Cells, the basic units of living organisms, are well delineated and separated from the external environment by membranes. Capable of both enclosing the cellular constituents and allowing exchanges with the outside world, these membranes are only a few nanometers thick. All the membranes in a human body cover an area of a few hectares, but account for only a small part of our mass. To study the dyn

METHODS: This was a multicentre, international, observer-masked, randomised controlled trial of people with diabetes and a hard-to-heal foot ulcer done in 32 specialist diabetic foot clinics in three countries (UK, Denmark, and Sweden). After a 4-week run-in period, those with a reduction in ulcer area of less than 50% were randomly allocated (1:1) by computer-generated, web-based randomisation (b

As urban areas continue to grow, understanding how species respond and adapt to urban habitats is becoming increasingly important. Knowledge of the mechanisms behind observed phenotypic changes of urban-dwelling animals will enable us to better evaluate the impact of urbanization on current and future generations of wildlife and predict how animals respond to novel environments. Recently, urban ec

RESULTS: It was shown that the frequency of the patients with no mucosal infection in the urinary tract was higher in the Guangzhou group, while the frequencies of upper respiratory tract and biliary infections were lower when compared with those in the Xi'an group. Serum uric acid, alexin C3, creatinine and serum cholesterol concentrations were increased in the Guangzhou group, while triglyceride

Mobilistic plate-tectonic interpretation of Precambrian orogens requires that two conjoined crustal blocks may derive from distant portions of the globe. Nonetheless, many proposed Precambrian cratonic juxtapositions are broadly similar to those of younger times (socalled "strange attractors"), raising the specter of bias in their construction. We evaluated the possibility that the Congo and Kalah

Naturfilosofen och andeskådaren Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), som mest blivit känd för sina resor i andevärldens immateriella rymder, var också en flitig resenär i den jordiska, europeiska geografin. Tjänstledig från sitt uppdrag som assessor vid Bergskollegium vistades han i Rom ett par månader 1738–39.

Background: In Europe in recent decades, university teaching of palliative medicine (PM) has evolved. In some countries it has been introduced as a compulsory subject in all medical schools, but in a majority of countries it remains an isolated subject at few universities. Objective: To explore how PM has been introduced into the curricula and how it is currently being taught at different European

Purpose For over 30 years, the place of consolidation high-dose chemotherapy in Ewing sarcoma (ES) has been controversial. A randomized study was conducted to determine whether consolidation high-dose chemotherapy improved survival in patients with localized ES at high risk for relapse. Methods Randomization between busulfan and melphalan (BuMel) or standard chemotherapy (vincristine, dactinomycin

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive biomarker of chronic low-grade inflammation and is associated with multiple complex diseases. The genetic determinants of chronic inflammation remain largely unknown, and the causal role of CRP in several clinical outcomes is debated. We performed two genome-wide association studies (GWASs), on HapMap and 1000 Genomes imputed data, of circulating amounts of

The pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) involves the accumulation of aggregated -synuclein, which has been suggested to begin in the gastrointestinal tract. Here, we determined the capacity of the appendix to modify PD risk and influence pathogenesis. In two independent epidemiological datasets, involving more than 1.6 million individuals and over 91 million person-years, we observed that rem

Intracellular delivery of mRNA, DNA, and other large macromolecules into cells plays an essential role in an array of biological research and clinical therapies. However, currentmethods yield a wide variation in the amount of material delivered, as well as limitations on the cell types and cargoes possible. Here, we demonstrate quantitatively controlled delivery into a range of primary cells and c

Background: The most commonly reported outcome measure in Dupuytren disease is the extension deficit in finger joints. This study aimed to investigate the examiners' influence on the measured difference between active and passive extension deficit. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 157 consecutive patients (81% men, mean age 70 years) scheduled for collagenase treatment for Dupu