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Despite an abundance of peptides inside a cell, only a small fraction is ultimately presented by HLA-I on the cell surface. The presented peptides have HLA-I allomorph-specific motifs and are restricted in length. So far, detailed length studies have been limited to few allomorphs. Peptide-HLA-I (pHLA-I) complexes of different allomorphs are qualitatively and quantitatively influenced by tapasin t

The home environment is a primary context for daily activities, especially among older adults and persons with disabilities. Functional and age-related decline can generate problems in relation to certain environmental features, necessitating modifications or other provisions of support. The determination of appropriate home interventions is best served using a person–environment (P–E) fit approac

Epidemiological studies have shown low-grade inflammation measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) to be associated with fracture risk in women. However, it is still unclear whether hs-CRP is also associated with fracture risk in men. We therefore measured serum levels of hs-CRP in 2910 men, mean age 75 years, included in the prospective population-based MrOS Sweden cohort. Study p

Amyloid-beta (A beta) pathology is a major component in the mechanisms behind Alzheimer's disease (AD). Measurement of A beta(42) in cerebrospinal fluid predicts cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment and identifies AD in patients with dementia. However, studies on A beta in plasma are contradictory. In this prospective population-based study, plasma A beta(42) and A beta(40)

The spruce coneworm, Dioryctria abietella Denis & Schiffermüller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a major pest in spruce seed orchards in Europe. Initial work on its pheromone ecology reported significant attraction of males to (9Z,11E)-tetradecadienyl acetate (9Z,11E-14:OAc), but this compound appeared to be a very weak attractant in field trials. In this study, we show that a second female-produ

A 53-year-old woman presented with a spontaneous splenic rupture. The splenic rupture was considered a complication of a primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection as well as multiple pulmonary embolisms. CMV infections are common but are most often asymptomatic, and to our knowledge only 15 cases complicated with splenic rupture have been published.

Unseasoned (green) spruce timber side boards of size 25 × 120 × 600 mm were flatwise-glued with a one-component PUR adhesive. Glued pairs of boards were then kiln-dried to 12 % moisture content. A special small-scale specimen for testing the fracture properties of the adhesive bond in Mode I was developed in order to evaluate the adhesive bond properties. The complete force versus deformation c

CD3(+) CD56(+) natural killer T (NKT)-like cells are a subset of T cells characterized by expression of NK receptors and potent antitumour activity. It has also been suggested that they have a role in autoimmune disease, and levels of NKT-like cells are elevated in patients with coronary disease.

Height is a classic complex trait with common variants in a growing list of genes known to contribute to the phenotype. Using a genecentric genotyping array targeted toward cardiovascular-related loci, comprising 49,320 SNPs across approximately 2000 loci, we evaluated the association of common and uncommon SNPs with adult height in 114,223 individuals from 47 studies and six ethnicities. A total

The heat transferred to the turbine blade is substantially increased as the turbine inlet temperature is increased. Improved cooling methods are therefore needed for the turbine blades to ensure a long durability and safe operation. The blade tip region is exposed to very hot gas flow, and suffers high local thermal loads due to the external tip leakage flow. A common way to cool the tip is to des

We have investigated the gas composition-dependent faceting of a Rh(553) surface during catalytic CO oxidation under semirealistic reaction conditions using surface X-ray diffraction. We find that under stoichiometric CO and O-2 conditions, the Rh(553) surface maintains its surface orientation without facet formation. In oxygen excess, the CO oxidation reaction becomes mass-transfer limited by the

Existing methods of primary stroke prevention are not sufficiently effective. Based on the recently developed Stroke Riskometer app, a new mass-elevated risk stroke/cardiovascular disease prevention' approach as an addition to the currently adopted absolute risk stroke/cardiovascular disease prevention approach is being advocated. We believe this approach is far more appealing to the individuals c

Objective Recent scientific findings have reinvigorated interest in examining the role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the major inhibitory central nervous system neurotransmitter, in chronic pain conditions. Decreased inhibitory neurotransmission is a proposed mechanism in the pathophysiology of chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia (FM). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothe

Genome-wide association (GWA) studies represent a powerful strategy for identifying susceptibility genes for complex diseases in human populations but results must be confirmed and replicated. Because of the close homology between mouse and human genomes, the mouse can be used to add evidence to genes suggested by human studies. We used the mouse quantitative trait loci (QTL) map to interpret resu

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a hormone with regulatory effects on mineral metabolism and arterial calcification. We aimed to study the association between FGF23 and risk of incident subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in a nested case-control study.

Macroscopic properties of pasta, such as the texture, are formed during cooking by a complex interplay of water and heat with the structuring agents starch and gluten. The impact of the starch-to-gluten ratio on microstructure and water distribution in pasta was analyzed by a multi-scale approach combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and light microscopy. The cooking process and thus the wate

This note provides a generalization of a recent result by Jarvenpaa, Jarvenpaa, Koivusalo, Li, and Suomala (to appear) on the dimension of limsup-sets of random coverings of tori. The result in this note is stronger in the sense that it provides also a large intersection property of the limsup-sets, the assumptions are weaker, and it implies the result of Jarvenpaa, Jarvenpaa, Koivusalo, Li, and S

A dynamic model of a chemical CO2 absorption process with aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) is presented, validated against experimental data. Based on the validated model, a reduced-order model is developed, suitable for an online optimization control strategy. The objective of the optimization is to enable fast adap- tations to changes in operating conditions of the power plant, while minimizing th

The media landscape and its societal significance is in rapid transition; likewise basic features of democracy are changing. In this article we pursue these two strands in order to sketch the background to a need for a new research agenda, as well as to arrive at proposals regarding the directions that such research can take. In regard to democracy our emphasis is on the dimension of participation

Long-term use of unfavorable postures, congenital deformations and degenerative processes associated with aging or disease may generate an increased thoracic curvature resulting in pain and disability. We wanted to examine whether a slouched postural alignment with increased thoracic kyphosis changes the shoulder kinematics and muscle activity in upper trapezius (UT), lower trapezius (LT) and serr