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The arterio-venous anastomoses (AVA) play a major role in the blood circulation in the peripheral body parts. In this work, the segmental bioheat model of Salloum et al. [1] is improved to accurately predict skin blood flow rate in the hands and fingers, and the local and overall human thermal responses in transient environments. The improvements in the model include: 1) extending the artery tree
BACKGROUND: Molecular evolution of carbohydrate binding modules (CBM) is a new approach for the generation of glycan-specific molecular probes. To date, the possibility of performing affinity maturation on CBM has not been investigated. In this study we show that binding characteristics such as affinity can be improved for CBM generated from the CBM4-2 scaffold by using random mutagenesis in combi
The classical pathway of complement is crucial to the immune system, but it also contributes to inflammatory diseases when dys-regulated. Binding of the C1 complex to ligands activates the pathway by inducing autoactivation of associated C1r, after which C1r activates C1s. C1s cleaves complement component C4 and then C2 to cause full activation of the system. The interaction between C1s and C4 inv
Permanent exposure to pathogens requires decisions toward tolerance or immunity as a prime task of dendritic cells. The molecular mechanisms preventing uncontrolled immune responses are not completely clear. We investigated the regulatory function of Ncf1, an organizing protein of NADPH oxidase, in the signaling cascade of Toll-like receptors. TLR9-stimulated spleen cells from both Ncf1-deficient
Purpose: Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is defined as a sarcoma with cellular pleomorphism and no identifiable line of differentiation. It is typically a high-grade lesion with a metastatic rate of about 1/3. No tumor-specific rearrangement has been identified and genetic markers that could be used for treatment stratification are lacking. We performed transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq
Current optical space telescopes rely upon silicon charge-coupled devices (CCDs) to detect and image the incoming photons. The performance of a CCD detector depends on its ability to transfer electrons through the silicon efficiently, so that the signal from every pixel may be read out through a single amplifier. This process of electron transfer is highly susceptible to the effects of solar proto
Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that presents severe health care concerns due to the prevalence of multiple antibiotic-resistant strains. New treatment strategies are urgently needed, which requires an understanding of disease causation mechanisms. Complement is one of the first lines of defense against bacterial pathogens, and S. aureus expresses several specific complement inh
Serglycin (SG) is a proteoglycan expressed by hematopoietic cells and is constitutively secreted by multiple myeloma (MM) cells. SG participates in the regulation of various inflammatory events. We found that SG secreted by human MM cell lines inhibits both the classical and lectin pathways of complement, without influencing alternative pathway activity. The inhibitory effect of SG is due to direc
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) escapes the host immune system by recruitment of the complement regulator vitronectin that inhibits the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) by inhibiting C5b-C7 complex formation and C9 polymerization. We previously reported that Hib acquires vitronectin at the surface by using Haemophilus surface fibrils (Hsf). Here we studied in detail the interacti
In this work we show how hydrodynamic forces can be used to locally trap molecules in a supported lipid bilayer (SLB). The method uses the hydrodynamic drag forces arising from a flow through a conical pipette with a tip radius of 1-1.5 mu m, placed approximately 1 mu m above the investigated SLB. This results in a localized force-field that acts on molecules protruding from the SLB, yielding a hy
P>Infection of mice with the gastrointestinal nematode Trichuris muris represents a valuable tool to investigate and dissect intestinal immune responses. Resistant mouse strains respond to T. muris infection by mounting a T helper type 2 response. Previous results have shown that CD4+ T cells play a critical role in protective immunity, and that CD4+ T cells localize to the infected large intestin
The coherence spectrum is of notable interest as a bivariate spectral measure in a variety of application, and the topic has lately attracted notable interest with the recent formulation of several high-resolution data adaptive estimators. In this work, we present computationally efficient time recursive implementations of the recent iterative adaptive approach (IAA) estimator, examining both the
The complement system consists of more than 40 proteins that participate in the inflammatory response and in pathogen killing. Complement inhibitors are necessary to avoid the excessive consumption and activation of this system on host cells. Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by spirochetes from the genus Leptospira. Pathogenic leptospires are able to escape from complement activation b
Eye gaze is a window onto cognitive processing in tasks such as spatial memory, linguistic processing, and decision making. We present evidence that information derived from eye gaze can be used to change the course of individuals’ decisions, even when they are reasoning about high-level, moral issues. Previous studies have shown that when an experimenter actively controls what an individual sees
The pattern of endocrine disorders in long-term survivors of childhood cancer has not been investigated comprehensively. Here, we aimed to assess the lifetime risk of these disorders in Nordic survivors of childhood cancer.
Background Preventive programs for individuals who have high lifetime risks of colorectal cancer may reduce disease morbidity and mortality. Thus, it is important to identify the factors that are associated with hereditary colorectal cancer and to monitor the effects of tailored surveillance. In particular, patients with Lynch syndrome, hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), have an in
Human neutrophil peptide-1 (HNP-1) is a member of the alpha-defensin family. Defensins are cationic antimicrobial peptides, which play an important role in the antimicrobial response to microorganisms. In addition, recent studies have revealed the involvement of defensins in inflammation, immunity and wound repair. Defensins are present in the azurophilic granules of neutrophils and are released u
