Search results

BACKGROUND: Endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) up-regulates inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in blood vessels during septic shock. This promotes the production of nitric oxide (NO), leading to dilation of the vessels. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of the LPS-binding endogenous antibiotic bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) on the action of LPS on the blo

T Strain DSM 17733(T), isolated from the shore of Lake Abjata in Ethiopia, is a heterotrophic, alkaliphilic, moderately halophilic, Gram-positive, strictly aerobic, non-motile, non-endospore-forming bacterium. The organism grows optimally at 30-37 degrees C, pH 9 and 3 % (w/v) NaCl. Analysis of the cell wall showed the presence of murein of the type L-Lys-Gly-L-Glu, variation A4 alpha. The G + C c

Many paleoceanographic reconstructions of the glacial North Atlantic include estimates of iceberg discharge, which are based on the variable abundance of ice-rafted detritus (IRD) in deep-sea sediments. IRD abundance is most often determined by the mechanical separation and painstaking counting of terrigenous particles larger than a specified threshold grain size, typically 150 mum. Here we presen

Several members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family have an important role in the development of skeletal tissues. FGF-8 is widely expressed in the developing skeleton, but its function there has remained unknown. We asked in this study whether FGF-8 could have a role in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to an osteoblastic lineage. Addition of FGF-8 to mouse bone marrow cultur

Background Combined oral contraceptives are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a cause of cervical cancer. As the incidence of cervical cancer increases with age, the public-health implications of this association depend largely on the persistence of effects long after use of oral contraceptives has ceased. Information from 24 studies worldwide is pooled here to inves

In this work, gas flow and heat transfer have been numerically investigated and analyzed for both cathode/anode ducts of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The simulation is conducted by solving a set of conservation equations for the whole domain consisting of a porous medium, solid structure, and flow duct. A generalized extended Darcy model is employed to investigate the flow inside the

CD40 plays a central regulatory role in the immune system and antibodies able to modulate CD40 signalling may consequently have a potential in immunotherapy, in particular for treatment of lymphomas and autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis. As a first step to achieve this goal, we describe the selection and characterization of a novel set of fully human anti-CD40 antibody fragments (scFv) fr

The relative importance of natural selection in the diversification of organisms. can be assessed indirectly using matrix correspondence. The present study determines the environmental and genetic correlates of microgeographical variation in the growth form, leaf form and flower morphology in populations of four Aeonium species from section Leuconium using partial regression methods. The phylogeny

Throughout the 1990s, most rural municipalities in Sweden experienced population declines and were forced to face the constraints of an ageing population. To counter this development a significant share turned to place marketing campaigns and promotion in the hope of attracting new residents. This paper examines the campaign efforts of the Swedish rural municipalities and addresses the question of

Objective. To study degree of blood pressure (BP) control in primary healthcare (PHC) treated hypertensive patients in relation to sex, age, drug treatment, and concomitant diseases. Design. Random sample of patients with hypertension. Setting. Ten PHC centres in the Region of Skane, Sweden. Subjects. All the 30- to 95-year-old patients with hypertension who during the period 12 September to 24 Se

The laterally and mutually constrained inversion (LCI and MCI) techniques allow for the combined inversion of multiple geophysical datasets and provide a sensitivity analysis of all model parameters. The LCI and MCI work with few-layered models, and are restricted to quasi-layered geological environments. LCI is used successfully for inversion of surface wave (SW) seismic data and MCI for combined

The inverse scattering problem for the Schrodinger operator on the half-axis is studied. It is shown that this problem can be solved for the scattering matrices with arbitrary finite phase shift on the real axis if one admits potentials with long-range oscillating tails at infinity. The solution of the problem is constructed with the help of the Gelfand-Levitan-Marchenko procedure. The inverse pro

This study presents an analysis of how the media reported the 2007 elections in Turkey. Past research on election campaign media coverage, particularly newspapers, suggests that the media can play an important role in informing voters. However, much of the research on campaign media coverage has focused on Western democracies with little attention paid to how features of the media system such as p

Background: The 65-kD isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is a major autoantigen in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. This trial assessed the ability of alum-formulated GAD (GAD-alum) to reverse recent-onset type 1 diabetes in patients 10 to 18 years of age. Methods: We randomly assigned 70 patients with type 1 diabetes who had fasting C-peptide levels above 0.1 nmol per liter (0.3

Lumbar arteries are important because they are the main source of blood supply to the lumbar spine structures. However, these vessels and their flow characteristics have received little attention and their role in conditions such as low back pain remains unclear. The present study 1. describes the application of duplex ultrasonography in the assessment of lumbar artery blood flow and 2. evaluates

Lower thrust sheets of the Scandinavian Caledonides derive from the margin of Baltica, which was imbricated during Early Palaeozoic closure of oceans formed during separation of the Baltica, Laurentia and Siberia cratons. At Vistas (Kebnekaise Mts), the Seve Nappe Complex preserves rare lenses of a dolerite-intruded granite formed by anatexis during emplacement of gabbro into metasedimentary rocks

Swifts, Apus apus, spend the night aloft and this offers an opportunity to test the degree of adaptability of bird orientation and flight to different ecological situations. We predicted the swifts' behaviour by assuming that they are adapted to minimize energy expenditure during the nocturnal flight and during a compensatory homing flight if they become displaced by wind. We tested the prediction