Potential impacts of projected climate change on biodiversity are often assessed using single-species bioclimatic 'envelope' models. Such models are a special case of species distribution models in which the current geographical distribution of species is related to climatic variables so to enable projections of distributions under future climate change scenarios. This work reviews a number of cri

Two-dimensional temperature measurements using filtered Rayleigh scattering (FRS) have been demonstrated. A tunable single-longitudinalmode alexandrite laser was employed to provide the tunable narrow-linewidth ultraviolet laser beam at 254 nm. Isotopic-enhanced mercury was utilized as an ultraviolet atomic filter. The strong absorption of the filter enabled effective suppression of elastic backgr

Multimode diode laser (MDL)-based correlation spectroscopy (COSPEC) was used to measure oxygen in ambient air, thereby employing a diode laser (DL) having an emission spectrum that overlaps the oxygen absorption lines of the A band. A sensitivity of 700 ppm m was achieved with good accuracy (2%) and linearity (R-2 = 0.999). For comparison, measurements of ambient oxygen were also performed by tuna

The present study aims at evaluating the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the development of acute lung injury, production of inflammatory mediators and expression of adhesion molecules on leukocytes after induction of acute pancreatitis (AP). AP was induced by the intraductal infusion of 5% sodium taurodeoxycholate in the rat. The animals had the PKC inhibitor polymyxin B administered intraperit

Life-history theory predicts that increased current reproductive effort should lead to a fitness cost. This cost of reproduction may be observed as reduced survival or future reproduction, and may be caused by temporal suppression of immune function in stressed or hard-working individuals. In birds, consideration of the costs of incubating eggs has largely been neglected in favour of the costs of

Overexpression of cyclin E is strongly linked to an aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis in breast cancer. Unexpectedly, it has been shown that cyclin E overexpression decreases mobility and invasiveness of breast cancer cells. In fact, in a study of 985 breast cancers, cyclin E correlated with less infiltrative growth. This suggests a novel function for cyclin E in breast cancer tumorigenesis

This article describes 35 individuals who have expressed an interest in taking university courses after retirement. Longitudinal data and individuals' own accounts are presented, in an effort to clarify the role that symbolic resources play in individuals' lives, for their capacity to construct their own identity, to function as social actors, and "to learn to learn". It is argued that their lives

OBJECTIVES: To determine in a large prospective population-based cohort study relationships between different measures of body mass and incidence of severe knee and hip osteoarthritis (OA) defined as arthroplasty of knee or hip due to OA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-hip ratio (WHR), weight, and percentage of body fat (BF%) was measured at baseline in 11

Expression of full-length trkB can be found in some highly malignant neuroblastoma tumors with an amplified MYCN gene. This contrasts sympathetic neuroblasts, from which neuroblastomas are thought to arise, which neither express trkB nor are dependent on the p145trkB ligands, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or neurotrophin-4/5, for their normal development. In this study we show that trkB

In this study, the desensitization of acetylcholine-induced inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [I(1,4,5)P3] formation, upon short-time prestimulations, was investigated in cultures of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Four repeated stimulations for 10 seconds with 10 microM acetylcholine were necessary to induce a desensitization of the I(1,4,5)P3 formation. The desensitization was observed 4 hours aft

Knowledge of the causes of variation in host immunity to parasitic infection and the time-scales over which variation persists, is integral to predicting the evolutionary and epidemiological consequences of host-parasite interactions. It is clear that offspring immunity can be influenced by parental immune experience, for example, reflecting transfer of antibodies from mothers to young offspring.

Escherichia coli strains from patients with febrile urinary tract infections (n=73) were examined for pap genotype and P fimbrial expression in relation to bacteremia and patients' background variables. Most isolates were pap(+) by DNA hybridization (n=51), and 36 were papG(IA2)(+) and 18 prsG(J96)(+) by polymerase chain reaction. The pap and papG genotypes of the infecting strain were shown to va

Experimental studies have shown that remodelling of the atrial myocardium is linked to the occurrence and perpetuation of atrial fibrillation (AF). Clinical evidence, however, is insufficient. We recorded monophasic action potentials (MAP) during AF from one to three sites in the right atrium in seven patients with chronic AF (CAF) and in 11 patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF). The fibrillatory (FF)

BACKGROUND: Although patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) should stop smoking, some do not. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we evaluated the effect of the inhaled glucocorticoid budesonide in patients with mild COPD who continued smoking. After a six-month run-in period, we randomly assigned 1277 subjects (mean age, 52 years; mean forced expiratory volume in one

A GUMS procedure was developed for the analysis of all major constituents of glycoproteins. The rationale for this approach is that by using GC/MS analysis of the constituents as heptafluorobutyrate derivatives, it was possible to quantitatively determine the sialic acid, monosaccharide, fatty acids (when present), and the amino acid composition with the sample remaining in the same reaction vesse

Objective - We explored the relationships between inflammatory proteins, occupation, and marital status, and their independent associations with incidence of cardiovascular disease ( CVD). Methods and Results - Five inflammation-sensitive proteins ( ISPs) ( fibrinogen, ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, alpha 1-antitrypsin, orosomucoid) were measured in 6075 apparently healthy men. Incidence of coronary

The effect of burning piles of slash on a Norway spruce clear-cut in southern Sweden was followed for 3 years. The vegetation cover, soil chemistry, soil water at a depth of 30 - 40 cm and runoff water were studied. The burnt plots were without vegetation for several months after burning, while the control plots were almost totally covered by Deschampsia flexuosa and Galium saxatile. The remaining

Chromosomal aberrations in solid tumors appear in complex patterns. It is important to understand how these patterns develop, the dynamics of the process, the temporal or even causal order between aberrations, and the involved pathways. Here we present network models for chromosomal aberrations and algorithms for training models based on observed data. Our models are generative probabilistic model