Objective To compare long-term work loss in methotrexate-refractory early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) randomized to addition of infliximab or conventional combination treatment. Methods Multicentre, two-arm, parallel, randomized, active-controlled, open-label trial. RA patients with

Several commercial UF-membranes are characterized by water contact angles. Two different methods of contact angle measurements, the sessile drop and the captive bubble methods, are compared. Differences in results between the two methods occur for the DDS GR 61 membrane; otherwise the methods give rather consistent results. The advancing and the receding contact angles are measured for the UF-memb

A rheological method for screening water soluble polymers intended for fouling prevention of membranes is investigated.Viscosity is measured of mixtures between polymers (neutral Dextran T500 positively charged DEAE-dextran and negatively charged dextran sulphate) and proteins (BSA, ovalbumin, pepsin and lysozyme).The method is sensitive enough to detect interactions between the polymers and the p

Milk and whey are widely processed by membrane filtration, often using polysulphone membranes. Adsorption of β-lactoglobulin onto polysulphone was studied at protein concn. of 0.1 and 1.0%, as well as 12% to represent concn. encountered during ultrafiltration. Adsorption onto silica and methylated silica surfaces (representing strongly hydrophilic and strongly hydrophobic surfaces resp.) was also

Polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes were modified with dextran, dextran sulfate and diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) dextran. The behavior of the modified membranes towards static adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated in the pH range 3-7. The modified membranes showed lower flux losses after protein adsorption than unmodified membranes. The plain dextran was considered to be the best

The phenomenon of protein adsorption to solid surfaces affects the performance of many materials and processes, in areas ranging from medicine to biochemical engineering. Controlling protein adsorption, from solutions of single proteins as well as from more complex mixtures, requires an understanding of the mechanism(s) by which it occurs. This, in turn, entails detailed characterization of both t

The interaction of two ionic surfactants, CTAB and SDS, with β-lactoglobulin and lysozyme at surfaces was monitored by in situ ellipsometry. The effects of the surfactants on proteins adsorbed at a surface as well as the adsorption from protein/surfactant mixtures were studied. The behavior at four different surfaces, silicon oxide, chromium oxide, nickel oxide, and methylated silica, was investig

The captive bubble method was used to describe the wetting characteristics of a number of commercial ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. The membranes belonged to one of two homologous (same material, different cut-off) series made by the same manufacturer. One series was made of polysulphone and the other one of cellulose triacetate. The porosimetric characteristics of the membranes have also been me

The adsorption from a mixture of SDS and β-Lactoglobulin, 1:5 (), onto a methylated silica surface was studied in situ by ellipsometry. The amounts adsorbed from different concentrations of the mixture, at pH 7, were compared with those adsorbed from the corresponding pure SDS and β-lactoglobulin solutions. At high concentrations of the mixture, where the CMC of SDS is approached or exceeded, the The adsorption from a mixture of SDS and β-Lactoglobulin, 1:5 (), onto a methylated silica surface was studied in situ by ellipsometry. The amounts adsorbed from different concentrations of the mixture, at pH 7, were compared with those adsorbed from the corresponding pure SDS and β-lactoglobulin solutions. At high concentrations of the mixture, where the CMC of SDS is approached or exceeded, the

The elutability of adsorbed fibrinogen by cationic surfactants of different chain lengths (dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide, tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide), and an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)) was studied using in situ ellipsometry. The concentrations of the surfactants were twice the CMC in water and for fibrinogen, 0.4 mg ml−1. The inve

The interaction between a cationic surfactant (dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide) and six model proteins adsorbed on to methylated silica and silica surfaces was investigated. The proteins were bovine serum albumin, cytochrome c, β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin, lysozyme and ovalbumin. The adsorption of the proteins at pH 7 and their subsequent removal by surfactant were studied by in situ ellipsome

The change in the secondary structure of T4 lysozyme upon adsorption to silica particles was studied with circular dichroism. Two different mutants of the protein along with the wild type were investigated. The mutants differ from wild type by substitution of isoleucine for cysteine or tryptophan at position 3 and were chosen to represent a range of stability as quantified by their energies of the

Adsorption onto hydrophobic surfaces of α-, β-, γ-, and ω-gliadins from the wheat variety Chinese Spring was studied by means of in situ ellipsometry. Most measurements were conducted in 0·01m phosphate buffer, pH 6·0, with the protein concentrations 1, 5 and 25 μg/mL. The adsorbed amount varied between 1·3 and 11·4 mg/m2, which is high considering the low protein concentrations. The concentration

The adsorption of β-lactoglobulin to stainless steel and its subsequent removal were followed using in situ null ellipsometry. The influence of the surface pretreatment on the protein removal by the surfactant SDS and by sodium hydroxide was studied. All surfaces were precleaned in strongly alkaline solution. Some surfaces received no further pretreatment, while others were either passivated in ni

The adsorption of β-lactoglobulin to stainless steel and its subsequent alkali-induced removal were followed using ellipsometry. New steel samples differing in bulk composition, surface finish or chemical pretreatment were used. All surfaces were precleaned in strongly alkaline solution, and some were subsequently passivated in nitric acid. Furthermore, on surfaces differing in pretreatment measur

The adsorption of human carbonic anhydrase II pseudo-wild type (HCAIIpwt) and an N-terminally truncated version thereof onto silica surfaces were studied. The amount adsorbed and the adsorption kinetics were measured using in situ ellipsometry. A substantial difference was seen between the two proteins. The adsorbed amount of the truncated version (2.53 mg/m2) indicates an end-on orientation, whil

The effects of protein addition (lysozyme and bovine serum albumin) on surface tension reduction and cloud point of a surfactant (Pentaethyleneglycol Mono n-Dodecyl Ether (C12E5)) were studied. The minimum surface tension was in all cases 27 mN/m but was reached at a higher surfactant concentration for the BSA/ C12E5 solution than for the pure surfactant or the lysozyme/surfactant mixture, indicat

A description of general models for adsorption kinetics is given. Combinations of the models are compared with adsorption data for the self-associating proteins β-lactoglobulin A and B, from Elofssonet al.(U. M. Elofsson, M. A. Paulsson, and T. Arnebrant,Langmuir,submitted). The adsorption onto methylated silica surfaces was measured by these authors by ellipsometry in phosphate buffer (0.01M,pH 7