Helicobacter pylori can cause peptic ulcer disease and/or gastric cancer. Adhesion of bacteria to the stomach mucosa is an important contributor to the vigour of infection and resulting virulence. H. pylori adheres primarily via binding of BabA adhesins to ABO/Lewis b (Leb) blood group antigens and the binding of SabA adhesins to sialyl-Lewis x/a (sLex/a) antigens. Similar to most Gram-negative...

We have analyzed possible qualitative and quantitative differences in antigen expression between Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from the antrum and different locations in the duodenum of 21 duodenal ulcer (DU) patients and 20 asymptomatic subjects (AS) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and inhibition ELISA. Almost all antral and duodenal strains grown in vitro expressed the N-a...

This a rare case of adenoid hypertrophy in a 23 years old Saudi non-smoker female, who presented with severe bilateral nasal obstruction, mouth breathing, anterior nasal discharge, snoring for the last 7 months. The nasopharynx was examined by flexible nasopharyngoscope, which showed a big mass occupying the nasopharynx. Under general anesthesia, adenoidectomy was performed. Immediately after t...

Green incentives are included in the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” (ARRA). It is, however, unclear how these government incentives can be carried out most effectively according to market-based principles and if they can serve as a catalyst for an accelerated green transformation and an ultimate solution to the current U.S. and global economic and financial crisis. The article...

Various types of motion and deformation the lung undergoes during minimally invasive tumor ablative procedures, e.g. Low Dose Rate (LDR) brachytherapy, have been investigated and modeled in this dissertation. Modeling such motions and deformations are highly necessary for enhancing the accuracy of lung’s Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS). This necessity stems from the fact that due to its porous...

The use of biomarkers to refine patient populations, such that clinical trials will be most likely to provide a definitive answer requiring the fewest patients, is particularly appealing for application to research involving patients with a heterogeneous syndrome like ALI/ARDS. This could be beneficial by helping to characterize either a group of patients with a high mortality where mortality i...

RATIONALE We hypothesise that elafin levels in acute lung injury (ALI) decrease over time due, in part, to proteolytic degradation as observed in other lung diseases. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to characterise temporal changes in elafin concentration in patients with ALI and to evaluate whether a decrease in elafin levels is due to elevated protease activity. METHODS Bronchoalveol...

Acute lung injury (ALI) associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is a systemic complication following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but the incidence and influence on prognosis are unclear. The incidences of SIRS and ALI were surveyed in a prospective multicenter study of 96 patients admitted for SAH between December 2004 and June 2007. Hunt and Hess grade and Glasgow Out...