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Autoantibodies developing in humans contribute to the pathogenesis of several diseases, and injected therapeutic antibodies can also trigger adverse side effects. An efficient and rapid elimination of these antibodies are therefore critically needed. Antibody removal by plasmapheresis and immunoadsorption are commonly used methods but have their own limitations. Bacterial enzymes that can cleave I
Clin Microbiol InfectAbstract The usefulness of spa typing was evaluated in relation to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), as a tool for epidemiological typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a low-prevalence region in southern Sweden. Bacterial isolates from 216 MRSA cases, newly identified in 2000-2004, were studied. The isolates were obtained from infected patient
BACKGROUND: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) activity has been shown to be expressed in local lymph nodes and induce immune suppression of tumor immunity. Here we analyze the effect of IDO expression on prostate tumor growth using the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) animal model. METHODS: Mice deficient in IDO expression were crossed to TRAMP mice and the time to the appearanc
Human dendritic cells (DCs) are a distinct but heterogeneous lineage of APCs operating as the link between innate and adaptive immune responses, with the function to either maintain,tolerance or trigger immunity. The DC lineage consists of several subpopulations with unique phenotypes; however, their functional characteristics and transcriptional similarities remain largely unknown. To further cha
Dimethyldodecylamine-N-oxide (DDAO) has only one polar atom that is able to interact with water. Still, this surfactant shows very hydrophilic properties: in mixtures with water, it forms normal liquid crystalline phases and micelles. Moreover, there is data in the literature indicating that the hydration of this surfactant is driven by enthalpy while other studies show that hydration of surfactan
With the launch of Gaia in December 2013, Europe entered a new era of space astrometry following in the footsteps of the very successful Hipparcos mission. A weakness of Gaia is that it only operates at optical wavelengths. However, much of the Galactic centre and the spiral arm regions are obscured by interstellar extinction. An obvious improvement on Gaia is to include the Near-Infra-Red (NIR) w
We introduce and present results from the cocoa (Cluster simulatiOn Comparison with ObservAtions) code that has been developed to create idealized mock photometric observations using results from numerical simulations of star cluster evolution. cocoa is able to present the output of realistic numerical simulations of star clusters carried out using Monte Carlo or N-body codes in a way that is usef
Companies and corporate foundations have become important players in philanthropy. For many companies, philanthropy is part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy. They brought their entrepreneurial customs, values and expectations into the world of philanthropy. This gave rise to new forms of philanthropy next to the conventional form of donations. These developments lead to severa
We explore how team gender composition affects willingness to lead by randomly assigning participants in an experiment to male- or female-majority teams. Irrespective of team gender composition, men are substantially more willing than women to lead their team. The pooled sample, and women separately, are more willing to lead female- than male-majority teams. An analysis of mechanisms reveals that
Background: Allergic contact dermatitis can negatively impact an individual's daily life in terms of work and interpersonal relationships. Patch-tested individuals show an improved quality of life (QoL). Objectives: We aimed to assess the impact on QoL after patch testing and what value an intervention would have on QoL. Methods: Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI) were assessed in participan
Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are transcription factors with important roles in tissue homeostasis. KLF4 possesses antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory properties. In this issue, Estrada et al. show that endothelial KLF4 prevents complement deposition in glomeruli and in its absence the cell-bound complement regulator CD55 was reduced. The study included endothelial-specific KLF4 knockdown mice that
Barrow’s timely book is the first to examine the link between Victorian poetry, the study of language, and political reform. Focusing on a range of literary, scientific, and political texts, Barrow demonstrates that nineteenth-century debates about language played a key role in shaping emergent ideas about popular sovereignty. While Victorian scientists studied the origins of speech, the history o
South Africa’s energy sector finds itself in a gridlock situation. The sector is controlled by the state-owned utility Eskom holding the monopoly on the generation and transmission of electricity, which is almost exclusively produced from domestically extracted coal. At the same time, the constitutional mandate enables municipalities to distribute and sell electricity generated by Eskom to local c
The housing environment is important for health and well-being among older people, and it is important to consider both physical and perceived aspects of housing. Psychometrically sound scales are necessary to assess perceived housing. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of two instruments that measure perceived aspects of housing among a younger cohort of older adults in Sweden. Meth
IMPORTANCE: There is a lack of agreement on what constitutes successful outcomes for the process of health care transition (HCT) among adolescent and young adults with special health care needs.OBJECTIVE: To present HCT outcomes identified by a Delphi process with an interdisciplinary group of participants.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A Delphi method involving 3 stages was deployed to refine
An integrated thermal biosensor array was designed and fabricated for the simultaneous determination of glucose, urea and penicillin. The sensor contains ten thin-film thermistors which were fabricated on quartz chip by micromachining and semiconductor technologies. This sensor allows to determine maximum five different analytes nearly simultaneously by serially dividing the single microchannel in
The Nehruvian policies propagated upon India’s independence envisaged no place for religion in political mobilization. Still, religion has continued to affect and influence Indian politics, even as India has become progressively affected by processes of liberalization and globalization. The particular politics of Indian secularism was based on keeping a distance from matters of faith and custom. H
