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The Chemotaxis Inhibitory Protein of Staphylococcus aureus (CHIPS) binds and blocks the C5a receptor (C5aR) and formyl-peptide receptor (FPR). This way, CHIPS is a potent inhibitor of the immune cell recruitment associated with inflammation. Truncation of the protein and the introduction of mutations, shifts the expression towards the insoluble fraction of Escherichia coli, whereas the wild-type p

Temperate and boreal forests in the Northern Hemisphere cover an area of about 2 times 107 square kilometres and act as a substantial carbon sink (0.6–0.7 petagrams of carbon per year)1. Although forest expansion following agricultural abandonment is certainly responsible for an important fraction of this carbon sink activity, the additional effects on the carbon balance of established forests of

We used ultrasonic imaging to monitor short-term changes in the pectoral muscle size of captive red knots Calidris canutus. Pectoral muscle thickness changed rapidly and consistently in parallel with body mass changes caused by flight, fasting and fuelling. Four knots flew repeatedly for 10 h periods in a wind tunnel. Over this period, pectoral muscle thickness decreased in parallel with the decre

Linear pentadecamer and cyclic hexamer peptide phage libraries were used to isolate phage clones with binding affinity toward lactoferrins purified from human and bovine milk. Phage clones with high specificity toward lactoferrin were selected with different binding strengths depending on the sequence of the peptide displayed by the phage. Phages coated to a microtiterplate were able to capture la

Climate change is expected to have profound ecological effects, yet shifts in competitive abilities among species are rarely studied in this context. Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major) compete for food and roosting sites, yet coexist across much of their range. Climate change might thus change the competitive relationships and coexistence between these two species. Analys

In this work hollow fibre liquid phase microextraction combined with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry was applied for the determination of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ketoprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and ibuprofen as well as eight of their known human metabolites in wastewater samples. Extraction time and addition of tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) to the liquid memb

Several studies suggest that hormonal mechanisms may be associated with the development of uveal melanoma. Therefore, the association between the risk of uveal melanoma and exposure to hormonal exposures was investigated in a case-control study from nine European countries. Incident cases of uveal melanoma were frequency-matched to population and hospital controls by country, age, and sex. Female

When exposed to intermediate glucose concentrations (6-16 mol/l), pancreatic beta-cells in intact islets generate bursts of action potentials (superimposed on depolarised plateaux) separated by repolarised electrically silent intervals. First described more than 40 years ago, these oscillations have continued to intrigue beta-cell electrophysiologists. To date, most studies of beta-cell ion channe

Genetic studies have implicated the neuronal ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase (UCH) protein UCH-L1 in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis. Moreover, the function of UCH-L1 may be lost in the brains of PD and Alzheimer's disease patients. We have previously reported that the UCH-L1 polymorphic variant S18Y, potentially protective against PD in population studies, demonstrates specific antioxidant f

Sexual activity online may result in positive experiences for young people, or lead them to engage in risky behaviours possibly resulting in sexual assault or abuse. The aim of our study was to investigate associations between online sexual behaviours among Swedish youth and background factors as well as aspects of wellbeing. The behaviours investigated were: having sex online with a contact met o

Internationalisation of higher education is a strategic theme in current research on higher education and policy debate. Both at national and institutional levels, in many countries, internationalisation is stated to be an educational goal. However, the dominant discourse on internationalisation of higher education in research and research-based discussions tends to be framed by political, economi

BACKGROUND: Previous studies imply that human pancreatic cancer cells have a wide heterogeneity and their exposure to various agents may give unpredictable results in clinical situations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cell lines LPC-3, -5 and -10, established from primary cultures of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, were exposed to 5 microM of AAT or its C-terminal peptide C-36 for 24 hours and analysed fo

BdbD is a thiol: disulfide oxidoreductase (TDOR) from Bacillus subtilis that functions to introduce disulfide bonds in substrate proteins/peptides on the outside of the cytoplasmic membrane and, as such, plays a key role in disulfide bond management. Here we demonstrate that the protein is membrane-associated in B. subtilis and present the crystal structure of the soluble part of the protein lacki

1. Net primary production (NPP) by terrestrial ecosystems appears to be proportional to absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) on a seasonal and annual basis. This observation has been used in 'diagnostic' models that estimate NPP from remotely sensed vegetation indices. In 'prognostic' process-based models carbon fluxes are more commonly integrated with respect to leaf area index ass

All absolute paleointensity data published in peer-reviewed journals were recently compiled in the GEOMACIA50 database. Based on the information in GEOMAGIA50, we reconstruct variations in the geomagnetic dipole moment over the past 50 kyr, with a focus on the Holocene period. A running-window approach is used to determine the axial dipole moment that provides the optimal least-squares fit to the

PURPOSE: To evaluate patients' vision-related activity limitation before and after bilateral cataract surgery using the German version of the Catquest-9SF questionnaire. SETTING: Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria, and Ophthalmic Clinic, Minden, Germany. DESIGN: Questionnaire development. METHODS: This prospective 2-center study included patients who were scheduled for bilateral cataract surgery an

Short-term very intensive storms in the years 1980-2007 from rain gauges in Malmo have been analysed to find intensities of long return periods and to investigate trends. Observations from different stations have been pooled into series to which probability functions have been adjusted. Quality control of short-term precipitation records is emphasized. In order to investigate whether high rain int

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are differentially regulated in tumor cells. While the current paradigm supports post-translational regulation of the HIF-α subunits, we recently showed that hypoxic HIF-2α is also transcriptionally regulated via insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-II in the childhood tumor neuroblastoma. Here, we demonstrate that transcriptional regulation of HIF-2α seems to be restr