Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a respiratory disease characterized by chronic inflammatory response in the airways and lung parenchyma that involves the influx of inflammatory, structural cells and mediators. The inflammatory process resulting in lung tissue destruction, emphysema, includes the excess of uninhibited proteases released from inflammatory cells. alpha1-antitrypsin (

Understanding the land use history has proven crucial for the conservation of biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. In southern Sweden, very small and fragmented areas of the disturbance-dependent habitat xeric sand calcareous grassland support a large number of threatened and rare plants and animals. In order to find out if historical land use could explain variation in present-day habitat

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most frequently occurring histological breast cancer subtype after invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), accounting for around 10% of all breast cancers. The molecular processes that drive the development of ILC are still largely unknown. We have performed a comprehensive genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of a large ILC patient cohort and pres

We report on considerable improvement in measurements precision of the ultra broadband photon time of flight absorption/scattering spectrometer. We illustrate outstanding performance of the instrument by performing highly precise evaluation of the chemical composition of pharmaceuticals.

Developmental plasticity is increasingly recognized as important for ecological and evolutionary processes. However, few studies consider the potential for delayed effects of early environments. Here, we show that tadpoles hatching from clutches exposed to water mold (Saprolegnia) have 20% decreased mass at metamorphosis, despite no further exposure subsequent to hatching. The effects were consist

The effect of temperature on the adiabatic burning velocities of diluted hydrogen flames has been analyzed using an updated version of the Konnov detailed reaction mechanism for hydrogen. The contemporary choice of the reaction rate constants is provided with the emphasis on their uncertainties, and the analysis of the performance of the updated mechanism is presented and compared to the previous

Objective: To assess available evidence on the use of end-points ( outcome measures) in clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as a part of the development of evidence-based recommendations for points to consider in clinical trials in SLE. Methods: The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Task Force on SLE comprised 19 specialists, a clinical epidemiologist and a research fel

Fossil soft-shelled turtles (Trionychidae) have so far been recognized in all continents except Antarctica, based largely on remains preserving their diagnostic sculptured shell bones. The origin of the group is generally assumed to be in the Early Cretaceous of Asia, whereas they first appear in North America and Europe during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene, respectively. Here we describe the

The purpose of the present study was to investigate if a relationship between BMD and testosterone levels could be identified in elite male lightweight rowers. Thirteen male lightweight national team rowers had their BMD measured in a DEXA scanner. Plasma concentrations of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (IFT), dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and additi

Background: The majority of bicarbonate based dialysis fluids are acidified with acetate. Citrate, a well known anticoagulant and antioxidant, has been suggested as a biocompatible alternative. The objective of this study was to evaluate short term safety and biocompatibility of a citrate containing acetate-free dialysis fluid. Methods: Twenty four (24) patients on maintenance dialysis three times

At the time of writing, the Italian Parliament is debating a new law that would make it legal to practice an unproven stem cell treatment in public hospitals. The treatment, offered by a private non-medical organization, may not be safe, lacks a rationale, and violates current national laws and European regulations. This case raises multiple concerns, most prominently the urgent need to protect pa

BACKGROUND: Surveys are a common way to measure annoyance due to road traffic noise, but the method has some draw-backs. Survey context, question wording and answer alternatives could affect participation and answers and could have implications when comparing studies and/or performing pooled analyses. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in annoyance reporting due to road traffi

Individual and trophic efficiencies of size-structured communities are derived from mechanistically based principles at the individual level. The derivations are relevant for communities with a size-based trophic structure, i.e. where trophic level is strongly correlated with individual size as in many aquatic systems. The derivations are used to link Lindeman's trophic theory and trophic theory b

Chromosome numbers are listed for 413 species of angiosperms from the Aegean Islands, based on collections and counts by Runemark and co-workers. Name, chromosome number and collection details (incl. geographical coordinates) are listed for each species. In almost all cases vouchers are at LD.

The effect of a new developed process for biogas boosting was studied at a municipal wastewater treatment plant in industrial scale over the period of three years. After pre-selection studies in the lab and short industrial setups, four hydrolytic enzymes and sodium citrate were combined and tested for a two-year period. The year 2007 was picked as reference year. In February 2008, the dosage was