Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has eight genotypes which have distinct geographical distributions. Studies comparing differences in the clinical outcomes of infections caused by strains with genotype-related variations in the HBV genome have largely compared genotypes B and C and genotypes A and D but not all four genotypes. The present study included 196 HBV-infected patients attending an infectious dis

This paper assesses the performance of poverty alleviation projects, asks why so many have failed, and why successful projects have been successful. It gives a retrospective. overview of the development of the concept of poverty, and argues that the way towards poverty eradication goes through holistic, participatory, approaches that build on sharing of knowledge and learning by doing. Projects an

Background We have previously documented significant differences in orthogonal P wave morphology between patients with and without paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). However, there exists little data concerning normal P wave morphology. This study was aimed at exploring orthogonal P wave morphology and its variations in healthy subjects. Methods 120 healthy volunteers were included, evenly di

We have undertaken a systematic investigation of spectroscopic properties of lanthanide ions (Z=57-71). Using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence following one- or two-photon excitations, a large number of radiative lifetimes have been measured at the Lund Laser Centre for singly, doubly and trebly ionized atoms. These new measurements have been used for testing theoretical calculations perfo

Bile-tolerant Helicobacter species such as Helicobacter pullorum, Helicobacter bilis, and Helicobacter hepaticus are associated with hepatic disorders in animals and may be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic liver diseases (CLD) in humans. Antibody responses to cell surface proteins of H. pullorum, H. bilis, and H. hepaticus in serum samples from patients with CLD, a randomized population gro

Objective To examine the safety and efficacy of endovascular management of isolated infrarenal aortic occlusive disease within our centre. Design and methods Retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent endovascular treatment of occlusive disease that is confined to the infrarenal aorta between September 1993 and November 2004. Results Primary aortic stenting was carried out in 16 wom

X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (X-HIM) is an immunodeficiency caused by mutations in the gene encoding the CD40 ligand (CD40L). A database (CD40Lbase) of CD40L mutations has now been established, and the resultant information, together with other mutations reported elsewhere in the literature, is presented here.

Two bitter stigmastane derivatives, vernoguinosterol (1) and vernoguinoside (2), have been isolated from the stem bark of Vernonia guineensis and their structures eludicated using spectroscopic methods. The new compounds exhibit trypanocidal activity.

Popular Abstract in Swedish Kvantdatorer har den unika egenskapen att de kan utföra samma beräkning för många olika startvärden samtidigt. Informationen i en vanlig dator är lagrad i ett minne som består av bitar, som kan ha värdena 1 eller 0. När ett program körs beror slutresultatet av startvärdena hos dessa bitar. Minnet i en kvantdator lagrar istället kvantbitar, som även de kan ha värdena 1 eThe main aim of this work, was to lay the foundations for the experimental realisation of a quantum mechanical controlled NOT gate in rare-earth-metal-ion-doped crystals. Small amounts of rare-earth elements, added during the growth of some inorganic crystals, will become substituted into the crystal lattice as trivalent ions. The trivalent rare-earth-metal ions between cerium, with atomic number

Abstract in French Nous avons étudié une nouvelle technique permettant d’analyser une feuille de papier encochée chargée en mode I, en se basant sur la modélisation cohésive des craquelures. La méthode prévoit la défaillance finale de la feuille, peu importe sa dimension ou la longueur initiale de la craquelure. Le commencement de la craquelure, le développement de la stabilité de la craquelure etA new approach to analyze notched paper sheet loaded in mode I, based on cohesive crack modelling, is investigated. The method predicts final failure of the sheet, regardless of the sheet size and initial crack length. Onset of crack growth, stable crack growth and onset of unstable crack growth are predicted. The simulations of the notched paper sheet reveal that the concept of autonomy, i.e. ind

BACKGROUND: A synthetic oxytocin analogue, barusiban, was shown to potently inhibit oxytocin-induced activity of myometrium from term pregnant women. The responsiveness to vasopressin was not influenced by the compound. OBJECTIVE: To test the effect of barusiban and a reference compound, atosiban, on oxytocin-induced activity of myometrium from women at preterm pregnancy in comparison to myometriu

Lipid rafts are microdomains of the plasma membrane which are enriched in glycosphingolipids and specific proteins. The reported interactions of several raft-associated proteins (such as, e.g., F3) with tenascin C and tenascin R prompted us to consider that these oligomeric multidomain glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM) could associate with rafts. Here, we show punctate immunocytochem

α-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22) and β-mannosidase (EC 3.2.1.25) participate in the hydrolysis of complex plant saccharides such as galacto(gluco)mannans. Here we report on the cloning and characterization of genes encoding an α-galactosidase (AglC) and a β-mannosidase (MndA) from Aspergillus niger. The aglC and mndA genes code for 747 and 931 amino acids, respectively, including the eukaryotic signa

BACKGROUND: Rotational thromboelastography (ROTEG) has been proposed as a monitoring tool that can be used to monitor treatment of hemophilia with recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa). In these studies special non-standard reagents were used as activators of the coagulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate if standard ROTEG analysis could be used for monitoring of effects of recombinant factor V

Antithyroid treatment effectively restores euthyroidism in patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism. After a few months of treatment, patients are clinically euthyroid with normal levels of thyroid hormones, but in many patients TSH levels remain suppressed. We postulated that TSH receptor autoantibodies could directly suppress TSH secretion, independently from thyroid hormone levels, via binding to