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BackgroundStandardised mortality ratio (SMR) is a common quality indicator in critical care and is the ratio between observed mortality and expected mortality. Typically, in-hospital mortality is used to derive SMR, but the use of a time-fixed, more objective, end-point has been advocated. This study aimed to determine the relationship between in-hospital mortality and 30-day mortality on a compre

This work compares the extent of linear response regimes from standard time-resolving optical detectors for phosphor thermometry. Different types of Photomultipliers (ordinary and time-gated) as well as an Avalanche Photodiode are tested and compared using the phosphorescent time decay of CdWO4 that ranges from 10 mu s down to a few ns within a temperature span of 290 to 580 K. Effects originating

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) employs various strategies to modulate host immune responses to facilitate its persistence in macrophages. The Mtb cell wall contains numerous glycoproteins with unknown role in pathogenesis. Here, by using concavalinA and LC-MS analysis we identified a novel mannosylated glycoprotein phosphoribosyl- transferase, encoded by the Rv3242c, from Mtb cell walls. Homolog

Protein stabilization was achieved through in vivo screening based on the thermodynamic linkage between protein folding and fragment complementation. The split GFP system was found suitable to derive protein variants with enhanced stability due to the correlation between effects of mutations on the stability of the intact chain and the effects of the same mutations on the affinity between fragment

A process for the production of high bioethanol titre was established through fed-batch and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (FB-SSF) of wild, non-edible cassava Manihot glaziovii. FB-SSF allowed fermentation of up to 390g/L of starch-derived glucose achieving high bioethanol concentration of up to 190g/L (24% v/v) with yields of around 94% of the theoretical value. The wild cassava

We have post-compressed 25 fs (Fourier limit) amplified pulses in an argon-filled hollow-core fiber. The output pulses were compressed using a pair of wedges and chirped mirrors down to 4.5 fs (Fourier limit of 4.1 fs), which corresponds to less than two optical cycles. We then performed the characterization of the pulses by combining the d-scan and the STARFISH techniques. The temporal (and spect

While steric crowders tend to stabilize globular proteins, it has been found that protein crowders can have an either stabilizing or destabilizing effect, where a destabilization may arise from nonspecific attractive interactions between the test protein and the crowders. Here, we use Monte Carlo replica-exchange methods to explore the equilibrium behavior of the miniprotein trp-cage in the presen

This paper analyzes the relationship between three dimensions (economic, social, and political) of globalization and life expectancy using a panel of 92 countries covering the 1970–2005 period. Using different estimation techniques and sample groupings, we find that economic globalization has a robust positive effect on life expectancy, even when controlling for income, nutritional intake, literac

A laboratory-scale small-angle X-ray scattering instrument with pinhole collimation has been used to assess smearing effects due to instrumental resolution. A new, numerically efficient method to smear ideal model intensities is developed and presented. It allows for directly using measured profiles of isotropic but otherwise arbitrary beams in smearing calculations. Samples of low-polydispersity

The elliptic flow coefficient (v(2)) of identified particles in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV was measured with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The results were obtained with the Scalar Product method, a two-particle correlation technique, using a pseudo-rapidity gap of |Delta eta| > 0.9 between the identified hadron under study and the reference particles. The v

An inclusive search is presented for new physics in events with two isolated leptons (e or mu) having the same electric charge. The data are selected from events collected from p p collisions at root s = 7 TeV by the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb(-1). The spectra in dilepton invariant mass, missing transverse momentum and jet multiplicity are presented and comp

The purpose of the study is to examine whether there is an association between neighbourhood deprivation and incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD), after accounting for family- and individual-level potential confounders.

The properties of a paper sheet depend on the absorption together with the physico-chemical properties of additives used in the paper processing. The effect of ionic strength and degree of substitution of cationic potato starch on the elution pattern of asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation was analysed. The effect of starch derivatisation, in either dry or wet phase, was also investigated. A

The neural crest (NC) is a transient, migratory cell population that differentiates into a large variety of tissues including craniofacial cartilage, melanocytes, and peripheral nervous system. NC is initially induced at the border of neural plate and non-neuralectoderm by balanced regulation of multiple signaling pathways, among which an intermediate bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is

Objective: To determine the association between radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) and pre-operative function in patients undergoing primary knee replacement. Methods: Single centre study examining pre-operative outcomes in a consecutive series of 525 patients who underwent primary knee replacement for OA between January 2006 and December 2007. Pre-operative data included: demographics, American Soc

Primary lysis of eosinophils liberates free eosinophil granules (FEGs) releasing toxic proteins in association with bronchial epithelial injury-repair. Eosinophil lysis may be significantly pathogenic. Bronchial mucosal FEGs are associated with uncontrolled asthma, severe asthma, aspirin-sensitive asthma, and lethal asthma. FEGs in the bronchial wall may characterize severe asthma without sputum e

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on lipase B from Candida antarctica (CalB) in its native form and with one or two oxidized residues, either methionine oxidized to methionine sulfoxide, tryptophan oxidized to 5-hydroxytryptophan, or cystine oxidized to a pair of cysteic acid residues. We have analyzed how these oxidations affect the general structure of the protein as well as the