Ezetimibe inhibits cholesterol absorption in the intestine. Sphingomyelin has strong interactions with cholesterol. We investigated the effects of ezetimibe on Sphingomyelinase (SMase) expression in intestine and liver. After feeding rats with ezetimibe (5 mg/kg per day) for 14 days, acid SMase activities in the liver and in the proximal part of small intestine were reduced by 34 and 25%, respecti

Prevotella bivia has been associated with female upper genital tract infections and an increased risk of preterm delivery. In this study, the adherence and invasion capacity of P. bivia was investigated using a cervix epithelial cell line. P. bivia was furthermore analysed for its ability to evoke a proinflammatory cytokine response in epithelial cells. The invasion capacity, defined as the number

Purpose: To describe an alternative hybrid endovascular/open approach to revascularizing the occluded superior mesenteric artery (SMA) in patients with acute ischemia. Technique: A laparotomy is performed to assess any visceral ischemia. The SMA is exposed, clamped distally, and cannulated proximally. The SMA occlusion is crossed in a retrograde fashion. Balloon embolectomy or stent implantation m

The adsorption of cellulases on steam-pretreated willow has been measured for2, 4, and 8 wt% willow and with varying enzyme concentrations (2–100 wt% based on substrate). The enzyme concentration was measured as soluble protein, filter paper activity (FPA), CMC-ase activity, and activity toward willow. The adsorption data were modeled with a Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capability dep

Iron uptake in Arabidopsis thaliana is mediated by ferric chelate reductase FRO2, a transmembrane protein belonging to the flavocytochrome b family. There is no high resolution structural information available for any member of this family. We have determined the transmembrane topology of FRO2 experimentally using the alkaline phosphatase fusion method. The resulting topology is different from tha

This study investigates four questions: First, whether there is a relationship between imaginary companions and creative potential; second, whether children with negative self-images are more likely to have imaginary companions; third, whether there are gender differences among those children who have imaginary companions; and, finally, what aspects of imaginary companions and what characteristics

We present a combined theoretical and experimental study of ultrafast wave-packet dynamics in the dissociative ionization of H-2 molecules as a result of irradiation with an extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) pulse followed by an infrared (IR) pulse. In experiments where the duration of both the XUV and IR pulses are shorter than the vibrational period of H-2+, dephasing and rephasing of the vibrational wa

This short article is a summary of a lecture at the 3rd International Nutrigeonomics Conference ”From Nutrigenomics to Personalized Nutrition”. Starting points are the principles in biomedical ethics, the relation between health and welfare, and the relation between food, personalized nutrition and quality of life. The following aspects of personalized nutrition are discussed: genetic testing, gen

This paper describes a system for haptic object categorization. It consists of a robotic hand, the LUCS Haptic Hand I, together with software modules that to some extent simulate the functioning of the primary and the secondary somatosensory cortices. The haptic system is the first one in a project at LUCS aiming at studying haptic perception. In the project, several robotic hands together with co

A cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH)-modified graphite electrode was designed for amperometric detection of catecholamines in the flow injection mode, by their recycling between the graphite electrode (+300 mV vs AgAgCl) and the reduced FAD cofactor of adsorbed CDH, resulting in an amplified response signal. The high efficiency of the enzyme-catecholamine reaction leads to a detection limit below 1 nM

This work deals principally with linear finite element (FEM) modelling of highly magnetostrictive materials. This is accomplished by coupling the Maxwell's equations to the wave equation by using the linearised tensor equations governing magnetostriction. The model in this paper deals with harmonic oscillations and the resulting FE-model is verified against simplified analytical solutions and diff

BACKGROUND: Human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) is expressed in the prostate and is present in serum from men with prostate cancer. Specific detection in serum is difficult mainly because of low concentrations and immunological cross-reactivity with prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Our objectives were to design an assay with improved analytical detection and functional sensitivity and nonsignifican

The composition of the initial bacterial flora of pork and the development of the flora after storage at +4 °C for 4 days were analysed by amplification, cloning and sequencing of 16S rDNA. A total of 122 clones were obtained, with lengths of ≥400 nucleotides and ≥95% similarity to database sequences. Nineteen clones were similar to sequences in database not assigned to any genera. Fourteen differ

The degeneration of neurons in the mammalian brain is commonly associated with the division of cells located in the damaged area. The aim of the present study has been to characterise the phenotype of newly born cells in the striatum of adult rats following 6-hydroxydopamine lesion of the nigro-striatal pathway. Newborn cells were identified through labelling with either bromodeoxyuridine or retro

An aqueous system containing fluorapatite (Ca-5(PO4)(3)F), (FAP) and varying amounts of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) has been investigated. Batch experiments and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy were used to monitor the dissolution products of FAP, as well as the adsorption, and phase transformation of phosphate at the goethite surface over a period of 129

The aim of the present case-control study was to investigate the role of migraine as a potential risk factor for a delayed ischaemic neurological deficit (DIND) after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). A telephone interview was performed in patients or their relatives to determine the prevalence of migraine. Thirty-six women aged < 60 years had SAH with Hunt & Hess grade I-III and DIND (group A).