Nucleic acid aptamer selection is a powerful strategy for the development of regulatory agents for molecular intervention. Accordingly, aptamers have proven their diligence in the intervention with serine protease activities, which play important roles in physiology and pathophysiology. Nonetheless, there are only a few studies on the molecular basis underlying aptamer-protease interactions and th

Prenatal testosterone surge is considered crucial for physiological masculinization of male progeny. Disorders in sex steroid hormone balance during the fetal development may interfere with male reproductive health later in life. In this study, we have investigated in utero and in vitro effects of flutamide (FLU) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) on fetal rat testicular steroidogenesis. In utero exposu

The unauthorized migration of construction workers to Sweden increased during the 1990s, especially at the end of the decade. The migrants often came from Poland and the Baltic states. The aim of this article is to examine this change of the migration pattern to Sweden and how the Swedish Building Workers Union responded to this new situation. I examine how the Building Workers Union cooperated wi

In this study calorimetric measurements provided evidence of a drastic increase of spinach leaf gross metabolism as a consequence of vacuum impregnation (VI) at a minimum pressure of 150 mbar with trehalose and sucrose isotonic solutions. When applying VI extracellular air is replaced by the impregnation solution, potentially limiting tissue respiration to any remaining air volume in the tissue. H

Popular Abstract in Swedish Bakgrund Man kan fråga sig varför en hel avhandling handlar om något så ovanligt som akut mastoiditit hos barn. Det är den vanligaste komplikationen till öroninflammation men drabbar bara 20-60 barn per år i Sverige. Öroninflammation däremot är en infektion som är så vanlig att nästan alla har haft åtminstone en sådan som barn. I Sverige diagnostiseras upp emot 200 000 One of the greatest threats to society today is the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. It is commonly accepted that this is mainly due to the use of antibiotics. Acute otitis media (AOM) is responsible for the highest number of antibiotic prescriptions to children although it is in most cases a self-limiting disease. Nevertheless, complications do occur in some case and the most c

When selection on males and females differs, the sexes may diverge in phenotype. Hormones serve as a proximate regulator of sex differences by mediating sex-biased trait expression. To integrate these perspectives, we consider how suites of traits mediated by the same hormone in both sexes might respond to selection. In male birds, plasma testosterone (T) varies seasonally and among species accord

This paper describes a new approach for the development of an inhibitor of the contractile responses of neuropeptide Y in human blood vessels by the use of an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide complementary to human neuropeptide Y Y1 receptor mRNA. One micromolar of an antisense 18-base oligodeoxynucleotide (hY1-AS), corresponding to the human Y1 receptor NH2-terminus, was incubated with segments of

The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which parents follow advice from child health nurses about child accident prevention. The study was performed in one of the 10 districts in the city of Malmo, Sweden. Parents to 90, 10-month old children in southern Sweden participated. These parents completed a questionnaire that prompted responses related to parents' background and socio-eco

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) frequently report nasal symptoms. In the present study, we have examined whether or not COPD is associated with any nasal inflammation. Plasma exudation evoked by histamine challenges has been employed to improve the recovery of inflammatory indices in nasal lavage fluids. In 23 COPD-patients and 26 healthy subjects, all without history or

Hirschsprung disease (HD), a developmental disorder, is associated with failure of enteric ganglia formation. Signaling molecules, including secreted basement membrane molecules, derived from the mesenchyme of the gut wall play an important role in the colonization and/or differentiation of the enteric nervous system. The current study aims to define the possible alterations of laminins involved i

This work is concerned with the adsorption of o-phthalate (1,2-benzenedicarboxylate) at the water-metal (hydr)oxide interface. Previously published infrared spectroscopic, potentiometric, and adsorption data characterizing the boehmite (gamma-AlOOH) system are compared with new data collected for o-phthalate adsorption on aged gamma-Al2O3 and goethite (alpha-FeOOH). The study focuses on identifyin

Interaction of mono- and disaccharides, polysaccharide particles and yeast cells with boronate-containing copolymers (BCC) of N-acryloyl-m-aminophenylboronic acid (NAAPBA) with NN-dimethylacrylamide (DMAA) or N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) was studied. The binding of saccharides to BCC of NIPAM resulted in a shift of its phase transition temperature (Delta T-p), which provided a quantitative measur

Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-positive leukemia is characterized by the BCR/ABL1 fusion protein that affects a wide range of signal transduction pathways. The knowledge about its downstream target genes is, however, still quite limited. To identify novel BCR/ABL1-regulated genes we used global gene expression profiling of several Ph-positive and Ph-negative cell lines treated with imatinib. Followi

The effect of induction of protein production was studied in bioreactor cultures of T. reesei strain Rut-C30 and its transformant expressing endoglucanase I core domain (EGI, Cel7B) fused with a hydrophobic peptide tag. The tag was previously designed for efficient purification of the fusion protein in aqueous two-phase separation. The fungi were first grown on glucose-containing minimal medium af

Objective To characterise the performance of beta -cell during a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Design Fifty-six subjects were studied. A minimal analogic model of beta -cell secretion during the OGTT was applied to all OGTTs (see below). The amount of insulin secreted over 120' in response to oral glucose (OGTT-ISR; Insulin Units 120'(-1) m(-2) BSA) and an index of beta -cell secret

It has been suggested that a number of molecules associated with inflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We measured the levels of alpha1-antichymotrypsin (ACT), alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and oxidised low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) in matched cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of 141 patients wit

Colonial and filamentous cyanobacteria frequently have bacteria associated with their extracellular mucus zone or more tightly attached to their cells surface. The toxin-producing cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena is an important component of the Baltic Sea plankton community, and its filaments are likely to provide a microenvironment suitable for the development of a particular bacteria flora. I

Administration of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) to mice induces profound activation, cytokine production and cytotoxic activity of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, but subsequently activated cells are deleted or become anergic. This study demonstrates that administration of interleukin-2 (IL-2) can prevent sea-induced hyporesponsiveness in CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Repeated injections wi