Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This study investigated whether Stx2 induces hemolysis and whether complement is involved in the hemolytic process. RBCs and/or RBC-derived microvesicles from patients with STEC-HUS (n = 25) were investigated for the presence of C3 and C9 by flow cytometry. Patients exhibited increased C3 deposition on RBCs

Although previously disputed, it is now clear that the demands from avian incubation put parents under considerable energetic stress, sometimes to an extent where the costs of incubation constrain clutch size evolution. However, the behavioural mechanisms involved in manifesting such costs remain largely unknown. We manipulated the demands of incubation by enlarging and reducing clutch size during

Emotion researchers have long use clips from commercial movies to experimentally elicit emotional states. The paper describes how the Niedenthal laboratory selected and tested emotion eliciting movie clips, and presents data on their effectiveness. A summary of published databases of emotion eliciting movies is presented and discussed.

Although a substantial proportion of patients with heart failure (HF) have anemia, there is a paucity of data evaluating the impact of anemia on clinical outcome in CRT patients. Our goal was to examine the ability of baseline hemoglobin (Hb) level and change in Hb level over time to predict clinical 2-year outcome and echocardiographic response to CRT.

Although identical blood group matching is preferred, it is uncertain if this results in improved survival and, if so, how large the survival benefits are. Earlier studies have yielded conflicting results and are mostly based on single-center cohorts with few long-term results. Recipients with blood group AB are of particular interest regarding nonidentical blood group matching because they may re

We introduce a multi-region model for simultaneous segmentation of medical images. In contrast to many other models, geometric constraints such as inclusion and exclusion between the regions are enforced, which makes it possible to correctly segment different regions even if the intensity distributions are identical. We efficiently optimize the model using a combination of graph cuts and Lagrangia

The objective of this work is to establish under which conditions short RNA molecules (similar to miRNA) associate with zwitterionic phospholipids and how this differs from the association with cationic surfactants. We study how the base pairing (i.e., single stranded versus double stranded nucleic acids) and the length of the nucleic acid and the charge of the lipid/surfactant monolayer affect th

Diffraction experiments with holographic gratings recorded in SiO2 nanoparticle-polymer composites have been carried out with slow neutrons. The influence of parameters such as nanoparticle concentration, grating thickness, and grating spacing on the neutron-optical properties of such materials has been tested. Decay of the grating structure along the sample depth due to disturbance of the recordi

A short review is presented on diffractive excitation in high energy collisions. [GRAPHICS] .

The partitioning of Clavulanic Acid (CA) in a novel inexpensive and stable aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) composed by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and sodium polyacrylate (NaPA) has been studied. The aqueous two-phase systems are formed by mixing both polymers with a salt (NaCl or Na2SO4) and an aqueous solution of CA. The stability of CA on the presence of both polymers was investigated and it wa

Escolar (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum, family Gempylidae) are large and darkly coloured deep-sea predatory fish found in the cold depths (more than 200 m) during the day and in warm surface waters at night. They have large eyes and an overall low density of retinal ganglion cells that endow them with a very high optical sensitivity. Escolar have banked retinae comprising six to eight layers of rods

Understanding the relationship between photosynthesis, net primary productivity and growth in forest ecosystems is key to understanding how these ecosystems will respond to global anthropogenic change, yet the linkages among these components are rarely explored in detail. We provide the first comprehensive description of the productivity, respiration and carbon allocation of contrasting lowland Am

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) can be divided into prognostic subgroups based on the IGHV gene mutational status, and is further characterized by multiple subsets of cases with quasi-identical or stereotyped B cell receptors that also share clinical and biological features. We recently reported differential DNA methylation profiles in IGHV-mutated and IGHV-unmutated CLL subgroups. For the firs

Objective: Autism spectrum disorders are considered to be among the most heritable mental disorders, a notion based on surprisingly sparse data from small clinical studies. Population-based studies of the heritability of other neuro-psychiatric disorders and comorbidities among them have also been sparse. The authors sought to address both of these issues. Method: Parents of all Swedish 9- and 12-

In hermaphroditic plants, the effect of a social environment on sex allocation has not been studied to our knowledge, while in hermaphroditic animals such effects are known to be common. In recent years, studies on root competition beyond the effects of nutrients have shown that plants can respond to their conspecific root competitors (social environment), making it interesting to ask if these eff

The thermoanaerobe, Caloramator boliviensis was used to ferment starch hydrolysate from inedible wild cassava to ethanol at 60°C. A raw starch degrading α-amylase was used to hydrolyse the cassava starch. During fermentation, the organism released CO2 and H2 gases, and Gas Endeavour System was successfully used for monitoring and recording formation of these gaseous products. The bioethanol produc

This paper is a report on the European Food Science Day (Brussels, 18 November 2009, organized by the CommNet network of food science communicators) and its outcomes. The article presents FP 7 as a key funding mechanism in European food and nutrition research and it puts research in this sector in a socio-economic context. The article then reviews the specific activities of several EU-funded proje