The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of borrelia serology (Quick ELISA C6 Borrelia assay kit) as a diagnostic tool in cases of suspected neuroborreliosis. A retrospective patient material consisting of 124 paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples with a positive anti-borrelia antibody index (AI) using the IDEIA Lyme Neuroborreliosis test was compared with 124 Al-negative matche

Objective: to ascertain the significant factors that influence women to stop/not stop smoking during pregnancy and the postnatal period. Design: Twenty-four women were interviewed two-three years after delivery with regard to their smoking habits during and after pregnancy. The material was analysed based on a phenomenological approach in order to provide an accurate description of lived experienc

[1] We present vertically integrated measurements of C(2)H(2), C(2)H(4), C(2)H(6), HCOOH, CO, H(2)CO, HCN and NH(3) through smoke plumes from Australian forest fires measured by ground-based solar absorption spectroscopy. The column amounts of these gases are highly correlated with simultaneous, colocated measurements of aerosol optical depth, providing a potential method of mapping biomass-burnin

Endothelins (ETs) are a family of novel regulatory peptides and various lines of evidence suggest an important role for ETs in regulating pulmonary function. Two receptors for endothelin, ETA and ETB, have been found in the human lung, and according to recent studies a non-ETA receptor seems to mediate the contraction of large sized human bronchi. Several studies have emphasized the importance of

The power expenditure of flapping flight in birds is characterised by a U-shaped function of speed through the air. From this relationship and the assumption of limited power available from flight muscles, it is possible to predict changes in the birds' airspeed in relation to external factors such as wind. These predictions are derived from flight mechanical theory and optimality criteria concern

Dyskinesias are a major complication of long-term l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) treatment in Parkinson's disease, and are believed to result from the intermittent and pulsatile supply of L-DOPA. Daily injections of L-DOPA can prime similar abnormal involuntary movements of the limb, orolingual and axial muscles in rats rendered parkinsonian by destruction of the nigrostriatal dopamine (DA)

Biological characteristics of virus quantitatively rescued from different cell types present in lymph nodes of HIV-1-infected individuals in various stages of their disease were determined, not including patients with AIDS defining illness. Viruses were obtained by cocultivation with donor monocyte-derived macrophages and T-lymphocytes and their biological phenotype compared to viruses obtained fr

Pt/Al2O3 catalysts with platinum contents of 0.1, 1.0 and 3.0 wt% were used for the low temperature combustion of methanol in the absence and the respective presence of a trace amount of ammonia. It is observed that ammonia inhibits the combustion of methanol, which is due to competition between methanol and ammonia for the same sites. For a fixed space velocity and without ammonia in the gas, the

Protein inhibitors of proteolytic enzymes regulate proteolysis and prevent the pathological effects of excess endogenous or exogenous proteases. Cysteine proteases are a large family of enzymes found throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. Disturbance of the equilibrium between cysteine proteases and natural inhibitors is a key event in the pathogenesis of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporo

HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) is a tumoricidal complex consisting of partially unfolded protein and fatty acid, and was first identified in casein fractions of human breast milk. The complex can be produced from its pure components through a modified chromatographic procedure where pre-applied oleic acid binds with partially-unfolded alpha-lactalbumin on the stationar

Group G streptococcus (GGS) is a human pathogen of emerging clinical significance. It causes skin and soft tissue infections, occasionally resulting in life-threatening conditions such as sepsis and necrotizing fasciitis. We recently identified FOG, a novel surface protein of GGS with fibrinogen binding and immune evasion properties. Here we investigated the role of FOG in streptococcal primary ad

Pheromone-based monitoring is a promising new method for assessing the conservation status of many threatened insect species. We examined the versatility and usefulness of pheromone-based monitoring by integrating a pheromone–kairomone trapping system and pitfall trapping system in the monitoring of two saproxylic beetles, the hermit beetle Osmoderma eremita (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and its pred

We have characterized 2 distinct mechanisms through which infectious agents may promote platelet adhesion and thrombus formation in flowing blood, thus contributing to the progression of disease. In one case, the process initiates when the integrin alpha(IIb)beta(3) mediates platelet arrest onto immobilized bacterial constituents that have bound plasma fibrinogen. If blood contains antibodies agai

Mercury and selenium in whole blood and serum of 245 17-year old Swedish adolescents were analysed. The relationships between these elements' concentrations and the consumption of fish as well as the number of dental amalgam fillings were studied. The geometric means (GM) of the mercury concentrations were 1.1 mug/L in blood and 0.43 mug/L in serum. The mean selenium concentration in blood was 110

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress and related DNA damage in human sperm may be important for fecundity and pregnancy outcome. METHODS: We studied the level of oxidative DNA damage in terms of 7-hydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) in sperm DNA among 225 first-pregnancy planners. Over the six menstrual cycle follow-up time, after cessation of contraception, 135 pregnancies were conceived. RESULTS: Th

Abstract is not available

This paper presents a finite volume scheme on rectangular and triangular meshes based on a third order accurate logarithmic reconstruction. Several numerical experiments, including the Euler equations for compressible gas dynamics, illustrate the high resolution and non-oscillatory properties of the new scheme.

Given the great range of visual systems, tasks and habitats, there is surprisingly little experimental evidence of how visual limitations affect behavioural strategies under natural conditions. Analysing this relationship will require an experimental system that allows for the synchronous measurement of visual cues and visually guided behaviour. The first step in quantifying visual cues from an an

The optical signatures of Mg-related acceptors in GaN have been revisited in samples specifically grown on bulk GaN templates, to avoid strain broadening of the optical spectra. Bound-exciton spectra can be studied in these samples for Mg concentrations up to [Mg]approximate to 2x10(19) cm(-3). Contrary to previous work it is found that instabilities in the photoluminescence spectra are not due to