The amount of large and old trees has decreased in the boreal forests during the last centuries of forestry. Such trees are important habitats for epiphytic lichens and there is a growing concern for lichen species that are associated with large and old trees. However, only little is known about the relative importance of tree size versus age as determinants of lichen diversity. Here we have deter

New data on the levels and long-range transport of plutonium in the Arctic Ocean, recorded in the course of two expeditions to this zone in, 1994 and 1996, are discussed in this paper. Specifically, approximately 100 plutonium measurements in surface and sub-surface water sampled at 58 separate stations throughout the Kara, Laptev and East Siberian Seas, as well as along latitudinal transects acro

This paper focuses on older peoples’ needs as pedestrians by examining their perceptions of the outdoor environment in both bare-ground and snow/ice conditions. Qualitative and quantitative methods are used, including focus group interviews, participant observations, and questionnaires. The results show that older people consider accessibility/usability issues as very important and that the import

Insulin secretion is controlled by the beta cell's metabolic state, and the ability of the secretory granules to undergo exocytosis increases during glucose stimulation in a membrane potential-independent fashion. Here, we demonstrate that exocytosis of insulin-containing secretory granules depends on phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase (PI 4-kinase) activity and that inhibition of this enzyme suppresse

BACKGROUND. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is produced in high amounts by normal and malignant prostate cancer cells. PSA is a serine protease with substrates that include semenogelin I and II, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3, fibronectin, and laminin. PSA, via its enzymatic activity, may play a role in growth, invasion, and metastasis of prostate cancer cells. Recent data also sugge

The phase behavior of the three-component PEO-PPO-PEO/dextradwater system has been studied. Pluronic L64, P105, and F68 were used, and they are members of a family of triblock copolymers with the structure PEO-PPO-PEO, where PEO is poly(ethy1ene oxide) and PPO poly- (propylene oxide). Moreover, these triblock copolymers tend to self-aggregate in aqueous solution at increasing temperature. The phas

A model of pleural fluid turnover, based on mass conservation law, was developed from experimental evidence that 1) pleural fluid filters through the parietal pleura and is drained by parietal lymphatics and 2) lymph flow increases after an increase in pleural liquid volume, attaining a maximum value 10 times greater than control. From the differential equation describing the time evolution of ple

Abstract in UndeterminedBackgroundReliable, valid and easily administered screening instruments would greatly facilitate large-scale neuropsychiatric research.Aims To test a parent telephone interview focused on autism – tics, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other comorbidities (A–TAC).MethodParents of 84 children in contact with a child neuropsychiatric clinic and 27 control c

A molecular theory is presented for the field-dependent spin-lattice relaxation time of water in tissue. The theory attributes the large relaxation enhancement observed at low frequencies to intermediary protons in labile groups or internal water molecules that act as relaxation sinks for the bulk water protons. Exchange of intermediary protons not only transfers magnetization to bulk water proton

Abstract Background: Current prognostic molecular markers for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) are insufficient. The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of Sox11 in EOC Methods: Using an in silico transcriptomic screen Sox11 was identified as a potential EOC biomarker. Sox11 protein expression was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 76 EOC cases, which were analyzed using

Streptococcus pyogenes of the M1 serotype can cause streptococcal toxic shock syndrome commonly associated with acute lung injury. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of neutrophils and their secretion products in M1 protein-induced lung damage. The degranulation of neutrophills by M1 protein was studied in whole blood using marker analysis for individual granule subsets. In m

Low B fractures and prevalent vertebral fractures are known risk factors for incident vertebral fractures. In 3001 men and women from the Rotterdam Study, prevalent nonvertebral fractures early for incident menopause, current smoking, and walking aid use were also strong risk factors for incident vertebral fractures.

Seasonal changes oi leachate production and water-flux-dependent leachate quality from two test cells containing 4,000 t of refuse each were investigated. Pronounced seasonal dependence of the leachate production appeared three years after the final covering of the test cells. With seasonal dependent production, a number of leachate parameters showed water-Aux-dependent trends. The dependence was

Cationic iron carbonyl cyclohexadiene complexes were employed in the derivatization of the 3-OH position of unprotected and protected methyl beta-D-galactopyranosides using two different approaches, giving access to galactopyranosides with an aromatic or cyclohexadienoic functionality in this position. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Several different methods were used to investigate the vesicle-to-micelle transition induced by the addition of the nonionic surfactant octaethylene glycol n-dodecyl monoether (C12E8) to spontaneously formed vesicle dispersions of dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide and chloride (DODAX, X = Cl- and Br-). Dynamic light scattering reveals that fast mode micelles are formed upon addition of C12E6. Th

The authors propose and demonstrate an alternative memory concept in which a storage island is connected to a nanowire containing a stack of nine InAs quantum dots, each separated by thin InP tunnel barriers. Transport through the quantum dot structure is suppressed for a particular biasing window due to misalignment of the energy levels. This leads to hysteresis in the charging/discharging of the