Background Despite recent successes with biological agents as therapy for autoimmune inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis ( RA), many patients fail to respond adequately to these treatments, making a continued search for new therapies extremely important. Recently, the prevailing hypothesis that reactive oxygen species (ROS) promote inflammation was challenged when polymorphisms in N

The growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6) plays a role in pro-atherogenic processes such as endothelial and leukocyte activation, smooth muscle cell migration and thrombosis, but its role in atherosclerosis remains uninvestigated. Here, we report that Gas6 is expressed in all stages of human and mouse atherosclerosis, in plaque endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and macrophages. Gas6 expression

Based on articles published 1990-2004 in 21 LIS journals, a set of co-citation analyses were performed to study changes in research fronts over the last 15 years, where LIS is at now; and to discuss where it is heading. To study research fronts, here defined as current and influential co-cited papers, a citations among documents methodology was applied; and to study changes, the analyses were time

Current evolutionary models of dispersal set the ends of a continuum where the number of individuals emigrating from a habitat either equals the number of individuals immigrating (balanced dispersal) or where emigrants flow from a source habitat to a corresponding sink. Theories of habitat selection suggest a more sophisticated conditional strategy where individuals disperse from habitats where th

We studied if bladder cancers respond to HAMLET (human alpha-lactalburnin made lethal to tumor cells) to establish if intravesical HAMLET application might be used to selectively remove cancer cells in vivo. Patients with nonmuscle invasive transitional cell carcinomas were included. Nine patients received 5 daily intravesical instillations of HAMLET (25 mg/ml) during the week before scheduled sur

Fibroblast-mediated collagen gel contraction depends on collagen-binding ss1 integrins. Perturbation of these integrins reveals an alternative contraction process that is integrin aVss3-dependent and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) BB-stimulated. Connective tissue cells actively control interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and inflammation-induced lowering of IFP provides a driving force for ed

The charge capacitance of metal containing complexes are studied. For molecules with multiple bonding between the metal atoms it is found that the charge capacitance is correlated to the maximum bond order, natural bond order, and to some extent the effective bond order. Furthermore the charge capacitance of some methylidene metal dihydride complexes are studied. These molecules have agostic inter

Introduction To prevent further lung damage in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome ( ARDS), it is important to avoid overdistension and cyclic opening and closing of atelectatic alveoli. Previous studies have demonstrated protective effects of using low tidal volume ( VT), moderate positive end-expiratory pressure and low airway pressure. Aspiration of dead space ( ASPIDS) allows a r

We consider the possibility of measuring the true width of the narrow Fe II optical lines observed in spectra of the Weigelt blobs in the vicinity of eta Carinae. The lines originate as a result of stimulated amplification of spontaneous emission of radiation in quantum transitions between energy levels showing inverted population [Johansson, S., Letokhov, V., 2002. JETP Lett. 75 (10) 495; Johanss

In vitro studies have shown that Drosophila melanogaster has a highly efficient single deoxyribonucleoside kinase (dNK) multisubstrate enzyme. dNK is related to the mammalian Thymidine Kinase 2 (TK2) group involved in the nucleotide synthesis salvage pathway. To study the dNK function in vivo, we constructed transgenic Drosophila strains and impaired the nucleotide de novo synthesis pathway, using

Objective: GH causes insulin resistance, impairs glycemic control and increases the risk of vascular diabetic complications. Sulphonylureas stimulate GH secretion and this study was undertaken to investigate the possible stimulatory effect of repaglinide and nateglinide, two novel oral glucose regulators, on critical steps of the stimulus-secretion coupling in single rat somatotrophs. Methods: Pat

Wind direction conditions during the 20th century in Scania, southern Sweden, are investigated using an estimated series of monthly wind vector components (east-west u component and north-south v component). The series is developed from a regression relationship between pairwise (1973 to 1997) monthly averages of 10-m surface wind from Scania and a monthly geostrophic wind, based on mean sea level

Background: Boswellic acids, a type of pentacyclic triterpenoids, have been shown to induce apoptosis in colon cancer cells. The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway is crucial for cell proliferation and survival. Whether the apoptotic effects of boswellic acid could be affected by inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway was examined. Materials and Methods: Colon cancer HT29

The purpose of the present study was to study if the connectivity of fetal neocortical tissue blocks placed in ischemic brain infarcts of adult rats would be enhanced in rats housed in an enriched environment. We also investigated whether the enriched housing conditions could enhance the postischemic and postgrafting functional outcome, in terms of motor behavior. This part of the study has been p

The use of tetraethyltin (TESn) and dimethylzinc (DMZn) as in situ n- and p-dopant precursors during particle-assisted growth of InP nanowires is reported. Gate voltage dependent transport measurements demonstrate that the nanowires can be predictably synthesized as either n- or p-type. These doped nanowires can be characterized based on their electric field response and we find that n- type dopin

Because quality differences between individuals affect fitness, much research has attempted, with limited success, to relate physiological condition (e.g., body reserves), to differences in life history between individuals. Recently, it has been suggested that immunocompetence may reflect condition, and it thus may mediate variation in individual quality and reproductive performance and, ultimatel

Decay kinetic properties of a two-level atom near the band edges of photonic crystals (PCs) with absolute gaps are studied based on the Green's function expression for the evolution operator. The local coupling strength between the photons and an atom is evaluated by an exact numerical method. It is found that the decay behavior of an excited atom can be fundamentally changed by the variation of t