Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most widely used marker of prostate cancer. Assays for PSA are based on anti-PSA antibodies, and the characterization and selection of these antibodies is important for determining their optimum performance. In our study, we characterized the reactivity of 53 antibodies, submitted to the ISOBM TD-3 PSA Workshop, using free PSA, PSA complexed to alpha1-antichy

To assess easily monitored predictors for tuberculosis mortality. Risk factors for tuberculosis mortality were assessed during the 8-month treatment in 440 men and 269 women diagnosed with confirmed or presumed intrathoracic tuberculosis included prospectively in Guinea-Bissau from May 1996 to April 2001. A civil war occurred in the study area from June 1998 to May 1999. 12% were HIV-1 positive, 1

Optical region spectra of 31 HgMn stars have been studied for the abundance and isotope mixture of mercury. In the course of the investigation the lines Hg I lambda 4358 and Hg Ii lambda lambda3984,6149 have been studied, with abundances established for all three lines in several HgMn stars. The mercury isotope mixture has been determined from high resolution spectra of the lambda 3984 line.Possib

Measurements of soil matric potential (Psi) are needed in many soil science applications. In the present study, a small matric potential sensor having a length of 30 mm and a diameter of 9.6 mm was developed. The sensor consists of two coils made of lacquer-coated copper wires embedded in gypsum. The dielectric constant of the gypsum (K-gypsum) was measured with time domain reflectometry (TDR). Th

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have shown that patients with diabetes mellitus have an increased mortality after suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Patients with diabetes have several risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Our objective was to quantify the prevalence of pharmacological cardiovascular prevention at admission and relate such treatment to short and long-term mortality

The effect of nitrogen addition on the activity of rhizosphere bacteria was studied using barley seedlings. Three different nitrogen sources were added to the soil (nitrate, ammonium and ammonium + nitrate) at four different concentrations (0, 100, 300 and 500 mg N kg(-1) soil) and the plants were allowed to grow for 6 weeks. The bacterial activity was estimated by measuring thymidine and leucine

In this study doctoral students in psychology and social anthropology/ethnology were interviewed as to their selection of research problem for their Ph.D. thesis. From the perspective of activity theory it is suggested that the research problem can profitably be seen as the object of activity in research. Graduate students’ selection of a research problem was analyzed as a process occurring over t

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Graft copolymers consisting of polyamide 12 or poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) as backbone polymers and side chains of poly(ethylene oxide) have been synthesized. The amide and hydroxyl groups of the backbone polymers were used as initiation sites for the polymerization of ethylene oxide (EO). Potassium tert-butoxide was used for ionization of the active groups, and the polymerization of EO was ca

The white-rot fungi Trametes versicolor PRL 572, Trametes versicolor MUCL 28407, Pleurotus ostreatus MUCL 29527, Pleurotus sajor-caju MUCL 29757 and Phanerochaete chrysosporium DSM 1556 were investigated for their ability to degrade the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) anthracene, benz[a]anthracene and dibenz[a,h]anthracene in soil. The fungi were grown on wheat straw and mixed with artifici

Background-Considerable variability exists in the use of pharmacological thromboprophylaxis among acutely ill medical patients, partly because clinically relevant end points have not been fully assessed in this population. We undertook an international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial using clinically important outcomes to assess the efficacy and safety of daltepari

Introduction. The European Multiple System Atrophy-Study Group (EMSA-SG) is an academic network comprising 23 centers across Europe and Israel that has constituted itself already in January 1999. This international forum of established experts under the guidance of the University Hospital of Innsbruck as coordinating center is supported by the 5th framework program of the European Union since Marc

In high-elevation streams of western Colorado, mayflies (Baetis bicaudatus) develop taster, but mature at a smaller size where trout are present compared to streams where fish are absent. These life history traits reduce the time of larval exposure to trout predation, but Cost reduced fecundity. We designed a field experiment involving manipulation of whole streams to determine whether these chang

Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder believed to be exclusively caused by mutations in the CYP27A1 gene coding for the enzyme sterol 27-hydroxylase. Common findings in CTX are tendon xanthomas, cataracts and progressive neurological dysfunction. Here, we characterize an adult female patient with tendon xanthomas and classic biochemical findings of CTX (i.e. h

A previously described kinetic model for the Calvin cycle and ancillary pathway of starch production in the chloroplast of C3 plants has been extended so that it becomes applicable under physiological conditions where there is a competition between carbon dioxide and oxygen for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (rubisco). The modified model is shown to account for the observed dependencies of

The mechanisms involved in the down regulation of the exocrine pancreas are still not fully elucidated. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of duodenal and ileal exposure to pancreatic enzymes and bile on pancreatic secretion. Experiments were performed with pigs fitted with pancreatic duct, ileal and jugular vein catheters, and duodenal T-shaped cannula. A negative feedback

The middle Cambrian -Furongian transitional interval was a time of significant biotic and environmental changes. Strata of this age in Scania, southern Sweden, contain two interlayered biofacies, a normal one dominated by trilobites and an anomalous one dominated by phosphatocopines (small bivalved arthropods). In places these biofacies are separated by intervals barren of fossils. In a phosphatoc

The problem of analyzing heart rate variability in the presence of ectopic beats is revisited. Based on the integral pulse frequency modulation model and the closely related heart timing signal, a new technique is introduced which corrects for the occasional presence of ectopic beats. The correction technique, which involves the occurrence times of a certain number of beats preceding the ectopic b