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Sexual selection hypotheses stipulate that the major histocompatibility complex genes (MHC) constitute a key molecular underpinning for mate choice in vertebrates. The last four decades saw growing empirical literature on the role of MHC diversity and dissimilarity in mate choice for a wide range of vertebrate animals, but with mixed support for its significance in natural populations. Using forma

As a group of stars having high luminosity and thus being able to be detected to great distances, massive M supergiants are extremely helpful to the study of the kinematics of the Milky Way. They are also partly responsible for the creation of post iron-group elements through the weak s-process of nucleosynthesis. As there are relatively few classified M supergiants, owing to their rapid pace of e

The driving force behind oncoproteomics is to identify protein signatures that are associated with a particular malignancy. Here, we have used a recombinant scFv antibody microarray in an attempt to classify sera derived from pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients versus healthy subjects. Based on analysis of nonfractionated, directly labeled, whole human serum proteomes we have identified a protein s

The chronic active inflammation caused by Helicobacter pylori is dominated by neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells. Several interleukins are involved in the inflammatory process. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of astaxanthin on gastric inflammation in patients with functional dyspepsia. Forty-four consecutive patients were included, and biopsies were examined

Previously, we found that emergence of the X4 viral phenotype in HIV-1-infected children was related to the presence of X4 in their mothers (C. H. Casper et al., J Infect Dis 2002; 186: 914-921). Here, we investigated the origin of the X4 phenotype in the child, analyzing two mother-child pairs (Ma-Ca, Mb-Cb) where the mothers carried X4 and their children developed X4 after an initial presence of

To analyze the role of the classical and alternative pathways of complement activation in the effector phase of arthritis, we have induced arthritis in C3- and factor B (FB)-deficient (C3(-/-) and FB-/-) DBA/1J mice using well-defined monoclonal IgG2b and IgG2a antibodies to type II collagen. In control DBA/1J mice, severe swelling of the joints, destruction of cartilage and erosion of bone develo

BACKGROUND: Our recently reported finding of rapid bi-exponential elimination of free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after radical retropubic prostatectomy in patients with moderately elevated PSA levels, which contrasted a very slow, linear elimination of PSA complexed to alpha-1-antichymotrypsin (ACT), prompted us to study whether these elimination rates were applicable for patients selected fo

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer cells secrete unique proteases such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) that represent targets for the activation of prodrugs as systemic treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. Previously, a combinatorial peptide library was screened to identify a highly active peptide substrate for hK2. The peptide was coupled to an analog of the

Antibody-based microarrays are a rapidly emerging technology that has advanced from the first proof-of-concept studies to demanding serum protein profiling applications during recent years, displaying great promise within disease proteomics. Miniaturized micro- and nanoarrays can be fabricated with an almost infinite number of antibodies carrying the desired specificities. While consuming only min

The suppressors of cytokine signaling ( SOCS) family is thought to act largely as a negative regulator of signaling by cytokines and some growth factors. Surprisingly, the SOCS-6 transgenics had no significant defects in the cytokine signaling and hematopoietic system but displayed significant improvements in glucose metabolism. Insulin stimulation of Akt/protein kinase B was also potentiated. Bio

Twice each year, millions of night-migratory songbirds migrate thousands of kilometers. To find their way, they must process and integrate spatiotemporal information from a variety of cues including the Earth's magnetic field and the night-time starry sky. By using sensory-driven gene expression, we discovered that night-migratory songbirds possess a tight cluster of brain regions highly active on

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) numbers are tightly regulated and maintained in postnatal hematopoiesis. Extensive studies have supported a role of the cytokine tyrosine kinase receptor Kit in sustaining cycling HSCs when competing with wild-type HSCs posttransplantation, but not in maintenance of quiescent HSCs in steady state adult bone marrow. In this study, we investigated HSC regulation in Whit

This paper presents a pilot study on the prosodic marking of a contrastive topic in Southern Swedish. A test sentence was elicited in three experimental conditions: initial focus; final focus; contrastive topic (initial word) plus focus (final word). F0 patterns were analysed in recordings of 10 speakers. A majority of the speakers distinguished clearly between the conditions, but speakers employe

This paper considers off-line optimization of a switching sequence fora given finite set of linear control systems and joint optimization ofcontrol laws. A linear quadratic full information criterion isoptimized and dynamic programming is used to find the optimalswitching sequence and control laws. The main result is a method for efficient pruning of the search tree to avoid combinatoric explosion

To optimize productivity and working-life quality, it is important to understand and utilise the connections between productivity and working environment. Culture and the state of the market may affect the strength of these connections. However, in order to ensure flexibility and quality in products and services, it may be useful to have motivated, skilled and responsible coworkers at all levels.

Popular Abstract in Swedish Extracellulär matrix är namnet på det molekylära nätverk vilket finns mellan celler i flercelliga organismer. Det består av socker och proteiner organiserade i olika vävnadsspecifika nätverk. Två huvudformer finns, basalmembran och interstitiell extracellulär matrix. Basalmembran ligger som en tunn filt under epitel- och endotelceller, runt fettväv, muskler och periferaBasement membranes are sheet like structures underlying epithelial, endothelial, adipocytes, muscle and peripheral nerve cells. Laminins are an important family of basement membrane proteins implicated in various biological functions through their interactions with cell surface receptors. Laminins are trimers composed of a, b and g chains. Integrins, dystroglycan and other transmembrane glycoprote