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Prostate cancer is a common malignancy in men and the worldwide burden of this disease is rising. Lifestyle modifications such as smoking cessation, exercise, and weight control offer opportunities to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. Early detection of prostate cancer by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening is controversial, but changes in the PSA threshold, frequency of screeni
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a heterogeneous disorder. The goals of this review are (1) To stimulate use of standardized nomenclature for OA that could serve as building blocks for describing OA and defining OA phenotypes, in short to provide unifying disease concepts for a heterogeneous disorder; and (2) To stimulate establishment of ROAD (Risk of OA Development) and ROAP (Risk of OA Progression) tools
Background: Most current knowledge on kidney concentrations of nephrotoxic metals like cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), or lead (Pb) comes from autopsy studies. Assessment of metal concentrations in kidney biopsies from living subjects can be combined with information about exposure sources like smoking, diet, and occupation supplied by the biopsied subjects themselves. Objectives: To determine kidney
Background Glucocorticoid-mediated hypertension is incompletely understood. Recent studies have suggested the primary mechanism of this form of hypertension may be through the effects of glucocorticoids on vascular tissues and not to excess sodium and water re-absorption as traditionally believed. Objective The goal of this study was to better understand the role of the vasculature in the generati
The present study reports regression of pre-established experimental rat gliomas as a result of combining peripheral immunization using interferon gamma (IFNgamma) transduced autologous tumor cells with local intratumoral delivery of interleukin 7 (IL-7) by mesenchymal stromal cells. IL-7 alone significantly decreased the tumor area and this effect was enhanced with IFNgamma immunization. A higher
Defect management is a central task in software maintenance. When a defect is reported, appropriate resources must be allocated to analyze and resolve the defect. An important issue in resource allocation is the estimation of Defect Resolution Time (DRT). Prior research has considered different approaches for DRT prediction exploiting information retrieval techniques and similarity in textual defe
Deficiency in the E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch causes a skin-scratching phenotype in mice. We found that there was increased phosphorylation and activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38α in spontaneous and experimentally induced skin lesions of Itch-deficient (Itch(-/-)) mice. Itch bound directly to the TGF-β-activated kinase 1-binding protein 1 (Tab1) through a conserved PPXY motif and
The number of undescribed species of lichenized fungi has been estimated at roughly 10,000. Describing and cataloging these would take the existing number of taxonomists several decades; however, the support for taxonomy is in decline worldwide. In this paper we emphasize the dire need for taxonomic expertise in lichenology. We bring together 103 colleagues from institutions worldwide to describe
For investigation of chemical exposure in allergic individuals, spot tests are invaluable. A reagent may react with a specific compound to give a specific typical colour, and thus indicate the presence of the specific substance. Spot tests can give both false-negative and false-positive reactions. To confirm the presence of the substance and quantify it, more sophisticated methods are required. On
The riodinid Rhetus belphegor (Westwood) (n. comb., previously in the genus Nirodia) is a critically endangered butterfly confined to the “campos rupestres”; a high-altitude rocky outcrop vegetation from southeast Brazil. The aim of this study is to unveil its biology and evaluate its systematic position. Based on museum data and public contribution of data (in the context of citizen science), R.
On 20 May 2014, Malawi arranged tripartite elections for president, parliament and local councils. The elections were remarkable for several reasons, seen from both an African and a Malawian perspective. Despite an uneven electoral playing field, the elections were highly competitive, ultimately leading to the country’s second turnover of power when opposition challenger Peter Mutharika defeated t
Large amounts of methane (CH4) are known to be emitted from permafrost environments during the autumn freeze-in, but the specific soil conditions leading up to these bursts are unclear. Therefore, we used an ultrawide band ground-penetrating radar in Northeast Greenland in autumn 2009 to estimate the volumetric composition inside the soil through dielectric characterization from 200 to 3200 MHz. O
In this paper, we test whether oil price predicts economic growth for 28 developed and 17 developing countries. We use predictability tests that account for the key features of the data, namely, persistency, endogeneity, and heteroskedasticity. Our analysis considers a large number of countries, shows evidence of more out-of-sample predictability with nominal than real oil prices, finds in-sample
In this article further progress is made in extending the Burchnall-Chaundy type determinant construction of annihilating polynomial for commuting elements to broader classes of rings and algebras by deducing an explicit general formula for the coefficients of the annihilating polynomial obtained by the Burchnall-Chaundy type determinant construction in Ore extension rings. It is also demonstrated
Dekkera bruxellensis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae are considered two phylogenetically distant relatives, but they share several industrial relevant traits such as the ability to produce ethanol under aerobic conditions (Crabtree effect), high tolerance towards ethanol and acids, and ability to grow without oxygen. Beside a huge adaptability, D. bruxellensis exhibits a broader spectrum in utilizati
The thorough experimental characterization of a dowel-type connection under various combinations of bending moments and normal forces is presented in this study. Double-shear steel-to-timber connections with 12 and 20 mm steel dowels were tested in a 4-point bending test set-up. The load, between the connected steel and wood beams, was transferred by the dowels themselves and also via an additiona
