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BACKGROUND: Cathelicidins are a group of antibiotic peptides with broad antimicrobial activity. They are considered to be an essential part of the innate immune system. The only known human cathelicidin is the human cationic antimicrobial protein (hCAP-18), from which the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is released. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the present study, we purified hCAP-18 from seminal plasma and
Objective - To evaluate antihypertensive treatment and other cardiovascular risk factors in primary health care. Design - Cross-sectional survey of consecutive patients with treated hypertension in 1999. Setting - 17 primary care centres in Sweden. Subjects - 512 patients (mean age 67; SD 11 years). Main outcome measures - Antihypertensive treatment, cardiovascular risk factors. Results - Patients
The human DUSP15 gene encodes an uncharacterized 235-amino acid member of the subfamily of small dual specificity protein phosphatases related to the Vaccinia virus VH1 phosphatase. Similar to VHR-related MKPX (VHX) (DUSP22), the predicted protein has an N-terminal myristoylation recognition sequence, and we show here that both are indeed modified by the attachment of a myristate to Gly-2. In reco
In many cells, endocytotic membrane retrieval is accelerated by Ca2+. The effect of Ca2+ on single endocytotic vesicles and fission pore kinetics was examined by measuring capacitance and conductance changes in small membrane patches of insulin-secreting INS-1 cells. In intact cells, elevation of Ca2+ by glucose stimulation induced a 1.8-fold increase in membrane internalisation. This surprisingly
Background Cell and animal experiments have shown that beta-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) may be involved in myelination. Objective Here, we assess the association of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) BACE1 activity with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods BACE1 activity and levels of secreted amyloid precursor protein (APP) and amyloid-beta (A beta) isoforms were analyzed in CSF from 100 patients with
Remodeling of photosynthetic machinery induced by growing spinach plants under low light intensities reveals an up-regulation of light-harvesting complexes and down-regulation of photosystem II and cytochrome b(6)f complexes in intact thylakoids and isolated grana membranes. The antenna size of PSII increased by 40-60% as estimated by fluorescence induction and LHCII/PSII stoichiometry. These low-
INTRODUCTION: Sperm chromatin integrity assessment has been suggested as a fertility predictor. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the results of sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) and the outcome of IVF, ICSI and intrauterine insemination (IUI). METHODS: A total of 306 consecutive couples undergoing assisted reproduction were included. IUI was performed in 131, IVF
Background Despite the fact that severe itch is common in many dermatological diseases, the therapeutic arsenal against itching is limited. From neurophysiological experiments, using a new technique termed cutaneous field stimulation, it is known that acute itch can be effectively relieved by stimulation of cutaneous nociceptors. Methods We tested the effects of cutaneous field stimulation (25 mi
OBJECTIVE : To evaluate the efficacy and safety of therapy for patients with histologically mild hepatitis C virus (HCV) liver disease. DESIGN : A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial of interferon alpha-2b with or without ribavirin. SETTING : Regional and university hospitals. PARTICIPANTS : One hundred and sixteen treatment naive patients with mild chronic HCV infection. Mild HCV i
AIM: To assess the lifetime cumulative incidence of portal venous thrombosis (PVT) in the general population. METHODS: Between 1970 and 1982, 23 796 autopsies, representing 84% of all in-hospital deaths in the Malmo city population, were performed, using a standardised protocol including examination of the portal vein. PVT patients were characterised and the PVT prevalence at autopsy, an expressio
Gradient-echo pulse sequences with velocity-encoding gradients of 22.5-25 mT/m, were used for brain-motion and CSF-flow studies. To reduce motion artifacts, a phase-correction technique based on navigator echoes was evaluated. Three patients with right-sided parietal tumours were investigated; one astrocytoma grade III-IV, one astrocytoma grade I-II and one benign meningioma. In healthy volunteers
Background: In acquired heart disease, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-Teminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are increasingly used as diagnostic and prognostic markers. In adult Congenital heart disease, the abnormal anatomy and physiology complicate assessment of cardiac function. We Studied the clinical correlates of measurement of natriuretic peptides (NP) in adults with a rig
CO(2)-laser C-fibre evoked cortical potentials (LCEPs) is a potentially useful animal model for studies of pain mechanisms. A potential confounding factor when assessing analgesic effects of systemically administered drugs using LCEP is sedation. This study aims to clarify: 1) the relation between level of anaesthesia and magnitude of LCEP, 2) the effects of a sedative and an analgesic on LCEP and
Background and purpose The remodeling of morselized bone grafts in revision surgery can be enhanced by an anabolic substance such as a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). On the other hand, BMPs boost catabolism and might cause a premature resorption, both of the graft and of the new-formed bone. Bisphosphonates inactivate osteoclasts and can be used to control the resorption. We studied a combinati
Objective: To describe patients' experience of acupuncture treatment in low back and pelvic pain during pregnancy. Design: An intervention study carried out between September 2000 and December 2001, involving 40 pregnant women. Participants: The study population consisted of healthy pregnant women presenting with low back and pelvic pain at maternity health care centres within a defined area in so
We present a microgeographic analysis of 34 allozyme loci and the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the common vole Microtus arvalis (Pallas, 1779), performed to assess the effects of environmental heterogeneity on the distribution of genetic variation among populations in the Biebrza river valley, NE Poland The common vole occurs there in two types of habitat open grassland and pastu
A closely-packed ultrawideband (UWB) multiple- input multiple-output (MIMO)/diversity antenna (of two elements) with a size of 25 mm by 40 mm is proposed for USB dongle applications. Wideband isolation can be achieved through the different patterns and polarizations of the two antenna elements. Moreover, the slot that is formed between the monopole and the ground plane of the half slot antenna is
A simple and direct method based on hollow fibresupported liquid membrane (HFSLM) extraction and liquid chromatography equipped with a UV detector was developed for analysis and quantification of parabens in cosmetic products. The parabens analysed included methyl, ethyl, propyl, isobutyl and butyl paraben. The HFSLM extraction was carried out by employing di-n-hexyl ether as organic liquid that w
Massive MIMO has been shown to greatly improve spectral and transmit-energy efficiency. When implementing a massive MIMO system, one challenge is high hardware complexity. A solution is to reduce the number of radio frequency (RF) transceiver chains by performing antenna selection. However, a full RF switch that connects the antennas and RF chains can be highly complex and incurs significant loss
