OBJECTIVES: Two functional genetic variants in the inosine triphosphatase (ITPA) gene have been shown to be strongly associated with protection from ribavirin (RBV)-induced hemolysis. We aimed at evaluating this finding in a chronic hepatitis C genotype 2/3 cohort with a predominance of genotype 3 patients where available data are scarce. A second objective was to determine whether a protective a

The antimicrobial gas carbon dioxide is frequently used in modified atmosphere packaging. In the present study, the effects of CO2 (10 to 70%, vol/vol) on gene expression (measured using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and a whole-genome DNA microarray) and neurotoxin formation (measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]) by proteolytic Clostridium botulinum type A1 strain

We report the first identification of a sex pheromone in a heliozelid moth, Holocacista capensis van Nieukerken & Geertsema. This leafminer recently infested grapevine in South Africa. Compared to solvent extraction of pheromone glands, solid phase microextraction (SPME) proved to be highly effective for collection of the pheromone from calling females. The volatiles collected by SPME were ana

This paper constitutes a report from an on-going research project aimed at comparing diffusion and governance of Barnahus in the Nordic countries. Barnahus can be considered as one of the main policy ventures related to children as crime victims in recent years, building on close inter-agency collaboration under one roof. The project´s focus is on how forms of diffusion and governance affect the t

Colonies of N-2-fixing cyanobacteria are key players in supplying new nitrogen to the ocean, but the biological fate of this fixed nitrogen remains poorly constrained. Here, we report on aerobic and anaerobic microbial nitrogen transformation processes that co-occur within millimetre-sized cyanobacterial aggregates (Nodularia spumigena) collected in aerated surface waters in the Baltic Sea. Microe

Nanostructured neural interfaces, comprising nanotubes or nanowires, have the potential to overcome the present hurdles of achieving stable communication with neuronal networks for long periods of time. This would have a strong impact on brain research. However, little information is available on the brain response to implanted high-aspect-ratio nanoparticles, which share morphological similaritie

Epitaxial growth of heterostructure nanowires allows for the definition of narrow sections with specific semiconductor composition. The authors demonstrate how postgrowth engineering of III-V heterostructure nanowires using selective etching can form gaps, sharpening of tips, and thin sections simultaneously on multiple nanowires. They investigate the potential of combining nanostencil deposition

The growth and resorption of bone are governed by interaction between several cells such as bone-forming osteoblasts, osteocytes, lining cells and bone-resorbing osteoclasts. The cells considered in this study reside in the periosteum. Furthermore, they are believed to be activated by certain substances to initiate bone growth. This study focuses on the role that stress driven diffusion plays in t

Aim of the study: The primary purpose of this study is to investigate if pretreatment plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are predictive of the effect of celecoxib on survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with palliative chemotherapy. A secondary objective is to describe the course of plasma VEGF levels during and after treatment with cytotoxic chem

Background The well-being of patients with Parkinson's disease may be improved by pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies. Objective To investigate the effects of standardised pharmaceutical care on health outcomes and quality of drug treatment in patients with Parkinson's disease. Setting Community pharmacies in Germany. Method An open-label, multicentre, longitudinal, parallel-group study wa

The article engages in the critical debates over the utopian aspects of the Western heritage that took place in the wake of the Second World War. A striking feature of these debates is how thinkers from the entire political spectra – from Georg Lukács to Isaiah Berlin and Eric Voegelin – made very similar analyses, although they draw quite different conclusions. Hence all of them blamed German Rom

Ferrochelatase, the terminal enzyme of the heme biosynthetic pathway, catalyzes the insertion of ferrous iron into protoporphyrin IX to give heme. Resonance Raman spectroscopy has been instrumental in defining the distortion (mode and extent) of the porphyrin substrate, which is a critical step in the catalytic mechanism of ferrochelatase. Saddling is the predominant porphyrin out-of-plane deforma

The effect of temperature on the recovery of bacterial growth after rewetting dry soil was measured in a soil that responded with bacterial growth increasing immediately upon rewetting in a linear fashion (type (i) response sensu Meisner et al. (Soil Biol Biochem 66: 188-192, 2013)). The soil was air-dried for 4 days and then rewetted at different temperatures. Bacterial growth over time was then

An analytical model for estimating the link loss for the on-body wave propagation around the torso is presented. The model is based on the attenuation of the creeping waves over an elliptical approximation of the human torso and includes the influence of the arms. The importance of including the arms’ effect for a proper estimation of the link loss is discussed. The model is validated by the full-

This article is a follow-up of Alvesson and Karreman (2011a), which was in itself a follow-up of Alvesson and Karreman (2000), and a response to a critique of the former by Hardy and Grant (2012). The critique is addressed directly and the logic behind it investigated critically. The article also addresses wider concerns regarding the politics of research and publishing and the conditions of criti

We have investigated the effect of an external magnetic field on the angular distribution and the linear polarization of the 2p(2)2p(5)3s(3)P(2)(o) -> 2s(2)2p(6) S-1(0) emission line in Ne- like ions. Since an electric dipole decay channel is opened by the magnetic field and competes with the inherent magnetic quadrupole transition, these properties strongly depend on the magnetic field strength,

We aimed at assessing changes in AV nodal properties during administration of the beta blockers metoprolol and carvedilol, and the calcium channel blockers diltiazem and verapamil from electrocardiographic data.

We calculated the vector, axial-vector, scalar and pseudo-scalar two-point functions up to two-loop level in the low-energy effective field theory for three different QCD-like theories. In addition we also calculated the pseudo-scalar decay constant G M. The QCD-like theories we used are those with fermions in a complex, real or pseudoreal representation with in general n flavours. These case corr