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During the past few decades systemic corruption has come to be seen as a significant factor which hinders socio-economic development, posing a serious threat to the political, economic and social well-being of many developing and transition countries. Under conditions of systemic corruption, many institutions, rules and norms of behaviour have become adapted to a corrupt modus operandi. Public off
Background: Heroin dependence is associated with high mortality. Opioid agonist treatment (OAT) with methadone or buprenorphine has strong evidence for treatment of this relapsing condition. In our setting, OAT has been associated with strict and demanding intake procedures, often with requirements of social stability, but also high, approximately 80 percent 12-month retention rates. In a recent r
Bone marrow (BM) contains a rare population of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which have been characterized as nonhematopoietic skeletal progenitor cells with central importance for the hematopoietic microenvironment. Classically, MSCs are isolated by plastic adherence and subsequent culture. However, as cultured stromal cells differ from their in vivo progenitors, it is important to identify t
Background: Presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a validated prognostic marker in metastatic breast cancer. Additional prognostic information may be obtained by morphologic characterization of CTCs. We explored whether apoptotic CTCs, CTC clusters and leukocytes attached to CTCs are associated with breast cancer subtype and prognosis at base-line (BL) and in follow-up (FU) blood samples i
The control of the Touch Hand: a low-cost electrically powered prosthetic hand is explored in this paper. A novel Haptic User Interface is proposed and tested as a supplement for amputee-prosthetic EMG control. The performance of the prosthetic hand is tested through gripping tests. The hand is capable of performing a lateral grip of 3.7 N, a power grip of 19.5 N and to passively hold a weight of
BACKGROUND: Different adiposity traits may be causally related to hypertension in different ways. By using genetic variants as randomly allocated proxies for studying the effect of modifying adiposity traits, the Mendelian randomization approach can be used to investigate this. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, we used 4 different genetic risk scores (GRS; GRS-BMI 565, GRS-WHR 324, GRS-VAT 208,
When selecting for monoclonal antibodies of a desired affinity, affinity chromatography can be a feasible alternative. This is of particular interest when low affinity monoclonal antibodies (dissociation constant (Kd) > 10(-4) M) are screened, as they are not easily recognised by traditional immunoassay procedures. In this study we have evaluated this approach by monitoring low affinity monoclonal
Here, we highlight the potential translational benefits of delivering FLASH radiotherapy using ultra-high dose rates (>100 Gy·s−1). Compared with conventional dose-rate (CONV; 0.07–0.1 Gy·s−1) modalities, we showed that FLASH did not cause radiation-induced deficits in learning and memory in mice. Moreover, 6 months after exposure, CONV caused permanent alterations in neurocognitive end points, wh
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of gastric cancer associated with individual or combined glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) polymorphism and their interaction with environmental factors. Materials and Methods: Genotyping by PCR was carried out for 80 cases and controls each for GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 polymorphism and mapped for gene—environment association studies. The s
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the principle public health problems in the 21st century, threatening the available treatment strategies for bacterial infections. Here, we present a human protein-lipid complex, HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) purified from human milk as a potential therapeutic agent which has both tumoricidal and bactericidal activity. HAMLET’
Humans are exposed to various metals through many different routes and each person’s genetic background contributes to their susceptibility to metal toxicity. In addition, recent evidence points to a role for the genetics of the human microbiome in metal uptake and toxicity. DNA sequence variation in genes that regulate metal toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics influences metal accumulation and rete
OBJECTIVE: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) are essential in host defense, but are also linked to inflammation and autoimmunity, including in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We recently described that immune complexes (IC) induce NET formation, promoting SLE-like disease in mice. In the current study, we investigated, for the first time to our knowledge, the role of NET in human SLE and th
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a clinically defined, highly pruritic, chronic inflammatory skin disease of children and adults. The diagnosis is made using evaluated clinical criteria. Disease activity is best measured with a composite score assessing both objective signs and subjective symptoms, such as SCORAD. The management of AD must consider the clinical and pathogenic variabilities of the disease
Objectives: Several studies have shown mortality and suicide risk in substance use disorders, and autopsy findings with respect to the used substances. However, there seems to be a gap in the knowledge about substances misused in life and at death at the within-person level. Methods: All consecutive, autopsied patients during 1993 to 1997, who had been in contact with the Addiction Centre in Malmö
Beside its classical role as a serum effector system of innate immunity, evidence is accumulating that complement has an intracellular repertoire of components that provides not only immune defense, but also functions to maintain cellular homeostasis. While complement proteins, mainly the central component C3, have been detected in B cells, their exact function and source remain largely unexplored
Stroke is a significant cause of long-term disability, impairing over 10 million peoples motor function, primarily on one side of the body every year. Whilst effective rehabilitation exercises can help recover and maintain some affected motor function, stroke survivors often do not carry out enough of these. Instead relying on their `good' side to carry out tasks. However, this leads to poor recov
This paper discusses the results from recent archaeological investigations at the Monastery of St Antony in Egypt, including the remains of a number of building phases predating the current church, locally produced pottery, and manuscript fragments written in Coptic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Ge’ez.
