Deficiency of complement components within the classical pathway is associated with increased risk for immune complex disease. However, C2-deficient individuals often have a mild disease and about 50% are healthy. To study the importance of the different components for immune complex clearance, bovine serum albumin (BSA)/anti-BSA complexes were opsonized in human serum and the binding to erythrocy

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a persistent inflammation of the synovium, leading to the erosion of articular cartilage and bone. Synovial mast cells and their effector molecule, histamine, receive increased attention as mediators of joint inflammation. The aim of our study was to analyse levels of free histamine in serum and joint fluid of RA patients and to e

The Anti-lock Braking System is an important component of the steeringsystem in a modern car. In the latestgeneration of brake-by-wire systems, the performance requirementson the ABS are much higher. The controllers have to be able to maintain aspecified tire slip for each wheel during braking. The authors proposea design model and based on that a gain-scheduled controller thatregulates the tire-s

54 human genes were selected as test targets for parallel cloning, expression, purification and crystallization. Proteins from these genes were selected to have a molecular weight of between 14 and 50 kDa, not to have a high percentage of hydrophobic residues (i.e. more likely to be soluble) and to have no known crystal structures and were not known to be subunits of heterocomplexes. Four proteins

Injectable bone substitutes (IBS) based on calcium phosphate (CaP) and/or calcium sulphate (CaS) are used as fillers in bone defects to stimulate bone integration and allow mechanical loading. Two types of IBS, IBS-1 is CaP+20%CaS and IBS-2 is CaS+40% hydroxyapatite, were investigated. The materials were injected into holes in the femur and tibia in rabbits. After 10 weeks the femora were subjecte

To estimate the incidence and extension of visceral organ infarction, and to evaluate potential causes, in patients with autopsy-verified nonocclusive mesenteric ischaemia (NOMI) and transmural intestinal infarction. In Malmo, Sweden, the autopsy rate between 1970 and 1982 was 87%, creating possibilities for a population-based study. Amongst 23 446 clinical autopsies, 997 cases were coded for inte

In nature, the fusion of phospholipid vesicles is regulated and catalyzed by highly specialized SNARE proteins. A key step in this process is to bring about close apposition of the lipid bilayers that are destined to fuse. Inspired by nature's use of molecular recognition between receptor proteins, we developed a method to force bilayers into proximity by the selective hybridization of membrane-an

The clinical importance of asymptomatic proximal and distal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) remains uncertain and controversial. The aim of this retrospective, post-hoc analysis was to examine mortality and risk factors for development of proximal DVT in hospitalized patients with acute medical illness who were recruited into a randomized, prospective clinical trial of thromboprophylaxis with daltepari

We report on experimental branching fractions (BFs) for 19 transitions from the three 3d 5( 6S)4s4p( 3P) y6P levels in Fe II, measured in Fourier transform spectra of a Penning discharge lamp and a hollow cathode lamp. The transition wavelengths span the interval between 1600 and 2850 Å. Absolute oscillator strengths ( f-values) have been derived by combining the BFs with experimental radiative li

In the Baltic Sea, floating blooms of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria occur yearly during late summer. These blooms can sometimes be limited by iron. Due to extensive foresting around the Baltic Sea, iron is entering the Baltic Sea partly bound to dissolved organic material (DOM) via rivers. An experiment was performed in 300 1 laboratory mesocosms to test the hypothesis that riverine high-molecular

The gain of neurotoxic function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been linked to misfolding of the homodimeric enzyme Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD). Here, we present the crystal structure of fully cysteine-depleted human SOD (SOD (CallA)), representing a reduced, marginally stable intermediate on the folding pathway in vivo that has also been implicated as neurotoxic precursor state. A

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have shown that exposure to air pollutants in the area of residence and the socio-economic status of an individual may be related. Therefore, when conducting an epidemiological study on the health effect of air pollution, socio-economy may act as a confounding factor. In this paper we examine to what extent socio-economic status and concentrations of NO2 in the county/

We determined plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in 131 patients (95 males, 36 females, mean age 71 years) 6 months after acute stroke onset. Compared to a reference population, the alterations of plasma lipid concentrations in stroke patients were moderate. However, the stroke patients had higher levels of triglyceride and lipoprotein (a) and lower concentrations of cholesterol, high den