Alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) inhibits chymotrypsin-like enzymes, particularly neutrophil cathepsin G. Moreover, ACT in its native form suppresses chemotaxis of neutrophils and decreases neutrophil production of superoxide radicals. We recently showed that Moraxella catarrhalis ubiquitous surface protein (Usp) A1 is able to specifically bind ACT in the context of a novel virulence mechanism. In t

A straightforward attempt to estimate the influence of the first vertex correction for a homogeneous electron gas is made. The approximation scheme is also tested on a solvable model of a core electron coupled to an electron gas.(12 refs)

The authors present a custom chip for use in digital predistortion linearisation of RF power amplifiers. The chip is mainly implemented with systolic arrays. At maximum clock-rate, 130 MHz, the throughput is 16 Msamples/s with a 5 V supply voltage and power consumption of 1 W. A throughput of 2 Msamples/s is achieved at a 1.2 V supply voltage with 6 mW power consumption

Churches, geometry and nonsense: A critical reply on Erling Haagensens article “Churches, geometry and statictics” in META 2002: 2.

Abstract not available.

Promotion of new media industry has become a significant focus for regional development strategies, as it is generally believed that new media industry is a highly desirable form of economic activity. But is this really so? The question was put to a group of international researchers. The article which summarises their discussion and policy recommendations states that it is by no means clear that

Secondary metabolites produced by fungi and bacteria are among the potential agents that contribute to adverse health effects observed in occupants of buildings affected by moisture damage, dampness and associated microbial growth. However, few attempts have been made to assess the occurrence of these compounds in relation to moisture damage and dampness in buildings. This study conducted in the c

A real time visualisation method, to be used in mobile gamma-spectrometric search operations using standard detector systems is presented. The new method, called deviation display, uses a modified waterfall display to present relative changes in spectral data over energy and time. Using unshielded (137)Cs and (241)Am point sources and different natural background environments, the behaviour of the

The aim was to investigate the relationship between creativity and hemispheric asymmetry, as measured by regional cerebral blood ¯ow (rCBF). Two groups, each consisting of 12 healthy male subjects, who got either very high or low scores on a creativity test, were pre-selected for the rCBF investigation. rCBF was measured during rest and three verbal tasks: automatic speech (Auto), word ¯uency (FAS

We monitored gastrin release in response to locally applied candidate messengers in intact conscious rats. Earlier studies have been performed on anaesthetized animals, isolated pieces of antrum, or purified preparations of gastrin cells. In this study we created an experimental situation to resemble physiological conditions, using reverse microdialysis to administer regulatory peptides and amines

Adjuvant pelvic radiotherapy has the potential to eradicate micrometastases within the irradiated field but has not resulted in survival improvements in randomized studies. This illustrates the need for systemic therapy. Chemotherapy, mainly with anthracyclines, platinum compounds, and taxanes, renders high response rates although this unfortunately translates in only modest improvements in progre

AIMS: The aims of this study were primarily to investigate the prevalence, severity and impact on daily life of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) in a clinical sample of stroke patients and secondly to identify factors associated with LUTS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, hospital based survey whereby stroke patients were invited by letter to complete The Danish Prostatic Symp

Summary Approximately 10% of the patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have detectable serum levels of glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 autoantibodies (GADA). These patients usually progress to insulin dependency within a few years, and are classified as being latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). A decrease in the frequency of peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells has been repor