chain at low pH, or the capacity of hybrids for delivering A-chain on the cell surface. This lack of correlation strongly suggests that the different presentations of A-chain epitopes to the cell membrane may be the essential reason for cytotoxicity variations.
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... Bernard Pau,; Philippe Poncelet,; Gilbert Richer,; Hubert Vidal,; Guy A. Voisin. Article first published online: 28 APR 2006. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.1982.tb00394.x. Issue. Immunological Reviews. Volume 62, Issue 1, pages 185216,... more
... Bernard Pau,; Philippe Poncelet,; Gilbert Richer,; Hubert Vidal,; Guy A. Voisin. Article first published online: 28 APR 2006. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.1982.tb00394.x. Issue. Immunological Reviews. Volume 62, Issue 1, pages 185216, February 1982. Additional Information. ...
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... Press HIGH SPECIFIC CYTOTOXICITY OF ANTIBODY-TOXIN HYBRID MOLECULES (IMMUNOTOXINS) FOR TARGET CELLS FK JANSENi, Hildur E. BLYTHMANi, D ... After cleavage of the disulphide bridge with 2-mercaptoethanol, the A-chain was isolated on... more
... Press HIGH SPECIFIC CYTOTOXICITY OF ANTIBODY-TOXIN HYBRID MOLECULES (IMMUNOTOXINS) FOR TARGET CELLS FK JANSENi, Hildur E. BLYTHMANi, D ... After cleavage of the disulphide bridge with 2-mercaptoethanol, the A-chain was isolated on DEAE-Sepharose ...
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... Marseille, France. d Clinique des Maladies Métaboliques et Endocriniennes, Hôpital St Eloi, Montpellier, France. e Department of Surgery, Ciudad Sanitaria "Principes de Espana", Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. f ...
Research Interests: Adolescent, Humans, Child, Blood Glucose, Mice, and 10 moreFemale, Animals, Male, Lancet, Rats, Adult, Transfer Factor, Lymphocytes, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, and Azathioprine
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Several attempts to attack tumours in experimental systems have been made using conjugates of chemotherapeutic agents or potent toxins with antibodies (immunotoxins). In vitro studies have been highly successful, showing target... more
Several attempts to attack tumours in experimental systems have been made using conjugates of chemotherapeutic agents or potent toxins with antibodies (immunotoxins). In vitro studies have been highly successful, showing target specificity of a high order in some cases. However, so far, such conjugates have been inadequate in vivo, probably for two main reasons. First, conventional heteroclonal antibodies are perhaps inappropriate, because purification by biochemical methods leaves a large amount of non-antibody gamma-globulins. The use of monoclonal antibodies may overcome this problem. Second, when whole toxins have been conjugated to antibodies there has been a strong residual nonspecific cytotoxicity due to the binding capacity of a subunit, the B-piece of the toxin. (Diphtheria toxin or ricin consist of two polypeptide subunits. The A-piece is responsible for inhibition of protein synthesis on ribosomes, and the B-piece binds to galactose residues on the cell membrane and facilitates the transmembrane passage of the A-piece.) In the present work the problem of nonspecific binding by the B-piece has been circumvented by using the A-piece only as the toxin component of immunotoxins; these immunotoxins are active both in vitro and in vivo.
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HLA-A and B antigens were determined in 112 patients with insulin-dependent juvenile onset diabetes mellitus, who could be subdivided into "non" and "high responder" to insulin. The data revealed a... more
HLA-A and B antigens were determined in 112 patients with insulin-dependent juvenile onset diabetes mellitus, who could be subdivided into "non" and "high responder" to insulin. The data revealed a trend of an association of these diabetes subgroups with only one of the diabetes-associated antigens HLA-B8 and HLA-BW15 and indicated the existence of at least two different genetic constellations for susceptibility to juvenile diabetes mellitus. One form with a strong immune-response to insulin seemed to be associated with HLA-BW 15 and the other form without humoral immunoreactivity to insulin seemed to be associated with the presence of HLA-B8 and the absence of HLA-B7.
