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The immune system is remarkable in many ways. It exerts immunity to defend us from foreign pathogens, while it is also responsible for maintaining tolerance to avoid autoimmune diseases and allergy. This thesis includes three separate papers concerning both tolerance and immunity. In paper I we report that repeated antigen stimulation results in an increased proportion of Foxp3+ cells in the CD4+
The partial unfolding of human lysozyme underlies its conversion from the soluble state into amyloid fibrils observed in a fatal hereditary form of systemic amyloidosis. To understand the molecular origins of the disease, it is critical to characterize the structural and physicochemical properties of the amyloidogenic states of the protein. Here we provide a high-resolution view of the unfolding p
The classical pathway complement regulator C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is composed of two polypeptides (alpha- and beta-chains), which form three plasma oligomers with different subunit compositions (alpha(7)beta(1), alpha(7)beta(0), and alpha(6)beta(1)). We show in this article that the C4BP alpha(7)beta(0) isoform (hereafter called C4BP[beta(-)] [C4BP lacking the beta-chain]), overexpressed under
The purpose of this work was to evaluate three motion-monitoring systems: Sentinel (TM), Catalyst (TM) (both C-RAD) and Real-time Position Management (RPM (TM)) system (Varian Medical Systems Inc) for respiratory gating in radiotherapy. To measure the systems. latency, an in-house built circuit with a microcontroller operating a piston was used. The trigger pulse was sent from the gating systems t
The three Mn I lines at 17325, 17339, and 17349 angstrom are among the 25 strongest lines (log(gf) > 0.5) in the H band. They are all heavily broadened due to hyperfine structure, and the profiles of these lines have so far not been understood. Earlier studies of these lines even suggested that they were blended. In this work, the profiles of these three infrared (IR) lines have been studied theor
Denna uppsats behandlar fattigdomsbekämpning utifrån svensk biståndspolitik. Bi-ståndsgivning har länge varit en självklar del i både internationell och svensk politik, ändå har inga större framgångar skett med att utrota fattigdom. Syftet med uppsatsen är att utvärdera Sveriges politik om bistånd genom det senast utgivna dokumentet om bi-ståndspolitik – Biståndspolitisk plattform – utgiven av regThis essay concern poverty alleviation through Swedish aid policy. Giving aid has been an evident part of both international and Swedish policy for a long time, yet there has been no great success with eradicating poverty. The purpose is to evaluate Sweden’s aid policy through its most recently published document on aid policy, which the govern-ment published in March 2014. The document will be an
Malaria is a major global cause of deaths and a vaccine is urgently needed.
During atrial fibrillation (AF), time-frequency analysis of atrial signal has been applied to describe fibrillatory frequency trends. Recently, temporal changes in spectral shape have been investigated using the spectral profile technique. This profile is computed recursively by fitting each short-time log-spectrum to a spectral template, using amplitude scaling and frequency shifting. The purpose
Objectives: To assess the risk of lymphoproliferative disease or other malignancy (standardised incidence ratios (SIRs)), in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome according to the American-European Consensus Criteria (AECC), compared with patients with sicca syndrome (non-AECC) and the background population. To identify predictors of malignancy and describe lymphoma types and survival probabili
Medin amyloid is found in the medial layer of the aorta in almost 100% of the Caucasian population over 50 years of age. The medin fragment is 5.5 kDa and derives from the C2-like domain of the precursor protein lactadherin. We have previously reported immunohistochemical findings showing that medin amyloid co-localizes with elastic fibers of arteries and herein we show that lactadherin also is as
We present a new type of nanometer-scale semiconductor nonlinear device, called self-switching device (SSD). The device was realized by simply etching insulating grooves into a semiconductor, between which a narrow channel with a broken symmetry was formed. Because of the asymmetry in the channel boundary, an applied voltage V not only changes the potential profile along the channel direction, but
The human pathogen Haemophilus influenzae causes mainly respiratory tract infections such as acute otitis media in children and exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We recently revealed the crystal structure of H. influenzeae protein E (PE), a multifunctional adhesin that is involved in direct interactions with lung epithelial cells and host proteins. Based upon th
Serine proteases of the S1 family have maintained a common structure over an evolutionary span of more than one billion years, and evolved a variety of substrate specificities and diverse biological roles, involving digestion and degradation, blood clotting, fibrinolysis and epithelial homeostasis. We here show that a wide range of C-terminal peptide sequences of serine proteases, particularly fro
This report provides a compendium of current information relating to radiation dose to patients, including biokinetic models, biokinetic data, dose coefficients for organ and tissue absorbed doses, and effective dose for major radiopharmaceuticals based on the radiation protection guidance given in Publication 60 (ICRP, 1991). These data were mainly compiled from Publications 53 , 80, and 106 (ICR
OBJECTIVE: To assess adherence to isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) in children exposed to adult pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at home. METHODS: Children were enrolled on IPT if they were aged <= 5 years or 5-15 years and presented a tuberculin skin test induration of >= 1.0 mm. Children were included from the demographic surveillance system of the Bandim Health Project in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Th
Optimal linearly constrained minimum variance (LCMV) filtering methods have recently been applied to fundamental frequency estimation. Like many other fundamental frequency estimators, these methods are constructed using an estimate of the inverse data covariance matrix. The required matrix inverse is typically formed using the sample covariance matrix via data partitioning, although this is well-
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a frequent problem in hemodialysis units. The prevalence and incidence of HCV infection over a decade were studied in a nephrology unit affected by previous nosocomial HCV transmission. The HCV non-structural 5B protein gene was sequenced to achieve phylogenetic analysis of a new (incident) case of infection. Proportions of patients who were and were not infect
Variation in transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2), the strongest genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), may play a role in prostate cancer (PCa) depending on lifestyle factors. The aims of this study were to determine if TCF7L2 rs7903146 is associated with risk of PCa and if the association is modified by lifestyle factors independently of T2D status.
Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This study investigated whether Stx2 induces hemolysis and whether complement is involved in the hemolytic process. RBCs and/or RBC-derived microvesicles from patients with STEC-HUS (n = 25) were investigated for the presence of C3 and C9 by flow cytometry. Patients exhibited increased C3 deposition on RBCs
