Twelve different microcrystalline insulin formulations were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction and were shown to have very characteristic patterns. Three of the formulations crystallize in the same crystal system, but have structural differences in the N-terminal B-chain of the insulin molecule. This difference was efficiently detected in the powder patterns. The sensitivity of the method ma

Background. The conventional treatment for poststernotomy mediastinitis usually involves surgical revision, closed irrigation, or reconstruction with omentum or pectoral muscle flaps. Recently, vacuum-assisted closure has been successfully used in poststernotomy mediastinitis. The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical outcome and survival in 101 patients undergoing vacuum-assisted c

Incomplete taxon sampling has been a major problem in resolving the early divergences in birds. Five new mitochondrial genomes are reported here (brush-turkey, lyrebird, suboscine flycatcher, turkey vulture, and a gull) and three break up long branches that tended to attract the distant reptilian outgroup. These long branches were to galliforms, and to oscine and suboscine passeriformes. Breaking

Neutrophil granulocytes carry storage organelles, e.g., azurophil and specific granules. Poorly understood are the mechanisms for retrieval from constitutive secretion followed by sorting for storage. Therefore, we asked whether the specific granule protein human cathelicidin (hCAP-18) could be sorted for storage in other granules when the biosynthetic window is widened to allow this. We observed

Purpose: Tumor-Node-Metastasis classification does not fully predict outcome of treatment and prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Different biomarkers have been suggested to yield additional prognostic information, but no single marker has thus far been introduced in the clinic. The objective of the present study was to analyze the copy number of the frequently

A generic protocol for the creation of material-mediated self-assembled patterns of streptavidin, defined solely by patterns of gold and SiO2, is presented. Protein-adsorption resistance of selected regions was obtained by material-specific adsorption of thiol-modified poly(ethylene)glycol (thiol-PEG) on gold followed by adsorption of poly-L-lysine (PLL) modified PEG (PLL-g-PEG) on SiO2. Selective

We consider the following clustering problems: given an undirected graph, partition its vertices into disjoint clusters such that each cluster forms a clique and the number of edges within the clusters is maximized (Max-ECP), or the number of edges between clusters is minimized (Min-ECP). These problems arise naturally in the DNA clone classification. We investigate the hardness of finding such pa

This study compares the CH4 fluxes from two arctic wetland sites of different annual temperatures during 2004 to 2006. The PEATLAND-VU model was used to simulate the emissions. The CH4 module of PEATLAND-VU is based on the Walter-Heimann model. The first site is located in northeast Siberia, Indigirka lowlands, Kytalyk reserve (70 degrees N, 147 degrees E) in a continuous permafrost region with me

Ten strains of an asexual arthroconidial yeast species were isolated from Bryndza, a traditional Slovak artisanal sheep cheese, which was manufactured from raw milk during a 4-month summer production period at two Slovakian sites (the northern Ruzomberok and the central-southern Tisovec areas). Sequence comparison of the D1/D2 domains of the large-subunit rRNA gene revealed that this yeast represe

Since the discovery of neuropeptide Y which is co-stored and co-operate with noradrenaline (NA) in sympathetic nerve fibers, several scientific groups have searched for structures with neuropeptide Y antagonistic properties. Research has mainly focused on various peptide fragments which originate from or are related to the neuropeptide Y sequence. Some non-peptide antagonists have been proposed bu

Background and aims: Since approximately 30% of patients with Dukes' stage B colorectal cancer will experience disease recurrence within five years of primary treatment, current staging of patients with early colorectal cancer apparently fails to adequately predict patient outcome. It has previously been shown that the preoperative plasma concentration of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator re

We have previously measured thoracic gas volume (V-TG) in spontaneously breathing mice using a whole body plethysmograph and have now extended our technique to allow for V-TG measurements during paralysis. BALB/c mice were anesthetized and placed in a body-box and ventilated via a tracheostomy cannula through the box wall. Box pressure (P-b) and tracheal pressure (P-ao) were measured during sponta

In tree-hole frogs, Metaphrynella sundana, the fundamental call frequency varies widely between males. In field playback experiments, females strongly preferred calls from the lower range of frequencies found in the population. There was no correlation, however, between male size and call frequency, as is normally the case for anurans, so large males were not necessarily more attractive to females

This paper develops a new approach in the analysis of the Camassa-Holm equation. By introducing a new set of independent and dependent variables, the equation is transformed into a semilinear system, whose solutions are obtained as fixed points of a contractive transformation. These new variables resolve all singularities due to possible wave breaking. Returning to the original variables, we obtai

Although N- and P-type Ca2+ channels predominant in fast-secreting systems, Lc-type Ca2+ channels (C-class) can play a similar role in certain secretory cells and synapses. For example, in retinal bipolar cells, Ca2+ entry through the Lc channels triggers ultrafast exocytosis, and in pancreatic beta-cells, evoked secretion is highly sensitive to Ca2+. These findings suggest that a rapidly release

A method based on three-phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction was developed and successfully applied to aerosols for the analysis of lignin pyrolysis acids such as syringic acid, vanillic acid and p-salicylic acid. Important parameters related to extraction process like organic solvent for membrane phase, tri-n-octylphosphine (TOPO) oxide contents in organic solvent, stirring speed, extr

Objective: to describe the qualitatively different ways in which midwives make sense of how to approach women smokers. Design, setting and participants: a more person-centred national project 'Smoke-free pregnancy' has been in progress in Sweden since 1992. Using a phenomenographic approach, 24 midwives who have been regularly working in antenatal care were interviewed about addressing smoking dur

The aim of this study was to describe young (under the age of 7) children’s needs as expressed by their behavior, body language and verbal expression through observations during their initial hospitalization after being diagnosed with cancer. Twelve children under the age of seven were followed during 26 hours with nonparticipant unstructured observations. Field notes were written after each obser