Background: There is a lack of knowledge on effective treatment methods for comorbid benzodiazepine dependence in populations undergoing opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Tapering and discontinuation of benzodiazepines has long been considered the standard treatment, even though there is limited evidence for this practice. There is also limited research on benzodiazepine agonist treatment; however, peer and clinical experiences indicate that such approaches may be beneficial for a subgroup of the patients with long-lasting benzodiazepine dependence not responding to other treatment approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransglutaminases (TGases) are enzymes highly conserved among prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, where their role is to catalyze protein cross-linking. One of the putative TGases of has previously been shown to be localized to the cell wall. Based on sequence similarity we were able to identify six more genes annotated as putative TGases and show that these seven genes group together in phylogenetic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCD163, a macrophage-specific receptor, plays a critical role in scavenging hemoglobin released during hemolysis, protecting against oxidative effects of heme iron. In the bloodstream, hemoglobin is bound by haptoglobin, leading to its immediate endocytosis by CD163. While haptoglobin's structure and function are well understood, CD163's structure and its interaction with the haptoglobin-hemoglobin complex have remained elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExcept for a few countries, comprehensive all-cause surveillance for bacteremia is not part of mandatory routine public health surveillance. We argue that time has come to include automated surveillance for bacteremia in the national surveillance systems, and explore diverse approaches and challenges in establishing bacteremia monitoring. Assessed against proposed criteria, surveillance for bacteremia should be given high priority.
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