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During atrial fibrillation (AF), time-frequency analysis of atrial signal has been applied to describe fibrillatory frequency trends. Recently, temporal changes in spectral shape have been investigated using the spectral profile technique. This profile is computed recursively by fitting each short-time log-spectrum to a spectral template, using amplitude scaling and frequency shifting. The purpose
Medin amyloid is found in the medial layer of the aorta in almost 100% of the Caucasian population over 50 years of age. The medin fragment is 5.5 kDa and derives from the C2-like domain of the precursor protein lactadherin. We have previously reported immunohistochemical findings showing that medin amyloid co-localizes with elastic fibers of arteries and herein we show that lactadherin also is as
Wild-type (F/B), constitutively active (F/B*), and three kinase-inactive (F/Ba-, F/Bb-, F/Bc-) forms of Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) were permanently overexpressed in FDCP2 cells. In the absence of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), activities of PKB, cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B), and PDE4 were similar in nontransfected FDCP2 cells, mock-transfected (F/V) cells, and F/B and F/B-
Cytokines play a major role in lymphoid development. Defects of the common gamma chain (gamma (c)) or of the JAK3 protein in humans have been shown to result in a severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), with a profound defect in T and natural killer (NK)-cell development, whereas B-cell generation is apparently unaffected (T-B+NK- SCID). While extensive molecular and biochemical analysis of thes
Popular Abstract in Swedish Moraxella catarrhalis är en human luftvägsbakterie som ofta koloniserar de övre luftvägarna och som orsakar mellanöroninfektion hos barn. Bakterien associeras även med bihåleinfektion, laryngit och nedre luftvägsinfektioner främst hos vuxna med underliggande sjukdomar som kronisk obstruktiv lugninflammation. Forskningen fokuserar främst på moraxellas ytexponerade antigeMoraxella catarrhalis is now an established human pathogen that frequently colonizes the upper respiratory tract causing most importantly otitis media in children. It has also been associated with sinusitis, laryngitis and lower respiratory tract infections in adults with predisposing conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Current research mainly focuses on surface antige
Human neutrophil peptide-1 (HNP-1) is a member of the alpha-defensin family. Defensins are cationic antimicrobial peptides, which play an important role in the antimicrobial response to microorganisms. In addition, recent studies have revealed the involvement of defensins in inflammation, immunity and wound repair. Defensins are present in the azurophilic granules of neutrophils and are released u
Human polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against pathogens and toxins are potentially useful in the treatment of various diseases. A number of human monoclonal antibodies with protective capacity in vitro have been established by conventional hybridoma technology. However, with the development of phage-display technology, the possibility of specifically tailoring antigen-binding properties has i
Toxin-antitoxin-chaperone (TAC) systems are three-part gene clusters encoding a toxin, antitoxin, and specialized SecB-like chaperone (SecB TA) with emerging roles in phage defense. To identify and classify SecB homologs and associated TACs across bacteria, we surveyed the full RefSeq database. Phylogenetic and gene neighborhood analyses reveal three major SecB subfamilies: two housekeeping group
TINA is an open, object oriented, distributed telecom architecture, with many concepts taken directly from the latest computer research. In TINA, instances of the same object type can be placed on different physical nodes. Therefore, the network performance can be improved by introducing load balancing algorithms. These algorithms should distribute the traffic between the object instances in such
Foot-and-mouth disease viruses from serotypes O, A and C have been crystallized. The particular strains studied include O1K, A1061, A22 Iraq 24/64, A24 Cruzeiro and C-S8c1. In addition, crystals have been grown of G67, a monoclonal antibody neutralization escape mutant derived from O1K, and of virus R100, recovered after the establishment of a persistent infection in baby hamster kidney cells with
INTRODUCTION: Complement-mediated atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is an ultra-rare renal disease primarily caused by genetic alterations in complement proteins. The genetic work-up required for confirmation of diagnosis is complicated and not always logistically accessible. The aim of the present study was to apply a diagnostic scheme compliant with the ACMG guidelines to investigate the
Gambella is one of the regional states in Ethiopia where huge tracts of land have been leased out to domestic and international investors since the global food, fuel and financial crisis of 2007/2008. The Gambella region is also one of the most marginalized regions in Ethiopia. It has been alienated from the central politics and socio-economic activities of the state. In the past, the Gambella reg
Streptococcus pyogenes is a major bacterial pathogen in the human population and isolates of the clinically important M1 serotype secrete protein Streptococcal inhibitor of complement (SIC) known to interfere with human innate immunity. Here we find that SIC from M1 bacteria interacts with TLR2 and CD14 on monocytes leading to the activation of the NF-κB and p38 MAPK pathways and the release of se
Immune responses activated by LDL particles that have been trapped and oxidized in the arterial wall play an important role in atherosclerosis. Some of these immune responses are protective by facilitating the removal of pro-inflammatory and toxic lipid species formed as result of LDL oxidation. However, should these protective immune responses be insufficient, other more potent pro-inflammatory i
Resting mouse B lymphocytes were stimulated in vitro with lipopolysaccharide, Sepharose-coupled anti-kappa antibodies or a combination of the two. B lymphocytes stimulated with anti-kappa entered the cell-cycle with more rapid kinetics and at a higher frequency than did the corresponding cell population stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Using cell cycle analysis after DNA staining combined with
Identifying optimal inspection and repair strategies for offshore jacket structures is a challenging task. We present an approach, which is based on recent developments in the field of risk-based operation and maintenance planning at the structural system level. The approach utilizes heuristics to define inspection and repair strategies at the system level and to reduce the search space of possibl
Over the last decade, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used for monitoring construction and operation of civil infrastructure, as well as industrial facilities and power plants. Their operational simplicity along with time-and-cost-related benefits have already rendered them attractive for structural surveying. Nevertheless, the field of UAV research currently lacks a targeted employment
Prototypes of wind turbines of the megawatt class are to be built and tested until 2008 within a German offshore wind energy test field in the North Sea (ALPHA VENTUS). To ensure a high operational reliability of offshore wind turbines with economically acceptable repair and maintenance efforts, comprehensive diagnosis and supervision concepts are required. Automatic monitoring systems will be an
Autoimmune hepatitis (AH) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) are autoimmune diseases (AIDs) targeting cellular components of the liver. Being rare diseases, limited data are available about familial risks among these AIDs (concordant) or between them and other AIDs (discordant). We aimed to carry out an unbiased study on these AIDs based on medically diagnosed patients. We collected data on patie
