Chronic diseases (CD) represent the main cause of mortality in developed countries. The increase in the prevalence of of CD is associated with changes in lifestyle habits, including those related to the consumption of processed foodstuffs. In these foods advanced glycation end products (AGE) and advanced lipoperoxydation products (ALE) are formed as a consequence of the reactivity of proteins, car

To elucidate possible mechanisms behind the endocrine control of parr-smolt transformation, the daily plasma profiles in thyroid hormones (TH; free thyroxine (FT(4)), total thyroxine (TT(4)), and total 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (TT(3))), growth hormone (GH) and cortisol were studied in Atlantic salmon parr and smolts under simulated-natural winter (8 L:16D) and spring (16.5 L:7.5D) photoperiods, res

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have occurred with increasing frequency in recent years with eutrophication and other anthropogenic alterations of coastal ecosystems. Many of these blooms severely alter or degrade ecosystem function, and are referred to here as ecosystem disruptive algal blooms (EDABs). These blooms are often caused by toxic or unpalatable species that decrease grazing rates by plankt

Population fluctuations may occur in synchrony among several rodent species at a given site, and they may occur in synchrony over large geographical areas. We summarize information on synchrony in lemmings and voles from the Canadian Arctic for the past 20 years. The most detailed available information is from the central Canadian Arctic, where snap-trap samples have been taken annually at several

Background and aims After resection and repair of the intestines, tissue degradation leads to weakening of the repair site and risk of postoperative leakage. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are thought to be responsible for collagenolysis in the direct vicinity of surgical sutures in many tissues. Several experimental studies show that MMP inhibitors administered systemically alleviate postoperat

This is a short summary of the talks and discussions during the Technology Transfer and Education session. The main theses of the keynote presentations are summarized and a short summary of remarkable discussion points is presented.

The accumulation of inositol monophosphate (IP1) was measured after stimulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine2 (5-HT2) receptors on platelets from alcoholics and healthy controls. In controls, 5-HT induced a dose-dependent response with an EC50 = 2 x 10(-6) M and a maximal response at 10(-5) M. Ritanserin, a selective 5-HT2 antagonist, markedly reduced the accumulation. The IP1 formation after stimulatio

Proteinase 3 (PR3) is a neutrophil serine protease stored in the azurophil granules of the promyelocyte and its successors. The protease has been identified as an autoantigen for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) occurring in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis. To characterize the biosynthesis and processing of human PR3 in a transgenic cellular model, cDNA encoding human pre-p

The aim of this investigation was to study the effects of ethanol on antioxidant enzymes in the developing brain, using reaggregation cultures of fetal rat brain cells as a model. The cultures were grown in the presence of 20 and 40 mM ethanol from day 2 until day 44 of the culture period, corresponding to a period in vivo from gestational day 17 to postnatal day 37. The catalase (EC 1.11.1.6) act

Preference studies of many different collembolan species have categorised collembolans being selective in their food choice. To clarify whether collembolan food selectivity is related to fitness parameters, three species, Folsomia fimetaria, Protaphorura armata and Heteromurus nitidus, were fed three fungal species, Alternaria infectoria, Mucor hiemalis and Penicillium hordei, representing fungi o

This paper presents a discussion of the general reasons for conducting comparative research, the need for a socio-legal functional approach and the motives for subjecting Swedish, English and German labour law to study. Anna Christensen's theory of the normative field of law is discussed and applied to the field of comparative labour law research. The focus of the research is the legal regulation

The uptake and assimilation of nitrogen from 15N-labelled ammonium and nitrate sources was followed in intact ectomycorrhizal systems containing Fagus sylvatica L. plants infected with the fungus Paxillus involutus (Mich. ex Pers.) Cohen & Couch. Plants were grown in flat perspex observation chambers containing non-sterile peat; the fungal mycelium growing from a host plant was allowed to cros