Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a group of autoimmune diseases, including granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). It is not known why ANCA develop, but it has been shown that they participate in pathogenesis by activating polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). In this study we hypothesize that dysregulation of phagocytosi

Ethically informed and committed consumers are crucial to the functioning of many alternative food systems. These consumers are poorly understood, though, and their common description as informed and democratically minded finds little resemblance to the real world. Few individuals fit the ideal of the concept of the so-called citizen-consumer. This commentary therefore argues that both researchers

Abstract Background: Arm lymphedema is a common complication after breast cancer treatment. Although conservative treatment can be used to reduce swelling, treatment often fails, possibly due to chronic edema being transformed from lymph fluid to subcutaneous fat, a condition called nonpitting lymphedema. It is currently unknown if the excess volume is solely due to excess in fat. This study evalu

Summary: In [Aleman, A., Carlsson, M. and Persson A., Preduals of $Q_p$-spaces. Complex Variables (To appear).], we have obtained a representation of the Cauchy-predual of the space $Q_p$ on the unit disc as a weak product of weighted Dirichlet and Bergman spaces. The present article is a continuation of Aleman et al. and contains several applications and further developments of those results. We

BACKGROUND: Infants born after in vitro fertilization (IVF) differ from spontaneously conceived infants in a number of aspects which could increase the risk for future cerebral palsy (CP), e.g., multiple births, preterm births, neonatal complications. AIMS: To follow up children conceived by IVF with respect to risk for CP. METHODS: Infants born after IVF were identified from all IVF clinics in Sw

BACKGROUND: Levosimendan was hypothesized to attenuate hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). METHODS: 14 anaesthetized pigs (30,9±1,0kg) were studied in normoxia (FiO2∼0,21) and hypoxia (FiO2∼0,10), before and 10-90 min after infusion of placebo (n=7) or Levosimendan (n=7). RESULTS: Compared to normoxia, hypoxia-baseline at FiO2∼0,10 (n=14) increased PVR by 1.9±0.4 WU (p

BACKGROUND: Anisakis simplex (A.s.) allergy is an emerging disease. The third-stage larvae of this nematode are a source of hidden allergens in fish. There are no clear guidelines concerning dietary restrictions for patients with serum-specific IgE to this parasite. OBJECTIVE: To follow up the clinical data and immunological parameters of patients sensitized to A.s. during 6 to 23 months. METHODS:

Organ hypertrophy is often found to be associated with changes in the expression of caveolins and altered density of caveolae in the membrane. A plethora of signalling intermediaries are associated with caveolae and loss of caveolae has profound effects on contractility of the urinary bladder. We hypothesized that smooth muscle hypertrophy caused by bladder outflow obstruction (BOO) might lead to

OBJECTIVE: Recent data suggest that soluble CD40L (sCD40L) plays an important role in murine sepsis. The aim of the present study was to determine plasma levels of CD40L in critically ill patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and shock, with and without sepsis. DESIGN: A prospective observational one-centre cohort study in a mixed-bed ICU of an university hospital. Fifty-thr

BACKGROUND: Brain edema and intracranial hypertension is deleterious after traumatic brain injury (TBI), but the underlying pathophysiology is complex and poorly understood. One major subject of controversy is the time course and extent of blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction following trauma, and previous studies in humans have only provided semi-quantitative data. The objective of the present s

The IFCC Working Group for the Standardisation of Cystatin C (WG-SCC), in collaboration with the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), announces the availability of the new certified reference material ERM-DA471/IFCC. The material was characterised using a pure protein primary reference preparation (PRP) as calibrant. The PRP was prepared from recombinant cystatin C, and its c

BACKGROUND:: The increased cancer risk among patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is well reported, whereas studies regarding the cancer prognosis with IBD have shown conflicting results. We aimed at assessing and quantifying the cause-specific and overall mortality among cancer patients with IBD compared to those without IBD. METHODS:: The population-based Swedish registers we

Zinc is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms. It is required for signalling and proper functioning of a range of proteins involved in, for example, DNA binding and enzymatic catalysis. In prokaryotes and photosynthetic eukaryotes, Zn(2+)-transporting P-type ATPases of class IB (ZntA) are crucial for cellular redistribution and detoxification of Zn(2+) and related elements. Here we p

To study urinary interleukin-6, interleukin-8 and pyuria during episodes of asymptomatic bacteriuria and symptomatic urinary tract infection in the institutionalized elderly, and to investigate the role of interleukin-6 as a biomarker for differential diagnosis.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) evolves when insulin secretion fails. Insulin release from the pancreatic β cell is controlled by mitochondrial metabolism, which translates fluctuations in blood glucose into metabolic coupling signals. We identified a common variant (rs950994) in the human transcription factor B1 mitochondrial (TFB1M) gene associated with reduced insulin secretion, elevated postprandial glu

BACKGROUND: Differences in risk factor profiles between patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke may have an impact on subsequent mortality. AIM: To explore cardiovascular disease risk factors, including the CHADS(2) score, with survival after ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. METHODS: Between 2001 and 2005, 87 111 (83%) ischemic stroke, 12 497 (12%) hemorrhagic stroke, and 5435 (5%) patients w

Previous studies have reported the functional characterization of nine out of eleven genes found in the gene cluster responsible for biosynthesis of the polyketide pigment aurofusarin in Fusarium graminearum. Here we reanalyse the function of a putative aurofusarin pump (AurT) and the two remaining orphan genes, aurZ and aurS. Targeted gene replacement of aurZ resulted in the discovery that the co

PURPOSE: Currently, giant cell arteritis (GCA) is primarily treated with corticosteroids or immunomodulating agents, but there is interest in identifying other noncorticosteroid alternatives. Similarities exist in the injury pathways between GCA and atherosclerosis. Angiotensin II is a vasoactive peptide involved in vessel inflammation during atherosclerosis, and angiotensin II receptor inhibitors

Proteomic-based studies of nasal lavage fluid (NLF) may identify molecular pathways associated with disease pathology and new biomarker candidates of upper airway diseases. However, most studies have used rather tedious untargeted MS techniques. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) is a sensitive and specific technique that can be used with high throughput. In this study, we developed a semiquantita