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Research Interests: Cancer treatment, Mice, Animals, Drug Design, Glycosylation, and 4 moreAmino Acids, Rats, Ricin, and Immunotoxins
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To evaluate conserved structures of the surface gp120 subunit (SU) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope in gp120-cell interactions, we designed and produced an HIV-1 IIIB (HXB2R) gp120 carrying a deletion of amino... more
To evaluate conserved structures of the surface gp120 subunit (SU) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope in gp120-cell interactions, we designed and produced an HIV-1 IIIB (HXB2R) gp120 carrying a deletion of amino acids E61 to S85. This sequence corresponds to a highly conserved predicted amphipathic alpha-helical structure located in the gp120 C1 region. The resultant soluble mutant with a deleted alpha helix 1 (gp120 DeltaalphaHX1) exhibited a strong interaction with CXCR4, although CD4 binding was undetectable. The former interaction was specific since it inhibited the binding of the anti-CXCR4 monoclonal antibody (12G5), as well as SDF1alpha, the natural ligand of CXCR4. Additionally, the mutant gp120 was able to bind to CXCR4(+)/CD4(-) cells but not to CXCR4(-)/CD4(-) cells. Although efficiently expressed on cell surface, HIV envelope harboring the deleted gp120 DeltaalphaHX1 associated with wild-type transmembrane gp41 was unable to induce cell-to-cell f...
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Immunotoxins are conjugates between antibodies especially directed against cancer cells and a subunit of a powerful toxin. We used the A-chain of ricin. These conjugates are specifically cytotoxic when used at very low concentrations in... more
Immunotoxins are conjugates between antibodies especially directed against cancer cells and a subunit of a powerful toxin. We used the A-chain of ricin. These conjugates are specifically cytotoxic when used at very low concentrations in vitro and can destroy more than 99.99% of clonogenic cells. The efficacy of immunotoxins was also demonstrated in vivo but is inferior to its in vitro potency. For this reason the first use of immunotoxins in man can be the cleaning up of bone marrow from leukemic cells in the near future.
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Four patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia refractory to alkylating agents were treated with T101-ricin A chain immunotoxin (T101-RTA) as part of a phase I study. Over a 4-week period, each patient received eight intravenous... more
Four patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia refractory to alkylating agents were treated with T101-ricin A chain immunotoxin (T101-RTA) as part of a phase I study. Over a 4-week period, each patient received eight intravenous infusions of 3 mg/m2 T101-RTA over 1 h. All infusions were well tolerated. Patients had mild fevers but no other systemic toxicities. In vivo binding of T101-RTA was detected by FACS analysis using anti-mouse Ig-FITC or anti-A chain-FITC antibody conjugates. Saturation of circulating leukemic cell-associated target antigen was achieved in three of the patients. Available CD5 sites per cell dropped precipitously at the completion of infusions in all four patients, returning to within 30% of baseline by 24 h. Pharmacokinetic studies revealed rapid clearance of T101-RTA, with wide interpatient variability in peak serum levels (the highest levels in those patients who saturated their circulating CD5 antigen with immunotoxin). Although no patient developed detectable levels of antimurine antibodies, one patient did have a rising titer of anti-ricin A chain antibody associated with declining peak serum levels of immunotoxin. All patients had a rapid fall in WBC count of less than 24-h duration after each T101-RTA infusion, most likely secondary to the antibody portion of immunotoxin. No sustained benefit could be demonstrated in any patient, possibly because in the absence of an enhancing agent the leukemic cells of all four patients were resistent to T101-RTA at concentrations up to 2,000 ng/ml in vitro.
