The adhesion of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans on mucin coatings was evaluated to explore the feasibility of using the coating to increase the infection resistance of biomaterials. Coatings of bovine submaxillary mucin (BSM) were deposited on a base layer consisting of a poly(acrylic acid-b-methyl methacrylate) (PAA-b-PMMA) diblock copolymer. This bi-layer sy...

BACKGROUND/AIM Geographic gradients in breast cancer incidence and mortality suggest that vitamin D may reduce risk. The enzyme 25-hydroxyvitamin D 24-hydroxylase (CYP24A1), which degrades the active form of vitamin D, and the vitamin D receptor (VDR) are both found in breast tissue. We investigated six polymorphisms in CYP24A1 and two in the VDR gene in association with breast cancer risk. M...

BACKGROUND Canadian First Nation populations have experienced endemic and epidemic tuberculosis (TB) for decades. Vitamin D-mediated induction of the host defence peptide LL-37 is known to enhance control of pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. OBJECTIVE Evaluate associations between serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) and LL-37, in adult Dene First Nation participants (N ...

OBJECTIVES Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene plays an important role in bone mass regulation. We have previously shown a beneficial effect of vitamin D supplementation on bone mass in girls. This study investigated whether the musculo-skeletal response to Vitamin D was modulated by polymorphisms in VDR gene. DESIGN Randomized placebo-controlled trial. METHODS 179 girls (10-17 years), were rando...

The paper describes the development of an adaptive fuzzy control strategy for control of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration on an activated sludge process (ASP). The technique is applied to the Benchmark Simulation Model n.1 (BSM1) which is a standard for performance assessment and evaluation of ASP control strategies. The controller uses DO concentration error feedback and manipulates the flo...

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and its emission from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) should be prevented. One way to do this is to promote the biological conversion of dissolved methane over stripping in aeration tanks. In this study, the well-established Activated Sludge Model n°1 (ASM1) and Benchmark Simulation Model n°1 (BSM1) were extended to study the influence of process...

BACKGROUND The associations between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and breast cancer risk were comprehensively investigated to clarify issues that remain controversial. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS An electronic search was conducted of several databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane library, Web of Science, EMBASE, CBM and CNKI, for papers that describe the association betwee...

Background Several studies associating single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) frequencies with tumors outcome have been conducted, nevertheless malignant melanoma literature data are inconclusive.Therefore we evaluate the impact of different genotypes for phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) and vitamin D3 nuclear receptor (VDR) SNPs on melanoma patients' outcome. Materials and methods Genomic DN...