BACKGROUND: Tau protein and the 42-amino acid form of beta-amyloid (Abeta42) measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been proposed as potential biochemical diagnostic markers for Alzheimer disease. For the introduction of these assays in clinical practice, adequate reference values are of importance. METHODS: CSF samples were obtained from 231 neurologically and psychiatrically healthy individu

Abstract in UndeterminedAll types of organizations are under increasing pressure to integrate green considerations in their purchasing practices. A number of tools aimed for the practitioners have been developed in response to their new challenges. However, the application of such tools among private firms is not well known, and one important question is how well the tools correspond with practiti

Gradient-echo pulse sequences with velocity-encoding gradients of 22.5-25 mT/m, were used for brain-motion and CSF-flow studies. To reduce motion artifacts, a phase-correction technique based on navigator echoes was evaluated. Three patients with right-sided parietal tumours were investigated; one astrocytoma grade III-IV, one astrocytoma grade I-II and one benign meningioma. In healthy volunteers

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase mediates several actions of insulin including its antilipolytic effect. This effect is elicited by the insulin-stimulated serine phosphorylation and activation of cGMP-inhibited phosphodiesterase (PDE3B). In human adipocytes, we found that insulin differentially stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity; the lipid kinase activity was associated with IRS-1, whe

A continued study of the recently discovered diazotizative allylation (DiazAll) reaction of aniline derivatives is reported. Several allyl reagents, commonly used in radical allylation reactions, were evaluated, and some of these reagents resulted in allylation when used in the DiazAll reaction. The best result was obtained with allyl bromide. Substituted allylic bromides gave the corresponding al

An integrative approach to managing host–parasite interactions that threaten species communities will benefit from identifying variation in parasite impact across host species, and host–parasite responses to annual climatic variation. We examine interannual, inter- and intraspecific variation in Philornis downsi intensity – an introduced blood sucking fly that causes high fitness costs in Darwin’s

Field-growing silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) clones (clone 4 and 80) were exposed to elevated CO2 and O-3 in open-top chambers for three consecutive growing seasons (1999-2001). At the beginning of the OTC experiment, all trees were 7 years old. We studied the single and interaction effects of CO2 and O-3 on silver birch below-ground carbon pools (i.e. effects on fine roots and mycorrhizas, so

Cu-Ni ore bodies from five Botswana mines were investigated, using a combination of X-ray diffraction, thermomagnetic measurements, Mossbauer spectroscopy, and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Absorption Electro-optic Spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The four dominant phases in the ores were found to be pyrrhotite, magnetite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite. Mossbauer spectroscopy shows that pyrrhotite is t

Mixed supramolecular aggregates, obtained by assembling together two amphiphilic monomers (C18H37)2NCO(CH2)2CO(AdOO)5-G-CCK8 (AdOO is 8-amino-3,6-dioxaoctanoic acid, CCK8 is C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin) and (C18H37)2NCO(CH2)2COLys(DTPAGlu)CONH2 (DTPAGlu is N,N-bis[2-[bis(carboxyethyl)amino]ethyl]-l-glutamic acid), are characterized for their structural parameters by dynamic light sca

In this investigation, the influence of various kinds of organic solutes on the fouling of an anion and a cation selective ED membrane was studied. Fouling by adsorption of organic matter onto the membrane was measured as an increase in the membrane resistance with time. Experiments were performed with a fatty acid (octanoic acid), two anionic surfactants (sodium octanoate and sodium dodecylbenzen

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Oxidation of LDL in the arterial extracellular matrix is a key event in the development of atherosclerosis and autoantibodies against oxidised LDL antigens reflect disease severity and the risk of developing acute cardiovascular events. Since type 2 diabetes is associated with increased oxidative stress, we tested the hypothesis that autoantibodies against oxidised LDL antigens ar

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact and mechanism of action of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in a model of murine colitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Balb/c mice were exposed to 5% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in the drinking water for five days. LMWH (500 units/kg/day) was administered by subcutaneous injection prior to and throughout the treatment period with DSS. Cl

This paper concerns a numerical investigation of the heat and fluid flow in V-shaped ribbed ducts. The Navier-Stokes equations and the energy equation are solved in conjunction with a low Reynolds number k-epsilon turbulence model. The Reynolds turbulent stresses are computed with an explicit algebraic stress model (EASM) while the turbulent heat fluxes are calculated with a simple eddy diffusivit

The major myeloid blood cell lineages are generated from hematopoietic stem cells by differentiation through a series of increasingly committed progenitor cells. Precise characterization of intermediate progenitors is important for understanding fundamental differentiation processes and a variety of disease states, including leukemia. Here, we evaluated the functional in vitro and in vivo potentia

In a retrospective survey of 450 patients with rheumatoid arthritis on whom cervical spine radiography was performed, one patient was found with a backward tilting of the posterior arch of the atlas. With preserved relations anteriorly, the posterior arch was rotated downward in front of the spinous process of the axis, encroaching on the space of the spinal canal.

Perseid and sporadic meteor hourly rates and magnitudes observed in 1953-1983 by a team of visual observers at the Onsala Space Observatory, Sweden, are analysed. A high-resolution study of the zenithal hourly rates of bright Perseid meteors /(m

We report the first experimental measurements and theoretical calculations for the hyperfine splitting of the 3d(5) 4s ground state of Mn II. The hyperfine structure constants were determined using Fourier transform spectroscopy with a hollow cathode discharge lamp. The uncertainties in the magnetic dipole constants, A, are between 3 x 10(-4) and 5 x 10(-4) cm(-1). Extensive configuration interact

This study describes the effects of acute ethanol exposure on the mRNA levels of c-jun,junB and junD in the human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line. An acute exposure to 100 mM ethanol did not influence the basal and phorbol ester-induced expression of c-jun and junB, whereas the basal mRNA level of junD was attenuated by 30%. This effect was dose- and time-dependent with maximal inhibition being de

The study aim was to establish by systematic review the prevalence of asymptomatic Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the lower female genital tract in Europe and also to assess the extent and effect of screening. The search process was wide ranging, using the electronic databases Medline, Embase and Aidsline and the Internet using the search engines Netscape and Euro-ferret. Studies published in