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Goodpasture disease (GP) is defined by the presence of anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) antibodies and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Besides anti-GBM, many patients with GP produce anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). For elucidation of the pathophysiologic significance of ANCA in this setting, epitope and antigen specificity of the anti-GBM antibodies and antigen s

The mechanism of templated synthesis of ordered mesoporous alumina according to the recipe proposed by Yada et al. (Yada, M.; Machida, M.; Kijima, T. Chem. Commun. 1996, 769) using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as template, has been investigated by NMR self-diffusion and spin and fluorescence probe techniques. In the precursor solutions urea was found to produce a substantial shortening of the long

Allergy and autoimmunity are both examples of deregulated immunity characterized by inflammation and injury of targeted tissues that have until recently been considered disparate disease processes. However, recent findings have implicated mast cells, in coordination with granulocytes and other immune effector cells, in the pathology of these two disorders. The BioBreeding (BB) DRlyp/lyp rat develo

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) commonly causes local disease in the upper and lower respiratory tract and has recently been shown to interfere with both the classical and alternative pathways of complement activation. The terminal pathway of the complement system is regulated by vitronectin that is a component of both plasma and the extracellular matrix. In this study, we identify prote

The concept of neutrophil activation and degranulation as important contributors to disease pathology in invasive group A streptococcal infections has recently been emphasized. This study focuses on two of the most severe streptococcal manifestations, toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis, and the newly described proinflammatory molecule resistin, known to derive from adipocytes and monoc

The interfacial behavior of aqueous solutions of four different neutral polymers in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) has been investigated by surface tension measurements and ellipsometry. The polymers comprised linear poly(ethylene oxide) with low and high molecular masses (10 (3) and 10 (6) Dalton (Da), respectively), and two high molecular mass methacrylate-based comb polymers conta

The abundant serine proteinase inhibitor heparin cofactor II (HCII) has been proposed to inhibit extravascular thrombin. However, the exact physiological role of this plasma protein remains enigmatic. In this study, we demonstrate a previously unknown role for HCII in host defense. Proteolytic cleavage of the molecule induced a conformational change, thereby inducing endotoxin-binding and antimicr

Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. Electrocardiogram (ECG)-based predictors of clinical outcome, however, have mostly been studied during sinus rhythm, whereas noninvasive risk stratification of patients with AF remains largely unexplored. Advances in ECG signal processing have led to the development of noninvasive methods of atrial fibril

Recent comparative observations of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) and core collapse supernova (cc SN) host galaxies demonstrate that these two, highly energetic transient events are distributed very differently upon their hosts. LGRBs are much more concentrated on their host galaxy light than cc SN. Here we explore the suggestion that this differing distribution reflects different progenit

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy types 2E and F are characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and often cardiomyopathy and are due to mutations in the genes encoding beta- and delta-sarcoglycan. We previously demonstrated that loss of sarcoglycans in smooth muscle leads to constrictions of the microvasculature that contributes to the cardiac phenotype. It is unclear how vasculature abnormalities aff

Collagen induced arthritis (CIA) is a common mouse model for rheumatoid arthritis. Two sets of truncated peptides derived from type II collagen have been prepared and tested for binding to A(q), a MHC-II molecule associated with development of CIA. Binding to A(q) correlated well with predictions from a computer-based model. T-cell hybridomas, obtained in CIA, were also used to study the ability o

Laser diagnostic techniques have for more than 30 years added very valuable input for a deepened understanding of combustion processes. The present paper will focus on techniques developed for visualization of important parameters with the ability to get detailed information in space and time. The paper is not meant to be a complete review of the entire research field but rather a survey with a ma

To address the hotly debated question of motor system involvement in language comprehension, we recorded neuromagnetic responses elicited in the human brain by unattended action-related spoken verbs and nouns and scrutinized their timecourse and neuroanatomical substrates. We found that already very early on, from similar to 80 ms after disambiguation point when the words could be identified from

We have determined how the bulk behavior of mixtures of small cationic poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (generation 2, PAMAM-G2) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) affects the structure and composition of the adsorbed layers at the air-water interface. The aim is to reveal how the size of a well-defined hyperbranched polyelectrolyte affects the interfacial and bulk solution behavior of mixtures with oppo

The interaction between mycobacteria and epithelium is unexplored, but may determine the outcome of the infection. We have analyzed the role of two G protein-coupled receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2 that are important regulators of many pulmonary diseases. We found that mycobacteria significantly increased the expression of both CXCR1 and CXCR2 on alveolar epithelial cells and both receptors were found

Human pigmentation is a complex phenomenon commonly believed to serve a photoprotective function through the generation and strategic localization of black insoluble eumelanin biopolymers in sun exposed areas of the body. Despite compelling biomedical relevance to skin cancer and melanoma, eumelanin photoprotection is still an enigma: What makes this pigment so efficient in dissipating the excess