The immunoregulatory plasma protein alpha 1-microglobulin (alpha 1-m) and the proteinase inhibitor alpha 1-inhibitor-3 (alpha 1I3) form a complex in rat plasma. In the present work, it was demonstrated that the alpha 1I3.alpha 1-m complex has no inhibitory activity, the bait region was not cleaved by low amounts of proteinases, and it was unable to covalently incorporate proteinases. The results a

The motivation for the present study is to understand food choice in relation to animal food production and to study how preferences are influenced by information. To do this, we carried out a choice experiment. In the analysis, we focus on chickens reared indoors and outdoors and chicken labelled campylobacter-free versus non-labelled chicken. The results suggest that there is a positive willingn

In order to identify the importance of different areas for nitrogen retention in the Lagoon of Venice, Italy, undisturbed sediment cores of different origin were collected in late April 1998. The cores were transferred to the laboratory and incubated for denitrification activity using the method of 'nitrogen isotope pairing'. The sampled sediments were collected in a freshwater stream (Stn A)I an

The dietary lectin phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) induces gut growth and precocious maturation in suckling rats after mucosal binding. The present study investigated the dose range in which PHA provokes gut maturation and if it coincided with immune activation. Suckling rats, aged 14 d, were orogastrically fed a single increasing dose of PHA: 0 (control), 2, 10, 50 or 250 mug/g body weight (BW) in sali

Dehiscence of the superior semicircular canal is a 'new' vestibular entity. Among these patients, the vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) in response to air-conducted sounds are large. In the present study, VEMP in response to bone-conducted sounds were studied in 5 normal subjects, in 3 patients after ( unilateral) labyrinthectomy and in 4 patients with ( unilateral) superior canal dehis

The U-Pb systematics of accessory zircons were studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry (NORDSIM ion microprobe). This study revealed two main age groups of terrigenous zircons, 3000 and 2900 Ma, in the metasedimentary rocks of the Chupa nappe of the Belomorian belt. Zircon older than 3200 Ma was not found, which is consistent with the available Sm-Nd model ages. Older terrigenous zircons (3100-

BACKGROUND. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is widely used for prostate cancer screening but its levels are influenced by many non cancer-related factors. The goal of the study is to estimate the effect of genetic variants on PSA levels. METHODS. We evaluated the association of SNPs that were reported to be associated with prostate cancer risk in recent genome-wide association studies with plasma

The compound tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)silane S-i[Si(CH3,)(3)](4) (TSi) has been studied at room temperature for pressures up to 2 1.5(1) GPa, using X-ray powder diffraction with synchrotron radiation. Three different phases are reported in the investigated pressure range. The c.c.p.-type structure is stable up to a pressure of 0.19(1) GPa (Fm (3) over barm, a = 13.52110)Angstrom, V = 2471.95(1)Angs

Partial and generalized status epilepticus (pSE and gSE) trigger the same level of progenitor cell proliferation in adult dentate gyrus, but survival of new neurons is poor after gSE. Here, we show markedly elevated levels of prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in rat hippocampal formation at 7 days following pSE but not gSE. Administration of the cyclooxygenase

Genus-level relative frequency changes, based on scolecodont data, show that the polychaete faunas went through dramatic turnovers during the Llandovery-Wenlock Ireviken Event on Gotland. In addition several taxa show range ends (FADs and LADs) and gaps in this interval; at least 20% of the lineages disappeared or became extinct during the event. Datum points 2 and 4 seem to have been particularly

The function of six porcine left lung allografts was studied after pulmonary (140 mL/kg) and bronchial (50 mL/kg) artery perfusion with Perfadex (Kabi Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden) at room temperature, followed by 24-hour storage of the lungs in an atelectatic state in 6 degrees to 8 degrees C Perfadex, which is a low-potassium-dextran solution. Left lung transplantation was done followed by right p

Slipped-strand mispairing at sites containing so-called coding repeats (CRs) can lead to phase variation of surface proteins in Gram-negative bacteria. This mechanism, believed to contribute to virulence, has so far not been identified in a Gram-positive bacterium. In the genome of the Gram-positive human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, we identified pentanucleotide CRs within a putative signal s

Time-resolved transmittance was used to extract in vivo optical properties of leaves of green plants experimentally. In time-resolved transmittance measurements an ultrashort light pulse is directed onto the surface of the object and the transmitted light is measured with a time resolution in the range of picoseconds. A table-top terawatt laser was used to generate 200 fs light pulses at 790 nm wi

A gas sensor based on the gas-correlation technique has been developed using a multimode diode laser (MDL) in a dual-beam detection scheme. Measurement of CO2 mixed with CO as an interfering gas is successfully demonstrated using a 1570 run tunable MDL. Despite overlapping absorption spectra and occasional mode hops, the interfering signals can be effectively excluded by a statistical procedure in

Limestone boulders of Early and Middle Ordovician age occur along the Baltic coast of Sweden from c. 59 degrees N to c. 62.5 degrees N, apparently at a considerable distance from any known source rocks on land. We have investigated a limestone block from Lake Kultebo, at 61 degrees N, not far inland. The conodont elements enclosed in the rock are of Mid-Ordovician age and show that the block could

This study investigated the possibility of identifying narrative problems at an early age (5-year-old children with language impairment). Furthermore, we explored the relationship between the comprehension of a story and the ability to structure the contents of the same story in a group of preschool children with language impairment. The results showed that the participants did not exhibit age-app

We studied the mechanism of CO oxidation on O-precovered Pd(111) surfaces by means of fast x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The oxygen overlayer is compressed upon CO coadsorption from a p(2x2) structure into a (root 3x root 3)R30 degrees structure and then into a p(2x1) structure with increasing CO coverage. These three O phases exhibit distinctly different reactivities. (1) The p(2x2) pha