BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptors enable the host to recognize a large number of pathogen-associated molecular patterns such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide, viral RNA, CpG-containing DNA and flagellin. Toll-like receptors have also been shown to play a pivotal role in both innate and adaptive immune responses. The role of Toll-like receptors as a primary part of our microbe defense system has been

A classification for primary and incisional abdominal wall hernias is needed to allow comparison of publications and future studies on these hernias. It is important to know whether the populations described in different studies are comparable. Several members of the EHS board and some invitees gathered for 2 days to discuss the development of an EHS classification for primary and incisional abdom

The Euro50 is an astronomical extremely large telescope for optical and infrared wavelength with a 50 m primary mirror. The telescope will have an elaborate control system ("live optics") to correct for atmospheric and telescope aberrations. To study and predict performance of the complete telescope system, an integrated model combining the structural model of the telescope, optics models, the con

In an attempt to prepare structural and functional models for the active site of the hydrolytic enzyme zinc phosphotriesterase, five new zinc complexes of the ligands 2,6-bis[N-(N-(carboxylmethyl)-N-((1-methylimidazol)methyl)amine)methyl]-4-methylphenolate (BCIMP) and the corresponding asymmetric ligand 2-(N-isopropyl-N-((1-methylimidazolyl)methyl)aminomethyl)-6-(N-carboxylmethyl-N-((1-methylimida

In this work H-1 NMR self-diffusion experiments have been performed to determine the self-diffusion coefficients of n-octyl beta-D-glucoside and n-nonyl beta-D-glucoside in alpha-cyclodextrin and beta-cyclodextrin solutions at 25 degreesC. Two questions are addressed. The first concerns the general influence on nonionic surfactant transport properties when cyclodextrins are present in solution. Th

An accurate and variationally consistent 4-node quadrilateral element is introduced where high coarse mesh accuracy and low mesh distortion sensitivity are characteristic qualities, even when incompressibility is approached for plane strain. One-point quadrature integration procedure is adopted and a new improved stabilization technique is developed. Orthogonality conditions are utilized so that t

The growth of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) on InSb(001) c(8 x 2) at submonolayer coverage has been investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). FePc adsorbs flat centered on the In rows both at 70 K and at room temperature (RT). However, the shapes of the two-dimensional molecular islands are fundamentally different; while the RT growth results in chainlike structures along the [I 10] dire

In this paper we derive several important results towards a better understanding of propagation characteristics of resilient Boolean functions. We first introduce a new upper bound on nonlinearity of a given resilient function depending on the propagation criterion. We later show that a large class of resilient functions admit a linear structure; more generally, we exhibit some divisibility proper

The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of the Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) and the Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (ELPI) to study mass weighted particle size distributions. Unimodal and bimodal liquid test aerosols were produced to a small chamber. Simultaneous measurements were performed with an APS 3320, an APS 3321, an ELPI and a Dekati Low-Pressure Impactor (DLPI)

The ultrastructure of embryonic chick cartilage proteoglycan core protein was investigated by electron microscopy of specimens prepared by low angle shadowing. The molecular images demonstrated a morphological substructural arrangement of three globular and two linear regions within each core protein. The internal globular region (G2) was separated from two terminally located globular regions (G1

The extracellular matrix molecule tenascin-R (TN-R) and the proteoglycans of the lectican family show an overlapping distribution in the developing brain, have been implicated in similar cellular processes and form a complex network of interactions. Previously, we have demonstrated that TN-R induces microprocesses along neurites and enlarged growth cones of tectal cells by interacting with the cel

In the present study we combined interferon (IFN) and hydroxyurea (HU) treatment, intensive chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) in newly diagnosed chronic myelogenous leukemia patients aged below 56 years, not eligible for allogeneic SCT. Patients who had an HLA-identical sibling donor and no contraindication went for an allogeneic SCT (related donor, RD). After diagnosis,

By computers imulationso f differentf lightr outesf or springm igratingK nots Calidris canutusp, otentialo rientationa'ld angerz ones' werer evealedi n the equatora rea and northo f the Arcticc ircle.A n evaluationo f the availabilityo f directionailn formation duringm igratoryf lightsd emonstratedth e potentialh azardso f crossingt hese danger zones. Investigationso f the directionalc onsequences

onthly averages of ecosystem respiration (ER), gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) over Scandinavian forest sites were estimated using regression models driven by air temperature (AT), absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) and vegetation indices. The models were constructed and evaluated using satellite data from Terra/MODIS and measured data collected at

Objective: High levels of sex steroid hormones and prolactin have been suggested to enhance breast cancer development. Low levels of SHBG may indicate high levels of (bio-available) steroid hormones. The present study investigates whether high levels of sex steroid hormones and prolactin, and/or low levels of SHBG, are associated with high breast cancer risk. Methods: Blood samples were collected

In guinea-pig isolated airways, nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) neural responses converge towards a similar level of smooth muscle tone, via a contraction when the tone is low prior to stimulation, and via a relaxation when the tone is high prior to stimulation. We wanted to assess the effect of simultaneous parasympathetic activation on these converging NANC responses, with and without the a