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Objective: Postprandial hyperlipemia, characterized by increased circulating very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and circulating lipopolysaccharide (LPS), has been proposed as a mechanism of vascular injury. Our goal was to examine the interactions between postprandial lipoproteins, LPS, and apoE3 and apoE4 on monocyte activation. Methods and Results: We showed that apoE3 complexed to phospholipi

In this paper water and salt mass balances for the Dead Sea were modeled. Precipitation, evaporation, river discharges, ground water flows, input/output from potash companies and salt production, and brine discharge were included in the models. The mixing time in the Dead Sea was modeled using a single-layer (well-mixed) a two-layer (stratified) system. Using the single-layer approach the water le

This article outlines a general theory of meaning, The Semiotic Hierarchy, which distinguishes between four major levels in the organization of meaning: life, consciousness, sign function and language, where each of these, in this order, both rests on the previous level, and makes possible the attainment of the next. This is shown to be one possible instantiation of the Cognitive Semiotics program

Background: The increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in diabetic compared to non-diabetic subjects seems to decrease with age. Whether this age-related reduction applies to CVD risk factors, and whether it is limited to established diabetes mellitus (DM) or also applies to pre-diabetic conditions are not well known. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design we compared the strength of the

A full-scale congestion charging trial was carried out in Stockholm the first months of 2006. Almost half of respondents in a county-wide survey stated that they changed their attitudes towards congestion charges during the trial. Most of them became more positive. An analysis of media shows that the attitudinal change in media towards the trial coincides with the attitudinal change of the public.

ABSTRACT: Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) is one process option for production of ethanol from lignocellulose. The principal benefits of performing the enzymatic hydrolysis together with the fermentation, instead of in a separate step after the hydrolysis, are the reduced end-product inhibition of the enzymatic hydrolysis, and the reduced investment costs. The principal drawba

Birds are assumed to use half of their cones (double cones) to detect fine spatial detail while their other half (single cones) is used for color vision. However, the spatial resolution of the color pathway in birds has never been studied. We determined the spatial contrast sensitivity to achromatic and isoluminant red-green and blue-green color gratings in budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). C

The thermodynamics and kinetics of formation of host-guest complexes between a series of bolaform surfactants of type C(n)Me(6)(2+)2Br(-) (n = 8, 10, and 12) and alpha-cyclodextrin and beta-cyclodextrin were studied with the aid of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) at 298.15 and 308.20 K. The association constant, the enthalpy, and the entropy of formation were determined. The obtained thermo

The GeoPIXE software for quantitative PIXE trace element imaging and analysis is a well established package for evaluation of characteristic X-ray data for both PIXE and SXRF. For the case of microbeam applications on semi-thick samples knowledge of the local areal density distribution is important for precise quantification. A technique is reported to achieve this using the measurement of beam pa

The spears from Uppåkra – ritually destroyed or worn out? : A collection of spearheads excavated at Uppåkra, Uppåkra parish in Scania has, although found in the middle of a settlement, been interpreted as a sacrificial deposit. The damage visible on several spearheads has been attributed to ritual destruction. This paper aims to show that the damage may have been sustained through use, without any

Recent research suggests that self-employment among immigrants is due to a combination of multiple situational, cultural and institutional factors, all acting together. Using multilevel regression and unique data on the entire population of Sweden for the year 2007, this study attempts to quantify the relative importance for the self-employed of embeddedness in ethnic contexts (country of birth) a

Terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) is the largest global CO2 flux driving several ecosystem functions. We provide an observation-based estimate of this flux at 123 +/- 8 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C year(-1)) using eddy covariance flux data and various diagnostic models. Tropical forests and savannahs account for 60%. GPP over 40% of the vegetated land is associated with precipitatio

The time dependent Maxwell system is supplemented with the constitutive relations of linear bianisotropc media and is treated as a neutral integro-differential equation in a Hilbert space. By using the theory of abstract Volterra equations and strongly continuous semigroups we obtain general well-posedness results for the corresponding mathematical problem.

Lately, there has been great interest in performing free-energy perturbation (FEP) at the combined quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) level, e.g. for enzyme reactions. Such calculations require extensive sampling of phase space, which typically is prohibitive with density-functional theory or ab initio methods. Therefore, such calculations have mostly been performed with semiempiric

The (3+1)-dimensional modulated structure of the LiZn4 - x (x = 0.825) binary compound has been determined in the superspace. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic superspace group Cmcm(α00)0s0 with a = 2.7680 (6), b = 4.7942 (6), c = 4.3864 (9) Å, modulation wavevector: q ≃ 4/7a*. The structure is a derivative from the hexagonal close packing. The cubo-octahedron as a coordination polyhed

The natural reservoir of influenza A virus is waterfowl, particularly dabbling ducks (genus Anas). Although it has long been assumed that waterfowl are asymptomatic carriers of the virus, a recent study found that low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) infection in Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) negatively affected stopover time, body mass and feeding behaviour. In the present study,