Palatine tonsils are continuously exposed to microorganisms and antigens and secrete antimicrobial peptides as a first line of defense. S100A7 is a protein with antimicrobial and chemotactic properties. Our aim was to investigate how the expression of S100A7 in human palatine tonsils is affected by inflammatory processes. Tonsils obtained from 109 patients undergoing tonsillectomy were divided int

Bifidobacterium breve 46, Bifidobacteriumlactis 8:8 and Bifidobacteriumlongum 6:18 and three reference strains B. breve CCUG 24611, B. lactis JCM 10602, and Bifidobacteriumpseudocatenulatum JCM 1200 were examined for acid and bile tolerance, prebiotic utilization and antimicrobial activity against four Clostridium difficile (CD) strains including the hypervirulent strain, PCR ribotype NAP1/027. B.

Jak tyrosine kinases have a unique domain structure containing a kinase domain (JH1) adjacent to a catalytically inactive pseudokinase domain (JH2). JH2 is crucial for inhibition of basal Jak activity, but the mechanism of this regulation has remained elusive. We show that JH2 negatively regulated Jak2 in bacterial cells, indicating that regulation is an intrinsic property of Jak2. JH2 suppressed

The molecular and electronic surface structure of a triarylamine based hole-conductor (HC) molecule evaporated onto rutile TiO2(110) single crystal is investigated by means of synchrotron light based photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray absorption spectroscopy in combination with calculations based on density functional theory. Different amounts of the HC molecule was evaporated spanning the monol

Obesity may be associated with increased risk of prostate cancer (PCa). According to one hypothesis, obesity could lower the risk of non-aggressive tumours, while simultaneously increasing the risk of aggressive cancer. Furthermore, central adiposity may be independently associated with PCa risk; it is also associated with diabetes, which itself may influence risk of PCa. We studied the associatio

Introduction. Obstructive sleep apnea is defined as repetitive (≥5/hour) partial or complete cessation of breathing during sleep. Whereas obstructive sleep apnea is often considered to be associated with sexual problems in men, studies concerning effects of obstructive sleep apnea on female sexual function and distress are sparse. Aim. To investigate sexual dysfunction and sexual distress in femal

Saccharomyces cerevisiae TMB3001 has previously been engineered to utilize xylose by integrating the genes coding for xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) and overexpressing the native xylulokinase (XK) gene. The resulting strain is able to metabolize xylose, but its xylose utilization rate is low compared to that of natural xylose utilizing yeasts, like Pichia stipitis or Candida

The literature identifies two forms of business organization, Neocorporatist and firm-level, and the strength of each respective type has changed over time; whereas Neocorporatism has remained steady or declined, firm-level organization has become stronger in all countries. The literature underscores the differential effects of these two forms of business organization on employer support for activ

In both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients, Candida and Malassezia are causing or triggering clinical manifestations such as cutaneous infections and atopic eczema. The innate immune system provides rapid responses to microbial invaders, without requiring prior stimulation, through a sophisticated system of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). High molecular weight kininogen (HMWK) and compo

The second most common cause of chronic renal failure is glomerulonephritis, which is a collective term used for numerous diseases with the common denominator of histological renal inflammation emanating from the glomerular tuft. Whether all forms of glomerulonephritis should be considered as autoimmune disease is debatable, but immune mechanisms are important in all of them. This review focuses o

The frequency of chromosomal aberrations in peripheral blood predicts a probable cancer risk. The individual telomere length and methylation of repetitive elements may be susceptibility factors for chromosomal aberrations. A cohort of healthy Norwegian men (N = 364) recruited during 1980-1999 were analyzed for chromosomal aberrations in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes from peripheral blo

The prediction of transcription factor binding sites in genomic sequences is in principle very useful to identify upstream regulatory factors. However, when applying this concept to genomes of multicellular organisms such as mammals, one has to deal with a large number of false positive predictions since many transcription factor genes are only expressed in specific tissues or cell types. We devel

BACKGROUND: It is widely assumed that apoptosis of eosinophils is a central component of resolution of allergic airway disease. However, this has not been demonstrated in human allergic airways in vivo. Based on animal in vivo observations we hypothesised that steroid-induced resolution of human airway eosinophilic inflammation involves inhibition of CCL5 (RANTES), a CC-chemokine regulating eosino

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this longitudinal study was to test the hypothesis that CSF biomarkers in AD patients also may be forward-looking measures that are associated not only with the degree and profile of cognitive impairment but also with changes in cognition over time. METHODS: Here, we assessed the association of CSF Abeta42, T-tau and P-tau with neuropsychological scores of disease severity,

Laser tattoo removal uses the physical properties of photoselective thermolysis in order to remove tattoo pigment. The technique has gradually improved over the years with the development of Q-switched lasers, with overall good results and a relatively low degree of adverse effects. However, lasers cannot always erase the unwanted tattoo completely, and there are still risks of unwanted effects su

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) trauma often occurs in combination with injury to the articular cartilage of the knee, this can result in earlier radiographic evidence of post traumatic osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee compared to the contralateral, ACL intact knee; however, the biomechanical and biological mechanisms associated with the onset and progression of this disease are not understood. We

Background: Vascular access failure is a common cause of morbidity in patients with end-stage renal failure on hemodialysis (HD). Activation of the coagulation system and formation of a thrombus play important roles in recurrent arteriovenous fistula/graft (AVFG) failure. Thrombin in complex with thrombomodulin (TM) activates the anticoagulant protein C and creates activated protein C (APC), which