Plasma cell dyscrasias, including monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), multiple myeloma (MM), Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) and light chain AL amyloidosis, are characterized by clonal expansion of plasma cells which produce a vast amount of an immunoglobulin-derived M-protein. We noted that MGUS diagnosis often coincided with diagnoses of senile cataract and glaucoma and

Aim: Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in premature infants. By the time symptoms appear, it may already be too late to prevent a severe course, with bronchopulmonary dysplasia or mortality. We aimed to develop a rapid test of lung maturity for targeting surfactant supplementation. Methods: Concentrations of the most surface-active lung phospholipid di

Aims: To investigate, in the Carotid Atherosclerosis: Metformin for Insulin Resistance (CAMERA) trial (NCT00723307), whether the influence of metformin on the glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 axis in individuals with and without type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is sustained and related to changes in glycaemia or weight, and to investigate basal and post-meal GLP-1 levels in patients with T2DM in the cross-sect

The 6Li(n,α) reaction cross-section is commonly used as a reference cross section. However, it is only considered a neutron standard up to 1MeV. For higher energies, there are discrepancies of several per cents between recent measurements and evaluated data files. In order to extend and establish 6Li(n,α) as a neutron standard above 1MeV these discrepancies must be resolved. Our measurement at the

IgG antibodies are potent inducers of proinflammatory responses by cross-linking Fc receptors on innate immune effector cells resulting in tissue injury. The recently discovered enzymes endoglycosidase S (EndoS) and IgG-degrading enzyme (IdeS) of Streptococcus pyogenes are able to modulate the interaction between IgG antibodies and the Fc receptors, by hydrolysis of the glycan associated with the

We perform hole burning with a low-drift stabilized laser within the zero phonon line of the 4f-5d transition in Ce3+:Y2SiO5 at 2 K. The narrowest spectral holes appear for small applied magnetic fields and are 6±4 MHz wide (FWHM). This puts an upper bound on the homogeneous linewidth of the transition to 3±2 MHz, which is close to lifetime limited. The spin level relaxation time is measured to 72

Background and purpose: To determine whether iron deposition in deep brain nuclei assessed using high-pass filtered phase imaging plays a role in motor disease severity in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: Seventy patients with mild to moderate PD and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers (HVs) underwent susceptibility-weighted imaging on a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Phase sh

In order to meet the incremental requirements from clients, fifth generation Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) protocol IEEE 802.11ac provides a lot more throughput than his predecessors. However, in all distributed channel access 802.11 protocols, probability of packet loss increases with respect to number of available stations; consecutive packet losses in link layer activates congestion control

Background: Vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy, a novel tissue-preserving treatment for low-risk prostate cancer, has shown favourable safety and efficacy results in single-arm phase 1 and 2 studies. We compared this treatment with the standard of care, active surveillance, in men with low-risk prostate cancer in a phase 3 trial. Methods: This randomised controlled trial was done in 47 Europea

Background: With an increasing number of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in primary care, our aim was to investigate arthritis-related practice in physiotherapy and to study adherence to evidence-based care. Methods: Seventy physiotherapists (PTs) working in primary care were emailed a questionnaire to investigate current practice and the number of roles assumed by

KYE28 (KYEITTIHNLFRKLTHRLFRRNFGYT-LR), the representative sequence of helix D of heparin co-factor II, was demonstrated to be potent against agronomically important Gram-negative plant pathogens Xanthomonas vesicatoria and Xanthomonas oryzae, capable of inhibiting disease symptoms in detached tomato leaves. NMR studies in the presence of lipopolysaccharide provided structural insights into the mec

We investigate kinetic broadening effects on the length distributions of gold-catalyzed InAs nanowires having different diameters. It is shown that the length distributions acquire bimodal shape when the longest nanowires exceed the diffusion length of indium adatoms on the nanowire sidewalls. Later on, the length distributions recover unimodal shapes. We develop a theoretical model that is capabl