The self-incompatible composite Senecio Jacobaea (ragwort) exhibits geographic variation in the frequency of rayed and discoid (rayless) individuals. Hybrid progenies from within- and between-morph crosses were established in a seminatural (garden) environment to determine whether patterns of segregation conform to single-gene predictions (as found in other Senecio species), whether the direction

The moss Hylocomium splendens has both sympodial and monopodial forms of growth. One aim of this study was to document the growth-form of shoots from different populations. A further aim was to discover the extent to which genetic or environmental factors determine whether monopodial or sympodial growth-form is predominant in a population. Switching between growth-forms within shoots occurs in mos

A PCR procedure has been developed for routine analysis of viable Salmonella spp. in feed samples. The objective was to develop a simple PCR-compatible enrichment procedure to enable DNA amplification without any sample pretreatment such as DNA extraction or cell lysis. PCR inhibition by 14 different feed samples and natural background flora was circumvented by the use of the DNA polymerase Tth. T

Needle stimulation (acupuncture) has recently been shown to increase blood flow in the tibialis anterior muscle and overlying skin in healthy subjects (HS) and patients with fibromyalgia (FM). The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of needle stimulation on local blood flow in the trapezius muscle and overlying skin in HS and two groups of patients suffering from chronic pain in the

Earlier studies showing a negative impact of anaemia on quality of life (QOL) lack adequate adjustment for confounding factors such as disease stage and tumour response. We examined the impact of haemoglobin concentration on QOL scores of 745 multiple myeloma patients followed from diagnosis, adjusting for objective disease parameters. Data from two Nordic studies with the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionna

We report on adaptive feedback control of photoinduced barrierless isomerization of 1,1'-diethyl-2,2'-cyanine in solution. We compare the effect of different fitness parameters and show that optimal control of the absolute yield of isomerization (photoisomer concentration versus excitation photons) can be achieved, while the relative isomerization yield (photoisomer concentration versus number of

Background A previously reported randomized clinical trial showed treatment of Bowen's disease using photodynamic therapy (PDT) with topically applied delta -aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) to be at least as effective as cryosurgery and to be associated with fewer adverse effects. Objectives To compare ALA-PDT and cryotherapy in the treatment of histopathologically verified basal cell carcinomas (BCCs)

Arctic breeding shorebirds carry substantial body stores on their long-distance migrations from their non-breeding grounds. Upon arrival at the breeding area the remains of these stores can be used for egg formation, insurance against poor feeding conditions or rebuilding organs. We quantified body condition (body mass, total body water, lean body mass and fat mass estimated using the deuterium di

Vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) offer a large number of new potential applications without relying on significant infrastructure. Many of these applications benefit from multi-hop relaying of information, thus requiring a routing protocol. Characteristics unique to VANETs (such as high mobility and the need for geographical addressing) make many conventional ad hoc routing protocols unsuitable.

This paper explores a new method for evaluating the cost of verifying a contract. We relate these costs to the number of computations an algorithm needs to check that a contract satisfies certain criteria. Two different criteria that facilitate enforcement of the contract are studied. Our findings indicate bounds on the computational costs as the size of the contract grows. If each computation cos

The electron acceptors acetoin, acetaldehyde, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) were added to anaerobic batch fermentation of xylose by recombinant, xylose utilising Saccharomyces cerevisiae TMB 3001. The intracellular fluxes during xylose fermentation before and after acetoin addition were calculated with metabolic flux analysis. Acetoin halted xylitol excretion and decreased the flux t

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has prominent survival-promoting effects on lesioned nigrostriatal dopamine neurons, but understanding of the conditions under which functional recovery can be obtained remains to be acquired. We report here the time course of nigrostriatal axon degeneration in the partial lesion model of Parkinson's disease and the morphological and functional ef

OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in semen quality between samples collected by masturbation at a clinic and at home. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Fertility center. PATIENT(S): Three hundred seventy-nine men assessed for infertility. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Semen was analyzed according to World Health Organization guidelines. Seminal markers of epididymal (ne

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was measured in tissue extracts from ovaries of rats treated with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG). The extracted NPY-immunoreactive material was identical to synthetic human NPY with regard to size and hydrophobicity as evaluated by gel filtration and high performance liquid chromatography. The concentration of NPY was related to the estrous cycle and a maximum was obs

Lentiviral vectors have been used extensively as gene transfer tools for the central nervous system throughout the past decade since they transduce most cell types in the brain, resulting in high-level and long-term transgene expression. This review discusses some of the recent progress in this field, including preclinical gene therapy experiments in disease models, development of regulated vector

This paper presents data on international differences in use of TNF inhibitors. It is part of a study on burden and cost of RA, access to new therapies and the role of HTA in determining access and cost-effectiveness. United States has the fastest most extensive use of the new drugs, about three times the average in the western European countries and Canada. Eastern and central European countries