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An immunotoxin (IT) formed by a specific antibody coupled to the ricin A chain was adsorbed on colloidal gold particles (IT-Au). Binding and internalization of IT-Au in human lymphoblastic CEM cells were studied using electron microscopy.... more
An immunotoxin (IT) formed by a specific antibody coupled to the ricin A chain was adsorbed on colloidal gold particles (IT-Au). Binding and internalization of IT-Au in human lymphoblastic CEM cells were studied using electron microscopy. IT-Au showed specific cytotoxic activity toward the target cells. After 1 h at 4 degrees C, IT-Au were linked diffusely to the plasma membrane with 45% of the particles regrouped in clusters. Upon transfer to 37 degrees C, the particles carrying the ligand were regrouped more frequently and internalized into the cell by endocytosis through smooth microinvaginations or coated pits of the plasma membrane. After 15 min, IT-Au was observed in endocytic vacuoles, or receptosomes, in tubular structure near the Golgi apparatus and in lysosomes. Entry of IT-Au into lysosomes was rapid (around 50% of intracellular IT-Au particles after 30 min). NH4Cl or monensin, well-known potentiators of immunotoxin activity, when present in incubation medium, altered neither the processes nor the rate of IT-Au endocytosis. In the presence of either of these substances, IT-Au accumulated in the normal or often enlarged endocytic vacuoles, and entry into the lysosomes was slowed down (50% of particles after 2 h 15 min). We conclude that this intense slowing-down in the speed of IT-Au transportation into lysosomes and the functional modifications of these organelles help to explain the increased efficacy of immunotoxins in the presence of potentiators.
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T101-ricin A-chain immunotoxin is a hybrid molecule made up of the T101 monoclonal antibody bound to the A-chain of ricin. It specifically destroys cells expressing the cell surface T65 antigen. We have designed a preclinical study to... more
T101-ricin A-chain immunotoxin is a hybrid molecule made up of the T101 monoclonal antibody bound to the A-chain of ricin. It specifically destroys cells expressing the cell surface T65 antigen. We have designed a preclinical study to evaluate its possible use for the in vitro treatment of T-cell hematological cancers prior to autologous bone marrow transplantation. The data presented here show that conditions previously defined to produce high tumor cell killing, i.e., a 20-hr incubation at 37 degrees in the presence of T101-ricin A-chain immunotoxin up to 10(-7) M in a 10 mM ammonium chloride solution, do not affect the in vitro proliferative capacity of human hematopoietic stem cells studied by means of semisolid medium cultures (granulocyte-macrophage progenitors, burst-forming units-erythrocyte) and continuous liquid cultures (pre-granulocyte-macrophage progenitors). Therefore, autologous bone marrow transplantation with T101-ricin A-chain immunotoxin-treated graft should be feasible.
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Normal DBA2 mice become highly diabetic after infection with the EMC virus. But 500 R X-irradiation before infection inhibits the increase of mean blood glucose levels thus indicating the participation of immune reactions in the... more
Normal DBA2 mice become highly diabetic after infection with the EMC virus. But 500 R X-irradiation before infection inhibits the increase of mean blood glucose levels thus indicating the participation of immune reactions in the appearance of diabetes.
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The kinetics of cytotoxicity induced by ricin and a series of immunotoxins consisting of ricin A-chain coupled to antibodies against cell-surface antigens has been studied. The inhibition of protein synthesis in cells treated with... more
The kinetics of cytotoxicity induced by ricin and a series of immunotoxins consisting of ricin A-chain coupled to antibodies against cell-surface antigens has been studied. The inhibition of protein synthesis in cells treated with immunotoxins or ricin occurs after a lag period. The rate of protein synthesis decreases according to a mono-exponential function, indicating a first-order process. With increasing concentration of immunotoxin, a maximal rate of inhibition is reached. The inactivation rate induced by immunotoxins was much slower than that achieved with ricin, even when products were compared on a basis of an identical number of molecules bound per cell, demonstrating the real higher efficacy of ricin. The time required to reduce protein synthesis by 90%, denoted T10, was 1.4-1.6 h with ricin, 60 h with anti-T65 immunotoxin on CEM human T leukemia cells (T65 positive), 65 h with anti-p97 immunotoxin on SK-MEL 28 human melanoma cells (p97 positive), and 20 h with an IgM anti-Thy 1.2 immunotoxin on WEHI-7 mouse T leukemia cells (Thy 1.2 positive). In this latter case, when the IgM antibody was replaced by an IgG anti-Thy 1.2, a 5-fold increase in the inactivation rate was obtained, demonstrating the importance of the binding moiety for the immunotoxins. Lysosomotropic amines such as ammonium chloride, chloroquine, and methylamine and carboxylic ionophores such as monensin, which are known to interfere with the uptake of certain macromolecules, strongly increased the rate of protein synthesis inhibition by all immunotoxins tested and increased 4-50,000-fold the sensitivity of cells to the immunotoxin. Enhancement in the inactivation rate was as much as 7-10-fold when either of these compounds was added, generating T10 values comparable to those of ricin.
