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OBJECTIVE: To investigate if treatment response predicts continuation of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We investigated if treatment response and/or achieving a certain activity state at 6 weeks or 3 months predicts continuation of treatment in an observational cohort of 1789 anti-TNF-naive patients with established RA disease from s

Snowmelt induced runoff from river basins is usually successfully simulated using a simple degree-day approach and conceptual rainfall-runoff models. Fluctuations within the day can not be described by such crude approaches. In the present paper, it is investigated which degree of sophistication is required in snow models and runoff models to resolve the basin runoff from basins of different chara

In experimental settings, antidepressant treatment as well as a stimulating environment has a positive influence on cognition and hippocampal plasticity. One putative mediator of this process is Neuronal Pentraxin 2 (NP2, Narp), known to mediate clustering of glutamatergic AMPA receptors at synapses, and demonstrated to play a role in activity-dependent synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity. This

In order to perform service life predictions of rain exposed wood structures, the moisture and temperature conditions in the structure need to be known as well as which degradation that occurs under those exposure conditions. The microclimate (the moisture conditions at the surface) is the boundary condition for moisture transport into the wood and depends on the detail design; joints between two

Background. Knowledge of sensitization and elicitation thresholds and the time-dose relationship for elicitation of contact dermatitis is important in order to provide safe products for consumers. Objective. Since previous studies performed with eugenol had showed negative results in a repeat open application study (ROAT) study, we wanted to perform a ROAT with higher concentration (maximum allowe

OBJECTIVE: : The aim of this study is to determine Swedish parents' willingness to pay (WTP) for coeliac disease (CD) screening of their child. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: : CD screening was undertaken involving 10,041 12-year-old children, with 7567 (75%) agreeing to participate. Blood samples from the children were analysed for CD serological markers. Parents received a questionnaire including a scen

PDGF and TNF-alpha are both known to play important roles in inflammation, albeit frequently by opposing actions. Typically, TNF-alpha can attenuate PDGF beta-receptor signaling. Pretreatment of mouse 3T3 L1 fibroblasts with TNF-alpha greatly diminished their proliferative response to PDGF. However, TNF-alpha affected neither the binding of PDGF-BB to cell surface receptors nor the total amount of

The possibilities of using laser-induced fluorescence for tissue diagnostics are discussed. The tissue types investigated are malignant tumors and atherosclerotic lesions. Studies with natural autofluorescence as well as with fluorescent tumor markers are included in this paper. Fluorescence emission and decay data are presented for some tissue chromophores contributing to tissue autofluorescence.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to (1) optimize the radiation doses of computed tomography (CT) of paranasal sinuses, (2) compare the radiation doses of different CT protocols with that of plain radiography, and (3) evaluate the reliability of low-dose CT in the detection of pathology and characterization of the detected pathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A head phantom was examined with different scan pa

We performed an international proficiency study of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 serology. A common methodology for serology based on virus-like particle (VLP) ELISA was used by 10 laboratories in 6 continents. The laboratories used the same VLP reference reagent, which was selected as the most stable, sensitive and specific VLP preparation out of VLPs donated from 5 different sources. A blin

We investigated the cortical bone changes in 35 patients with total hip arthroplasty operated on only for osteoarthritis with more than 10 years of follow-up and with nonrevised femoral components and without radiologic signs of loosening. The mean follow-up was 16 ± 5 years. The thicknesses of femoral cortices were measured medially and laterally at 6 levels from the first postoperative and the l

A monochromator has been developed for coronary angiography, comprising a single bent crystal of silicon in Laue transmission geometry. K spectra of laser irradiated solid tin and tantalum (Z=50 and 73, respectively) targets were measured. The high resolution crystal spectrometer resolve the Sn and Ta K alpha doublets, allowing in a proof-of-principle experiment the absolute K alpha photon numbers

Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) is a potent inhibitor of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell proliferation. However, the precise mechanism for this effect is unknown. Here, we have identified the transcription factor Gata2, previously described as an important regulator of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function, as an early and direct target gene for TGFβ-induced Smad signaling in hematopoi

OBJECTIVE: This study examined all-cause mortality in stroke patients with and without documented atrial fibrillation (AF), and the impact of CHADS(2) score. DESIGN: A cohort of 105,074 patients, 31,821 (30.3%) with and 73,253 (69.7%) without documented AF, was studied. These patients were registered in the Swedish Stroke Registry during the years 2001-2005. Mortality data were retrieved from the

OBJECTIVE: Systemic administration of immunotherapeutics often gives rise to severe side effects. A local deposition, using secretory lysosomes of hematopoietic cells as vehicles for delivery, can overcome this problem. In the present study, the validity of this concept was investigated using retroviral transduction of the human soluble tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptor 1 (hsTNFR1) into murine

To evaluate intra-atrial conduction delay in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) via calculation of conduction velocities (CVs) of the right and left atria.

Vertical profiles of atmospheric mercury concentration determined with a lidar and point monitor systems in the mineralized region of Mt. Amiata (Italy) are reported. Measurements were performed over a large flat area, without arboreal and herbaceous vegetation, constituting a roasted cinnabar deposit which still contains about two parts per thousand of mercury. The determinations carried out with

Numerous publications have described the importance of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling in the specification of hematopoietic tissue in developing embryos. Here we investigate the full role of canonical BMP signaling in both adult and fetal liver hematopoiesis using conditional knockout strategies, since conventional disruption of components of the BMP signaling pathway result in early d