A Holocene palaeomagnetic secular variation master curve (FENNOSTACK) and a relative palaeointensity curve (FENNORPIS) for Fennoscandia are presented. These curves were produced by stacking palaeomagnetic data obtained from six annually laminated (varved) lake sediment sequences and one non-laminated sediment sequence. The six independent varve chronologies were combined to form a timescale, which

Liquid-crystalline cubic-phase nanoparticles (CPNPs) (known as Cubosome particles), based on the lipid glycerol monooleate and stabilized by the nonionic block copolymer Pluronic F-127, interact with supported model membranes consisting of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) in a complex and dynamic fashion. Neutron reflectivity measurements on the interaction of CPNPs with bilayers of different co

Several lines of evidence suggest that a calcitonin-gene related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist may serve as a novel abortive migraine treatment. Here we present data on a human cell line and isolated human vessels for such an antagonist, BIBN4096BS. On SK-N-MC membranes, radiolabelled CGRP was displaced by both CGRP-(8-37) and BIBN4096BS, yielding pK(i) values of 8.5 and 11.4, respectively. F

Elevated ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation has been reported to have few effects on plants but to alter the soil microbial community composition. However, the effects on soil microorganisms have to be mediated via plants, because direct radiation effects are only plausible on the uppermost millimeters of soil. Here, we assessed secondary effects of UVB on soil microbes. The responses in the dominant p

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate whether cadmium concentrations in kidney (K-Cd), blood (B-Cd) or urine (U-Cd) could reveal previous occupational cadmium exposure at a metal smelter. METHODS: The study included 90 smelters and 35 controls (B-Cd and U-Cd determination). In a subgroup (N = 33), K-Cd was also determined. RESULTS: B-Cd (median 4.6; range 0.5-53 nmol/L), U-Cd (0. 29; 0.

Our objective was to investigate the expression of different cytochromes P450 3A (CYP3A4, CYP3A5, and CYP3A7) and P-glycoprotein (ABCBI) genes along the human large intestine in paired tumour and normal samples. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was used to measure CYP3A4-, CYP3A5-, CYP3A7- and ABCB1-specific mRNA expression, and Western blot analysis was used to measure me

Different theoretical models describing the influence of the operating parameters are treated in this paper. The osmotic pressure, gel layer and resistance in series models are presented. The influence of different operating parameters, such as the operating pressure, temperature, cross-flow velocity and concentration is demonstrated. The complex fouling phenomenon is reviewed. Finally, various pr

A new O induced structure on Rh(111) displaying a (2root3 x 2root3)R30degrees periodicity with an oxygen coverage of 2/3 has been studied by high resolution core level spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density functional theory. Although O favors fcc hollow sites in all other known phases, it occupies both fcc and hcp sites in this structure, which cannot be explained by pairwise ad

Adverse and analgesic effects of acupuncture during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy were studied retrospectively in an observational study including 167 consecutive patients with lower back pain, pelvic pain, or both. In each patient acupuncture was given on at least two different occasions by three manual stimulations of two or more acupuncture or tender points, mainly LR-3 and LI-4

Assessment of emphysema-modifying therapy is difficult, but newer outcome measures offer advantages over traditional methods. The EXAcerbations and Computed Tomography scan as Lung End-points (EXACTLE) trial explored the use of computed tomography (CT) densitometry and exacerbations for the assessment of the therapeutic effect of augmentation therapy in subjects with alpha(1)-antitrypsin (alpha(1)

Surface proteins of Streptococcus pyogenes are important virulence factors. Here we describe a novel collagen-like surface protein, designated SclA (streptococcal collagen-like surface protein). The sclA gene was identified in silico using the Streptococcal Genome Sequencing Project with the recently identified protein GRAB as the probe. SclA has a signal sequence and a cell wall attachment region

The effect of various processing methods on physico-chemical properties of sword bean starch was studied. Seed grits and flour were cooked with and without soaking, wet-autoclaved, and roasted. The changes in starch associated with these processing methods were studied by observing changes in granular structure, water solubility index, water absorption index, molecular size distribution and the de

It has recently been shown that the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA) dramatically ameliorates the selective neuronal necrosis which results from 10 min of forebrain ischemia in rats. Since CsA is a virtually specific blocker of the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) pore which is assembled under adverse conditions, such as mitochondrial calcium accumulation and oxidative stress, the

The variance reaction time model (VRTM) is proposed to account for various recognition data on reaction time, the mirror effect, receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curves, etc. The model is based on simple and plausible assumptions within a neural network: VRTM is a two layer neural network where one layer represents items and one layer represents contexts. The recognition decision is based o

Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is an autoimmune bullous disease that primarily affects mucous membranes leading to a scarring phenotype. MMP patients produce auto-antibodies (auto-ab) that preferentially recognize two components of the dermoepidermal basement membrane zone (BMZ): bullous pemphigoid (BP)180 and laminin 5 (LN5). Since detection of disease-specific auto-ab may be critical for diagn

The impact of the optical properties on the annual performance of flat plate collectors in a Swedish climate has been estimated with the MINSUN program. The collector parameters were determined with a theoretically based calculation program verified from laboratory measurements. The importance of changes in solar absorptance and thermal emittance of the absorber, the addition of a teflon film or a