Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a pleiotropic cytokine, hitherto mostly known to be involved in inflammatory responses and immunoregulation. The human tslp gene gives rise to two transcription and translation variants: a long form (lfTSLP) that is induced by inflammation, and a short, constitutively-expressed form (sfTSLP), that appears to be downregulated by inflammation. The TSLP forms ca

Adaptor proteins assist proteases in degrading specific proteins under appropriate conditions. The adaptor protein YjbH promotes the degradation of an important global transcriptional regulator Spx, which controls the expression of hundreds of genes and operons in response to thiol-specific oxidative stress in Bacillus subtilis. Under normal growth conditions, the transcription factor is bound to

In this work, we present a trinification-based grand unified theory incorporating a global SU(3) family symmetry that after a spontaneous breaking leads to a left-right symmetric model. Already at the classical level, this model can accommodate the matter content and the quark Cabbibo mixing in the Standard Model (SM) with only one Yukawa coupling at the unification scale. Considering the minimal

This study is focused on the energy saving and indoor climate analysis of the renovation of a 1930's brick-walled building in the moderately cold climatic conditions of Malmö in southern Sweden. Three facades of the building were glassed in and the ventilation system was renewed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect the added glazing would have on the building's energy demand an

The atomic structure of calcium-silicate-hydrate (C1.67-S-Hx) has been studied. Atomistic C-S-H models suggested in our previous study have been revised in order to perform a direct comparison of energetic stability of the diferent structures. An extensive set of periodic structures of C-S-H with variation of water content was created, and then optimized using molecular dynamics with reactive forc

The last years have been characterized by tremendous institutional change in the university sector induced by far-reaching Higher Education Reforms (e.g. Bologna). Building on loose-coupling theory, we hypothesize that smaller universities were better able to adapt to the Higher Education Reforms of the recent years, triggering a decline in the optimal size of universities in the reform period. Us

We hypothesized that key signaling pathways of glioma genesis might enable the molecular classification of gliomas. Gene coexpression modules around epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) (EM, 29 genes) or platelet derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA) (PM, 40 genes) in gliomas were identified. Based on EM and PM expression signatures, nonnegative matrix factorization reproducibly clustered 1

The human cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate early promoter has been extensively used to drive target gene expression in transgenic mammalian cells. DNA methylation of the CMV promoter has been shown to be the reason for a reduced promoter activity and silencing of the target gene. We have established an in vitro model system, in which human brain cancer cells (glioblastoma multiforme, GBM) were tran

Background: Strategies of habitat selection, defence, and foraging depend critically on population density and the frequency of alternative strategies: they are evolutionary games. Although commonly modelled in studies of animal behaviour, they are less frequently used to provide insights into the behaviour of plants. A 'review' and analysis of how these universal strategies apply to plants should

Acrylamide is a well-known neurotoxic compound and people get exposed to the compound by food consumption and environmental pollutants. Since acrylamide crosses the placenta barrier, the fetus is also being exposed resulting in a risk for developmental neurotoxicity. In this study, the neural progenitor cell line C17.2 and the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y were used to study proliferation and di

AbstractObjectiveTo study the immediate effects of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) on glucose homeostasis, insulin, and incretin responses to mixed-meal tests compared with the effects of calorie restriction (CR).SettingUniversity-affiliated bariatric surgery clinic.BackgroundRYGB induces remission of type 2 diabetes (T2 D) long before significant weight loss occurs. The time course and underlying

Stoichiometric and very rich (1.5 ≤ ɸ ≤ 1.9) laminar flat flames of methane have been investigated using nonintrusive laser diagnostics. Premixed CH4 + O2 + N2 flames were stabilized at a pressure of 30 ± 0.3 Torr. Temperature profiles were obtained using laser-induced fluorescence of OH. Absolute concentration profiles of singlet methylene, 1CH2, were measured by intracavity laser absorption spec

Trabecular bone samples are traditionally embedded and polished for scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM). The effect of sample processing, including dehydration, on the acoustic impedance of bone is unknown. In this study, acoustic impedance of human trabecular bone samples (n = 8) was experimentally assessed before (fresh) and after embedding using SAM and two-dimensional (2-D) finite-difference ti

Novel methodology for O-functionalization of carbohydrate derivatives has been established using bench-stable and easily prepared iodonium(III) reagents. Both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating aryl groups were introduced under ambient conditions and without precautions to exclude air or moisture. Furthermore, the approach was extended both to full arylation of cyclodextrin, and to trifluo

Objectives To assess how suitable current chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cost-effectiveness models are to evaluate personalized treatment options for COPD by exploring the type of heterogeneity included in current models and by validating outcomes for subgroups of patients. Methods A consortium of COPD modeling groups completed three tasks. First, they reported all patient characteri

Neuroendocrine abnormalities are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and include disruption of melatonin secretion, disturbances of glucose, insulin resistance and bone metabolism, and body weight changes. They have been associated with multiple non-motor symptoms in PD and have important clinical consequences, including therapeutics. Some of the underlying mechanisms have been implicated in the pa

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that specific mutations in the β-glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA) causing neuropathic Gaucher's disease (GD) in homozygotes lead to aggressive cognitive decline in heterozygous Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, whereas non-neuropathic GD mutations confer intermediate progression rates.METHODS: A total of 2,304 patients with PD and 20,868 longitudinal visits for up to 12.8

Abnormalities of tau protein are central to the pathogenesis of progressive supranuclear palsy, whereas haplotype variation of the tau gene MAPT influences the risk of Parkinson disease and Parkinson's disease dementia. We assessed whether regional MAPT expression might be associated with selective vulnerability of global brain networks to neurodegenerative pathology. Using task-free functional ma