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Background Delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions to nickel (Ni2+) in humans are associated with increased production of both T helper (Th) 1- and Th2-like cytokines. Cytokine responses to the major group of contact allergens, i.e. organic compounds, have been less extensively studied. We have investigated here the cytokine production induced by a mixture of methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) and

Background The Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay may underestimate endotoxins because only soluble endotoxins are determined. The solubility of endotoxins was, therefore, studied in two species of Gram-negative bacteria. Methods Cultures were grown in serum broth, cells were harvested by centrifugation and washed in physiological saline. Bacterial suspensions were either filtered through PTFE f

Purpose: To assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and clinical activity of HuMax-EGFr in patients with SCCHN. Patients and methods: Twenty-eight patients with SCCHN were enrolled. The study comprised a single-dose escalation part for assessment of safety issues followed by a repeat dose extension including 4 weekly infusions at the same doses. Efficacy and metabolic response were evaluated

Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a direct metabolite of ethanol and has been used as a marker of alcohol abuse in both urine and hair. This study investigated the value of EtG testing in post-mortem hair for diagnostic improvement of alcohol abuse in forensic medicine. Material from 70 consecutive medico-legal autopsies was collected in accordance with the recommendations on ethics by the Swedish Nation

The novel properties of nanoparticulate materials (NPM) and the rapid development of NPM based products have raised many unanswered questions and concerns by different stakeholders over its consequences for the environment and human health. These concerns have led to an increasing discussion in both the US and Europe about possible regulatory policies for NPM. In this article a comparative study o

Tapasin (Tpn) is an ER chaperone that is uniquely dedicated to MHC-I biosynthesis. It binds MHC-I molecules, integrates them into peptide-loading complexes, and exerts quality control of the bound peptides; only when an "optimal peptide" is bound will the MHC-I be released and exported to the cell surface for presentation to T cells. The exact mechanisms of Tpn quality control and the criteria for

Ongoing adverse events (AEs) at 4-years postsurgery in 69 patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) who received deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) (n = 49) or the internal globus pallidus (GPi) (n = 20), in the framework of a subset of eight centers of a multicenter study, were analyzed by an independent ad hoc committee. At baseline, the patients' age, sex, disea

In a search for airway epithelial mechanisms that may affect the subepithelial microcirculation, we examined plasma exudation responses to NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME), a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor. L-NAME was applied topically on the tracheal mucosa of guinea pigs that had previously received 125I-albumin and/or colloidal gold particles (5 nm) intravenously. Luminal entry

A significant proportion of familial breast cancers cannot be explained by mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. We applied a strategy to identify predisposition loci for breast cancer by using mathematical models to identify early somatic genetic deletions in tumor tissues followed by targeted linkage analysis. Comparative genomic hybridization was used to study 61 breast tumors from 37 breast c

Background: The physiological determinants of left ventricular mass (LVM) measured by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging are not well defined as prior investigators have studied either adults or adolescents in isolation or have not strictly excluded hypertension or accounted for the effects of exercise habits, haemodynamic, demographic, or body shape characteristics. Methods: A total of 102

A three-dimensional (3-D) imaging system for studies of reactive and non-reactive flows is described. It can be used to reveal the topology of turbulent structures and to extract 3-D quantities, such as concentration gradients. Measurements are performed using a high repetition rate laser and detector system in combination with a scanning mirror. In this study, the system is used for laser-induced

In a uniform granite gneiss study area in central Zimbabwe, lineaments oriented parallel to the maximum regional compressive stress orientation exhibit the thickest regolith development, while lineaments oriented perpendicular to the maximum compressive stress show the shallowest development of weathered regolith. The principal fracture set orientations were mapped using aerial imagery. The region

We employ a mesoscopic model for studying aggregation processes of proteinlike hydrophobic-polar heteropolymers. By means of multicanonical Monte Carlo computer simulations, we find strong indications that peptide aggregation is a phase separation process, in which the microcanonical entropy exhibits a convex intruder due to non-negligible surface effects of the small systems. We analyze thermodyn

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The molecular mechanisms of insulin release are only partially known. Among putative factors for coupling glucose metabolism to insulin secretion, anaplerosis has lately received strong support. The anaplerotic enzyme pyruvate carboxylase is highly expressed in beta cells, and anaplerosis influences insulin secretion in beta cells. By inhibiting pyruvate carboxylase in rat islets,

BACKGROUND. in this retrospective data base study, the authors sought to estimate direct costs for bone fractures in women age 65 years with early-stage breast carcinoma and to compare those costs with treatment costs for bone fractures in older women without early-stage breast carcinoma. METHODS. Direct costs for bone fractures in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma, which consist of exces

Swifts regularly spend the night flying at high altitude. From previous studies based on tracking radar observations, we know that they stay airborne during the night and prefer to orient themselves into the wind direction with an increased angular concentration with increasing wind speed. In this study, we investigated the orientation relative to the wind of individual swifts by frequency (discre