Background/Aims: Activation of trypsinogen to trypsin is a crucial step in the development of acute pancreatitis. The cause of this activation is not known although suggested explanations include autoactivation, cathepsin B-mediated activation and activation by mast cell tryptase. The aim of this study was to investigate cathepsin B and tryptase activation of pancreatic zymogens. Methods: Trypsino

Human malignant infantile osteopetrosis (arOP; MIM 259700) is a genetically heterogenous autosomal recessive disorder of bone metabolism, which, if untreated, has a fatal outcome. Our group, as well as others, have recently identified mutations in the ATP6i (TCIRG1) gene, encoding the a3 subunit of the vacuolar proton pump, which mediates the acidification of the bone/osteoclast interface, are res

Established histopathological criteria divide invasive breast carcinomas into defined groups. Ductal of no specific type and lobular are the two major subtypes accounting for around 75 and 15% of all cases, respectively. The remaining 10% include rarer types such as tubular, cribriform, mucinous, papillary, medullary, metaplastic, and apocrine breast carcinomas. Molecular profiling technologies, o

A membrane-free biofuel cell (BFC) is reported based on enzymes wired to graphite electrodes by means of Os-complex modified redox polymers. For the anode cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is used as a biocatalyst whereas for the cathode a laccase was applied. This laccase is a high-potential laccase and hence able to reduce O-2 to H2O at a formal potential higher than +500 mV versus Ag/AgCl. In orde

Rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) has over the years demonstrated its strong potential to measure temperature and relative concentrations of major species in combustion. A recent work is the development and experimental validation of a CO2 model for thermometry, in addition to our previous rotational CARS models for other molecules. In the,present work, additional calibrati

The agents driving the divergence and speciation of free-living microbial populations are still largely unknown. We investigated the dinoflagellate morphospecies Scrippsiella hangoei and Peridinium aciculiferum, which abound in the Baltic Sea and in northern temperate lakes, respectively. Electron microscopy analyses showed significant interspecific differences in the external cellular morphology,

In this study we present the results from realistic N-body modelling of massive star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds. We have computed eight simulations with N similar to 10(5) particles; six of these were evolved for at least a Hubble time. The aim of this modelling is to examine in detail the possibility of large-scale core expansion in massive star clusters, and search for a viable dynamical

The effect of illumination at 5 K of photosystem II in different S-states was investigated with EPR spectroscopy. Two split radical EPR signals around g 2.0 were observed from samples given 0 and 3 flashes, respectively. The signal from the 0-flash sample was narrow, with a width of ~80 G, in which the low-field peak can be distinguished. This signal oscillated with the S1 state in the sample. The

Summary. The international MRI expert subgroup of the International Prophylaxis Study Group (IPSG) has developed a consensus for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scales for assessment of haemophilic arthropathy. A MRI scoring scheme including a 10 step progressive scale and a 20 step additive scale with identical definitions of mutual steps is presented. Using the progressive scale, effusion/haema

The lasting effects of a recruitment maneuver (RM) in the injured lung are not well characterized. We speculated that the reduction in respiratory elastance (H) after a deep inflation (DI) is transient in nature and should be sustained longer at higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Thirteen ventilated mice were given 2 DIs at various levels of PEEP before and after saline lavage. Forced

The paper presents the control server, a real-time schedulingmechanism tailored to control and signal processing applications. Acontrol server creates the abstraction of a control task with aspecified period and a fixed input-output latency shorter than theperiod. Individual tasks can be combined into more complexcomponents without loss of their individual guaranteed fixed-latencyproperties. I/O o

Intramyocellular triacylglycerol (TG) is an important energy store, and the energy content of this depot is higher than the energy content of the muscle glycogen depot. It has recently been shown that the mobilization of fatty acids from this TG pool may be regulated by the neutral lipase hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). This enzyme is known to be rate limiting for intracellular TG hydrolysis in ad

BACKGROUND: Renal failure in cirrhotic patients is a severe complication and endotoxemia might be involved. We investigated the effect of endotoxin on renal function of cirrhotic rats and the potential protective role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC). MATERIAL/METHODS: Hepatic cirrhosis was generated in a rat model by carbon tetrachloride. Both cirrhotic and normal rats were insulted by endotoxin intrave

We aimed to determine plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and the soluble forms of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (sPECAM-1) as surrogate markers for endothelial cell activation in clinically diagnosed patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD, n=26

Objective. To determine the potential role of the CD24 A57V gene polymorphism in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods. We studied 3 cohorts of Caucasian patients and controls. The Spanish cohort included 696 SLE patients and 539 controls, the German cohort included 257 SLE patients and 317 controls, and the Swedish cohort included 310 SLE patients and 247 controls. The CD24 A57V polymorphis

Antibodies provide some protection against cytomegalovirus-mediated disease. All aspects of antibody recognition of important viral antigens are however not fully appreciated. Glycoprotein B (gB), a key protein in the viral membrane, participates in viral infection and it is a component of prototype vaccines. By using combinatorial antibody library and selection technology, novel antibody specific