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Variation of mechanical properties in materials can be detected non-destructively using ultrasonic measurements. In particular, changes in elastic wave velocity can occur due to damage, i.e., micro-cracking and particles debonding. Here the challenge of characterizing damage in geomaterials, i.e., rocks and soils, is addressed. Geomaterials are naturally heterogeneous media in which the deformatio

There is no clinically useful score to predict chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. We aimed to derive this by analyzing data from three existing COPD clinical trials of budesonide/formoterol, formoterol, or placebo in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD and a history of exacerbations in the previous year.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a major human pathogen, which evolved numerous successful strategies to colonize the host. In this study, we report a novel mechanism of pneumococcal-host interaction, whereby pneumococci use a host complement protein C1q, primarily involved in the host-defense mechanism, for colonization and subsequent dissemination. Using cell-culture infection assays a

Since 2012 citrate anticoagulation is the recommended anticoagulation strategy for CRRT. The main drawback using citrate compared with heparin as anticoagulant is the need for calcium replacement and the rigorous control of calcium levels. This study investigated the possibility to achieve anticoagulation while eliminating the need for calcium replacement. This was successfully achieved by includi

The efficacy of a short (Group I) and a prolonged (Group II) course with ciprofloxacin was assessed in patients undergoing transurethral prostatic resection and compared with that of controls without antibiotic (Group III). Both regimens significantly reduced the frequency of post-operative bacteriuria (p less than 0.01) and of severe infectious complications (p = 0.004) compared to the controls.

This group previously identified a peptide p13 of alpha 3(IV)NC1 domain of type IV collagen that induces experimental autoimmune glomerulonephritis (EAG) in rats with generation of antibodies to sites on alpha 3(IV)NC1 external to the peptide as a result of intramolecular epitope spreading. It was hypothesized that intermolecular epitope spreading to other collagen IV chains also was induced. Rats

Wound botulism is a growing problem among injecting drug users. The condition is often difficult to diagnose, with laboratory confirmation in only 50% of the cases. Here we present a real-time PCR-based method for the diagnosis of wound botulism caused by Clostridium botulinum. The assay includes an internal amplification control which is amplified simultaneously with the genes encoding neurotoxin

Boundary finding in simulated medical images is performed by optimizing the Fourier coefficients in a parametric surface representation with respect to an objective function. The deformable model is fitted to the data using the brightness gradient component which is normal to the surface. A low order (<10) Fourier series expansion offers a sufficiently accurate representation for many inherently s

In this study, we show that distinct compartmentalization patterns of the IL-1 molecules (IL-1alpha and IL-1beta), in the milieu of tumor cells that produce them, differentially affect the malignant process. Active forms of IL-1, namely precursor IL-1alpha (pIL-1alpha), mature IL-1beta (mIL-1beta), and mIL-1beta fused to a signal sequence (ssIL-1beta), were transfected into an established fibrosar

In this article we present the first theoretical study of solvent effects on the rotatory strength tensor. The system chosen is solvated formaldehyde for which only one tensor element is nonvanishing, and the solvent is modeled as a linear, homogeneous, and isotropic dielectric continuum. We present results using both an equilibrium and a nonequilibrium description of the solvent. Four illustrativ

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

Popular Abstract in Swedish C-Med 100, en naturmedicin med immunomodulerande egenskaper Vårt immunsystem skyddar oss mot infektioner från bakterier, virus och parasiter. För att detta ska fungera behövs många olika egenskaper och idag delas immunsystemet in i två delar, en ospecifik och en specifik. Den ospecifika delen består av hud, slemhinnor, magsyra och olika celler som snabbt tar sig till etExtracts from the bark of the vine Uncaria tomentosa have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimutagenic and antioxidant effects. In this study, we evaluate the effects of an Uncaria tomentosa extract, denoted C-Med 100, on the cellular level of the immune system both in vivo and in vitro. Our results indicated that lymphocytes had significantly prolonged half life after in vivo supplementation with