Numerous β-defensins have been identified in birds and the potential use of these peptides as alternatives to antibiotics has been proposed, in particular to fight antibiotic-resistant and zoonotic bacterial species. Little is known about the mechanism of antibacterial activity of avian β-defensins (AvBDs), and the present work was carried out to obtain initial insights into the involvement of str

Agricultural intensification in Europe has affected farmland bird populations negatively, both during summer and winter. Although the migratory period poses separate challenges on birds than breeding and wintering, the consequences of farming practices for birds during migration remain poorly investigated. We monitored abundance and species richness of migratory birds in autumn at matched pairs of

Introduction: Faecal calprotectin (FC) has been proposed to be a biomarker of gastrointestinal (GI) disease in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The purpose of this study was to extend cross-sectional observations and prospectively assess the variability of FC over time in SSc patients. We also aimed to examine FC in relation to immunosuppressive therapy. Finally we wanted to analyse FC in other rheumatic

Obesity is the major modifiable risk factor for diabetes. This study investigated the incidence of diabetes in relation to multiple anthropometric measures.

Substrates present in aggregated forms, such as micelles, are often poorly converted by enzymes. Alkyl glycosides constitute typical examples and the critical micelle concentration (CMC) decreases with increasing length of the alkyl group. In this study, possibilities to hydrolyse alkyl glycosides by glycoside hydrolases were explored, and α-cyclodextrin was used as an agent to form inclusion comp

In two complementary experiments we took an integrated approach to a set of tightly interwoven, yet rarely combined questions concerning the spontaneous interpretation of novel (unfamiliar) noun-noun compounds (NNCs) when encountered in isolation, and possible (re) interpretations of novel as well as conventional (familiar) NNCs when encountered in verbo-visual context. To enhance ecological valid

DNA is a versatile heteropolymer that shows great potential as a building block for a diverse array of nanostructures. We present here a solution to the problem of designing and synthesizing a DNA-based nanostructure that will serve as the track along which an artificial molecular motor processes. This one-dimensional DNA track exhibits periodically repeating elements that provide specific binding

Infection commonly complicates diabetic foot ulcers and is associated with a poor outcome. In a cohort of individuals with an infected diabetic foot ulcer, we aimed to determine independent predictors of lower-extremity amputation and the predictive value for amputation of the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) classification system and to develop a risk score for predicting

objective. The aim of the research was to evaluate the level of patients' knowledge about type 2 diabetes, treatment and proceedings in the case of the disease. materials and method. 100 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes were included in the research, aged 40-90 years (64% and 36%), who lived in the countryside (54%) and in the city (46%), hospitalized in the internal and geriatric wards in

In this paper, we report enhanced performance of inverted polymer solar cells composed of poly[2,3-bis-(3-octyloxyphenyl)quinoxaline-5,8-diyl-alt-thiophene-2,5-diyl] (TQ1):[6,6]-phenyl-C-71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) blends by using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-modified ZnO as an electron transport layer. It is found that PEO modification to the ZnO nanoparticle surface can effectively passi

Square cross-section ribbed channels with deflectors are computationally simulated to determine their optimal configuration for enhancing heat transfer with minimized pressure drop penalties. In this study, the channel inlet Reynolds number ranges from 8,000 to 24,000. The influence of deflector arrangement on the overall performance characteristics of ribbed channels is investigated with six diff

AimsAnaemia and iron deficiency are constituents of the cardio-renal syndrome in chronic heart failure (CHF). We investigated the effects of i.v. iron in iron-deficient CHF patients on renal function, and the efficacy and safety of this therapy in patients with renal dysfunction. Methods and resultsThe FAIR-HF trial randomized 459 CHF patients with iron deficiency (ferritin

The complexity of the brain, in which different neuronal cell types are interspersed and complexly interconnected, has posed a major obstacle in identifying pathophysiological mechanisms underlying prevalent neurological disorders. This is largely based in the inability of classical experimental approaches to target defined neural populations at sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. As a con

BACKGROUND: We report the development of a cutaneous melanoma risk algorithm based upon seven factors; hair color, skin type, family history, freckling, nevus count, number of large nevi, and history of sunburn, intended to form the basis of a self-assessment Web tool for the general public.METHODS: Predicted odds of melanoma were estimated by analyzing a pooled dataset from 16 case-control studie

Background The Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013) aims to bring together all available epidemiological data using a coherent measurement framework, standardised estimation methods, and transparent data sources to enable comparisons of health loss over time and across causes, age-sex groups, and countries. The GBD can be used to generate summary measures such as disability-adjusted life