181 research outputs found
Automated Method for the Determination of 5′-Nucleotidase in Serum by Continuous Flow Analysis
Peer Reviewe
Unraveling the internal dynamics of the benzene dimer: a combined theoretical and microwave spectroscopy study
Contains fulltext :
111457.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access
A framework for investigating the application of educational theories in engineering education research
Computer Systems, Imagery and Medi
Salt-induced changes of colloidal interactions in critical mixtures
We report on salt-dependent interaction potentials of a single charged
particle suspended in a binary liquid mixture above a charged wall. For
symmetric boundary conditions (BC) we observe attractive particle-wall
interaction forces which are similar to critical Casimir forces previously
observed in salt-free mixtures. However, in case of antisymmetric BC we find a
temperature-dependent crossover from attractive to repulsive forces which is in
strong contrast to salt-free conditions. Additionally performed small-angle
x-ray scattering experiments demonstrate that the bulk critical fluctuations
are not affected by the addition of salt. This suggests that the observed
crossover can not be attributed alone to critical Casimir forces. Instead our
experiments point towards a possible coupling between the ionic distributions
and the concentration profiles in the binary mixture which then affects the
interaction potentials in such systems.Comment: 5 pages, 4 Figure
Associations between human leukocyte antigen class I variants and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis subtypes causing disease
Tuberculosis research in South Africa over the past 30 years: From bench to bedside
The South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research has a rich history of high-impact research that has influenced our understating of this hyper-epidemic which is further exacerbated by the emergence and spread of drug-resistant forms of the disease. This review aims to summarise the past 30 years of research conducted in the Centre which has influenced the way that tuberculosis (TB) is diagnosed and treated. The review includes the development of new technologies for rapid screening of people with probable TB and the repurposing of human diagnostics for wildlife conservation
Fatigue in Sjögren's Syndrome: A Search for Biomarkers and Treatment Targets
Background: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease, where patients often suffer from fatigue. Biological pathways underlying fatigue are unknown. In this study aptamer-based SOMAscan technology is used to identify potential biomarkers and treatment targets for fatigue in pSS.Methods: SOMAscan® Assay 1.3k was performed on serum samples of healthy controls (HCs) and pSS patients characterized for interferon upregulation and fatigue. Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between pSS patients and HC or fatigued and non-fatigued pSS patients were validated and discriminatory capacity of markers was tested using independent technology.Results: Serum concentrations of over 1,300 proteins were compared between 63 pSS patients and 20 HCs resulting in 58 upregulated and 46 downregulated proteins. Additionally, serum concentrations of 30 interferon positive (IFNpos) and 30 interferon negative (IFNneg) pSS patients were compared resulting in 25 upregulated and 13 downregulated proteins. ELISAs were performed for several DEPs between pSS patients and HCs or IFNpos and IFNneg all showing a good correlation between protein levels measured by ELISA and relative fluorescence units (RFU) measured by the SOMAscan. Comparing 22 fatigued and 23 non-fatigued pSS patients, 16 serum proteins were differentially expressed, of which 14 were upregulated and 2 were downregulated. Top upregulated DEPs included neuroactive synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25), alpha-enolase (ENO1) and ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase isozyme L1 (UCHL1). Furthermore, the proinflammatory mediator IL36a and several complement factors were upregulated in fatigued compared to non-fatigued pSS patients. ROC analysis indicated that DEPs showed good capacity to discriminate fatigued and non-fatigued pSS patients.Conclusion: In this study we validated the use of aptamer-based proteomics and identified a novel set of proteins which were able to distinguish fatigued from non-fatigued pSS patients and identified a so-called “fatigue signature.
Commentaries on Ruz & Lupianez (2002): A review of attentional capture: On its automaticity and sensitivity to endogenous control
The QuESSA Project: Quantification of Ecological Services for Sustainable Agriculture
biological control, agricultural policy, ecosystem services, IPM, semi-natural habitat
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