The number of species in the Pegomya maculata species group is raised from three to four with the description of a new, Holarctic species, P. grahami sp. nov. The other species, P. maculata Stein, P. atricauda Ringdahl and P. macrophthalma Griffiths, are redescribed. The number of species in Europe is raised from two to four. Two species, P. grahami (previously recorded as P. maculata) and P. macr

In this thesis civil religion in the Czech Republic is studied throught the way it is expressed in the speeches of president Václav Havel. Earlier studies on civil religion have shown how civil religiion can be a latent phenomenon that is activated in times of societal change and crisis. In Havel's speeches, this is expressed by the emphasis put on democratic values, such as basic human rights, an

This paper investigates a variety of forms of management control in a large management consultancy company. The very high level of compliance with corporate objectives among employees is highlighted and singled out as a phenomenon worth exploring. The company exhibits a rich variety of various formal control devices focusing on financial issues as well as human resources. The paper shows that thes

Recombinant human cystatin C (cC), a cysteine protease inhibitor, contained methionine sulfoxide [Met(O)] residues when expressed in Escherichia coli under aerobic conditions or upon allowing osmotic shock solutions from anaerobically grown cultures to warm to room temperature. Oxidation occurred in the periplasmic space or intracellularly during aerobic expression. Both Met14 and Met41 were subje

Fibromodulin belongs to the small leucine-rich repeat proteoglycan family, interacts with collagen type I, and controls collagen fibrillogenesis and assembly. Here, we show that a major fibromodulin-binding site for collagen type I is located in leucine-rich repeat 11 in the C terminus of the leucine-rich repeat domain. We identified Glu-353 and Lys-355 in repeat 11 as essential for binding, and t

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is a dominant cause of mortality in the intensive care unit. Experimentally, a condition similar to the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome can be induced by the intraperitoneal injection of sterile zymosan. In the present study we investigate potential alterations in multiple organ functions, endothelial permeability, and antiproteinases after intraperitoneal i

This paper provides an overview of the aims, objectives, research activities under-taken, and a selection of results generated in the European Commission-funded project entitled "Modelling the Impact of Climate Extremes" (MICE) - a pan-European end-to-end assessment, from climate model to impact model, of the potential impacts of climate change on a range of economic sectors important to the regio

C1q deficiency is a rare condition associated with a systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-like syndrome and recurrent infections. Here we present the molecular basis behind C1q deficiency in three sisters of Inuit origin. Initial examination for complement deficiency showed no function of the classical complement activation pathway in the patients; the lectin and alternative pathways were intact. No

Objective: Little is known about the etiology of small bowel carcinoid tumor (SBC), but a few studies have pointed to certain medical and lifestyle factors as potential risk factors. This study aims to evaluate these findings and to identify new associations. Methods: A population-based European multicenter case-control study was conducted from 1995 through 1997. Incident histologically verified 3

We present a new method for quantification of the coupling efficiency between amphiphilic oligonucleotides and suspended small unilamellar lipid vesicles (SUVs). The method employs a supported (phospho) lipid bilayer (SLB)-modified sensor template, which upon exposure to a mixture of SUVs and amphiphilic DNA reacts neither with free SUVs nor with DNA-modified SUVs, but with free DNA only. Using ca

Plasma proteins occur in the airway lumen in inflammatory airway diseases. This study tests the hypothesis that airway microvascular-epithelial exudation of plasma proteins, as induced by a non-injurious inflammatory mediator, is characterized by loss of size-selectivity. Using a nasal pool-device, the nasal mucosa of 10 allergic individuals, without current disease, was sequentially exposed to sa

The fermentation kinetics for separate as well as simultaneous glucose and xylose fermentation with recombinant ethanologenic Escherichia coli KO11 are presented. Glucose and xylose were consumed simultaneously and exhibited mutual inhibition. The glucose exhibited 15 times stronger inhibition in xylose fermentation than vice versa. The fermentation of condensate from steam-pretreated willow (Sali

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies among women worldwide. Little is known about reproductive factors or lifestyle determinants and ovarian cancer prognosis. The objective of this study was to examine whether ovarian cancer survival is influenced by reproductive history, anthropometric characteristics, prediagnostic life-style factors and family history or br

Production of synthesis gas by catalytic reforming of product gas from biomass gasification can lead to catalyst deactivation by the exposure to ash compounds present in the flue gas. The impact of fly ash from biomass gasification on reforming catalysts was studied at the laboratory scale. The investigated catalyst was Pt/Rh based, and it was exposed to generated K2SO4 aerosol particles and to ae

This study was undertaken to determine the value of stained smears from the vaginal introitus and the posterior vaginal fornix for detection of candida morphotypes in the diagnosis of recurrent vulvovaginal candidosis (RVVC) in cases with an assumed novel attack of the condition, and to compare the value of microscopy of such smears in relation to candida culture, vaginal pH-determinations and leu

Calcium phosphates have been of great interest in the field of medicine for many decades due to their biocompatibility, hardening properties and diverse areas of application. In this study two different alpha phase tricalcium phosphate powders were produced of distinctly different particle size distributions. These two powders were then tested for reactivity and phase evolution. X-ray diffraction

The use of water injection in a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine was experimentally investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine whether it is possible to control the ignition timing and slow down the rate of combustion with the use of water injection. The effects of different water flows, air/fuel ratios and inlet pressures were studied for three different fuels, is