In this article the organization and functional details of the extracellular matrix, with particular focus on cartilage, are described. All tissues contain a set of molecules that are arranged to contribute structural elements. Examples are fibril-forming collagens forming major fibrillar networks in most tissues. The assembly process is regulated by a number of proteins (thrombospondins, LRR-prot

OBJECTIVE: To study whether restriction of head-neck movements improves postural performance in patients with compensated unilateral total vestibular loss. DESIGN: Randomized controlled experimental study. SETTING: Laboratory for clinical and experimental vestibular testing at a tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Fifteen consecutive patients (seven men, eight women, mean age 53 years) at routine

The objective of this research was to examine the effects of chemical compounds with possible P2 receptor modulating effects and to characterize the potentiating effects of 2,2'-nitrophenylisatogen (NPI) on P2X(1) receptors in vitro and in vivo. Chemical compounds were tested in an in vitro pharmacological assay using vascular segments from the rat mesenteric artery stimulated by P2 receptor-speci

The human hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) gene encodes a 786-aa polypeptide (85.5 kDa). It is composed of nine exons spanning approximately 11 kb, with exons 2-5 clustered in a 1.1-kb region. The putative catalytic site (Ser423) and a possible lipid-binding region in the C-terminal part are encoded by exons 6 and 9, respectively. Exon 8 encodes the phosphorylation site (Ser551) that controls cAMP-m

In the present study, we evaluated whether a low glycemic index (GI) breakfast with lactic acid bread had an effect on glucose tolerance and insulinemia at a subsequent high GI lunch meal. A barley bread containing lactic acid and a reference barley bread were consumed in the morning after an overnight fast in random order by 10 healthy men and women. Four hours after the breakfasts, the subjects

The present communication highlights aspects on the aetiology, diagnosis and therapy of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and some allied infections in which sexual transmission is regarded as possible. The aetiology of many genital infections is still unknown or rather, an aetiological relationship between a given agent and a clinical manifestation is in some infections still debated. The pa

BACKGROUND: The role of long-acting, inhaled beta2-agonists in treating asthma is uncertain. In a double-blind study, we evaluated the effects of adding inhaled formoterol to both lower and higher doses of the inhaled glucocorticoid budesonide. METHODS: After a four-week run-in period of treatment with budesonide (800 microg twice daily), 852 patients being treated with glucocorticoids were random

This study compares the vasodilating effect of endothelium-derived relaxing factors (EDRFs) in free arterial grafts with that in their normal control vessels. The infrarenal aorta of Sprague-Dawley rats was transplanted into the same position in other inbred recipient rats. A Krebs buffer solution (4 degrees C) served as the preservation solution. The ischemic time for the grafts (n = 8) was 42 +/

Shedding of epithelium, increased venular permeability, and traffic of activated eosinophils and neutrophils may characterize asthmatic airways. This in vivo study involving briefly anesthetized guinea pigs examines whether epithelial denudation itself affects airway venules and granulocytes. Using an oral probe, a de-epithelialized tracheal zone (0.8 x 30 mm) was produced without bleeding or dama

Four tetranuclear ruthenium carbonyl hydrido clusters consisting of the enantiomeric pairs [H4Ru4(CO)10{-1,2-(R/S,R/S)-bdpp}] and [H4Ru4(CO)10{1,1-(R/S,R/S)-bdpp}] containing chiral (R,R)- or (S,S)-bdpp [bdpp = (2R/S,4R/S)-2,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)pentane] have been prepared and fully characterized. These clusters catalyze asymmetric hydrogenation of tiglic acid [trans-2-methyl-2-butenoic acid] w

Thrombocytopenia caused by platelet consumption in thrombi is a major manifestation of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) associated with Shiga toxin (Stx) producing Escherichia coli. Platelets have glycosphingolipid receptors capable of binding Stx, but a direct interaction between the toxin and platelets, leading to platelet activation, has not been reported. In this study, it is shown that Stx1 an

A digital 3D-reconstruction of the Baltic Ice Lake's (BIL) configuration during the termination of the Younger Dryas cold phase (ca. 11700 cal. yr BP) was compiled using a combined bathymetric-topographic Digital Terrain Model (DTM), Scandinavian ice sheet limits, Baltic Sea Holocene bottom sediment thickness information, and a paleoshoreline database maintained at the Lund University. The bathyme

The gallium abundance in HgMn stars has been reported to be different for analyses conducted from spectral lines in the optical versus those from the ultraviolet. We pursue this ultraviolet-optical discrepancy from a line-blending perspective by investigating the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) spectrum of the sharp-lined HgMn binary star chi Lup. Its galli

OBJECTIVE: The pathogenesis of arthritic joints involves cartilage degradation and pannus formation. It is well known that pannus influences the cartilage; however, the mechanism behind how the degrading cartilage interacts with pannus is not well known. To investigate this interplay, the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) components in pannus and the degrading cartilage was analyzed. METHOD

Background: The aim was to study the incidence, time course and prognosis of patients who developed axillary recurrence after breast-conserving surgery, and to evaluate possible risk factors for axillary recurrence and prognostic factors after axillary recurrence. Methods: In a population-based cohort of 6613 women with invasive breast cancer who had breast-conserving surgery between 1981 and 1990

This paper presents results from an interview investigation with teachers in Swedish nurse education especially interested in internationalising the education. The aim has been to study teachers' understandings and experiences of internationalisation against the backdrop of the strong concern for internationalisation expressed in policy documents. The results are seen in the context of globalisati

Laboratory and field experiments were used to investigate how different marking procedures, with 23 mm PIT (passive integrated transponders) – tags, affected mortality, body condition and tag expulsion in small roach Rutilus rutilus and rudd Scardinus erythrophthalmus (117 to 163 mm total length). In a laboratory experiment mortality was low (≤ 6%) and only occurred among fishes that had their inc