Aquaporin membrane protein channels mediate cellular water flow. Human aquaporin 5 (AQP5) is highly expressed in the respiratory system and secretory glands where it facilitates the osmotically-driven generation of pulmonary secretions, saliva, sweat and tears. Dysfunctional trafficking of AQP5 has been implicated in several human disease states, including Sjögren's syndrome, bronchitis and cystic

The high false negative rates for initial prostate biopsies refer a large number of the men for repeat biopsies each year. Therefore, biomarkers associated with high risk of the presence of malignancy in histologically benign biopsies could provide a tool to discriminate the patients who need repeat biopsy or intensive follow-up from those who do not. Here we examined the diagnostic applicability

Popular Abstract in English An increased risk of pre-cancer lesions of the cervix among HIV-infected women, and the positive impact of HIV treatment on its outcome has been reported globally. However there is paucity of information from west Africa with genetically distinct viral strains. Considering that HIV strains differ in the rate and pattern of HIV disease progression, a different outcome isBackground: The highest numbers of HIV-infected women are in sub- Saharan Africa, where the natural progression of HIV disease in the absence of treatment results in death before the onset of invasive cervical cancer. With improved access to treatment, several studies outside West Africa demonstrated an increased risk of pre-invasive cervical lesions among HIV-infected women and the positive impac

Stochastic differential equations driven by standard Brownian motion(s) or Lévy processes are by far the most popular models in mathematical finance, but are also frequently used in engineering and science. A key feature of the class of models is that the parameters are easy to interpret for anyone working with ordinary differential equations, making connections between statistics and other scient

We have calculated band structures for strained core-shell nanowires involving all combinations of AlN, GaN, and InN, as well as all combinations of AlP, GaP, AlAs, GaAs, InP, InAs, AlSb, GaSb, and InSb, as functions of core and shell radii. This gives 78 combinations, most of which have not been experimentally realized, and provides a quite complete overview of which interesting structures can be

Background Rye products have been demonstrated to lower the acute insulin demand, induce a low and prolonged blood glucose response (high Glycemic Profile, GP) and reduce subclinical inflammation. These products may therefore contribute to a lowered risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardio vascular disease. The objective of the present paper was to evaluate the mechanism for a reduced postprand

Background: Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) with post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD) is a major cause of neurodevelopmental impairment and mortality in preterm infants. The mechanisms leading to PHVD and brain damage remain largely unknown. The choroid plexus and the ependyma, which constitute an essential part of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), are the first structures to encounter th

Translational platelet function investigations performed in the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)-treated population receiving clopidogrel have identified high platelet reactivity to ADP (HPR) as a major risk factor for both acute as well as long-term ischaemic event occurrence, including stent thrombosis. Recent studies have highlighted the relation of single nucleotide polymorphisms of ge

Few microscopical studies have been made on lipid storage in oat grains, with variable results as to the extent of lipid accumulation in the starchy endosperm. Grains of medium- and high-lipid oat (Avena sativa L.) were studied at two developmental stages and at maturity, by light microscopy using different staining methods, and by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Discrete oil bodies

The article explores the relation between i) the attitudes of students towards digital pedagogical characters and ii) their learning style as separate versus connected thinkers, a learning style dimension which regards individual's approach towards the social dimensions of knowledge. Ninety 12-15 year old students participated in the study in which they were presented with a scenario-based multime

The paper presents a new thermochemical process for the production of isobutanol, which is an excellent biobased gasoline blendstock. The main feedstock for the process is glycerine, obtained as a byproduct in biodiesel production, being used together with methanol. The process was modeled in Aspen Plus. The process design is characterized by a high level of process integration, pinch analysis bei

Background: We recently reported (Curr Biol 22:683-688, 2012) that the eyes of giant and colossal squid can grow to three times the diameter of the eyes of any other animal, including large fishes and whales. As an explanation to this extreme absolute eye size, we developed a theory for visual performance in aquatic habitats, leading to the conclusion that the huge eyes of giant and colossal squid

Primary open angle glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness in the world, constitutes a slow progressing condition characterized by damage to the optic nerve and retinal nerve fibre layer, and results in visual field defects afflicting the visual function. Highly specific and sensitive diagnostic tests able to detect the clinically significant glaucomatous changes in the structure of the n

Light-harvesting in photosynthesis is determined by the excitonic interactions in disordered antennae and the coupling of collective electronic excitations to fast nuclear motions, producing efficient energy transfer with a complicated interplay between exciton and vibrational coherences. Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) is a powerful tool to study the presence of these coherences in

Temperature stratification plays an important role in HCCI combustion. The onsets of auto-ignition and combustion duration are sensitive to the temperature field in the engine cylinder. Numerical simulations of HCCI engine combustion are affected by the use of wall boundary conditions, especially the temperature condition at the cylinder and piston walls. This paper reports on numerical studies an

High resolution planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) was applied to investigate the local flame front structures of turbulent premixed methane/air jet flames in order to reveal details about turbulence and flame interaction. The targeted turbulent flames were generated on a specially designed coaxial jet burner, in which low speed stoichiometric gas mixture was fed through the outer large tube

The use of duty-cycled ultralow-power wake-up receivers (WRxs) can significantly extend a node lifetime in low-power sensor network applications. In the WRx design, both the low-power operation of the WRx and the wake-up beacon (WB) detection performance are of importance. We present a system-level analysis of a duty-cycled WRx design, including an analog front end, a digital baseband, the WB stru

Currently used design methods predict that the crack widths at the concrete surface will increase significantly with concrete cover Requirements concerning limitation of crack widths therefore make it difficult to use large concrete covers, which are otherwise desirable to reduce the reinforcement corrosion. For this reason, it would be more relevant to use the crack width in the vicinity of the r