Many Streptococcus pyogenes immunoglobulin-binding proteins have structural similarities to the antiphagocytic M protein, including the well-known C repeats. One of these molecules is the immunoglobulin A-binding protein Arp, which is expressed by a serotype 4 strain for which no antiphagocytic M protein has yet been described. We expressed Arp4 in an S. pyogenes strain from which the structural g

Protein levels, mRNA expression, and localization of laminin alpha1 and alpha2 chains in development and in adult mice were examined. Recombinant fragments were used to obtain high-titer-specific polyclonal antibodies for establishing quantitative radioimmuno-inhibition assays. This often demonstrated an abundance of alpha2 chain, but also distinct amounts of alpha1 chain for adult tissues. The hi

Object detection in real images has attracted much attention during the last decade. Using machine learning and large databases it is possible to develop detectors for visual categories that have a very high hit-rate, with low false positive rates. In this paper we investigate a general probabilistic framework for context based scene interpretation using multiple detectors. Methods for finding max

The aim of the present study was to explore how a personal narrative told by a group of eight persons with aphasia differed between written and spoken language, and to compare this with findings from 10 participants in a reference group. The stories were analysed through holistic assessments made by 60 participants without experience of aphasia and through measurement of lexical and syntactic vari

Sphingomyelin (SM) hydrolysis in the gut has implications in colonic tumorigenesis and cholesterol absorption. It is triggered by intestinal alkaline sphingomyelinase (Alk-SMase) that is present in the intestinal mucosa and content. The mechanism by which the enzyme is released into the lumen is not clear. We studied whether trypsin can dissociate Alk-SMase from the mucosa and affect its activity.

For 830 62-year-old residents of the city of Malmo records of radiographic examinations made over a period of 40 years at the Radiological Department of Malmo General Hospital and/or over 20-30 years at two private radiological departments in the city were reviewed. Radiographic examination had been undertaken in 92% of the residents, with on an average 16 examinations per resident. The most commo

BACKGROUND. Recently, the gene for cysteine-rich secretory protein 3 (CRISP-3) was reported to be highly upregulated in prostate cancer (PCa) compared to benign prostatic tissue. The current aims were to investigate diagnostic use of tissue expression and immunodetection in serum of CRISP-3 for detection or monitoring of PCa. METHODS. Radical prostatectomy specimens and tissue microarrays from tra

The expected annual cost (in the year 2000 prices) for a 30-year-old patient with average individual and treatment characteristics for on-demand EUR 51 832 (95% CI: 44 324-59 341) and for prophylaxis EUR 146 118 (95% CI: 129 965-162 271), was obtained from panel-data analysis of an 11-year retrospective panel of 156 patients with severe haemophilia in Norway and Sweden. Costs included haemophilia-

We consider the problem of simplifying a triangle mesh using edge contractions, under the restriction that the resulting vertices must be a subset of the input set. That is, contraction of an edge must be made onto one of its adjacent vertices. In order to maintain a high number of contractible edges under this restriction, a small modification of the mesh around the edge to be contracted is allow

Despite more than 200 yr of recognition that some microscopic metazoans survive environmental conditions far beyond those experienced in nature while in a cryptobiotic state, this phenomenon has received little attention from evolutionary biologists. The excess environmental resistance exhibited by cryptobiotic organisms cannot be viewed as an adaptation within current evolutionary biology. Rather

The two flavodoxins (YkuN and YkuP) from Bacillus subtilis have been cloned, overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. DNA sequencing, mass spectrometry, and flavin-binding properties showed that both YkuN and YkuP were typical short-chain flavodoxins (158 and 151 amino acids, respectively) and that an error in the published B. subtilis genome sequence had resulted in an altered reading fram

Since many aquaporins (AQPs) act as water channels, they are thought to play an important role in plant water relations. It is therefore of interest to study the expression patterns of AQP isoforms in order to further elucidate their involvement in plant water transport. We have monitored the expression patterns of all 35 Arabidopsis AQPs in leaves, roots and flowers by cDNA microarrays, specially

This paper proposes new error correction-based cointegration tests for panel data. The limiting distributions of the tests are derived and critical values provided. Our simulation results suggest that the tests have good small-sample properties with small size distortions and high power relative to other popular residual-based panel cointegration tests. In our empirical application, we present evi

Should boxing be banned? Do the ever-so-obvious risks outweigh everyone's freedom to choose whether to expose oneself to these risks by taking up the sport? On an official level, the RCN in the UK has taken its stand--it does not! So has also the British Medical Association (BMA)--it does! With few exceptions, the responding nurses from Europe, America, and Australia in this month's column seem to

Background. Integrity is a complex and important concept in ethical reasoning and in nursing care. Integrity is part of being a human being, a wholeness, and in this sense it also refers to health. Preserving patients' integrity is an important aspect of nursing care, as a number of situations arise in which they can feel threatened or violated. Integrity can also refer to acting according to gene

Disturbance of ecosystems is a major factor in regional carbon budgets, and it is believed to be partly responsible for the large inter-annual variability of the terrestrial part of the carbon balance. Forest fires have so far been considered as the most important disturbance but also other forms of disturbance such as insect outbreaks or wind-throw might contribute significantly to the largely un

Background/Aim: The association between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer is not clear. This study investigates different prediagnostic measurements of alcohol consumption, a laboratory marker (gamma-glutamyltransferase; gamma-GT), and a score measuring alcohol addiction (Mm-MAST), in relation to the risk of pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, the study investigated whether smoking and alcohol