Background High levels of soluble cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (soluble CTLA-4), an alternative splice form of the regulatory T-cell (Treg) associated CTLA-4 gene, have been associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and other autoimmune diseases, such as Grave's disease and myasthenia gravis. At the same time, studies have shown soluble CTLA-4 to inhibit T-cell activation through B7 binding. This

Hypoxia is an important factor in the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche in the bone marrow, but whether it also plays a role in the regulation of fetal liver (FL) HSCs is unclear. Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) is essential for adult HSC survival, and hypoxic induction of VEGFA in adult HSCs is required for proper function. Loss of hypoxia-regulated VEGFA expression increases the n

To describe, at patient-level detail, the determining events and factors involved in the development of a country's HIV-1 epidemic.

Background The leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 gene (LRRK2) harbours highly penetrant mutations that are linked to familial parkinsonism. However, the extent of its polymorphic variability in relation to risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) has not been assessed systematically. We therefore assessed the frequency of LRRK2 exonic variants in individuals with and without PD, to investigate the role of the

The association between emergency department (ED) overcrowding and poor patient outcomes is well described, with recent work suggesting that the phenomenon causes delays in time-sensitive interventions, such as resuscitation. Even though most researchers agree on the fact that admitted patients boarding in the ED is a major contributing factor to ED overcrowding, little work explicitly addresses w

BackgroundThere is a paucity of evidence for the use of systemic agents in children with atopic eczema refractory to conventional therapy, resulting in considerable variation in patient management. ObjectivesThe European TREatment of severe Atopic eczema in children Taskforce (TREAT) survey was established to collect data on current prescribing practice, to identify factors influencing the use of

Deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) 1-42, the major component of senile plaques characteristic of Alzheimer disease, affects brain microvascular integrity and causes blood-brain barrier dysfunction, increased angiogenesis, and pericyte degeneration. To understand the cellular events underlying Aβ1-42 effects on microvascular alterations, we investigated whether different aggregation forms of Aβ1-42 affec

Although novel treatment strategies based on the gene therapy approach for epilepsy has been encouraging, there is still a gap in demonstrating a proof-of-concept in a clinically relevant animal model and study design. In the present study, a conceptually novel framework reflecting a plausible clinical trial for gene therapy of temporal lobe epilepsy was explored: We investigated (i) whether the p

The genetic structure of a pathogen is an important determinant of its potential rate of adaptation and can thereby influence the dynamics of host-parasite interactions. We investigated how the genetic structure of Borrelia afzelii varies with geographic and ecological sampling scale. Genetic structure was measured as the degree of linkage disequilibrium (LD) across three loci. To test for the eff

The complement system has been implicated in both physiological synapse elimination and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we investigated associations between four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in complement genes and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for AD in 452 neurochemically or neuropathologically verified AD cases and 678 cognitively normal controls. None of the SNPs were associat

A novel set up composed of an anaerobic biofilm reactor followed by ozonation was used for treatment of artificial and real textile effluents containing azo dyes. The biological treatment efficiently removed chemical oxygen demand and color. Ozonation further reduced the organic content of the effluents and was very important for the degradation of aromatic compounds, as shown by the reduction of

Introduction: The objective of this study was to examine the association between occupation and osteoarthritis (OA) leading to total knee (TKR) or hip (THR) joint replacement. Methods: The following is the case-control study design. All patients still living in Iceland who had had a TKR or THR due to OA as of the end of 2002 were invited to participate. First degree relatives of participating pati

Background: The development of factor (F) VIII neutralizing alloantibodies (inhibitors) is a major complication of treatment with FVIII concentrates in hemophilia A and the etiology is still poorly understood. The low-affinity Fc gamma receptors (Fc gamma R), which are expressed on immune cells, provide an important link between cellular and humoral immunity by interacting with IgG subtypes. Genet

Mitochondrial genomes are separated from the nuclear genome for most of the cell cycle by the nuclear double membrane, intervening cytoplasm, and the mitochondrial double membrane. Despite these physical barriers, we show that somatically acquired mitochondrial-nuclear genome fusion sequences are present in cancer cells. Most occur in conjunction with intranuclear genomic rearrangements, and the f

A wide range of complementary techniques are used to build up a detailed picture of the microstructural zones found in friction stir welds (FSW) in an advanced AA2199 Al-Li alloy. Neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, small angle X-ray scattering, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and hard

Environmental contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are man-made bioaccumulative compounds with long half-lives that are found throughout the world as a result of heavy use in a variety of consumer products during the twentieth century. Wildlife and animal studies have long suggested adverse effects of exposure to these compounds on human reproductive health, which, according t

Radionuclide imaging of cancer-associated molecular alterations may contribute to patient stratification for targeting therapy. Scaffold high-affinity proteins, such as Affibody molecules, are a new, promising class of probes for in vivo imaging. Methods. The effects of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) affinity and binding site composition of HER2-binding Affibody molecules, and of

Using a multilevel approach, this study investigates direct (perceptual, emotional, and physiological responses [qEEG]) and reflected (preference, attitude, and intention to accept conservation measures) appraisal of different levels of biodiversity in temperate deciduous broad-leaf forest biotopes. Thirty-five participants viewed three series of zoomed pictures from biotopes assessed according to

The Stumsnas 1 core, drilled in 2011 in the southern part of the Siljan Ring, provides new insights into the stratigraphy of the Ordovician succession in central Sweden. The core section shows evidence of the structural complications caused by the late Devonian meteorite impact in the area. In the core, about 90m of Tremadocian to Darriwilian strata are sandwiched between Proterozoic igneous basem