Secondary metabolites produced by fungi and bacteria are among the potential agents that contribute to adverse health effects observed in occupants of buildings affected by moisture damage, dampness and associated microbial growth. However, few attempts have been made to assess the occurrence of these compounds in relation to moisture damage and dampness in buildings. This study conducted in the c

A real time visualisation method, to be used in mobile gamma-spectrometric search operations using standard detector systems is presented. The new method, called deviation display, uses a modified waterfall display to present relative changes in spectral data over energy and time. Using unshielded (137)Cs and (241)Am point sources and different natural background environments, the behaviour of the

AIMS: Cancer syndromes manifest at many sites albeit with variable penetrance. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified susceptibility loci shared by many types of cancer. Yet, a population level search for shared susceptibility between discordant cancers has been hampered because of lacking population sizes. METHODS: Over 1.1million patients in the nation-wide Swedish Family-Cancer D

The immunoglobulin D (IgD)-binding protein MID/Hag of the human respiratory pathogen Moraxella catarrhalis is an outer membrane protein of approximately 200kDa belonging to the autotransporter family. MID also functions as an adhesin and hemagglutinin. In the present paper, the ultrastructure of MID was mapped. Using a series of Escherichia coli transformants, the last 210 aa of the C-terminal reg

Traditionally, most funding is made available when a disaster occurs. Disaster re-sponse is the implementation of what humanitarian actors did (or didn't do) in pre-paredness for any intervention. Based on a case study of a logistics change in the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Society, this paper discusses how more funding of preparedness can radically improve the speed and qu

Arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase (LO)-1 has been implicated in allergic inflammation and asthma. The overall effect of 15-LO in allergic inflammation in vivo is, however, unclear. This study investigates systemic allergen sensitization and local allergic airway inflammation and remodeling in mice lacking the murine 12/15-LO, the ortholog to human 15-LO-1. Upon systemic sensitization with intraperitone

The directional stability of the crack path during wedging of a strip is investigated, using finite element methods. Linearly elastic material and plane conditions are considered. No dynamic effects are included. Stable crack growth in the direction of maximum mode I stress intensity factor at the tip of the crack is assumed. It is found that directional stability seems to prevail if the thickness

Haemophilus influenzae protein E (PE) is a 16 kDa adhesin that induces a pro-inflammatory immune response in lung epithelial cells. The active epithelial binding region comprising amino acids PE 84-108 also interferes with complement-mediated bacterial killing by capturing vitronectin (Vn) that prevents complement deposition and formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC). Here, the interaction

When using virtual-reality paradigms to study animal behaviour, careful attention must be paid to how the animal's actions are detected. This is particularly relevant in closed-loop experiments where the animal interacts with a stimulus. Many different sensor types have been used to measure aspects of behaviour, and although some sensors may be more accurate than others, few studies have examined

PURPOSE: For primary melanomas, tumor thickness, mitotic rate and ulceration are well-laid cornerstones of prognostication. However, a molecular exposition of melanoma aggressiveness is critically missing. We recently uncovered a four-class structure in metastatic melanoma that predicts outcome and informs biology. This raises the possibility that a molecular structure exists even in the early st

The aim was to investigate the relationship between creativity and hemispheric asymmetry, as measured by regional cerebral blood ¯ow (rCBF). Two groups, each consisting of 12 healthy male subjects, who got either very high or low scores on a creativity test, were pre-selected for the rCBF investigation. rCBF was measured during rest and three verbal tasks: automatic speech (Auto), word ¯uency (FAS

Functional coagulation analyses like Sonoclot and thromboelastography have not been evaluated during perioperative autotransfusion. We have prospectively studied three different transfusion regimes in 45 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. Blood losses were replaced either with heterologous erythrocyte concentrate (group I), intra- and postoperative autotransfusion of blood salvaged with c

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify genetic aberrations contributing to clinical aggressiveness of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Samples from 48 MPNSTs and 10 neurofibromas were collected from 51 patients with (n = 31) or without (n = 20) neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). Genome-wide DNA copy number changes were assessed by chromosomal and ar

BACKGROUND: We previously observed that allergen-exposed mice exhibit remodeling of large bronchial-associated blood vessels. The aim of the study was to examine whether vascular remodeling occurs also in vessels where a spill-over effect of bronchial remodeling molecules is less likely. METHODS: We used an established mouse model of allergic airway inflammation, where an allergic airway inflammat

Association of nanoparticles with blood coagulation proteins may influence the natural balance between pro-and anticoagulant pathways. We investigated whether polystyrene nanoparticles, when added to human plasma, affected the generation of thrombin in plasma. Amine-modified nanoparticles were found to decrease the thrombin formation due to binding of factor VII and IX to the nanoparticles, which

In this paper we address the tracking problem for a class of non-holonomic chained-form control systems. We present a simple solution for both the state feedback and the dynamic output feedback problem. The proposed controllers are linear and render the tracking error dynamics globally 𝒦-exponentially stable. We also deal with both control problems under input saturation. Application of t

We monitored gastrin release in response to locally applied candidate messengers in intact conscious rats. Earlier studies have been performed on anaesthetized animals, isolated pieces of antrum, or purified preparations of gastrin cells. In this study we created an experimental situation to resemble physiological conditions, using reverse microdialysis to administer regulatory peptides and amines

Adjuvant pelvic radiotherapy has the potential to eradicate micrometastases within the irradiated field but has not resulted in survival improvements in randomized studies. This illustrates the need for systemic therapy. Chemotherapy, mainly with anthracyclines, platinum compounds, and taxanes, renders high response rates although this unfortunately translates in only modest improvements in progre