Host-defense peptides play a fundamental role in the innate immune system by modulating inflammatory responses. Previously, it was shown that the thrombin derived host-defense peptide GKY25 inhibits LPS-induced responses of monocytes and macrophages in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo. In this study, the effect of GKY25 on the interaction of monocytes/macrophages with Gram-negative bacteria was explore

Increasing population has posed insurmountable challenges to agriculture in the provision of future food security, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region where biophysical conditions are not well-suited for agriculture. Iran, as a major agricultural country in the MENA region, has long been in the quest for food self-sufficiency, however, the capability of its land and wate

The ability to flexibly plan for events outside of the current sensory scope is at the core of being human and is crucial to our everyday lives and society. Studies on apes have shaped a belief that this ability evolved within the hominid lineage. Corvids, however, have shown evidence of planning their food hoarding, although this has been suggested to reflect a specific caching adaptation rather

In addition to its role in neuronal survival, the brain neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been shown to influence serotonin transmission and synaptic plasticity, events strongly implicated in the appearance of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID), a motor complication occurring in parkinsonian patients after long-term treatment with the dopamine precursor. In order to evaluate a possible influence of BDNF

Background and objectives: Arterial stiffness plays a significant role in the development and progression of adverse cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. This observational study aims to explore the relationship between six acute phase proteins namely, ceruloplasmin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, orosomucoid, haptoglobin, complement C3 and C-reactive protein (CRP), and carotid-femoral pulse wave

In this paper, we consider the potential of data-transmission in a system with a massive number of radiating and sensing elements, thought of as a contiguous surface of electromagnetically active material. We refer to this as a Large Intelligent Surface (LIS). The "LIS" is a newly proposed concept, which conceptually goes beyond contemporary massive MIMO technology, and arises from our vision of a

Despite early reports and the contemporary consensus on microsaccades as purely binocular phenomena, recent work has proposed not only the existence of monocular microsaccades, but also that they serve functional purposes. We take a critical look at the detection of monocular microsaccades from a signal perspective, using raw data and a state-of-the-art, video-based eye tracker. In agreement with

In this thesis, acoustofluidics has been used to process blood samples as a sample preparation step prior to biomarker detection. This is often required as the large amount of blood cells otherwise can interfere with the detection method. Acoustofluidics means moving particles or cells with acoustic forces within microfluidic channels. Ultrasound is used to create a standing wave between the chann

The grounding objection to presentism rests on two premises: (i) every true proposition P has a truthmaker T, and (ii) some claims about the future and past are obviously true. However, if the future and past do not exist, there can be no truthmakers for future and past tensed expressions. Presentists tend not to challenge the premises of the objection. Instead they argue that the present contains

A new approach to characterise the evolution and coupling of deformation and fluid flow in geomaterials is presented. The method exploits some key features of neutrons, namely penetration of dense materials used for triaxial pressure cells, sensitivity to hydrogen and the possibility to distinguish hydrogen from its isotope deuterium (in normal water, H2O, and heavy water, D2O, respectively). Illu

Multiconfigurational methods are applied to study electronic properties and structural changes in the highly flexible metal-organic framework MIL53(Cr). Via calculated bending potentials of angles, that change the most during phase transition, it is verified that the high flexibility of this material is not a question about special electronic properties in the coordination chemistry, but about ove

The Arctic tundra plays an important role in the carbon cycle as it stores 50% of global soil organic carbon reservoirs. The processes (fluxes) regulating these stocks are predicted to change due to direct and indirect effects of climate change. Understanding the current and future carbon balance calls for a summary of the level of knowledge regarding chamber-derived carbon dioxide (CO2) flux stud

Deoxyadenosine kinase from Dictyostelium discoideum (DddAK) phosphorylates its natural substrate (2’-deoxyadenosine, dAdo) as well as the arabinosyladenine analogues vidarabine (araA) and fludarabine (F-araA) to their corresponding 5’-monophosphates. DddAK has been here immobilized by ionic interaction on an aminated epoxy-functionalized support (SepabeadsTM EC-EP), and cross-linked with oxidized

In this work, a carbon felt electrode (CFE) was modified with a multiwalled carbon nanotube-gold-platinum (MWCNT-Au-Pt) hybrid nanomaterial and integrated with an osmium redox polymer (OsRP, [Os(2, 2’-bipyridine)2(poly-vinylimidazole)10Cl]Cl) and Gluconobacter oxydans DSM 2343 (G. oxydans) cells. The developed electrode was used as the bioanode in a 5.0 mM K3Fe(CN)6mediator containing phosphate bu

Bärbara datorer och smarta telefoner har kommit att utmana arbetets traditionella gränser och bidragit till nya former att kombinera arbete med övrigt liv. När arbete sker på bekostnad av engagemang i den privata sfären, leder det ofta till upplevelser av stress och rollkon ikter, sk ”spillover”. ”Spillover” är en riskfaktor för hälsa och välbe nnande, men forskningen har ännu luckor för hur denna

For better or worse work plays a major role in both the psychological and thephysical well-being in peoples’ lives. Work can be a source of meaning, joy and self fulfilment, or a cause of distress and illness. This holds true even in wealthy parts ofthe world with a long tradition of research and governmental actions to achieve a goodworking environments. For example, in Sweden an average of 35 pe