Background For unknown reasons, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are clustered in certain individuals. Here we propose a novel, genetically determined cause of susceptibility to acute pyelonephritis, which is the most severe form of UTI. The IL-8 receptor, CXCR1, was identified as a candidate gene when mIL-8Rh mutant mice developed acute pyelonephritis (APN) with severe tissue damage. Methods and

A total of 42 Swedish patients with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were treated with a natural human leucocyte alpha-interferon (HuIFN-alpha-Le), Alfanative (BioNative AB, Umeå, Sweden) in an open uncontrolled study. Two patients were withdrawn from treatment within 2 weeks due to non-compliance and were omitted from further analysis, and 40 patients (17 females), mean age

Digitonin, which is known to cause extensive damage to cytomembranes in general, was found to have a most remarkable effect on epidermal Langerhans' cells. Thus, it generates a membrane-sandwiching process resulting in the formation of large discs which except for the differences in size have the same morphology as ordinary Birbeck granules. This demonstrates that the cytomembrane of the Langerhan

The green fluorescent protein GFPuv has been genetically engineered to investigate the influence of N-terminal tyrosine extensions in aqueous two-phase systems. Fusions in the N-terminus affected the protein expression, and tags containing three tyrosines and prolines influenced the expression favorably. This effect is probably due to changes in mRNA stability, because the amounts of corresponding

It was proved theoretically and empirically that critical degrees of saturation exist in connection with freezing of porous and brittle materials of different types. It was also proved that damage occurs after one freezing if the actual degree of ssaturation exceeds the critical. Comparisons between the critical degrees of saturation of different materials and those reached in practice in a given

The pseudoscalar meson eta(b) has been searched for in two-photon interactions at LEP II. The data sample corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 617 pb(-1) at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 161 to 209 GeV. Upper limits at a confidence level of 95% on the product Gamma(gamma gamma) (eta(b)) x BR(eta(b)) are 190, 470 and 660 eV/c(2) for the eta(b) decaying into 4, 6 and 8 charged part

An evaluation of the project “Nätverk Handel i Malmö” (continued during 2004 – 2005), which aimed to improved working conditions for the commercial employees in Malmö.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in the plateau phase were seeded in the absence or presence of 5 mM 2-difluoromethylornithine (F(2)MeOrn), an enzyme-activated irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase. The thymidine analogue bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd, 5 mu M) was added to the culture medium 30 min before sampling of the cells, which occurred 1-17 h after seeding. Using flow cytometry, co

Objective. To analyze the experience of a single centre using stent-grafts for treatment of complicated acute aortic type B-dissections (EVR-ABD). Design. Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from patients undergoing EVR-ABD between January 1997 and December 2004. Methods. EVR-ABD was performed in 31 patients (20 males, median age 74. years (IQR: 64-79)). Indications for treatmen