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Recent studies have identified mutations in the complement regulatory gene factor I (CFI) that predispose to atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). CFI is a two-chain serine protease in which the light chain carries the catalytic domain while the heavy chain's function is unclear. It downregulates the alternative and classical complement pathways by cleaving the alpha' chains of C3b and C4b in

Leukotriene A4 hydrolase/aminopeptidase (LTA4H) (EC 3.3.2.6) is a bifunctional zinc metalloenzyme with both an epoxide hydrolase and an aminopeptidase activity. LTA4H from the African claw toad, Xenopus laevis (xlLTA4H) has been shown to, unlike the human enzyme, convert LTA4 to two enzymatic metabolites, LTB4 and another biologically active product Δ(6)-trans-Δ(8)-cis-LTB4 (5(S),12R-dihydroxy-6,1

Local adaptation is an important process contributing to population differentiation which can occur in continuous or isolated populations connected by various amounts of gene flow. The willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) is one of the most common songbirds in Fennoscandia. It has a continuous breeding distribution where it is found in all forested habitats from sea level to the tree line and t

Stress corrosion, SC, in some cases gives rise to stress corrosion cracking, SCC, which differs from purely stress intensity driven cracks in many aspects. They initiate and grow under the influence of an aggressive environment in a stressed substrate. They grow at low load and may branch. The phenomenon of SCC is very complex, both the initiation phase and crack extension itself of SCC is seeming

Sensor based control systems increase flexibility and autonomy in robotics. One of the most common applications in robotics is welding, which is often limited to objects with fine tolerances. To be able to manage objects with relatively large tolerances, such as ship-hulls, sensor guided control systems have to be incorporated that are able to handle large deviations from the drawings. To be able

Popular Abstract in Swedish Utvecklandet av helt nya baspolymerer för tillverkning av massprodukter förväntas i framtiden vara begränsad p.g.a. för höga investeringskostnader. En av de mest tydliga trenderna inom polymerindustrin idag är istället den ökande betydelsen av polymerblandningar. Kombinationer av två eller flera polymerer som bildar fasseparerade strukturer i blandning ger ofta materialOne of the main trends in the polymer industry today is the increasing importance of polymer blends. Combining two or more immiscible polymers in a polymer blend often leads to multi-phase materials with desirable properties. The typical poor morphological stability and low interfacial adhesion in these blends can be eliminated by adding compatibilizing graft copolymers. Well-defined graft copoly

Aquaporins are integral membrane proteins that function as water channels highly specific for water or as aquaglyceroporins permeable to water as well as small solutes such as glycerol and urea. The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has 35 genes encoding aquaporin proteins. Identifying the complete set of aquaporins in Arabidopsis constitutes an unique opportunity to comprehensively classify and re

Popular Abstract in Swedish Bindväv är samlingsnamnet på de vävnader som bygger upp ben, brosk, senor, ligament, tänder, hud m.m. Bindväven utgör kroppens stomme och bidrar med stödjande och elastiska funktioner samt ger skydd åt kroppen både på utsidan och åt de inre organen. Det finns ganska få celler i bindväv jämfört med många andra vävnader i kroppen och det finns olika celltyper i olika sortThe properties of different connective tissues depend on the synthesis and assembly of macromolecular structures composed of collagen and other extracellular matrix components. Mechanisms modulating these events play important roles in the formation of a functional tissue. We have studied the role of collagen-binding extracellular matrix leucine-rich repeat glycoproteins/proteoglycans in the forma

Many people have experienced computers not doing what they were expected to do or, perhaps more often, met with computers that deliver faulty results. Frequently, if not always, such behavior is blamed the lack of a complete requirements specification. hi this assertion, it is tacitly understood that if a specification is correct and comprehensive enough then it is possible to avoid computing erro

The accuracy of NOAA AVHRR NDVI maximum value composites can be poor due to interference from several sources, including cloud cover. The objectives of this paper are; 1. to accurately quantify noise in this imagery over Africa using geostatistics, and 2. to test four compositing techniques that may be able to reduce this noise. The nugget of the variogram model is used to compute standardized noi

The diffusion of digital technologies has strongly affected the way scholars and researchers use and perceive the archaeological information detected during the field investigation process. Archaeologists are still only beginning to realize the full potential of these applications beyond the attraction of providing visually engaging documentation and focus on the analytical and interpretive power.

Typically, a significant fraction of phosphorus in soils is composed of organic phosphates, and this fraction thus plays an important role in the global phosphorus cycle. Here we have studied adsorption of monomethyl phosphate (MMP) to goethite (alpha-FeOOH) as a model system in order to better understand the mechanisms behind adsorption of organic phosphates to soil minerals, and how adsorption a

Efforts to extract a Greenland ice core with a complete record of the Eemian interglacial (130,000 to 115,000 years ago) have until now been unsuccessful. The response of the Greenland ice sheet to the warmer-than-present climate of the Eemian has thus remained unclear. Here we present the new North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling ('NEEM') ice core and show only a modest ice-sheet response to the st

Reactions of cis-[PtCl(NH3)(CyNH2)(OH2)](+) (Cy = cyclohexyl) with thione-containing single-stranded oligonucleotides d(T8XT8) and d(XT16) (X = I-s6 or U-s4) and the mononucleotides 4-thiouridine ((UMP)-U-s4) and 6-mercaptoinosine ((IMP)-I-s6) have been studied in aqueous solution at pH 4.1. The reaction kinetics was followed using HPLC methodology as a function of ionic strength in the interval 5

Among transcriptional regulatory proteins described, NF-kappaB seems particularly important in modulating the expression of immunoregulatory genes relevant in critical illness, inflammatory diseases, apoptosis, and cancer. In particular, NF-kappaB plays a central role in regulating the transcription of cytokines, adhesion molecules, and other mediators. The biochemical basis by which diverse stimu