Search results

The properties of water in biological systems have been studied for well over a century by a wide range of physical techniques, but progress has been slow and erratic. Protein hydration-the perturbation of water structure and dynamics by the protein surface-has been a particularly rich source of controversy and confusion. Our aim here is to critically examine central concepts in the description of

The pulsed field gradient stimulated echo NMR technique is applied to the study of water diffusion in biological porous materials (a sheet of wood cellulose fibers and a packed bed of potato starch granules) consisting of randomly oriented domains with an anisotropic supermolecular organization. Expressions are presented for the probability distribution of apparent diffusion coefficients due to tw

Infiltration of eosinophils into the intestinal mucosa is a typical hallmark of antiparasite immune responses and inflammatory disorders of the intestinal tract, and eosinophils are thought to contribute to these processes by release of their cytotoxic granule content. However, utilizing novel tools to study eosinophils, it has been recognized that eosinophils are constitutively present in the gas

CD103(+) dendritic cells (DCs) represent the major migratory DC population in the intestinal lamina propria and are believed to play an essential role in the initiation and regulation of mucosal adaptive immune responses. Small intestine (SI) CD103(+) DCs have an enhanced capacity to generate the vitamin A metabolite, retinoic acid, a property that underlies their ability to induce the gut homing

Autoantibodies developing in humans contribute to the pathogenesis of several diseases, and injected therapeutic antibodies can also trigger adverse side effects. An efficient and rapid elimination of these antibodies are therefore critically needed. Antibody removal by plasmapheresis and immunoadsorption are commonly used methods but have their own limitations. Bacterial enzymes that can cleave I

Clin Microbiol InfectAbstract The usefulness of spa typing was evaluated in relation to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), as a tool for epidemiological typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a low-prevalence region in southern Sweden. Bacterial isolates from 216 MRSA cases, newly identified in 2000-2004, were studied. The isolates were obtained from infected patient

BACKGROUND: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) activity has been shown to be expressed in local lymph nodes and induce immune suppression of tumor immunity. Here we analyze the effect of IDO expression on prostate tumor growth using the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) animal model. METHODS: Mice deficient in IDO expression were crossed to TRAMP mice and the time to the appearanc

Human dendritic cells (DCs) are a distinct but heterogeneous lineage of APCs operating as the link between innate and adaptive immune responses, with the function to either maintain,tolerance or trigger immunity. The DC lineage consists of several subpopulations with unique phenotypes; however, their functional characteristics and transcriptional similarities remain largely unknown. To further cha

Dimethyldodecylamine-N-oxide (DDAO) has only one polar atom that is able to interact with water. Still, this surfactant shows very hydrophilic properties: in mixtures with water, it forms normal liquid crystalline phases and micelles. Moreover, there is data in the literature indicating that the hydration of this surfactant is driven by enthalpy while other studies show that hydration of surfactan

The complement system is old, yet it may still have something new to teach us. For many years, research has existed which shows that C3d, in addition to its established role as an adjuvant, could have an immunosuppressive activity. Being true, it suggests that a common mechanism may be used both by organisms and by their pathogens to prevent unwanted immune responses.

The complexation between a polyion and an oppositely charged spherical macroion in the framework of the primitive model has been studied by the use of Monte Carlo simulations. The polyion length, linear charge density, and bare persistence length are varied systematically, while the properties of the macroion are kept constant. The polyion charge to macroion charge ratio is varied between 1/4 and

There is a growing need for selective recognition of microorganisms in complex samples due to the rapidly emerging importance of detecting them in various matrices. Most of the conventional methods used to identify microorganisms are time-consuming, laborious and expensive. In recent years, many efforts have been put forth to develop alternative methods for the detection of microorganisms. These m

Background: Prognostic factors in patients with localized primary cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) are well described. However, prognostic factors for recurrence are less documented. Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify prognostic risk factors for first recurrence in patients with localized stages I-II CMM using population-based data. Methods: This study included 1437 CMM patients r