AIM: To investigate serial serum concentrations of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients treated with mild hypothermia after cardiac arrest, and to study their association to severe infections, post cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) and long-term outcome. METHODS: Serum samples from cardiac arrest patients treated with mild hypothermia were collected serially at admission, 2, 6

Increased production of autoantibodies is a characteristic feature of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and there is evidence that several of these autoantibodies may contribute to the increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) in SLE. Autoantibodies against the apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 peptides p45 and p210 have been associated with a lower CVD risk in non-SLE cohorts. The aim of the present study

The role of weakly chirped pulses (time bandwidth product, DeltanuDeltatau

In search for more powerful unit root tests, some researchers have recently proposed accounting for the information contained in the GARCH of the innovations. However, while promising, tests with GARCH are difficult to implement, which has made them quite uncommon in the empirical literature. A computationally attractive alternative is to account not for GARCH but the information contained in a pa

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and drug survival of anti-tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy in non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) patients treated in clinical practice in Southern Sweden. Method: In this cohort study we prospectively included 112 patients with nr-axSpA and high disease activity as well as inadequate response or intolerance to non-steroidal anti-inflam

Despite the strong relationship between insect vision and the spectral properties of flowers, the visual system has been studied in detail only in few insect pollinator species. For instance, wavelength discrimination thresholds have been determined in two species only: the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the butterfly Papilio xuthus. Here, we present the wavelength discrimination thresholds (Δλ) fo

Diabetes is not a single homogeneous disease but composed of many diseases with hyperglycaemia as a common feature. Four factors have, historically, been used to identify this diversity: the age at onset; the severity of the disease, i.e. degree of loss of beta cell function; the degree of insulin resistance and the presence of diabetes-associated autoantibodies. Our broad understanding of the dis

Coconut milk press cake, the spent endosperm left over after the extraction of coconut milk, was utilized to extract additional protein under alkaline conditions. The maximum protein yield was observed at 50 degrees C and pH 11 and corresponded to total endosperm protein yield of 71%, favourably comparable to yields of more complex extractions. The extract was characterized by amino acid analysis

The quality of treatment with warfarin is mainly assessed by the time in therapeutic range (TTR) in patients with mechanical heart valve prosthesis (MHV). Our aim was to evaluate if International Normalized Ratio (INR) variability predicted a combined endpoint of thromboembolism, major bleeding and death better than TTR.

Day centres for people with psychiatric disabilities need to be evaluated for effectiveness in order to provide the best possible support. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of a tailor-made intervention to improve day centre services for people with psychiatric disabilities.

The morphologies and proton-transport efficiencies of segmented copoly(arylene ether sulfone) ionomers that contain tetrasulfonated sequences are compared with the corresponding copolymers with disulfonated sequences. Tetrasulfonated 4,4′-bis[(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]-1,1′-biphenyl (sBCPSBP) is synthesized by metalation and sulfination. This new monomer is then used in K2CO3-mediated polycondensat

Tasquinimod is an anti-tumor drug that is currently in clinical development for the treatment of solid cancers. After oral administration, tasquinimod and a number of its metabolites are excreted in the urine. The quantitative determination of tasquinimod in urine is challenging because of the required sensitivity (down to 0.1nM or 40pg/mL), the highly variable nature of this biological matrix and

Dendritic cells (DCs) operate as the link between innate and adaptive immunity. Their expression of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), such as TLRs and CLRs, enable antigen recognition and mediate appropriate immune responses. Distinct subsets of human DCs have been identified; however their PRRs expressions are not fully clarified. Especially, expressions of CLRs by DC subpopulations remain el

Abstract in Portuguese Paracrias strii Schauff, 1985 e P. ceratophaga Palmieri & Hansson sp. nov. são registradas pela primeira vez para o Brasil, sendo associadas a larvas de Ceratopus Schoenherr (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) obtidas de sicônios maduros de duas espécies de figueiras. As espécies registradas foram ilustradas. Os machos de P. ceratophaga sp. nov. foram descritos. A associação do Paracrias strii Schauff, 1985 and P. ceratophaga Palmieri & Hansson sp. nov. are first record in Brazil and both are associated with Ceratopus Schoenherr larvae (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) reared from syconia of two species of fig-trees. Both Paracrias species are diagnosed and illustrated. Males of P. ceratophaga sp. nov. are described. The association of Paracrias with weevil larvae is brief

The coherence spectrum is of notable interest as a bivariate spectral measure in a variety of application, and the topic has lately attracted interest with the recent formulation of several ligh-resolution data adaptive estimators. In this work, we further this development with the presentation of computationally efficient implementations of the Caponand APE S-based MSC estimators. The presented i

Raman spectroscopy is a laser-based vibrational technique that can provide spectral signatures unique to a multitude of compounds. The technique is gaining widespread interest as a method for detecting hidden explosives due to its sensitivity and ease of use. In this letter, we present a computationally efficient classification scheme for accurate standoff identification of several common explosiv

Introduction: Progression of joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is partly heritably; 45 to 58% of the variance in joint destruction is estimated to be explained by genetic factors. The binding of RANKL (Receptor Activator for Nuclear Factor kappa B Ligand) to RANK results in the activation of TRAF6 (tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor associated factor-6), and osteoclast formation ult

Fluorescence blinking corresponding to collective quenching of up to 100 dye monomers is reported for individual J-aggregates of a perylene bisimide (PBI) dye. This implies an exciton diffusion length up to 70 nm in these one-dimensional assemblies. The number of quenched monomers was directly measured by comparing the fluorescence brightness of the J-aggregates with that of noncoupled PBI molecul