The common approach for constructing factor mimicking portfolios is to go long in assets with high loadings and to short-sell those with low loadings on some background factors. As a result portfolios containing stocks with low loading on the background factor receive negative betas against the corresponding mimicking portfolio. Thus, such portfolios appear as hedges against the background risk an

Evidence for a novel route of adult hematopoietic stem cell lineage commitment through Lin(-)Sca-1(+)Kit(+)Flt3(hi) (LSKFlt3(hi)) lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitors (LMPPs) with granulocyte/monocyte (GM) and lymphoid but little or no megakaryocyte/erythroid (MkE) potential was recently challenged, as LSKFlt3(hi) cells were reported to possess MkE potential. Herein residual (1-2%) MkE potentia

Erosional outliers are an important component of the Ludlow (Late Silurian) stratigraphy of Gotland, Sweden. However, due to the poor degree of exposure, outcrop studies have not revealed a detailed section from any of these outliers. The first complete stratigraphy of such an erosional remnant. the Burgen outlier, is presented here, based on the recently recovered Burgen-1 drillcore. Stratigraphi

In this study on Viola tricolor pollen, the competitive ability of 16 pollen donors originating from a wild population was analysed in a set of greenhouse and germination temperatures. The aim was to examine the consistency in donor pollen performance across temperatures and to see whether variation in performance was random or due to individual differences in the plastic response to temperature.

At FSE 2004 two new stream ciphers VMPC and RC4A have been proposed. VMPC is a generalisation of the stream cipher RC4, whereas RC4A is an attempt to increase the security of RC4 by introducing an additional permuter in the design. This paper is the first work presenting attacks on VMPC and MA. We propose two linear distinguishing attacks, one on VMPC of complexity 2(54), and one on RC4A of comple

The behavior of antioxidants in emulsions is influenced by several factors such as pH and emulsifier type. This study aimed to evaluate the interaction between selected food emulsifiers, phenolic compounds, iron, and pH and their effect on the oxidative stability of n-3 polyunsaturated lipids in a 10% oil-in-water emulsion. The emulsifiers tested were Tween 80 and Citrem, and the phenolic compound

For the last four decades there has been sustained scientific interest in contemporary environmental change in the Sahel (the southern fringe of the Sahara). It suffered several devastating droughts and famines between the late 1960s and early 1990s. Speculation about the climatology of these droughts is unresolved, as is speculation about the effects of land clearance on rainfall and about land d

Adsorption of 10 PCB congeners in aqueous solutions on glass-fibre filters taken from different boxes but of the same type were not significantly different. The standard deviations using filters from the same box were below 10% at concentration levels of 4.1 ng L-1. At this level, the adsorption of dissolved PCB at the filters was in the range of 5-20%. depending oil the congener. This led to a pr

The influence of incubation time and Fenton reagent concentrations was investigated on the oxidation of 2'-deoxyguanosine. The compounds identified and quantified, through use of an LC-MS/MS system, were 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and 8,5'- cyclo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8,5'cyclodG) and the secondary oxidation products guanidinohydantoin and dehydro-guanidinohydantoin. 8-oxodG and 8,

To investigate the role of apoM in high density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism and atherogenesis, we generated human apoM transgenic (apoM-Tg) and apoM-deficient ( apoM(-/-)) mice. Plasma apoM was predominantly associated with 10-12-nm alpha-migrating HDL particles. Human apoM overexpression (11-fold) increased plasma cholesterol concentration by 13-22%, whereas apoM deficiency decreased it by 17-21

The objective of this study was to isolate fibrotic cells from human lung biopsies taken from different central pulmonary locations. A comparison was made of cell morphology, proteoglycan- and protein-expression in mesenchymal cell cultures obtained from human bronchial biopsies from patients with asthmatic-like disorders. We isolated viable cells from 10 out of the 12 biopsies. The fibroblast-lik

The copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide and 3-(acrylamido)phenylboronic acid (82:18, (M) over bar (n)=47000 g. mol(-1)) was prepared by free radical polymerization. The copolymer showed typical thermal precipitation behavior in aqueous solutions, its precipitation temperature (T-P) being increased from 23 to 32degreesC by increasing the pH from 6.5 to 9.7, because of ionization of the phenylboronat

Carotenoids are, along with chlorophylls, crucial pigments involved in light-harvesting processes in photosynthetic organisms. Details of carotenoid to chlorophyll energy transfer mechanisms and their dependence on structural variability of carotenoids are as yet poorly understood. Here, we employ femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to reveal energy transfer pathways in the peridinin-chl

BACKGROUND: Pulsation in the flow velocity waveform in the umbilical vein is related to perinatal mortality but the flow velocity waveform in the fetal vein of Galen is normally even and without fluctuation. OBJECTIVES: To establish whether blood flow velocity pulsations in the vein of Galen in high-risk pregnancies are related to outcome. STUDY DESIGN: The vein of Galen was located by colour Dopp

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the induction and the morphology of epithelial damage, and of the ensuing epithelial restitution processes in allergic airways. OBJECTIVE: To examine epithelial damage and restitution in allergen challenged guinea-pig trachea. METHODS: Whole-mount techniques, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, cryosectioning, and histochemical staining were used. Cell

Background: Laparoscopic herniorrhaphy has emerged as a recognized operative method for inguinal hernia repair. This study compared the short-term results of two tension-free methods of repair: totally extraperitoneal (TEP) laparoscopic patch repair and the open Lichtenstein mesh technique. Methods: A total of 1513 men from 11 hospitals who presented with a primary unilateral inguinal hernia were

Certain strains of group A streptococci are known to bind IgA and/or IgG via a cell surface receptor, which may act as a virulence factor. The distribution of such receptors among routine clinical isolates was studied, using a total of 225 strains and an assay based on the binding of radiolabelled immunoglobulins. Among 194 throat strains isolated during three different time periods in two differe

Six cysteine proteinase inhibitors were isolated from human urine by affinity chromatography on insolubilized carboxymethylpapain followed by ion-exchange chromatography and immunosorption. Physicochemical and immunochemical measurements identified one as cystatin A, one as cystatin B, one as cystatin C, one as cystatin S, and one as low molecular weight kininogen. The sixth inhibitor displayed im