Specialist plant species in calcareous sandy grasslands are threatened by acidification and high nutrient levels in the topsoil. We investigated whether topsoil removal and soil perturbation in degraded sandy grasslands could lead to establishment of specialist species belonging to the threatened xeric sand calcareous grassland habitat. Restoration actions performed in 2006 resulted in increased s

Preclinical studies in mice suggest that the natural killer cell receptor NKp46 may be a new molecular target for delaying the progression of type 1 diabetes by interfering with unexpected natural killer cell-mediated recognition of pancreatic beta cells.

Copolymeric NiPAM:BAM nanoparticles of varying hydrophobicity were found to retard fibrillation of the Alzheimer's disease-associated amyloid beta protein (A beta). We found that these nanoparticles affect mainly the nucleation step of A beta fibrillation. The elongation step is largely unaffected by the particles, and once the M is nucleated, the fibrillation process occurs with the same rate as

Purpose: Diagnosis of chronic atrophic fundal gastritis (CAFG) is important to understand the pathogenesis of gastric diseases and assess the risk of gastric cancer. Autofluorescence imaging videoendoscopy (AFI) may enable the detection of mucosal features not apparent by conventional white-light endoscopy. The purpose of this study was to estimate the diagnostic ability of AFI in CAFG. Methods: A

Background. A contralateral tumor occurs in 3.5-5% of men diagnosed with testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC). Biopsy of the contralateral testis may detect intratubular germ cell neoplasia ITGCNU, a precursor of TGCC. Biopsy of the contralateral testis to detect ITGCNU is controversial. If adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) protects against bilateral cancer is debated. Material and methods. A total of 100

To identify prognostic factors after hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence after liver transplantation (LT). We retrospectively reviewed the combined experience at Toronto General Hospital and Hospital Vall d'Hebron managing HCC recurrence after LT (n = 121) between 2000 and 2012. We analyzed prognostic factors by uni- and multi-variate analysis. Median follow-up from LT was 29.5 (range 2-129.

The authors conducted 2 studies to evaluate whether emotional contagion, the propensity to automatically imitate the emotional expressions of others and experience the corresponding emotions, is related to behavioral and experiential indices of hypnotizability and whether such a relationship is influenced by administration context. In Study 1, behavioral and subjective measures of hypnotizability

OBJECTIVE - Interleukin (IL)-1 impairs insulin secretion and induces P-cell apoptosis. Pancreatic beta-cell IL-1 expression is increased and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) expression reduced in patients with type 2 diabetes. Treatment with recombinant IL-1Ra improves glycemia and P-cell function and reduces inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes. Here we investigated the

Field observations and experimental data of effects of nitrogen (N) deposition oil plant species diversity have been Used to derive empirical critical N loads for various ecosystems. The great advantage of such an approach is the inclusion of field evidence, but there are also restrictions, such as the absence of explicit criteria regarding significant effects on the vegetation, and the impossibil

The mechanical properties of structural timber—particularly in terms of stiffness and strength—are subject to high variability, which also affects the properties of timber products made from structural timber, e.g., glued laminated timber (GLT). In this paper, the influence of the longitudinal stiffness variability of wooden lamellas on the effective stiffness of GLT is investigated. In a first st

Influences on stratospheric aerosol during the first four months following the eruption of Kasatochi volcano (Alaska) were studied using observations at 10700 +/- 600 m altitude from the CARIBIC platform. Collected aerosol samples were analyzed for elemental constituents. Particle number concentrations were recorded in three size intervals together with ozone mixing ratios and slant column densiti

Caloplaca herbidella (Hue) H. Magn. and C. furfuracea H. Magn. are two isidiate, epiphytic species in the large genus Caloplaca. Caloplaca herbidella in a strict sense is normally grey and fertile with thick, somewhat coralloid isidia, but orange, sterile forms with thin isidia also occur. Caloplaca furfuracea is superficially similar morphologically to C. herbidella s. str. but has thinner, more

The objective is to investigate whether a silicon diode detector designed to measure the radiation levels in medical diagnostics also could be used as a dosemeter for people involved in the handling of a nuclear or radiological accident.

P>The robust generation of midbrain dopamine neurons from embryonic stem cells and patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells is a prospective tool for the development of new drugs and cell based therapies, and investigations into the aetiology of Parkinson's disease. To achieve this, it is crucial to identify the fate-determining regulatory factors that influence dopamine cell fate decision

In retrospective radon measurements, the 22-y half life of Pb-210 is used as an advantage. Pb-210 is often considered to be relatively immobile in glass after alpha recoil implanted by Rn-222 progenies. The diffusion of Pb-210 could, however, lead to uncertain wrong retrospective radon exposure estimations if Pb-210 is mobile and can escape from glass, or lost as a result of cleaning-induced surfa

Background and Purpose-Strokes have especially devastating implications if they occur early in life; however, only limited information exists on the characteristics of acute cerebrovascular disease in young adults. Although risk factors and manifestation of atherosclerosis are commonly associated with stroke in the elderly, recent data suggests different causes for stroke in the young. We initiate

We consider the diffractive Drell-Yan process in proton-(anti) proton collisions at high energies in the color dipole approach. The calculations are performed at forward rapidities of the leptonic pair. The effect of eikonalization of the universal "bare" dipole-target elastic amplitude in the saturation regime takes into account the principal part of the gap survival probability. We present predi