Previous work has indicated a crucial role for the extracellular cysteine proteinase of Streptococcus pyogenes in the pathogenicity and virulence of this important human pathogen. Here we find that the purified streptococcal cysteine proteinase releases biologically active kinins from their purified precursor protein, H-kininogen, in vitro, and from kininogens present in the human plasma, ex vivo.

Emerging lines of evidence indicate that the cutaneous human papillomavirus (HPV) types that belong to the genus Betapapillomavirus (beta HPV) are involved in the development of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Unlike the situation for mucosal HPV types, highly sensitive and reliable methods to identify characterized cutaneous HPV types in a single assay are limited. Here, we describe a novel one-shot met

This work deals with the effects of freeze-thawing on the deterioration of some types of natural stone, especially stones frequently used in old buildings in Sweden. Laboratory studies were performed mainly on Gotland sandstone. This stone has been widely used in old buildings in the whole Baltic region, and is often badly deteriorated. A granite from Bohuslän Province in Sweden was studied as wel

BACKGROUND: Eosinophils have a typical content of granule-bound, cytotoxic, cationic proteins which may, when released to the external milieu, play roles in diseases such as asthma and parasitic infestation. Therefore, we have investigated possible mechanisms by which their release is regulated in eosinophils. METHODS: The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect released eosin

Published estimates of the total biomass of natural populations of mammalian herbivores generally have ignored small-bodied taxa (especially, rodents). Including such taxa may dramatically change our understanding of total biomass and energy flow in such systems. Dusky rats (Rattus colletti) are small (up to 210 g) native Australian mammals, and our 5-year mark-recapture study on a tropical flood

We have studied morphology and phase segregation of AlInP shells on GaAs nanowires. Photoluminescence measurements on single core- shell nanowires indicated variations in the shell composition, and phase segregation was confirmed by cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy on 30 nm thin slices of the wires. It was discovered that Al-rich domains form in the á112ñ directions where

Popular Abstract in Swedish Vad betyder egentligen demokratisering för medborgaren i termer av möjligheter för deltagande i och inflytande över socio-politiska processer? Denna fråga står i centrum för föreliggande avhandling. Den våg av demokratiseringsprocesser som svept över utvecklingsvärlden under de senaste decennierna har medfört ökad frihet för miljontals människor och givit upphov till enThe global expansion of democratic rule in the developing world has attracted much scholarly interest. The societal implications of the democratisation process, i.e. what democratisation actually means for the citizens in terms of opportunities for participation and influence, have not received as much attention though. This study makes a contribution to redressing the imbalance. Drawing on normat

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disease in which the 0 cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the body's own immune system. IL12 plays a role in pathological situations, such as septic shock, tissue damage during inflammation, and organ-specific autoimmune diseases. In NOD mice, administration of IL12 induces T1DM and administration of IL12 antagonists prevents T1DM. Linkage and a

The reduction of the surface oxide on Rh(111) by H-2 was observed in situ by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and high-resolution core level spectroscopy (HRCLS). At room temperature, H-2 does not adsorb on the oxide, only in reduced areas. Reduction starts in very few sites, almost exclusively in stepped areas. One can also initiate the reduction process by deliberately creating defects with t

Calreticulin (CRT) is a eukaryotic, highly conserved, Ca2+-binding protein predominantly located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen. In addition to being involved in the regulation of cellular Ca2+, calreticulin is a key quality control element during protein folding in the ER lumen. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) suspension cells overexpressing a maize CRT (CRT1a) were used here to examine t

Optimality theory rests on the assumptions that short-term foraging decisions are driven by variation in environmental quality, and that these decisions have important implications for long-term fitness. These assumptions, however, are rarely tested in a field setting. We linked behavioral foraging decisions in food patches with measures of environmental quality covering larger spatial (resource d

Popular Abstract in Swedish Avhandlingsarbetets främsta syfte har varit att analysera vilka drivkrafter som ligger bakom beslutet att återvandra, samt att kartlägga återvandringen från Sverige 1968-1996 avseende sammansättning och utvecklingsmönster. Analysen har bedrivits ur ett arbetsmarknadsekonomiskt perspektiv, med fokus på den långsiktiga utvecklingen av tillgång och efterfrågan på arbetskraThis book deals with return migration from Sweden in the period 1968-1996 to Chile, Germany, Greece, Iran, Poland, Turkey, United States and Yugoslavia, against the background of economic and political developments in Sweden and in the different source countries. An important question in the study regards whether return migrants deviate from other immigrants in terms of human capital characteristi

Recent experiments on mid-gap laser-triggered electrical breakdown in liquid dielectrics have been scrutinised. The sequence of events that leads to the disruptive discharge is described and accompanied by electric field calculations.

The thesis is based on the data analysis and detector development of the EMU01/CERN, E863/BNL and UA1/CERN experiments. Particle fluctuations are studied with the scaled factorial moments in the fragmentation region of oxygen-induced emulsion interactions from 3.7 to 200 A GeV. The intermittency indices show an energy independent behaviour in the target and projectile regions of pseudorapidity. I

Neuroblastoma is a childhood tumor derived from precursor or immature cells of the sympathetic nervous system. Neuroblastomas show a tremendous clinical heterogeneity, encompassing truly benign as well as extremely aggressive forms. In vivo as well as in vitro data have shown that the degree of sympathetic neuronal tumor cell differentiation influences patient outcome. Unraveling mechanisms govern