Mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) compounds are well known contact allergens. To detect rubber allergic patients we use both MBT (2% in petrolatum) and a mercapto-mix with 4 constituents of 0.5% each in our standard series. In this article the EECDRG presents data of in total 32 475 consecutive tested patients attending the respective contact dermatitis clinics from 11 centres in Europe to determine if

Background Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) is common in bakery workers. The relation between bronchial responsiveness measured with a tidal breathing method and smoking, airway symptoms, IgE-sensitization, nasal indices of inflammation and flour dust exposure have been studied with bronchial responsiveness expressed as a continuous outcome. Material and methods Bakery workers (n = 197) were su

Background: Neutralizing antibodies provide markers for vaccine-induced protective immunity in many viral infections. By analogy, HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies induced by immunization may well predict vaccine effectiveness. Assessment of neutralizing antibodies is therefore of primary importance, but is hampered by the fact that we do not know which assay(s) can provide measures of protective immu

Store-operated Ca2+ influx represents a major route by which cytosolic Ca2+ can be elevated during platelet activation, yet its molecular identity in this cell type remains highly controversial. Using quantitative RT-PCR analysis of candidate receptor-operated cation entry pathways in human platelets, we show a 30-fold higher expression of message for the recently discovered Orai1 store-operated C

Objective. New proposed definitions of chronic kidney disease necessitate the development and use of simple and accurate methods for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Plasma cystatin C has been shown to be a more reliable GFR marker than creatinine and formulae for estimating GFR have been reported. The purpose of this study was to validate a cystatin C-based GFR prediction equation in

Partial correction of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) reduces left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which is a risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) morbidity, but complete correction of anemia does not improve CV outcomes. Whether LV geometry associates with CV events in patients who are treated to different hemoglobin (Hb) targets is unknown. One of the larger trials to study th

The neutron partial decay width of one-particle resonant levels that are the bandhead states in odd-N deformed nuclei is estimated in the formalism with a real-energy variable, using the width of one-particle resonance calculated in terms of eigenphase. It is shown that because of the presence of various (lj) components in a given one-particle resonant level of deformed nuclei, the neutron decay w

During blood-sucking, female members of the family Tabanidae transmit pathogens of serious diseases and annoy their host animals so strongly that they cannot graze, thus the health of the hosts is drastically reduced. Consequently, a tabanid-resistant coat with appropriate brightness, colour and pattern is advantageous for the host. Spotty coats are widespread among mammals, especially in cattle (

A CMOS compatible direct write laser lithography technique has been developed for cantilever fabrication on pre-fabricated standard CMOS. We have developed cantilever based sensors for mass measurements in vacuum and air. The cantilever is actuated into lateral vibration by electrostatic excitation and the resonant frequency is detected by capacitive readout. The device is integrated on standard C

Background: To compare irinotecan with the Nordic 5- fluorouracil (5- FU) and folinic acid (FA) bolus schedule [ irinotecan 180 mg/m(2) on day 1, 5- FU 500 mg/m(2) and FA 60 mg/m(2) on day 1 and 2 (FLIRI)] or the Lv5FU2 schedule [ irinotecan 180 mg/m(2) on day 1, FA 200 mg/m(2), 5- FU bolus 400 mg/m(2) and infused 5- FU 600 mg/m(2) on day 1 and 2 (Lv5FU2- IRI)] due to uncertainties about how to ad

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential dose reduction to the heart, left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery and the ipsilateral lung for patients treated with tangential and locoregional radiotherapy for left-sided breast cancer with enhanced inspiration gating (EIG) compared to free breathing (FB) using the AAA algorithm. The radiobiological implication of such dose spa

Rationale and Objectives: To investigate for differences in metabolic concentrations and ratios between patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without (group SLE) and those with neurological symptoms (group NPSLE) compared to a healthy control (group HC) in three normal-appearing brain regions: the frontal white matter, right insula (RI), and occipital gray matter and whether changes in

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is at present an incurable malignancy, characterized by apoptosis-resistant tumor cells. Interferon (IFN) treatment sensitizes MM cells to Fas-induced apoptosis and is associated with an increased activation of Signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stat)1. The role of Stat1 in MM has not been elucidated, but Stat1 has in several studies been ascribed a

The authors examine the use of a one-variable first-order grey model ( GM( 1,1)), to model and forecast the trend of the level of cumulative traffic accident severity for strategic scenarios for implementation of driving assistance systems, physical infrastructure redesign and combinations of the two categories of measures. The accident severity levels ( in terms of fatalities and hospitalisations

BACKGROUND. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA/KLK3) and human kallikrein 2 (hK2/KLK2) belong to the human kallikrein gene family. These two highly homologous genes are specifically expressed in the prostate under androgen control. Expression of these is regulated by similar mechanisms but changes in their relative expression have been observed in prostate cancer. METHODS. We determined the relative l

Bruchid beetles in the genus Zabrotes are important pests of field and stored beans all around the world and cause enormous economical losses in Mexico and Central America. Native parasitoids have been successfully used to suppress infestations by bruchid beetles in Africa, but few studies have assessed their potential to reduce seed damage in the New World and no successful biological control pro

Science and Technology Studies (STS) projects often aim at understanding social problems and epistemic challenges in science and, more generally, in the technoscientific worlds we inhabit. However, it is often unclear if and how these projects can help address the problems they identify. Scholars such as Donna Haraway, John Law, and Karen Barad have argued that STS methods always interfere with th

Small heat-shock protein chaperones are important players in the protein quality control system of the cell, because they can immediately respond to partially unfolded proteins, thereby protecting the cell from harmful aggregates. The small heat-shock proteins can form large polydisperse oligomers that are exceptionally dynamic, which is implicated in their function of protecting substrate protein