Asthma is an inflammatory disorder in which the small airways of the lung play an important role. There is also evidence for the systemic nature of asthma. No current method adequately measures small airways function alone. Therefore, a combination of functional and clinical parameters should be used to ensure that patients with asthma are adequately treated with due consideration of the small air

A new twin heat conduction microcalorimeter for the study of vapour sorption isotherms, sorption enthalpies and the kinetics of sorption has been developed. Each calorimeter has two calorimetric vessels which are connected by a steel tube. The upper vessel (a vaporization chamber) is charged with a vapour forming liquid and the lower vessel (a sorption chamber) contains the sorbent sample. An iden

Postmenopausal decline of estrogen production is associated with development of several degenerative disorders such as osteoporosis, neuroinflammatory diseases and vascular wall degeneration. These are associated with the activation of the cells of the monocyte-macrophage system in a context-dependent manner. Estrogen regulates differentiation, maturation and function of many cell types in this sy

Absorption, reflection and emission polarization spectra of CdWO4 crystals have been studied in the region 3.5-30 eV in order to distinguish the excitonic and electron-hole processes in the vicinity of the band gap. The following parameters have been defined from the Urbach tail study at 6-300 K: E-0 = 5 eV, sigma(0) = 0.31, homega = 70 meV (565 cm(-1)). Excitonic processes have been shown to domi

The interaction between cooling and vasoactive substances, e.g. 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), plays an important role in the pathophysiology of cold-induced vasospasm. Our objective was to study the effect of cooling on the 5-HT vascular response, classify the involved 5-HT receptors, and to analyze the role of the endothelium. Ring segments from the rat jugular vein, a preparation without alpha-adr

Assessments of terrestrial carbon fluxes require a thorough understanding of links between primary production, soil respiration and carbon loss through drainage. In this study, stem girdling was used to terminate autotrophic soil respiration including rhizosphere respiration and root exudation in a temperate Norway spruce stand. Rates of soil respiration and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) formatio

Control beliefs, i.e. a person's perceived control over his or her own behaviour, are important predictors of psychological functioning in old age. The aim of this study is to examine the mediating effect of housing-related control beliefs on the relationship between housing accessibility and independence in activities of daily living (ADL). Moreover, cross-national differences in five European co

After a historic introduction, today's wind power technology is reviewed on a systems level, with some details, and with some brave suggestions for wind technology 2030 when power electronics (PE) will be some 2000 GW. Eternal themes like "electricity storage" are avoided. Aspects of drive-trains in towers and collection grids in parks are concisely described in the paper's core, including: 1) a p

Results from large scale, ab initio MCHF calculations are presented for the transition properties of the 3s2 3p2(3)P(J-)e{3s3p3, 3s2 3p3d, 3s2 3p4s} 5S2o and 3P2o intercombination and resonance lines in P II. The agreement with experiment is good, the systematic approach shows convergence and the agreement between different forms of the oscillator strength is excellent for the resonance lines.

In this paper a new wave splitting is suggested that simplifies the analysis of wave propagation in reciprocal bi-isotropic media. Two different methods to solve the scattering problem are analyzed: the invariant imbedding and the Green function approach. The medium is modeled by constitutive relations in the time domain (time convolutions) and the slab is assumed to be inhomogeneous with respect

Most computers today are embedded, i.e. they are built into some products or system that is not perceived as a computer. It is highly desirable to use modern safe object-oriented software techniques for a rapid development of reliable systems. However, languages and run-time platforms for embedded systems have not kept up with the front line of language development. Reasons include complex and, in

An increasing incidence of testicular cancer has been reported from several countries in the Western world during the last decades. According to current hypothesis, testicular cancer is initiated during the fetal period, and exposure to endocrine disruptors, i.e., xenoestrogens, has been of concern. In this investigation we studied the concentrations of the sum of 38 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB

Popular Abstract in Swedish Tidigare trodde man att den vuxna hjärnan inte hade någon förmåga att nybilda nervceller. Detta skulle innebära att nervceller aldrig blev ersatta om de skadades eller dog. Nu vet man däremot att den vuxna hjärnan fortfarande producerar nya nervceller från särskilda moderceller, s.k. stamceller, belägna i åtminstone två områden i hjärnan: subgranulära zonen i hippocamThe adult brain constantly produces new neurons from endogenous neural progenitor cells located in at least two regions, the subgranular zone (SGZ) in dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, and the subventricular zone (SVZ). Major efforts are underway to discover the functional significance of new neurons in the adult brain. Several studies have indicated a relationship exists between newborn hippoca

Popular Abstract in Swedish Moraxella catarrhalis är en human luftvägsbakterie som ofta koloniserar de övre luftvägarna och som orsakar mellanöroninfektion hos barn. Bakterien associeras även med bihåleinfektion, laryngit och nedre luftvägsinfektioner främst hos vuxna med underliggande sjukdomar som kronisk obstruktiv lugninflammation. Forskningen fokuserar främst på moraxellas ytexponerade antigeMoraxella catarrhalis is now an established human pathogen that frequently colonizes the upper respiratory tract causing most importantly otitis media in children. It has also been associated with sinusitis, laryngitis and lower respiratory tract infections in adults with predisposing conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Current research mainly focuses on surface antige

Mechanisms of bacterial resistance to fluoroquinolones may be grouped into three principal categories: gene mutations of DNA topoisomerase II (GyrA or GyrB), DNA topoisomerase IV (ParC or ParE), decrease of outer membrane permeation and upregulation of multi-drug efflux pump (active efflux system).(1) Efflux pumps are transport proteins removing toxic substrates ( including virtually all classes o

The metabolites of two different Ripartites species, R. tricholoma (A. & S. ex Fr.) Karst. and R. metrodii Huijsm. were investigated. Three new sesquiterpenes were isolated from three different strains. In addition, the strains produced 13-oxo-9(Z),11(E)-octadecadienoic acid, psathyrellon A, 5-desoxyilludosin, an illudane (previously isolated from a Bovista sp.) 96042 and demethylovalicin, fiv

Palaeomagnetic data are used to study the configurations of continents during the Proterozoic. Applying stringent reliability criteria, the positions of the continents at 12 times in the 2.45- to 1.00-Ga period have been constructed. The continents lie predominantly in low to intermediate latitudes. The sedimentological indicators of palaeoclimate are generally consistent with the palaeomagnetic l