There is one primary goal and several secondary goals to fulfill when designing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The main goal is to create an indoor climate that satisfies the user and this should be achieved in the most energy efficient way and with a system that also function in a long-term perspective. Higher supply air flow have the potential of increasing office wor

A full understanding of the properties of substellar objects is one of the major challenges facing astrophysics. Since their discovery in 1995, hundreds of brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets have been discovered. While these discoveries have enabled important comparisons with theory, observational progress has been much more rapid than the theoretical understanding of cool atmospheres. The reliab

Questions: How is succession on ex-arable land affected by sowing high and low diversity mixtures of grassland species as compared to natural succession? How long do effects persist? Location: Experimental plots installed in the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Methods: The experiment was established on ex-arable land, with five blocks, each containing three

Protein kinase B (PKB) (also referred to as RAC/Akt kinase) has been shown to be controlled by various growth factors, including insulin, using cell lines and transfected cells. However, information is so far scarce regarding its regulation in primary insulin-responsive cells. We have therefore used isolated rat adipocytes to examine the mechanisms, including membrane translocation, whereby insuli

Mediatorless (direct) electron transfer between Myrothecium verrucaria bilirubin oxidase and spectroscopic graphite electrode has been demonstrated. The electrochemical activity of the enzyme under aerobic and anaerobic conditions is clearly shown using cyclic voltammetry. It is concluded that the T1 site of the enzyme is the first electron acceptor, both in solution (homogenous case) and when the

Here we report on the structure, expression and function of a novel cartilage-specific gene coding for a 17 kDa small, highly charged and secreted protein that we termed Ucma (Unique Cartilage Matrix Associated protein). The protein is processed by a furin-like protease into an N-terminal peptide of 37 amino acids and a C-terminal fragment (Ucma-C) of 74 amino acids. Ucma is highly conserved betwe

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Low-flow anaesthesia is economical and less polluting. The purpose of this study was to determine the inspired and end-tidal desflurane concentrations during anaesthesia with a vaporizer setting maintained at 5%, during low-flow anaesthesia after 120 min with fresh gas inflows of 1.0 and 2.0 L min-1. METHODS: The study was both prospective and randomized, including 56 pat

We previously reported that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-10 mRNA levels were significantly lower in tumor tissues than in adjacent normal tissues in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whereas protein levels of MMP-10 were higher in the tumor tissues than the adjacent tissues. The mechanism of this divergence is still unknown. In the present stud), the role of Janus kinase 2/signal transdu

Several serum and urine biochemical markers of bone resorption and formation have been developed. Biochemical bone markers have been used as intermediate end-points in all major studies of anti-osteoporotic therapies. Bone resorption markers, in particular, may add an independent, predictive value to the assessment of bone loss and fracture risk. There are also potential advantages in monitoring a

A screening of non-conventional yeast species and several Saccharomyces cerevisiae ( baker's yeast) strains overexpressing known carbonyl reductases revealed the S. cerevisiae reductase encoded by YMR226c as highly efficient for the reduction of the diketones 1 and 2 to their corresponding hydroxyketones 3 - 6 ( Scheme 1) in excellent enantiomeric excesses. Bioreduction of 1 using the genetically

Mice with allergically inflamed airways are widely used as animal models of asthma, but their relevance for human asthma is not understood. We, therefore, examined the time course of changes in respiratory input impedance during induced bronchoconstriction in BALB/c mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin. Our results indicate that bronchoconstriction in mice is accompanied by complete closu

A 'simulation' theory of cognitive function can be based on three assumptions about brain function. First, behaviour can be simulated by activating motor structures, as during an overt action but suppressing its execution. Second, perception can be simulated by internal activation of sensory cortex, as during normal perception of external stimuli. Third, both overt and covert actions can elicit pe

Pain is a complex subjective experience with sensory-discriminative, emotional-affective and cognitive-evaluative components. Postoperative pain is associated with considerable psychological and physiological distress that may impede postoperative recovery and lead to increased morbidity and development of persistent post-surgical pain. There seems to be a considerable individual variability in po

In studies of the effects of different training programmes, one muscle--most commonly the vastus lateralis--is used for the experiment while the contralateral muscle serves as a control, at the same time as muscle biopsies are taken from both sides. In order to increase the reliability of such studies, the sources and the magnitude of the sampling errors in the biopsy techniques need to be assesse

To determine whether drying of nerve grafts can affect axonal outgrowth and proliferation of non-neuronal cells, nerve segments dried for 0-60 min were used as nerve grafts to bridge a gap in transected rat sciatic nerves. Axonal outgrowth was measured by pinch reflex test and confirmed by immunocytochemical staining of neurofilaments. The proliferation of non-neuronal cells was measured by incorp

Two systems for time-resolved diffuse spectroscopy were used for the optical characterization of the female breast in 4 volunteers. A first system was a compact laser diode instrument operated at 660 and 785 nm, while the second one was a broadband laboratory set-up based on mode-locked lasers tunable in the 610-1000 nm range. Measurements were obtained both in transmittance and in reflectance geo