The Haemophilus surface fibril (Hsf) is an extraordinary large (2413 amino acids) trimeric autotransporter, present in all encapsulated Haemophilus influenzae. It contributes to virulence by directly functioning as an adhesin. Furthermore, Hsf recruits the host factor vitronectin thereby inhibiting the host innate immune response resulting in enhanced survival in serum. Here we observed by electro

Background: Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is restricted to the skin, mostly the face, often chronic and disfiguring. Standard medical therapies include topical corticosteroids and antimalarials. This is a retrospective long-term follow-up of refractory DLE treated with different lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL). Methods and materials : Sixteen patients with histologically confirmed DLE pa

Immunotherapy with intratumoral injection of adenoviral vectors expressing CD40L has yielded positive results in experimental and clinical bladder cancer. We therefore hypothesized that anti-CD40 antibody would be effective in this setting. Agonistic CD40 antibodies were developed as vaccine adjuvants but have later been used as treatment of advanced solid tumors and hematologic cancers. Systemic

The influence of InAs orientations and high-k oxide deposition conditions on the electrical and structural quality of Au/W/Al2O3/InAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors was investigated using capacitance-voltage (C-V) and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy techniques. The results suggest that the interface traps around the conduction band edge are correlated to the As-oxide amount, while less to t

ApoM is mainly associated with HDL. Nevertheless, we have consistently observed positive correlations of apoM with plasma LDL cholesterol in humans. Moreover, LDL receptor deficiency is associated with increased plasma apoM in mice. Here, we tested the idea that plasma apoM concentrations are affected by the rate of LDL receptor-mediated clearance of apoB-containing particles. We measured apoM in

OBJECTIVES: We assessed pharmacodynamic (PD) response for the reduced prasugrel 5-mg maintenance dose in very elderly (≥75y; VE) patients. BACKGROUND: In TRITON-TIMI 38, prasugrel 10-mg reduced ischemic events versus clopidogrel 75-mg, but increased bleeding in VE patients. METHODS: We examined PD and active-metabolite pharmacokinetics with prasugrel 5-mg and 10-mg and clopidogrel 75-mg in a three

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are associated with erectile dysfunction. Alpha-1-adrenoceptor antagonists are effective drugs for treating symptomatic BPH. Clinical data show improvements in LUTS by phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors. This study aimed to evaluate effects of silodosin, a highly selective α1A-adrenoceptor antagonist, alone or in combin

We introduce a nuclear magnetic resonance method for quantifying the shape of axially symmetric microscopic diffusion tensors in terms of a new diffusion anisotropy metric, DΔ, which has unique values for oblate, spherical, and prolate tensor shapes. The pulse sequence includes a series of equal-amplitude magnetic field gradient pulse pairs, the directions of which are tailored to give an axially

Motor complications in Parkinson's disease (PD) are associated with long-term oral levodopa treatment and linked to pulsatile dopaminergic stimulation. l-dopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) is delivered continuously by percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy tube (PEG-J), which reduces l-dopa-plasma-level fluctuations and can translate to reduced motor complications. We present final results of

An experimental investigation was performed for convective condensation ofR410A inside five micro-fin tubes with the same outer diameter of 5 mm and helix angle of 18°. Data are for mass fluxes ranging from about 180 to 650 kg/m2 s. The nominal saturation temperature is 320 K, with inlet and outlet qualities of 0.8 and 0.1, respectively. The results suggest that tube 4 has the best thermal perform

Objectives: Enteral exposure to the lectin phytohemagglutinin (PHA) provokes precocious gut maturation in suckling rats coinciding with an early expansion of intestinal mucosal T and B lymphocytes. Here, the role of the immune system in neonatal gut growth and maturation was further studied. Materials and Methods: The effects of immunosuppression by cyclosporine A (CyA), 7.5 mu g/g of body weight,

We performed a candidate gene association study in 540 patients with primary Sjogren's Syndrome (SS) from Sweden (n = 344) and Norway (n = 196) and 532 controls (n = 319 Swedish, n = 213 Norwegian). A total of 1139 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 84 genes were analyzed. In the meta-analysis of the Swedish and Norwegian cohorts, we found high signals for association between primary SS and

The atmospheric concentration of elemental carbon (EC) in Europe during the six-year period 2005-2010 has been simulated with the EMEP MSC-W model. The model bias compared to EC measurements was less than 20% for most of the examined sites. The model results suggest that fossil fuel combustion is the dominant source of EC in most of Europe but that there are important contributions also from resid

During moult, stressors such as malaria and related haemosporidian parasites (e.g. Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) could affect the growth rate and quality of feathers, which in turn may compromise future reproduction and survival. Recent advances in molecular methods to study parasites have revealed that co-infections with multiple parasites are frequent in bird-malaria parasite systems. However, th

Midkine shares several features in common with antibacterial proteins of the innate immune system. These include growth factor properties, heparin-binding regions, and effects on immune cells (i.e. recruitment and activation of neutrophils and macrophages). Indeed, recent research has demonstrated potent bactericidal and fungicidal activities of midkine. This protein is constitutively expressed at