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Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the most common bacteria infecting humans. One of the factors contributing to the disease-causing properties is the secreted streptococcal cysteine proteinase, SpeB, which degrades several host proteins in connective tissue and circulation. SpeB activity depends on the transformation from an inactive precursor, zymogen, into a mature proteinase. We show that
Recent epidemiological data on diseases caused by beta-hemolytic streptococci belonging to Lancefield group C and G ( GCS, GGS) underline that they are an emerging threat to human health. Among various virulence factors expressed by GCS and GGS isolates from human infections, M and M-like proteins are considered important because of their anti-phagocytic activity. In addition, protein G has been i
During mammalian ocular development, several signaling pathways control the spatiotemporal highly defined realization of the three-dimensional eye architecture. Given the complexity of these inductive signals, the developing eye is a sensitive organ for several diseases. In this study, we investigated a Dkk1+/- haploinsufficiency during eye development, resulting in coloboma and anterior eye defec
The so-called Substituted Judgment Standard is one of several competing principles on how certain health care decisions ought to be made for patients who are not themselves capable of making decisions of the relevant kind. It says that a surrogate decision-maker, acting on behalf of the patient, ought to make the decision the patient would have made, had the latter been competent. The most common
In recent years, scientists have advocated the use of targeted therapies in the form of drugs that modulate genes and proteins that are directly associated with cancer progression and metastasis. Malignant melanoma is a dreadful cancer type that has been associated with the rapid dissemination of primary tumors to multiple sites, including bone, brain, liver and lungs. The discovery that approxima
Although Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder, in many patients cognitive dysfunction is an important clinical sign. It is not yet clear whether this is attributable solely to a decrease in dopamine levels, or whether other neurotransmitter systems might be involved as well. In the present study, the importance of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathway and a possible convergence with forebra
The aim of this paper was to examine how useable and inclusive the city is from the perspective of older bicyclists. Methods used were quantitative questionnaires and qualitative focus group interviews. Participants were people aged 65 years or older. The results showed that respondents were fairly satisfied with the transport infrastructure design. However, other road users seemed to complicate c
Primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening disorder associated with autosomal recessive variants in genes required for perforin-mediated lymphocyte cytotoxicity. A rapid diagnosis is crucial for successful treatment. Although defective cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) function causes pathogenesis, quantification of natural killer (NK)–cell exocytosis triggered by K562 targe
Neurodegenerative disorders are an increasingly common and irreversible burden on society, often affecting the aging population, but their etiology and disease mechanisms are poorly understood. Studying monogenic neurodegenerative diseases with known genetic cause provides an opportunity to understand cellular mechanisms also affected in more complex disorders. We recently reported that loss-of-fu
We prove that for k ≪ 4 n regular resolution requires length nΩ(k) to establish that an Erdős–Rényi graph with appropriately chosen edge density does not contain a k-clique. This lower bound is optimal up to the multiplicative constant in the exponent, and also implies unconditional nΩ(k) lower bounds on running time for several state-of-the-art algorithms for finding maximum cliques in graphs.
Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A streptococcus; GAS) is an important human pathogen responsible for mild to severe, life-threatening infections. GAS expresses a wide range of virulence factors, including the M family proteins. The M proteins allow the bacteria to evade parts of the human immune defenses by triggering the formation of a dense coat of plasma proteins surrounding the bacteria, includi
There is (or should be) an archived specimen, a reference copy if you like, for all living and fossil species that have been described scientifically. These physical specimens, so-called name-bearing type specimens, are housed at museums or academic institutes around the world for researchers to study and perhaps compare with their own material. But what about our own species, Homo sapiens?.
Pancreatic endocrine cell differentiation depends on transcription factors that also contribute in adult insulin and glucagon gene expression. Islet cell development was examined in mice lacking MafB, a transcription factor expressed in immature alpha (glucagon(+)) and beta (insulin(+)) cells and capable of activating insulin and glucagon expression in vitro. We observed that MafB(-/-) embryos had
In the present study, two types of micro-pin–fin configurations were fabricated on silicon surfaces by a dry etching method, i.e., staggered pin fins (#1) and aligned pin fins with empty areas (#2). The micro-pin–fin surfaces were then further modified by depositing FeMn oxide nanoparticles (∼35 nm) electrostatically for 8 h and 16 h, respectively, namely #1-8h, #1-16h, #2-8h and #2-16h. Subcooled
