Proteinase-activated receptors (PARs) are activated by proteolytic removal of a short amino terminal peptide, thus exposing a new amino terminus that functions as a tethered ligand that activates the receptor. With the aim to identify and study potential activators of PAR-2 we have developed a new method to measure proteolytic cleavage of PARs. PAR-2 was tagged with the insulin C-peptide that upon

It is known that pentoxifylline inhibits platelet aggregation in vitro, but the effects from pentoxifylline and its main metabolites: 3,7-dimetyl-1(5 hydroxyhexyl)xanthine (R-M1 and S-M1), 3,7-dimetyl -1(4-carboxybutyl)xanthine (M4), 3,7-dimetyl -1(3-carboxypropyl)xanthine (M5), on platelet aggregation in whole blood in vitro and in vivo have not been studied. We found that pentoxifylline, rac-M1,

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to test the General Motor Function Assessment Scale (GMF) for content and criterion validity in geriatric home-rehabilitation. Furthermore, the GMF was analysed with respect to sensitivity, distribution, and for floor and ceiling effects. Method. Content validity was explored by questionnaires circulated to ten experts in the field of geriatrics. Three assess

This study investigates the establishment of alternative cell fates during embryoid body differentiation when ES cells diverge into two epithelia simulating the pre-gastrulation endoderm and ectoderm. We report that endoderm differentiation and endoderm-specitic gene expression, such as expression of laminin 1 subunits, is controlled by GATA6 induced by FGF. Subsequently, differentiation of the no

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dose on lesion detection and characterization in breast tomosynthesis (BT), using human breast specimens. Images of 27 lesions in breast specimens were acquired on a BT prototype based on a Mammomat Novation (Siemens) full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system. Two detector modes - binned (2x1 in the scan direction) and full resolution -

BACKGROUND: Molecular evolution of carbohydrate binding modules (CBM) is a new approach for the generation of glycan-specific molecular probes. To date, the possibility of performing affinity maturation on CBM has not been investigated. In this study we show that binding characteristics such as affinity can be improved for CBM generated from the CBM4-2 scaffold by using random mutagenesis in combi

Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can down-regulate protein production by site specific degradation of mRNA. We here report the in vitro efficiency of three siRNAs metalated with oxaliplatin. All siRNAs were selectively platinated in the sense strand, and designed to target the AU-rich 3' UTR region of Wnt-5a mRNA cloned into a luciferase reporter plasmid. Two of the studied siRNAs reveal luciferase

Cell-free foetal haemoglobin (HbF) has been shown to play a role in the pathology of preeclampsia (PE). In the present study, we aimed to further characterize the harmful effects of extracellular free haemoglobin (Hb) on the placenta. In particular, we investigated whether cell-free Hb affects the release of placental syncytiotrophoblast vesicles (STBMs) and their micro-RNA content.

Fibrinogen is a key player in the blood coagulation system, and is upon activation with thrombin converted into fibrin that subsequently forms a fibrin clot. In the present study, we investigated the role of fibrinogen in the early innate immune response. Here we show that the viability of fibrinogen-binding bacteria is affected in human plasma activated with thrombin. Moreover, we found that the

Combining x-ray tomography and three-dimensional (3D) image analysis has finally opened the way for experimental micro-(geo)mechanics, allowing access to different scales of interest. When these correspond to a scale that has been imaged at high spatial resolution, high-quality measurements can be obtained (e.g. 3D displacements and rotations of individual grains of sand sample under load). Howeve

Recension av Ingrid Carlberg, ”Det står ett rum här och väntar på dig…” Berättelsen om Raoul Wallenberg och Bengt Jangfeldt, Raoul Wallenberg – en biografi.

The dissertation deals with the construction of norms of academic excellence in the Swedish discipline of history 1900-1945. The area of focus is the competition for professorial chairs in history. The legacy of the discipline viewed history as a holistic concept, binding together most humanistic disciplines. From the perspective of this legacy, the view of empirical specialization was becoming in

If we know that certain ways of making decisions are associated with real-life success, is this then how we should decide? In this paper the relationship between normative and descriptive theories of decision-making is examined. First, it is shown that the history of the decision sciences ensures that it is impossible to separate descriptive theories from normative ones. Second, recent psychologic

The isomerization of 1,1'-diethyl-2,2'-cyanine iodide in n-alcohols is studied by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. Using a broad range of probe wavelengths, the dynamics of ground-state bleach recovery, excited-state absorption and stimulation emission are monitored. We attributed the observed spectral evolution to the excited-state torsional motion, which occurs in a barrierless fashion in al

A model-independent search for deviations from the Standard Model prediction is performed using the full e(+/-) p data sample collected by the H1 experiment at HERA. All event topologies involving isolated electrons, photons, muons, neutrinos and jets with transverse momenta above 20 GeV are investigated in a single analysis. Events are assigned to exclusive classes according to their final state.

Hierarchical depth culling is an important optimization, which is present in all modern high performance graphics processors. We present a novel culling algorithm based on a layered depth representation, with a per-sample mask indicating which layer each sample belongs to. Our algorithm is feed forward in nature in contrast to previous work, which rely on a delayed feedback loop. It is simple to i