While the risk of TB is elevated in HIV-positive subjects with low CD4 cell counts, TB may in itself be associated with CD4 lymphocytopenia. We investigated markers of immune activation (neopterin) and inflammation (CRP) in TB patients with and without HIV coinfection and their association with CD4 cell levels, and determined their predictive capacity as alternative markers of advanced immunosuppr

Aims. The nature of the thick disc and its relation to the thin disc is presently an important subject of debate. In fact, the structural and chemo-dynamical transition between disc populations can be used as a test of the proposed models of Galactic disc formation and evolution. Methods. We used the atmospheric parameters, [alpha/Fe] abundances, and radial velocities, which were determined from t

The title compound, (C21H22P)(2)[Cu2I4], prepared from reaction between copper powder, iodine and isopropyl triphenylphosphonium iodide in hydroxyacetone (acetol), shows an already known Cu2I42- anion with a planar conformation [Cu-I range = 2.5108 (3)-2.5844 (3) angstrom and I-Cu-I range = 110.821 (10)-125.401 (10)degrees].

Program parallelization and distribution becomes increasingly important when new multi-core architectures and cheaper cluster technology provide ways to improve performance. Using declarative languages, such as constraint programming, can make the transition to parallelism easier for the programmer. In this paper, we address parallel and distributed search in constraint programming (CP) by proposi

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) can interfere with male reproductive function, but evidence in humans is limited. Six hundred four fertile men (199 from Greenland, 197 from Poland and 208 from Ukraine) were enrolled in the study. We measured four PFASs in serum (PFOS, PFOA, PFNA and PFHxS) and concurrent DNA damage in spermatozoa by sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) and in situ terminal deo

We have investigated the structure of a microbial community in semi-natural sandy grassland in southeast Sweden. The sand is rich in lime, but in most places the soil is decalcified in the upper layers, and therefore this site shows a large variation in pH within short distances. We collected samples at three different soil depths (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm) and found the pH to range from 5 t

The present work is based on the Kantian (AaO)-axiom and conceptualised as a textbook. As scientific method in the true sense of the notion science, the Vertex version of Perspective Text Analysis (PTA) represents a completely new approach to text-based studies. The inter-lingual character of Vertex has been tested and established in the context of six different languages, four belonging to the Ge

Objective: To explore the association between the stability or instability of services' organizational structure and patient- and therapist-initiated discontinuation of therapy in routine mental health. Method: Three groups, comprising altogether 750 cases in routine mental health care in eight different clinics, were included: cases with patient-initiated discontinuation, therapist-initiated disc

We present a theoretical investigation of a model clay dispersion in 1-1 salt solutions by varying the particle volume fraction and ionic strength as well as the charge distribution on the clay platelets. The platelets are modeled as discs with charged sites distributed on a hexagonal lattice. The edge sites can be positively charged while the remaining sites are negative giving rise to a strong c

Gene-lifestyle interactions have been suggested to contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. Glucose levels 2 h after a standard 75-g glucose challenge are used to diagnose diabetes and are associated with both genetic and lifestyle factors. However, whether these factors interact to determine 2-h glucose levels is unknown. We meta-analyzed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) X BMI and SN

We present a fast algorithm for the calculation of elastostatic fields in two-dimensional assemblies of elastic grains, separated by sharp grain boundaries. The algorithm uses an integral equation approach, combined with the fast multipole method and recursive compression to resolve stress concentrations also very close to grain boundary junctions. Singular basis functions on analytic form are not

We present a framework for computing optimal transformations, aligning one point set to another, in the presence of outliers. Example applications include shape matching and registration (using, for example, similarity, affine or projective transformations) as well as multiview reconstruction problems (triangulation, camera pose etc.). While standard methods like RANSAC essentially use heuristics

Recent studies revealed layers of enhanced aerosol scattering in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere over Asia (Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL)) and North America (North American Tropospheric Aerosol Layer (NATAL)). We use a sectional aerosol model (Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres (CARMA)) coupled with the Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1) to explo

A critical review of a book on guilt and moral in the relations of Sweden to Nazi Germany.

Methods. Blood samples from patients with IgAN (n = 21) and age-matched controls (n = 83) were assayed by ELISA to detect an IgG antibody response to the IgA-BRs of the M4, M22 and M60 proteins. Antibodies were assayed for each IgA-BR separately and the results were combined. Results. Antibody levels to the IgA-BRs were significantly higher in IgAN patients than controls (P = 0.016), particularly

When PGSE NMR is applied to water in microheterogeneous materials such as liquid crystals, foodstuffs, porous rocks, and biological tissues, the signal attenuation is often multi-exponential, indicating the presence of pores having a range of sizes or anisotropic domains having a spread of orientations. Here we modify the standard PGSE experiment by introducing low-amplitude harmonically modulated

Newton's Law of Gravitation has been tested at small values a of the acceleration, down to a a parts per thousand 10(-10) ms(-2), the approximate value of MOND's constant a (0). Within experimental errors no deviations from Newton's Law were found. A comparison with six versions of the MOND interpolation function is given. Under the assumptions made in this paper one of the versions can be exclude