The nature of the action of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on hormone release from isolated islets was investigated. We found that glucose-induced insulin release was potentiated by L-NAME in the absence or presence of diazoxide, a potent K+ATP channel opener, as well as in the presence of diazoxide plus a depolarizing concentration of K+. At a

An algal-bacterial consortium formed by Chlorella sorokiniana and a phenanthrene-degrading Pseudomonas migulae strain was able to biodegrade 200-500 mg/l of phenanthrene dissolved in silicone oil or tetradecane under photosynthetic conditions and without any external supply of oxygen. Phenanthrene was only removed when provided in organic solvent, which confirms the potential of two-phase systems

Operation of a district heating system is accomplished via a sequence of decisions by the operators controlling the system. These decisions are based on expectations of conditions in the system that are not known at decision time. The operators could be helped by a decision support system that computes predictions of future system variables and suggests appropriate control actions given the availa

Herpes simplex virus is known to induce an immunoglobulin-binding cell surface receptor in infected cells that utilizes a nonimmune mechanism. In the present paper, we report the immunoglobulin class and subclass specificity of this receptor. Of the human immunoglobulins G(IgG), IgA, IgM, and IgD, as well as the structurally related beta2 microglobulin, only IgG and its Fc portion exhibited an inc

The aim of this controlled study was to evaluate a 1-year learner-centred educational project in end-of-life care for home care staff in a rural district of Sweden. Another rural district in the same region served as a control area. A 20-item questionnaire measuring attitudes towards end-of-life care was designed, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale was used to measure mental well

We present a new method for signal extraction from noisy multichannel epileptic seizure onset EEG signals. These signals are non-stationary which makes time-invariant filtering unsuitable. The new method assumes a signal model and performs denoising by filtering the signal of each channel using a time-variable filter which is an estimate of the Wiener filter. The approximate Wiener filters are obt

Cysteine proteases (CPs) are responsible for many biochemical processes occurring in living organisms and they have been implicated in the development and progression of several diseases that involve abnormal protein turnover. The activity of CPs is regulated among others by their specific inhibitors: cystatins. The main aim of this review is to discuss the structure-activity relationships of cyst

This study explores boundary-crossing networks in fuel-cell science and technology. We use the case of Norwegian fuel cell and related hydrogen research to explore techno-science networks. Standard bibliometric and patent indicators are presented. Then we explore different types of network maps-maps based on co-authorship, co-patenting and co-activity data. Different network configurations occur f

In this article we present a downscaled laboratory setup emulating five natural guide stars, a layered static atmosphere and a 7.5-m aperture telescope equipped with dual-conjugate adaptive optics at a wavelength of 2.2 mum. Three reconstruction alternatives were evaluated; conventional adaptive optics, field-averaged conventional adaptive optics and dual-conjugate adaptive optics. The results wer

Abstract is not available