The aim of this study was to examine dose-dependent effects of intranasal application of neuropeptide Y (NPY) on nasal mucosal blood flow, blood content, and intranasal nitric oxide (NO) concentration. Blood flow was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) and blood content by rhinomanometry. Mucosal biopsies were taken for investigation of Y1 and Y2 receptor mRNA expression, using the reverse t

In this paper new families of strongly universal hash functions, or equivalently, authentication codes, are proposed. Their parameters are derived from bounds on exponential sums over finite fields and Galois rings. This is the first time hash families based upon such exponential sums have been considered. Their performance improves the previously best known constructions and they can be made gene

AIMS: Studies indicate a poorer quality of life (QoL) for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients than for the general population. However, studies comparing the QoL of ICD patients with that of patients with other implantable cardiac devices are scarce. We hypothesized that ICD patients had a poorer QoL than pacemaker patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: All ICD patients living in Iceland

This paper presents an ongoing study of children with chronic ITP in Sweden that addresses four specific questions: is there a subgroup of children with chronic ITP that have impaired platelet function? Do children in this subgroup have antibodies directed against surface glycoproteins that are crucial for platelet function? Can desmopressin improve the impaired platelet function in this subgroup?

The aim of the study was to investigate men with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in comparison with men from the general population in aspects of presence and frequency of micturition problems in remembrance of prior to treatment and currently. Further, the aim was to investigate the impact of micturition problems on quality of life and the association with micturition probl

To what extent does television interfere with and complicate diplomatic signaling via other channels? Conversely, to what extent can world leaders and diplomats use television to their advantage? Exploring these questions, this article focuses on the combination of communication speed and excitable public opinion, on the one hand, and the metaphorical and symbolic aspects of the medium, on the oth

Let A be a zero sequence for the Bergman space L-a(2) of the unit disc D, and let phi(A) be the corresponding canoniacal zero divisor. In this paper we consider quotients of the type phi(Au {alpha})/phi(A), alpha is an element of D. By use of methods from the theory of reproducing kernels we shall show that the modulus of such functions is always bounded by 3, and that they can be written as a pro

We report on the feasibility and process parameters of nanoimprint lithography to fabricate low refractive index passive optical devices. Diffraction gratings printed in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) exhibit a sharp dispersion with a full width at half maximum of about 20 nm. Waveguides were printed in polystyrene (PS) on silicon oxide and had losses between 8-20 dB cm(-1) at wavelengths between 6

The demand for highly purified plasmids in gene therapy and plasmid-based vaccines requires large-scale production of pharmaceutical-grade plasmid. Large-scale purification of plasmid DNA from bacterial cell culture normally includes one or several chromatographic steps. Prechromatographic steps include precipitation with solvents, salts, and polymers combined with enzymatic degradation of nucleic

Almost all Swedish politicans since 1960 honestly believe in the necessity to give pupils real influence over their schools. The first aim with this paper is to give them some sound theoretical support for their conviction that experience of democratic processes is one important precondition for the survival of democracy. The theoretical support is drawn from researchers inspired by Piaget's epist

In this paper, we are concerned with splitting methods for the time integration of abstract evolution equations. We introduce an analytic framework which allows us to prove optimal convergence orders for various splitting methods, including the Lie and Peaceman–Rachford splittings. Our setting is applicable for a wide variety of linear equations and their dimension splittings. In particular, we an

The alkaliphilic bacterium, Bacillus halodurans S7, produces an alkaline active xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8), which differs from many other xylanases in being operationally stable under alkaline conditions as well as at elevated temperature. Compared to non-alkaline active xylanases, this enzyme has a high percent composition of acidic amino acids which results in high ratio of negatively to positively c

The Formoterol and Corticosteroids Establishing Therapy (FACET) study has provided the first opportunity to examine the long-term effects of inhaled steroids and long-acting beta2-agonists on asthma-specific quality of life. The objectives of the present study were to: evaluate the effects of long-term (1 yr) formoterol and increasing doses of budesonide on asthma quality of life; 2) to determine

Lipid nanoparticles of nonlamellar lyotropic phases have a wide solubilizing and encapsulating spectrum for a range of substances thanks to their nanostructured interior featuring both lipophilic and hydrophilic domains. As a consequence, these systems have emerged as promising drug delivery systems in various pharmaceutical and diagnostic applications. Here we present the phase behavior and dispe

Objective. To examine synovial fluid as a site for generating citrullinated antigens, including the candidate autoantigen citrullinated alpha-enolase, in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods. Synovial fluid was obtained from 20 patients with RA, 20 patients with spondylarthritides (SpA), and 20 patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Samples were resolved using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel e

Background. The lipopolysaccharide of Helicobacter pylori plays an important role in colonization and pathogenicity. The present study sought to compare structural and biological features of lipopolysaccharides from gastric and enterohepatic Helicobacter spp. not previously characterized.Materials and methods. Purified lipopolysaccharides from four gastric Helicobacter spp. (H. pylori, Helicobacte