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. Streptococcus pyogenes is an important human pathogen responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although . S. pyogenes is a strictly human pathogen with no other known animal reservoir, several murine infection models exist to explore different aspects of the bacterial pathogenesis. Inoculating mice with wild-type . S. pyogenes strains can result in the generation of new bac

Incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is rising in several countries. Intriguingly, large variations of HPV16 viral load and different proportions of the physical viral status among HNSCC have been reported. We analysed fresh biopsies of 275 HNSCC patients from the South Swedish Health Care Region for HPV types with modified general primer P

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: An in-depth exploration of self-efficacy among heart transplant recipients by means of Bandura's self-efficacy theory.BACKGROUND: An essential component of chronic illness management is self-management, which refers to activities carried out by people to create order, structure and control in their lives. Self-efficacy is an important aspect of self-management, which seems to

Testicular biopsy was considered the cornerstone of male infertility diagnosis for many years in men with unexplained infertility and azoospermia. Recent guidelines for male infertility have limited the indications for a diagnostic testicular biopsy to the confirmation of obstructive azoospermia in men with normal size testes and normal reproductive hormones. Nowadays, testicular biopsies are main

The aim of the study was to compare and evaluate a multidisciplinary educational programme with traditional follow-up visits to a physician after breast cancer surgery in terms of well-being, aspects of self-care and coping ability 1 year after diagnosis. A reduction in the intensity of follow-up after breast cancer surgery is recommended. New follow-up models are being debated and could be of int

Collateral damage caused by extracellular histones has an immediate impact on morbidity and mortality in many disease models. A significant increase in the levels of extracellular histones is seen in critically ill patients with trauma and sepsis. We showed that histones are released from necrotic cells in patients with invasive skin infections. Under in vitro conditions, endogenous p33, an endoth

We consider the problem of computing a minimum weight pseudo-triangulation of a set S of n points in the plane. We first present an O(nlogn)-time algorithm that produces a pseudo-triangulation of weight O(wt(M(S))logn) which is shown to be asymptotically worst-case optimal, i.e., there exists a point set S for which every pseudo-triangulation has weight Omega(wt(M(S))logn), where wt(M(S)) is the w

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important in the immune defense against invading pathogens, but they are also key molecules in the regulation of inflammatory reactions. Low levels of ROS production due to a polymorphism in the neutrophil cytosolic factor 1 (Ncf1) gene are associated with autoimmunity and arthritis severity in mouse models induced with adjuvant. We established an adjuvant-free ar

The binding of Helicobacter pylori to glycosphingolipids was examined by binding of 35S-labeled bacteria to glycosphingolipids on thin-layer chromatograms. In addition to previously reported binding specificities, a selective binding to a non-acid tetraglycosylceramide of human meconium was found. This H. pylori binding glycosphingolipid was isolated and, on the basis of mass spectrometry, proton

Haemophilus influenzae is a Gram-negative human pathogen that resides in the upper respiratory tract. Encapsulated H. influenzae type b (Hib) and type f (Hif) are the most common serotypes associated with invasive disease. H. influenzae displays various strategies to circumvent the host innate immune response, including the bactericidal effect of the complement system. In this study, we identified

An appropriate animal model is essential to study Helicobacter pylori infection. The aim of this study was to investigate if H. pylori can colonise the guinea-pig stomach and whether the infection causes gastritis and a serological response similar to that observed in man. Guinea-pigs were infected either with fresh H. pylori isolates from human gastric biopsies or with a guinea-pig passaged strai

Since a psychiatric reform came into effect in Sweden in January 1995, municipalities have been responsible for the care of people with psychiatric illness who are no longer supposed to be in need of continuous medical care. In particular, the responsibility for assistance in independent or supported living and meaningful daily occupations was assigned to the municipalities. This reform implied th

Invariant NKT cells (iNKT cells) are characterized by a semi-invariant TCR comprising an invariant a-chain paired with beta-chains with limited BV gene usage which are specific for complexes of CD1d and glycolipid Ags like a-galactosylceramide (a-GalCer). iNKT cells can be visualized with a-GalCer-loaded CD1d tetramers, and the binding of mouse CD1d tetramers to mouse as well as to human iNKT cell

Secretagogin is a newly identified calcium-binding protein selectively expressed in neuroendocrine tissue and pancreatic beta-cells. The function of secretagogin is unknown, but it has been suggested in beta-cells to influence calcium-influx, insulin secretion and proliferation, and has been observed downregulated in diabetes-prone BB rat islets exposed to cytokines. In the present study, we ident

The short- and long-term effects of heavy-resistance training (85% of one-repetition maximum (RM)) on elbow flexion and knee extension dynamic and isokinetic strength and on morphology in the biceps brachii and vastus lateralis muscles were evaluated during 1 year in 35 Scandinavian men and women, aged 70-77 years, 12 of whom formed a control group. After the first 11 weeks of training (n = 23; 3

C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is an important plasma inhibitor of the classical pathway of complement activation. Several bacterial pathogens bind C4BP, which may contribute to their virulence. In the present report we demonstrate that isolated type IV pili from Neisseria gonorrhoeae bind human C4BP in a dose-dependent and saturable manner. C4BP consists of seven identical alpha-chains and one beta-c

A key to the lichen family Parmeliaceae in the Alps is presented. Notes on their distribution and phylogeny are added. The family is represented in the Alps by 41 genera and c. 147 species.