The inflammatory response to bacterial infection is the result of a complex interplay between bacterial products and host effector systems, such as the immune and complement systems. Here we show that Escherichia coli bacteria expressing fibrous surface proteins, known as curli, assemble and activate factors of the human coagulation cascade at their surface. As a result of this interaction, fibrin

Schwertmannite precipitated from acid mine drainage at the Kristineberg Zn-Cu mine in northern Sweden has been characterised regarding elemental composition, phase transformation as a function of pH and time. SO42- release and speciation of SO42- associated with the solid. The elemental analysis gave the composition FeSOS(OH)(5.02)(-SO4)(1.49) . 0.5H(2)O where approximately 1/3 of the SO42- is ads

The geographic distribution of allozyme variation within the Eurasian boreo-nemoreal woodland grass Melica nutans L. has been investigated together with a minor subset of other Melica species. Twenty alleles were found at nine polymorphic loci in M. nutans. Allelic richness was highest in areas central in the species' European distribution, i.e. in southern Fennoscandia. High population densities,

The affinity between the 1-157 and 158-238 fragments of green fluorescent protein (GFP) is too low for spontaneous in vivo reassembly of the protein upon co-expression of the two fragments. This prevents chromophore maturation and the cells lack GFP fluorescence. We have utilized the very high affinity between the two EF-hands of calbindin D(9k) to facilitate GFP assembly from its fragments and to

Results on the generation and heat treatment of In-Se nanoparticles, made by heterogeneous condensation of selenium on indium nanoparticles synthesised via the evaporation/condensation route are reported. In-situ aerosol measurements are complemented with ex-situ analysis, to provide structural, morphological, and compositional information on the In-Se nanoparticles. Our results indicate that prio

PITX2 and Nkx2.5 are two of the earliest known transcriptional markers of vertebrate heart development. Pitx2(-/-) mice present with severe cardiac malformations and embryonic lethality, demonstrating a role for PITX2 in heart development. However, little is known about the downstream targets of PITX2 in cardiogenesis. We report here that the atrial natriuretic factor ( ANF) promoter is a target o

This study addresses how humic substance (HS) chemical composition and photoreactivity affect bacterial growth, respiration, and growth efficiency (BGE) in lake water. Aqueous solutions of HSs from diverse aquatic environments representing different dissolved organic matter sources (autochthonous and allochthonous) were exposed to artificial solar UV radiation. These solutions were added to lake w

Objective: To investigate whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers can predict cognitive decline in healthy, elderly individuals as they have been shown to do in cognitively impaired patient samples. Methods: In this study, 57 controls were tested for CSF biomarkers at baseline and then cognitively followed over 3 years. Results: Low levels of baseline beta-amyloid 1 - 42 (A beta 42) were asso

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of cobalamin/folate supplementation on cognitive function in elderly patients with dementia. METHOD: The cobalamin/folate status of the patients was evaluated by measuring plasma homocysteine, serum methylmalonic acid, serum cobalamin and blood folate. Thirty-three patients were studied and repeatedly assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and

We report the case of a 58-year-old man with a giant partially thrombosed anterior communicating artery aneurysm, which presented with mass effect. Our treatment strategy consisted of endovascular aneurysm circulatory exclusion prior to surgical resection. To do so, we first occluded both the two A1 segments and the aneurysm neck with a neck-bridge device to prevent further coil migration within t

Recent studies implicated the existence of adult lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitors (LMPPs) with little or no megakaryocyte-erythroid potential, questioning common myeloid and lymphoid progenitors as obligate intermediates in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) lineage commitment. However, the existence of LMPPs remains contentious. Herein, global and single-cell analyses revealed a hierarchical or

The present study characterizes immune cell populations in mice chronically infected with Salmonella. Mice were characterized as chronically infected based on persistently high titers of Salmonella-reactive immunoglobulins in the serum > 6 months after a single oral dose of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium. These mice had a visibly enlarged spleen but not liver, while both organs harbored bacteria

A novel technique for coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) measurements in multiple points is presented. In a multipass cavity the pump and Stokes laser beams are multiply reflected and refocused into a measurement volume with an adjustable number of separated points along a line. This optical arrangement was used in a vibrational CARS setup with planar BOXCARS phase-matching configurati

Three efficient routes to 3-azido-3-deoxy-beta-d-galactopyranosides were developed relying on a double inversion protocol at C3. Two of the routes were demonstrated to work with both O- and S-glycosides. In all three routes, the 2-O-acetyl-3-azido-4,6-O-benzylidene-3-deoxy-beta-d-galactopyranosides were obtained by an azide inversion of the key intermediates 2-O-acetyl-4,6-O-benzylidene-3-O-triflu

Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines that orchestrate leukocyte trafficking in tissues, thus, playing an important role in regulation of immunological processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer with two DNA polymorphisms of the chemokine receptors CCR5-Delta 32 and CCR2-64L The study material consisted of 50 cervi

Background. Urban birth, a risk factor for schizophrenia, is more frequent among secondgeneration immigrants. The aim of the current study was to determine whether the increased risk for schizophrenia found in second-generation immigrants is explained by the degree of urbanization of birthplace and/or factors related to parentage, such as geographic origin or history of residence abroad during upb