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The mechanisms underlying M. fortuitum-induced pathogenesis remains elusive. Using headkidney macrophages (HKM) from Clarias gariepinus, we report that TLR-2-mediated internalization of M. fortuitum is imperative to the induction of pathogenic effects. Inhibiting TLR-2 signalling alleviated HKM apoptosis, thereby favouring bacterial survival. Additionally, TLR-2-mediated cytosolic calcium (Ca2+)c

Background Genome-wide association studies have identified >1000 genetic variants cross-sectionally associated with blood pressure variation and prevalent hypertension. These discoveries might aid the early identification of subpopulations at risk of developing hypertension or provide targets for drug development, amongst other applications. The aim of the present study was to analyze the associat

The presented work describes a computational method for carrying out a detailed and thorough examination of the flash temperature rise (i.e. the local’instantaneous’ temperature increase on a contact interface, due to frictional effects) present on the tooth flanks of a polymer gear pair, composed of a combination of POM and PA66 thermoplastics, during a given meshing cycle. The method involves a

The pharmaceutical approach to skin disease has been hugely successful, but despite effective drugs being available and used, there are still vast numbers of people who continue to have some level of persisting skin disease and continue to experience quality of life (QoL) impairment. So the question that needs to be answered, while we await further advances in our drug-based armamentarium, is how

Platelets are the primary cellular mediators of hemostasis and this function firmly acquaints them with a variety of inflammatory processes. For example, platelets can act as circulating sentinels by expressing Toll-like receptors (TLR) that bind pathogens and this allows platelets to effectively kill them or present them to cells of the immune system. Furthermore, activated platelets secrete and

Solar energy simulations are used to quantify the potential of the passive use (daylight, solar gains) and the active use (photovoltaics and solar thermal) of solar energy. The simulations can be performed at different scales e.g. buildings, neighbourhoods and cities, with different requirements on the data. For example, for the neighbourhood simulations we need simplified building geometries that

Purpose: The purpose of this document is threefold: (a) review the uses of the terms “vocal fatigue,” “vocal effort,” “vocal load,” and “vocal loading” (as found in the literature) in order to track the occurrence and the related evolution of research; (b) present a “linguistically modeled” definition of the same from the review of literature on the terms; and (c) propose conceptualized definition

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new chronic RA model which is driven by the innate immune system.METHOD: The injection of a cocktail of four monoclonal antibodies against collagen type II followed by intra-peritoneal injections of mannan (from Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on days 5 and 60 led to the development of chronic arthritis in B10.Q mice. The role of the innate versus the adaptive immune system in th

A computer simulated microworld was used to study risk management in a critical infrastructure context. 36 students assumed the role of an electric distribution company Chief Executive Officer (CEO) making decision on how to spend resources between investments in risk reduction and other investments. We studied the effect of differences in terms of the incentives to invest in risk reduction and th

Performing risk assessments for hierarchical, multi-functional systems, such as a municipality, is an activity that requires input from a multitude of actors. In such systems risk assessments can be performed at many system levels and support different types of decisions. For issues that are constrained to a specific sub-system, such as a municipal department, decisions can be preferably taken at

Critical technical infrastructures constitute the backbone of society by providing essential services to vital societal functions and the community at large, hence it is of essence that these are resilient. Critical infrastructures, e.g. power systems, telecommunication systems and railway systems, are designed and operated based on different philosophies of where to put the resilience emphasis, r

BACKGROUND AND AIM Non-stop stair ascending at maximum speed is required to reach a safe refuge level from deep underground structures, such as subways and in high-rise buildings in an emergency evacuation situation. Endurance of stair climbing and identifying the time of the onset of leg’s local muscle fatigue (LMF) are interests in evacuation research. The objective of this laboratory study was

This paper summarizes and elaborates on some new results on the optimal absorption in small spherical suspensions based on electrophoretic (plasmonic) resonances and lossy surrounding media. The main application here is to study the physical limitations for radio frequency absorption in gold nanoparticle (GNP) suspensions and its potential to achieve GNP targeted hyperthermia in cancer therapy. Nu

Technical Systems, Structures and Infrastructures (SSI) ought to be designed to be safe under current but also future environmental (climate) conditions. Therefore, there is a need to rigorously identify procedures to systematically consider different climate conditions into the risk assessments. In this paper, we consider climate change in the risk assessment of a Passive Containment Cooling Syst

Mycobacterium bovis bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is used as a benchmark to compare the immunogenicity of new vaccines against tuberculosis. This live vaccine is administered intradermal, but several new studies show that changing the route to mucosal immunisation represents an improved strategy. We analysed the immunomodulatory functions of BCG on human neutrophils and primary airway epithelial c

Background and purpose — Clindamycin has not been compared with other antibiotics for prophylaxis in arthroplasty. Since 2009, the Swedish Knee Arthroplasty Register (SKAR) has been collecting information on the prophylactic antibiotic regime used at every individual operation. In Sweden, when there is allergy to penicillin, clindamycin has been the recommended alternative. We examined whether the

Urban environments pose novel challenges, as well as opportunities, for urban-dwelling wildlife. Although differences have been reported in several phenotypic traits (e.g. morphology, physiology and behaviour) between urban and rural populations, it is poorly understood whether this affects individual fitness. Telomere dynamics are posited as one possible mechanism underlying senescence and mortal

Some lactic acid bacteria, especially Lactobacillus spp., possess adhesive properties enabling colonization of the human gastrointestinal tract. Two probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum strains, WCSF1 and 299v, display highly different mannose-specific adhesion, with L. plantarum 299v being superior to L. plantarum WCFS1 based on a yeast agglutination assay. A straightforward correlation between the

Affluent blood flow through a complicated net of vessels supplies skeletal bone tissue with oxygen and nutrients. Due to accidental events or physiological processes, the blood supply might be deficient or even disrupted, and the healthy bone decays in a process that, for the hip location, is denoted as osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) or avascular femoral head necrosis. Early diagnosis is