A series of aromatic mono- or diamido-thiodigalactoside derivatives were synthesized and studied as ligands for galectin-1, -3, -7, -8N terminal domain, and -9N terminal domain. The affinity determination in vitro with competitive fluorescence-polarization experiments and thermodynamic analysis by isothermal microcalorimetry provided a coherent picture of structural requirements for arginine-arene

Patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders express antibodies against gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in serum. One common cause of posterior laryngitis (PL) is extra-esophageal reflux, but a functional etiology has also been suggested. The aim of this study was to scrutinize patients with PL with regard to the presence of GnRH antibodies and to examine the association between antib

This Letter describes the measurement of elliptic flow of charged particles in lead-lead collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The results are based on an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 mu b(-1). Elliptic flow is measured over a wide region in pseudorapidity, vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.5, and over a broad range in transver

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tau and amyloid brain pathology. With the gradual degeneration of neurons, cognitive symptoms will arise and the affected individual will eventually develop AD dementia. The neuropathologic hallmarks of AD have been observed also in cognitively healthy individuals, which has led to the assumption that the disorde

Differential heating of surface waters of lakes caused by shading from vegetation can induce convection, which could be significant for the ecosystem because the chemistry and biology can differ in the reed belt zone compared to the open lake. This process has been given little attention in the literature. In the present study surface currents just outside a reed belt as well as radiation and wate

The active phase of Pd during methane oxidation is a long-standing puzzle, which, if solved, could provide routes for design of improved catalysts. Here, density functional theory and in situ surface X-ray diffraction are used to identify and characterize atomic sites yielding high methane conversion. Calculations are performed for methane dissociation over a range of Pd and PdOx surfaces and reve

Glucose levels 2 h after an oral glucose challenge are a clinical measure of glucose tolerance used in the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. We report a meta-analysis of nine genome-wide association studies (n = 15,234 nondiabetic individuals) and a follow-up of 29 independent loci (n = 6,958-30,620). We identify variants at the GIPR locus associated with 2- h glucose level (rs10423928, beta (s.e.m.)

Innate immune cells strongly influence cancer growth and progression via multiple mechanisms including regulation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). In this study, we investigated whether expression of the metabolic gene, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in tumor microenvironment imparts significant effects on prostate cancer progression. We showed that HO-1 is expressed in MARCO-positive macro

Synchronous e-learning has received much less research attention, as compared with asynchronous e-learning. Practitioners that consider using and designing synchronous e-learning are in urgent need of guidance. In order to address this need, we propose design exemplars for synchronous e-learning. They are directed towards a primary constituent community of teachers, administrators, managers and de

A method to compute antenna Q using an electromagnetic simulation at a single frequency is described. This method can easily be integrated into global optimization algorithms. In this way the optimization time of some antenna parameters, e.g., bandwidth, may be significantly reduced. The method is validated by direct comparison with the physical bound of the analyzed structure. Numerical examples

A considerable part of black alder swamps in Europe are situated in south Sweden. These swamps are frequently rich in bryophytes, but the variation in species composition is often large between sites. In this study we focus on environmental variables that best predict biodiversity in terms of species number, cover and bryophyte composition. The bryophyte vegetation was analysed in 71 plots of size

So far, 112 polymerid trilobite species/subspecies and 13 agnostoid species/subspecies have been recorded from the Furongian (upper Cambrian) of Scandinavia. For the first time, their zonal occurrences are summarized in a biostratigraphical scheme serving as a practical synopsis for students of this interval in time. Ninety-six of the recorded polymerid trilobite species/subspecies belong to the f

Protein aggregation can lead to major disturbances of cellular processes and is associated with several diseases. We report kinetic and equilibrium data by ThT fluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of sufficient quality and reproducibility to form a basis for mechanistic understanding of amyloid beta-peptide (A beta) fibril formation. Starting from monomeric peptide in a pure buffer s

Background: A high consumption of fruit and vegetables is possibly associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the findings to date are inconsistent. Objective: We examined the relation between self-reported usual consumption of fruit and vegetables and the incidence of CRC. Design: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), 452,755 subjec

Although in-situ conservation is increasingly considered an efficient way of conserving plant genetic resources, little is known about the incentives and constraints that govern conservation decisions among small farm holders in developing countries. Using a choice experiment approach, we investigated Ethiopian farmers' crop variety preferences, estimated the mean willingness to pay for each crop

We present a model for a feedback-controlled ratchet consisting of a Brownian particle and a moving, finite barrier that is shifted by an external agent depending on the position of the particle. By modifying the value of a single parameter of the feedback protocol, the model can act either as a pure rectifier, a power-stroke (PS) motor, or a combination of both. Interestingly, in certain situatio

The focus of this thesis is on KEL and JK, two clinically important blood group systems, and the investigations of blood samples with aberrant antigen expression as in null and weak phenotypes, or with a phenotype that does not correspond to genotype. With the increasing use of DNA assays based on single nucleotide polymorphisms for blood group prediction, it is important to characterize the bloo

Background: In most resource poor countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, modern contraceptive use and prevalence is unusually low and fertility is very high resulting in rapid population growth and high maternal mortality and morbidity. Current evidence shows slow progress in expanding the use of contraceptives by women of low socioeconomic status and insufficient financial commitment to fami

We present a variational assimilation system around a coarse resolution Earth System Model (ESM) and apply it for estimating initial conditions and parameters of the model. The system is based on derivative information that is efficiently provided by the ESM's adjoint, which has been generated through automatic differentiation of the model's source code. In our variational approach, the length of