Although Moraxella catarrhalis and Neisseria meningitidis are important human pathogens, they often colonize the human respiratory tract without causing overt clinical symptoms. Both pathogens express structurally unrelated proteins that share the ability to stimulate the adhesion molecule CEACAM1 expressed on human cells. Here we demonstrate that the interaction of CEACAM1 with ubiquitous surface

Purpose – The performance of service supply chains in terms of service levels and cost efficiency depends not only on the effort of service providers but also on the inputs of sub-contractors and the customer. In this sense, performance-based contracting (PBC) entails increased financial risk for providers. Allocating and managing risk through contractual relationships along the service supply cha

Multiconfigurational SCF and second-order perturbation theory have been employed to study seven low-lying singlet and triplet electronic states of the Mo-2 molecule. The bond order of the ground state has been analyzed based on the effective bond order (EBO), indicating that a fully developed sextuple bond is formed between the two Mo atoms. The experimentally observed excited states a(3)Sigma(+)(

Serotonin, a highly pro-inflammatory molecule released by activated platelets, is formed by tryptophan. Tryptophan is also needed in the production of kynurenine, a process mediated by the type I interferon (IFN)-regulated rate-limiting enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). The aim of this study was to investigate levels of serotonin in patients with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus eryth

Despite evidence that both pollinators and nonpollinator agents of selection can shape the evolution of floral characters, there have been few attempts to compare the strengths and directions of selection from pollinators and other agents in the same study system. In this investigation of Leucanthemum vulgare, a self-incompatible composite known for its conspicuous white rays, I obtained data from

In March 2011 the Supreme Court issued its Prometheus opinion and granted certiorari, and reversed and remanded Myriad I for consideration in light of Prometheus. In August 2012 the Myriad II decision was issued. The panel in Myriad II repeated most of their separate Myriad I opinions. Myriad deja vu looked much like Myriad I with panel members agreeing that Prometheus did not control the composit

Background and purpose The Charnley Elite-Plus stem was introduced in 1993 as a presumed improvement of the flanged Charnley stem. We started this study in 1996 to investigate the migratory pattern of the Elite-Plus stem. Patients and methods We followed 114 patients with osteoarthritis and a primary total hip replacement with the Elite-Plus stem. Mean age at the time of operation was 64 (50-76) y

Popular Abstract in Swedish Inom forskningsområdet biogeokemi studerar man hur naturens olika grundämnen, såsom kol, kväve, fosfor och kisel ändrar form och transporteras genom landskapet för att via bäckar och vattendrag till slut nå havet. Tillsammans beskriver dessa olika processer, som sker på olika tidsskalor, från sekunder till flera miljoner år, ett grundämnes kretslopp (eller biogeokemiskaSilicon is the next most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and its biogeochemical cycle is linked with that of carbon. Further, silicon is a beneficial nutrient for plants in terrestrial ecosystems and a key nutrient for diatoms in aquatic ecosystems. During the last decade the important role of terrestrial vegetation in controlling Si fluxes downstream aquatic environments, via incorporation

We investigate four different methods for background estimation in calcium imaging of the insect brain and evaluate their performance on six data sets consisting of data recorded from two sites in two species of moths. The calcium fluorescence decay curve outside the potential response is estimated using either a low-pass filter or constant, linear or polynomial regression, and is subsequently use

Thermal neutron beams are an indispensable tool in physics research. The spatial and the temporal resolution attainable in experiments are dependent on the flux and collimation of the neutron beam which remain relatively poor, even for modern neutron sources. These difficulties may be mitigated by the use of optics for focusing and imaging. Refractive and diffractive optical elements, e.g. compoun

In this study we report on instability phenomena in a solution where shear induces multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) from a lamellar phase. A shear-thickening regime has been observed for hexadecyl tetraethylene glycol ether (C16E4) dissolved in D2O at 40 degrees C. In this regime, unstable temporal viscosity behavior, i.e. periodic oscillations, has been observed at 2, 5 and 10 s(-1). Moreover at a s

Objectives To evaluate the real-life effect of an evidence-based Gold Standard Programme (GSP) for smoking cessation interventions in disadvantaged patients and to identify modifiable factors that consistently produce the highest abstinence rates. Design Observational prospective cohort study. Setting GSPs in pharmacies, hospitals and communities in Denmark, reporting to the national Smoking Cessa

The effect of the heavy b-quarkmass on the two, three and four-jet rates is studied using LEP data collected by the DELPHI experiment at the Z peak in 1994 and 1995. The rates of b-quark jets and light quark jets (l = uds) in events with n = 2, 3, and 4 jets, together with the ratio of two and four-jet rates of b-quarks with respect to light-quarks, R-n(bl), have been measured with a double-tag te

Background: Although omic-based discovery approaches can provide powerful tools for biomarker identification, several reservations have been raised regarding the clinical applicability of gene expression studies, such as their prohibitive cost. However, the limited availability of antibodies is a key barrier to the development of a lower cost alternative, namely a discrete collection of immunohist

The reactivity of the sigma,pi-thienyl complex [Fe-2(CO)(6)(mu-Th)(mu-PTh2)] (1) towards a range of phosphines has been studied. With PR3 (R = Ph, Th) carbonyl substitution affords [Fe-2(CO)(5)(PR3)(mu-Th)(mu-PTh2)] (2ab) as the major product, with smaller amounts of the thienylacyl complexes [Fe-2(CO)(5)(PR3)(mu-O=C-Th)(mu-PTh2)] (3ab) resulting from a migratory carbonyl insertion into the thieny

Background and objectives Vascular disease is common in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are at high risk to develop arterial and venous thrombosis. Since HLA class II genotypes have been linked to the presence of pro-thrombotic aPL, we investigated the relationship between HLA-DRB1 alleles, aPL and vascular events in SLE patients. Methods 665

Water reuse is a cost-effective solution that is carried out in many water-shortage countries on different levels. China, which is the most populous country in the world, is facing a serious water crisis, with great demand and feasibility to use reclaimed water to deal with freshwater shortage and pollution. Although much progress has been made, challenges and problems still exist, which hinder th

Stable isotope analysis provides a powerful tool for describing the energetic pathways in a variety of ecosystems. However, isotope ratios of animal tissues can be altered by preservation methods, potentially leading to biased estimates of energy pathways when they are not taken into account. Here, we investigated the direct preservation effects of formalin, ethanol, NaCl, and drying on the delta