Rupture of the preocular tear film leads to formation of a dry spot on the cornea with ocular irritation and symptoms of dry eye. One of the factors determining the stability of the tear film is its surface activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the surface activity of tear fluid from patients with Sjögren's syndrome. Tear fluid was sampled from the eyes of 16 patients with primary Sjö

Despite their apparent simplicity, random Boolean networks display a rich variety of dynamical behaviors. Much work has been focused on the properties and abundance of attractors. The topologies of random Boolean networks with one input per node can be seen as graphs of random maps. We introduce an approach to investigating random maps and finding analytical results for attractors in random Boolea

We describe the migration performance of three long-distance migrating raptors, osprey Pandion haliaetus, honey buzzard Pernis apivorus and marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus, and one short-distance migrating raptor, common buzzard Buteo buteo based on Swedish ringing recoveries and satellite telemetry, respectively. Tracking by satellite can provide detailed information about the exact timing of mi

The aim of this study was to develop a simple experimental methodology and to develop a mechanistic model to characterize the release mechanism from pellets developing cracks during the release process with special focus on osmotic effects. The release of remoxipride from pellets coated with an ethyl cellulose film was chosen as a case study. Dose release experiments at different bulk osmotic pres

PURPOSE: The feasibility and utility of assessing quality of life (QoL) and disease-related symptoms in patients with advanced cancer have been evaluated in two Phase I clinical trials of p.o. administered ZD1839 ('Iressa'), an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in patients with advanced cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) questionna

Abstract in UndeterminedOne sediment core from the Jarnavik bay in Blekinge archipelago has been investigated for its content of pollen and diatoms and its chemical properties. Two levels were also dated by radiocarbon. Based on the results the sediment sequence analysed has been divided into three environmental units largely corresponding to the lithology of the sequence. A lowermost unit consist

Agile methods have evolved as a bottom-up approach to software development. However, as the software in embedded products is only one part of development projects, agile methods must coexist with project management models typically of the stage-gate type. This paper presents a qualitative case study of two large independent software system projects that have used eXtreme Programming (XP) for softw

Objective: To describe the characteristics, of women seeking treatment for Symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI) in European countries. Design: Prospective urinary incontinence research (PURE) was a 6-month, observational, pan-European Study, primarily aimed at determining the direct costs of urinary incontinence treatment. The secondary objectives of PURE were to describe the impact of UI on heal

Objectives: The role of persistent chlamydial infection of the Fallopian tubes in ectopic pregnancy is still unresolved. Therefore, we examined tissue of the Fallopian tubes from patients with ectopic pregnancy for the presence of Chlamydia trachomatis. In addition, other markers of C. trachomatis infection implicated in the pathogenesis of tubal damage were studied including antibodies to heat sh

In this work, the adsorption of citric (2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid) and tricarballylic (propane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid) acids onto alpha-FeOOH (goethite) in aqueous suspensions was studied as a function of pH and total ligand concentration in 0.1 M NaCl at 25.0 degrees C, and the molecular structures of the surface complexes formed were analyzed by means of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

Within the nuclear Fermi-liquid approach, the memory effect on the Landau-Vlasov-Langevin dynamics is considered. The basic collisional kinetic equation for the Wigner distribution function is reduced to a macroscopic equation of motion for the shape variables of the nucleus. Parametrizing the potential energy of the nucleus at descent from the fission barrier by the inverted oscillator potential,

Osteoporosis has been recognized as a major public health problem for less than two decades. The increasing incidence of fragility fractures, such as vertebral, hip, and wrist fractures, first became apparent from epidemiological studies in the early and mid-1980s, when effective treatment was virtually unavailable. Pharmacological therapies that effectively reduce the number of fractures by impro

Ammoxidation of 3-picoline was studied on reduced V-Ti-O catalysts with V6O13 as the major vanadium oxide. The results showed that the initial activity as a function of the TiO2 content reached a maximum at 50–60 mole% TiO2. It is proposed that there is maximum contact between the vanadium and titanium phases at this composition, which results in a weakening of the (VO)3+ surface bond. The selecti

A large number of diluents were screened to determine the optimum combination between diluent and extractant. Combinations of a C8 tertiary amine and aromatic diluents or of a C12 tertiary amine and aliphatic diluents do not lead to third-phase formation. A flow-sheet for a solvent-extraction process for treatment of various qualities of wet-process phosphoric acid solutions is proposed. Based on

Methods for increasing the proteolytic stability of EFK17 (EFKRIVQRIKDFLRNLV), a new peptide sequence with antimicrobial properties derived from LL-37, were evaluated. EFK17 was modified by four d-enantiomer or tryptophan ( W) substitutions at known protease cleavage sites as well as by terminal amidation and acetylation. The peptide variants were studied in terms of proteolytic resistance, antiba

Objective. To test the hypothesis that oral creatine supplements with exercise are more effective than exercise alone in improving muscle function in patients with established dermatomyositis or polymyositis receiving chronic medical therapies who are clinically weak yet stable. Methods. In a 6-month, 2-center, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, patients were randomized to receive oral cre

Purpose. To study the ultrastructure of biorelevant media and digestion products of self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) at high level BS/PL conditions. Methods. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) was employed to visualize the colloid structures in the biorelevant media and lipolytic products generated during hydrolysis of a SNEDDS formulation. Their electrical pro

Glucose-evoked insulin secretion exhibits a biphasic time course and is associated with accelerated intracellular granule movement. We combined live confocal imaging of EGFP-labelled insulin granules with capacitance measurements of exocytosis in clonal INS-1 cells to explore the relation between distinct random and directed modes of insulin granule movement, as well as exocytotic capacity. Reduci