The intestine presents a huge surface area to the outside environment, a property that is of critical importance for its key functions in nutrient digestion, absorption, and waste disposal. As such, the intestine is constantly exposed to dietary and microbial-derived foreign antigens, to which immune cells within the mucosa must suitably respond to maintain intestinal integrity, while also providi

Objective To determine the association between characteristics at diagnosis and the time to first relapse in a large cohort of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodyassociated vasculitis (AAV). Methods. We studied long-term followup data from 4 clinical trials that included newly diagnosed patients with a broad spectrum of AAV severity and manifestations. Patient and disease characteris

The electroencephalography (EEG) signal has a high complexity, and the process of extracting clinically relevant features is achieved by visual analysis of the recordings. The interobserver agreement in EEG interpretation is only moderate. This is partly due to the method of reporting the findings in free-text format. The purpose of our endeavor was to create a computer-based system for EEG assess

Abnormal aggregation of SNCA/-synuclein plays a crucial role in Parkinson disease (PD) pathogenesis. SNCA levels determine its toxicity, and its accumulation, even to a small extent, may be a risk factor for neurodegeneration. One of the main pathways for SNCA degradation is chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), a selective form of autophagy, while aberrant SNCA may act as a CMA inhibitor. In the cu

Rationale: Acute lung injury (ALI) causes high mortality, but its molecular mechanisms and therapeutic options remain ill-defined. Gram-negative bacterial infections are the main cause of ALI, leading to lung neutrophil infiltration, permeability increases, deterioration of gas exchange, and lung damage. Platelets are activated during ALI, but insights into their mechanistic contribution to neutro

Acute lung injury is caused by many factors including acute pancreatitis. There is no specific therapy directed at underlying pathophysiological mechanisms for acute lung injury. Transforming growth factor- β (TGF- β ) is involved in the resolution of lung injury in later phases of the disease. Some evidence exists demonstrating that TGF- β not only is involved in the late stages, but also contrib

Response times to risky events have been seen to increase with the use of adaptive cruise control (ACC). It has been unclear whether driver experience with ACC mediates this increase. We compare driving in a cut-in event in a simulator both with and without system support, studying ACC as well as ACC with automatic steering. 31 participants were tested in a repeated-measures design, 10 novices and

The purpose of this study was to determine whether administration of postoperative antibiotics affects the incidence of complications after primary cleft palate repair in a developing area.

IgG antibodies have one conserved N-glycosylation site at Asn 297 in each of their constant heavy chain regions. These Fc glycans influence the overall structure and pro- or anti-inflammatory effector functions of IgG antibodies. The biantennary core glycan structure, consisting of four N-acetyl-glucosamine (GlcNAc) and three mannose residues, can be further decorated with fucose, a bisecting GlcN

The electrochemical characterization of a class II cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH), from the ascomycete fungus Neurospora crassa. adsorbed on graphite (G), was performed in regard to direct (DET) and mediated electron transfer (MET). The effects of the applied potential, mediator (1,4 benzoquinone) concentration and flow carrier pH on the amperometric response of the G/CDH modified electrodes were

Objectives To prospectively assess the diagnostic performance of simple ultrasound rules to predict benignity/malignancy in an adnexal mass and to test the performance of the risk of malignancy index, two logistic regression models, and subjective assessment of ultrasonic findings by an experienced ultrasound examiner in adnexal masses for which the simple rules yield an inconclusive result. Desig

BACKGROUND: The possibility of an association of Graves' disease (GD) with subsequent cancers raised by certain studies. METHODS: Using a database on 18 156 hospitalised GD patients, subsequent cancers were ascertained. RESULTS: Increased risks of thyroid and parathyroid tumours were limited to the early follow-up period, which is probably a surveillance bias. Cancer sites with observed excess inc

Conventional silicon transistor scaling is fast approaching its limits. An extension of the logic device roadmap to further improve future performance increases of integrated circuits is required to propel the electronics industry. Attention is turning to III-V compound semiconductors that are well positioned to replace silicon as the base material in logic switching devices. Their outstanding ele

The need for harmonizing laboratory results is particularly intense in the field of quantitative protein assays in consideration of the clinical impact of specific protein measurements and their relevance in monitoring disease. We report the efforts made by the Committee on Plasma Proteins of the IFCC Scientific Division to achieve worldwide comparability in plasma protein results. We focus on the

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) can generate well defined nanostructures with high efficiency and at very low cost. Molecular imprinting (MIP) is a "bottom-up" technique creating a polymer layer exhibiting structures with a molecular selectivity. Such polymer structures may be employed as molecular recognition sites for sensing applications. In this work, the authors combine NIL with MIP and they ar

Inverse modeling techniques used to quantify surface carbon fluxes commonly assume that the uncertainty of fossil fuel CO2 (FFCO2) emissions is negligible and that intra-annual variations can be neglected. To investigate these assumptions, we analyzed the differences between four fossil fuel emission inventories with spatial and temporal differences over Europe and their impact on the model simula

Deoxyribonucleoside kinases (dNKs) are essential in the mammalian cell but their 'importance' in bacteria, especially aquatic ones, is less clear. We studied two aquatic bacteria, Gram-negative Flavobacterium psychrophilum JIP02/86 and Polaribacter sp. MED152, for their ability to salvage deoxyribonucleosides (dNs). Both had a Gram-positive-type thymidine kinase (TK1), which could phosphorylate th

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a major human pathogen, which evolved numerous successful strategies to colonize the host. In this study, we report a novel mechanism of pneumococcal-host interaction, whereby pneumococci use a host complement protein C1q, primarily involved in the host-defense mechanism, for colonization and subsequent dissemination. Using cell-culture infection assays a

Malignant melanoma, the most fatal form of skin cancer, is currently increasing in incidence in many populations. Approximately 10% of all cases occur in families with an inherited predisposition for melanoma. In Sweden, only a minor portion of such melanoma families carry a mutation in the known melanoma gene CDKN2A, and there is a need to identify additional melanoma susceptibility genes. In a r