The aim of the present study was to investigate whether current smoking, ex-smoking, or amount of current smoking among postmenopausal women was associated with plasma levels of testosterone, and rostenedione, and DHEAs. About 65,000 women in Sweden have participated in two population-based prospective cohort studies where blood samples were collected at baseline, and information on life-style, re

We have examined the variations in gene content and sequence divergence that could be associated with symbiotic adaptations in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus and the closely related species Paxillus filamentosus. Strains with various abilities to form mycorrhizae were analysed by comparative genomic hybridizations using a cDNA microarray containing 1076 putative unique genes of P. i

Local desaturation-elongation of linoleic acid, uptake of 2-arachidonyl-lysophosphatidylcholine, and uptake plasma unesterified arachidonic acid (AA) are assumed to be the most important sources of AA for extrahepatic tissues. In this study, we investigated the clearance rate as well as the retention rate of plasma unesterified (14)C-AA in different tissues in fed rats. The initial half-life of (1

The majority of patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD) have a mild bleeding tendency that primarily involves mucosal bleeding. Some patients with the disorder, however, have severe episodes of mucosal or joint bleeding that can hamper daily activities and lead to significant joint impairment. Experience in the setting of severe hemophilia has shown the feasibility and benefits of prophylactic

We have developed force-field parameters for the hydrogen-abstraction transition state of aliphatic hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 using the Q2MM approach. The parametrization is based on quantum chemical (B3LYP) transition-state structures and Hessian matrices for 24 diverse substrate models (14 in the training set and 10 in the test set). The force field is intended to be applicable to any dru

The ability of many animals to camouflage themselves against a background is a well-known daytime phenomenon. Now it has even been found to occur at night, highlighting the reality of nocturnal visual predation

A number of human-centred methodologies-subjective, objective, and combined-are used for slipperiness measurement. They comprise a variety of approaches from biomechanically-oriented experiments to psychophysical tests and subjective evaluations. The objective of this paper is to review some of the research done in the field, including such topics as awareness and perception of slipperiness, postu

Sensitization of guinea pigs by intradermal injections of the occupational allergen trimellitic anhydride (TMA) in oily vehicle has been shown to be very reproducible. We studied the effect of intradermal sensitization with ovalbumin (OA) in oily vehicle on immune and airway responses in guinea pigs. We also compared airway responses to trimellitic anhydride or Dermatophagoides farinae (DF; mite)

The actinomycete Corynebacterium glutamicum grows as rod-shaped cells by zonal peptidoglycan synthesis at the cell poles. In this bacterium, experimental depletion of the polar DivIVACG protein resulted in the inhibition of polar growth; consequently, these cells exhibited a coccoid morphology. This result demonstrated that DivIVA is required for cell elongation and the acquisition of a rod shape.

Partial alkalinity, as a measure of bicarbonate concentration, and total alkalinity, as a measure of the concentration of bicarbonate and volatile fatty acids, are useful parameters for monitoring anaerobic digestion processes. This paper reports a new method based on pH-indicators and spectrophotometric measurements for the monitoring of partial and total alkalinity. The method was used in an off

Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is an unusual tumor with highly characteristic histopathology and ultrastructure, controversial histogenesis, and enigmatic clinical behavior. Recent cytogenetic studies have identified a recurrent der(17) due to a non-reciprocal t(X;17)(p11.2;q25) in this sarcoma. To define the interval containing the Xp11.2 break, we first performed FISH on ASPS cases using YAC

The diffusion of water vapour through pulp and paper was investigated experimentally in a diffusion cell. The diffusion cell consisted of two chambers differing in relative humidity. Any given sample was placed as a barrier between the two chambers. Two pulp qualities and eleven paper grades were included in the investigation. The diffusivities measured ranged from 2.1-10(-8) m2/s to 5.4.10(-6) m2

Newly emerged females of the European pine sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer Geoffroy (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), were placed on pine twigs in the field and their behavior was recorded. Twenty to 25% of the females attracted wild males and mated on the day of release. One-third to one-half of these females remained and oviposited, while the rest disappeared from their twigs after mating. The mating freq

The 2nd Helsingborg Consensus Conference on European Stroke Strategies, was held March 2006 with the aims to update core issues in stroke management, to monitor progress, and to set new targets for the year 2015. the congress was organized by the International Society of Internal Medicine, endorsed by the European Stroke Council and the International Stroke Society, and co-sponsored by the WHO Reg

Aim: To assess the diagnostic concordance of SCID-II and clinicians' estimation of DSM-III-R personality disorders of substance abusers. Method: Clinical diagnoses of substance abusers in inpatient treatment were compared with SCID-II diagnoses (N = 138). Findings: The overall prevalence of personality disorder was 79% for clinical diagnosis and 80% for SCID-H diagnosis. Substantial agreement was

New diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis integrating magnetic resonance image assessment with clinical and other paraclinical methods were introduced in 2001. The "McDonald Criteria" have been extensively assessed and used since 2001. New evidence and consensus now strengthen the role of these criteria in the multiple sclerosis diagnostic workup to demonstrate dissemination of lesions in tim

The water–hydroxyl radical complex was prepared by irradiating peroxy radicals in hydrogen-doped argon matrices. The low water content of the matrices made it possible to observe the fundamental bands of the complexed water molecule. The experimental results are compared with the results from ab initio calculations. The complex rotates around the O–O axis in the matrix. ©2003 American Institute of

The possibility of improving an existing method, based on supercritical-fluid extraction (SFE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), for the determination of banned azo dyes in leather has been studied. Thus, optimization of experimental conditions in different steps (degreasing, reduction, and extraction) of the analytical procedure was performed. The influence of different variables (reaction