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Background: alpha 1-antitrypsin (AAT) serves primarily as an inhibitor of the elastin degrading proteases, neutrophil elastase and proteinase 3. There is ample clinical evidence that inherited severe AAT deficiency predisposes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Augmentation therapy for AAT deficiency has been available for many years, but to date no sufficient data exist to demonstrate its

We show that a dilute harmonically trapped two-component gas of fermionic atoms with a weak repulsive interaction has a pronounced super-shell structure: The shell fillings due to the spherical harmonic trapping potential are modulated by a beat mode. This changes the "magic numbers" occurring between the beat nodes by half a period. The length and amplitude of this beating mode depend on the stre

We report on the phase behavior of poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene) (PF6), poly(9,9-diheptylfluorene) (PF7), poly(9,9-diocylfluorene) (PF8) poly(9,9-dinonylfluorene) (PF9), and poly(9,9-didecylfluorene) (PF10) in methylcyclohexane (MCH). After a heating-cooling cycle, in the 10-50 mg/mL. concentration range. PF6/ MCH. PF7/MCH. PF8/MCH, and PF9/MCH systems were found to be gel-like, while PF10/MCH appears

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with gastritis, ulcerations, and gastric adenocarcinoma. H. pylori secretes the vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA), a major pathogenicity factor. VacA has immunosuppressive effects, inhibiting interleukin-2 (IL-2) secretion by interference with the T cell receptor/IL-2 signaling pathway at the level of calcineurin, the Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent phosphatase. He

The aim of the present study was to investigate seasonal and spatial patterns of soil oxygen consumption, nitrification, denitrification and fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in a tidal salt marsh of the Lagoon of Venice, Italy. In the salt marsh, intact soil cores including overlying water were collected monthly at high tide from April to October in salt marsh creeks and in areas cover

Purpose: Building on the disablement process model and the concept of person-environment fit (p-e fit), this review article examines 2 critical questions concerning the role of home environments: (a) What is the recent evidence supporting a relationship between home environments and disability-related outcomes? and (b) What is the recent evidence regarding the effects of home modifications on disa

The efficacy and safety of high-dose intravenous polyspecific immunoglobulin G (IVIG) as adjunctive therapy in streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) were evaluated in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The trial was prematurely terminated because of slow patient recruitment, and results were obtained from 21 enrolled patients (10 IVIG recipients and 11 placebo r

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Higher NEFA concentrations predict Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus but it is not known whether higher NEFA concentrations are genetically determined or reflect coexisting obesity. To address this question we studied whether common variants in two genes encoding for key regulators of lipolysis, the beta2- and beta3- adrenoceptors (B2AR and B3AR) are associated wit

Background In January 2004, EMEA approved Y-90-radiolabelled ibritumomab tiuxetan, Zevalin, in Europe for the treatment of adult patients with rituximab-relapsed or -refractory CD20+ follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The number of European nuclear medicine departments using Zevalin is continuously increasing, since the therapy is often considered successful. The Therapy, Oncology and Dosim

Complete and partial genome sequence information is underway in several parasitic and symbiotic fungi that infect humans, other animals and plants. Comparative analyses of these sequences will provide new insights into the genomic plasticity and evolution of parasitism and mutualism in fungi.

Crop residues can be used for biogas production in farm scale reactors. Use of a process temperature below mesophilic conditions reduces the need for heating as well as investment and operating costs, although it may also reduce the methane yield. In the present study the effect of temperature on net energy output was studied using sugar beet tops and straw as substrates for two pilot-scale reacto

A novel scheme for fully scalable White Monte Carlo (WMC) has been developed and is used as a forward solver in the evaluation of experimental time-resolved spectroscopy. Previously reported scaling problems are avoided by storing detection events individually, turning spatial and temporal binning into post-simulation activities. The approach is suitable for modeling of both interstitial and nonin

In this article, an extensive experimental and numerical study of self-desiccation and its importance in concrete technology is outlined. For this purpose, cubes and cylinders of eight qualities of concrete were studied at 4 different ages for each one. Parallel studies of autogeneous shrinkage, basic creep, hydration, internal relative humidity and strength were carried out. Previous research in

PURPOSE: Relative regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) at rest was measured in 44 volunteers using both dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI and (99m)Tc-HMPAO SPECT on the same day. METHOD: In MRI, a Gd-DTPA-BMA contrast agent bolus (0.3 mmol/kg body wt) was monitored with a simultaneous dual FLASH pulse sequence (time resolution 1.5 s). MRI-based rCBF images were calculated by singular value

The differential diagnosis of intradural spinal tumors is primarily based on location, but the clinical presentation, age, and gender of the patient are also important factors in determining the diagnosis. This comprehensive review focuses on the current classification, clinical symptoms, and MRI features of the more common intradural extramedullary and intramedullary neoplastic lesions. This revi

Objective: To compare the efficacy of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) taking concomitant methotrexate (MTX) by calculating the number needed to treat (NNT) using three different methods. Methods: A systematic literature search of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and EMBASE was conducted from inception to 30 June 2006. Two pairs of investi