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The infection of normal DBA2 and BALB/C nu/ + mice with 2 X 10(2,6) TCID50 of the M variant of the EMC virus induced pathological mean glucose values of 426 +/- 99 mg/100 ml in DBA2 mice and 292 +/- 130 mg/100 ml in BALB/C nu/ + mice on... more
The infection of normal DBA2 and BALB/C nu/ + mice with 2 X 10(2,6) TCID50 of the M variant of the EMC virus induced pathological mean glucose values of 426 +/- 99 mg/100 ml in DBA2 mice and 292 +/- 130 mg/100 ml in BALB/C nu/ + mice on day five following infection. As diabetic animals died afterwards, mean glucose values decreased in the surviving animals on day seven and fourteen. The infected immunodeficient BALB/C nu/nu mice with thymus aplasia did not show abnormal mean glucose values or higher standard deviation of the means (114 +/- 37 mg/100 ml) when compared to uninfected controls (117 +/- 23 mg/100 ml). This demonstrates that a complete thymus-dependent immune system seems to be necessary for the development of the acute stage of virus-induced diabetes in the mouse.
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Immunotoxins are hybrid molecules made up of an antibody and of the toxic subunit of a polypeptidic toxin. They act on the principle that the antibody binds the molecule to a cellular antigen which it specifically recognizes, so that the... more
Immunotoxins are hybrid molecules made up of an antibody and of the toxic subunit of a polypeptidic toxin. They act on the principle that the antibody binds the molecule to a cellular antigen which it specifically recognizes, so that the cytotoxic component only kills those cells that bear the antigen. Cell hybridizations obtained by fusion now produce monoclonal antibodies specific enough to bind the antigens present on certain malignant cells. In vitro experiments have demonstrated the high specific activity of immunotoxins against malignant cells, and this seems to be confirmed by in vivo experiments in mice. Such experimental results suggest that immunotoxins may eventually be used in the treatment of cancer as well as for other pharmacological purposes.
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Research Interests: Cancer treatment, Humans, Female, Male, Monoclonal Antibodies, and 6 moreAged, Middle Aged, Adult, Drug evaluation, Ricin, and Immunotoxins
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The known tertiary structure of insulin allows the study of carrierdeterminants of insulin: their nature, their distance to antigenic determinants and their H-2 dependance. We examined the influence of "foreign " amino... more
The known tertiary structure of insulin allows the study of carrierdeterminants of insulin: their nature, their distance to antigenic determinants and their H-2 dependance. We examined the influence of "foreign " amino acids of insulins from two different species and the influence of chemically coupled new amino acids at the B-chain of insulin in congenic resistant mice. Three strains were immunized with bovine insulin and three derivatives: LeuB-insulin, LysB-insulin and GluB-insulin. H-2d mice were high responders to insulin and all derivatives, while H-2k mice showed no detectable antibodies. The H-2b strain had an intermediate antibody response to bovine insulin. LeuB-insulin, LysB-insulin and GluB-insulin produced similar titers as unmodified insulin in H-2d mice. In H-2b mice, GluB-insulin produced significantly more antibodies than did all other insulins tested with antibody specificities directed against A8-A10. Therefore Glu at position B0 acts as a carrierdeterminant and A8-A10 as antigenic determinant at the dose utilised in H-2b mice. The distance between both determinants is about 15-20 A, allowing therefore the cooperation of T and B cell.