Alpha1-microglobulin (alpha1m) is a small glycoprotein with immunomodulatory properties. It is a member of the lipocalin family, a group of proteins that exhibit a well-conserved three-dimensional structure despite low sequence identity and that are known to bind small hydrophobic ligands. The types of ligands carried by alpha1m are still unknown, but it is known that this protein has yellow-brown

Antibody inhibition and alpha6beta1 ligand binding experiments indicate that the egg integrin alpha6beta1 functions as a receptor for sperm during gamete fusion; yet, eggs null for the alpha6 integrin exhibit normal fertilization. Alternative integrins may be involved in sperm-egg binding and fusion and could compensate for the absence of alpha6beta1. Various beta1 integrins and alphav integrins a

We study the nature of the [Ti II] and [Ni II] emission from the so-called strontium filament found in the ejecta of eta Carinae. To this purpose, we employ multilevel models of the Ti II and Ni II systems, which are used to investigate the physical condition of the filament and the excitation mechanisms of the observed lines. For the Ti II ion, for which no atomic data were previously available,

In this paper we study the adsorption at cationic emulsion droplets of starch which had been hydrophobically modified with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA), a modification which also renders the starch anionic. Emulsions were formed with didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) after which the OSA-starch was added. The emulsions were separated by centrifugation and the surface load of OSA-starch w

Clonal strains of the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium nolleri Ellegaard and Moestrup were intercrossed to determine if cyst-related traits are genetically regulated and to clarify unknown aspects in the sexuality of this species. The objectives were to determine whether the parental identity influenced the physiological and morphological aspects of the cyst offspring, and to describe and compare nuclea

Glucose-induced insulin secretion in response to a step increase in blood glucose concentrations follows a biphasic time course consisting of a rapid and transient first phase followed by a slowly developing and sustained second phase. Because Type 2 diabetes involves defects of insulin secretion, manifested as a loss of first phase and a reduction of second phase, it is important to understand th

Neurofibroma is a benign tumor originating from Schwann cells in peripheral nerve sheaths and may occur as a sporadic tumor or as part of the dominantly inherited tumor syndrome NF1. NF1 is caused by constitutional mutations in the NF1 gene, located in chromosome band 17q11 Whereas the involvement of the NF1 gene in neurofibroma development in NF1 patients has been fairly well characterized, the s

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of primary stenting in aortic occlusive disease. METHODS: Thirty patients underwent primary stenting of focal concentric (n = 2) and complex aortic stenoses (n = 19), and aortic or aorto-iliac occlusions (n = 9). Sixteen patients underwent endovascular outflow procedures, three of whom also had distal open surgical reconstructions. Median follow-up was 16 months (r

This article is based on an interview study of how ten young male crime victims talk about violent events and actors involved. It focuses on how the young men present their identities as ‘young men’ who have been victims of violent crimes. In their narrations the men struggle with a cultural understanding that ‘masculinity’ is associated with strength and power, while ‘victim’ is associated with w

The reliability of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-tau and CSF-beta-amyloid assays for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other dementing disorders such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is reviewed. CSF assessment of the two proteins is useful in early diagnosis of AD and to differentiate it from FTD and DLB. Extremely high CSF-tau l

Copolymers of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) and N-tert-butylacrylamide (tBAA) have been evaluated as proton conducting materials. The water absorption of copolymers with varying equivalent weights (EW), i.e. g polymer/mol sulfonic acid groups, was studied at different relative humidities (rh) by gravimetry and calorimetry. Melt endotherms for water were detected by DSC in cop

Abstract in German Hintergrund: Es wurde in einer populationsbasierten Fallkontrollstudie die Assoziation von Antikörpern auf Streptokokkus pyogenes Antigene mit der Entwicklung eines abdomionellen Aortenaneurysma (BAA) untersucht. Patienten und Methoden: 42 Patienten, bei denen ein BAA durch Screnning entdeckt wurde, wurden mit 100 alters- und geschlechtsgleichen Kontrollpatienten mit normaler AoBackground: In a population -based case-control study the association between antibodies to Streptococcus pyogenes antigens and the development of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) was analysed. Patients and methods: Forty-two patients with screening-detected AAA were compared to 100 age- and sex matched controls with normal aortas. Antibodies against three recently characterized cell wall-attached

Computerized continuous monitoring of soil respiration rates before and during glutamic acid decomposition in heavy metal polluted soils was used to determine four microbial parameters: basal respiration rate, substrate induced respiration rate, lag time before the exponential increase of the soil respiration rate and the specific respiration increment during the exponential phase. Both smelter- a

Our results in a previous study indicated that the portal absorption of intragastrically fed alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) was limited in young pigs. Our aim was to quantify the net portal absorption, first-pass metabolism, and whole-body flux of enterally infused AKG. In study 1, we quantified the net portal nutrient absorption in young pigs (n = 9) given an intraduodenal infusion of milk replacer [1

The present study evaluated the clinical efficacy of chemotherapy in combination with cytokine-induced killer (CIK) biotherapy compared to the chemotherapy alone. Fifty-nine advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were randomly divided into two groups, group A (chemotherapy, alone, including docetaxel 75 mg/m(2), day 1; cisplatin, 25 mg/m(2), days 1-4, tri-weekly) and group B (chemoth

Percutaneous endovascular techniques were used to treat an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) associated with pancreatic transplantation. A pancreatic transplant superior mesenteric artery-to-superior mesenteric-vein AVF was successfully embolized while flow to the pancreas transplant was preserved. The embolization was aided by the use of Guglielmi detachable coils and a detachable balloon. No complicat