Aims To explore the morphology of the proximal coronary sinus (CS) and the surrounding tissues in order to identify possible routes for interatrial conduction. Method Specimens containing interatrial septum and proximal CS were taken from 21 necropsied hearts and sliced into 10-mu m thick parallel histological sections in 1-mm steps starting from the valve plane, up to the atrial. roof (40-80 sect

The thermophilic bacterium Rhodothermus marinus produces a modular xylanase (Xyn10A) consisting of two N-terminal carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), followed by a domain of unknown function, and a catalytic module flanked by a fifth domain. Both Xyn10A CBMs bind calcium ions, and this study explores the effect of these ions on the stability of the full-length enzyme. Xyn10A and truncated forms t

A small-scale combustor was set up to analyze the combustion of natural gas and two mixtures of partially reformed natural gas. The partially reformed mixtures can be formed using biomass to feed the endothermic reforming reactions. Before combusting these mixtures in a gas turbine, experimental work was done on a primary zone combustion chamber to examine the combustor behavior when switching fro

Objective: Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP)/amylin is produced by the pancreatic islet beta-cells, which also produce insulin. To study potential functions of IAPP, we have generated transgenic mice overexpressing human IAPP (hIAPP) in the beta-cells. These mice show a diabetic phenotype when challenged with an oral glucose load. In this study, we examined the islet cytoarchitecture in the hIAPP m

A novel monolithic macroporous material was developed by cross-linking hen egg albumin (HEA) and chitosan with glutaraldehyde at subzero temperatures. A macroporous cryogel structure allowed efficient mass transport of solutes within the material. In one application, albumin was partially replaced with active enzymes (glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase) resulting in the production of macro

We here report the synthesis of the two polyamine-based nucleoside derivatives 5-{[bis-(3-aminopropyl)amino]acetamido-1-propynyl}uridine and 2-{[bis-(3-aminopropyl)amino]-acetamido-1-propynyl}adenosine. The various polyamine derivatives have been used in thermal melting analysis using DNA from herring testes, and in cellular studies using four different cell lines. The compounds were all found to

Amphibian larvae often face two major sources of mortality: pond desiccation and predation. Tadpoles of seven anuran species with different preferences for type of breeding habitat, on a hydroperiod scale, were tested for responses to the presence of predators by raising them experimentally in the presence and absence of a separately caged invertebrate predator that was fed on conspecific tadpoles

Evolutionary change results from selection acting on genetic variation. For migration to be successful, many different aspects of an animal's physiology and behaviour need to function in a co-coordinated way. Changes in one migratory trait are therefore likely to be accompanied by changes in other migratory and life-history traits. At present, we have some knowledge of the pressures that operate a

Pressure changes were registered with videomanometry (simultaneous manometry and barium swallow) in the pharynx and in the pharyngoesophageal segment (PES) during swallowing. A considerable longitudinal asymmetry was found. Peak pressure was highest in the PES, lower in the inferior constrictor area, and lowest at the level of the tongue base. The rate of pressure rise was highest at the level of

Objective. Rosiglitazone (RSG) has been reported to reduce blood pressure (BP) in patients with type-2 diabetes, but similar effects in non-diabetic people with insulin resistance is less clear. Our aim was to test the long-term BP-lowering effects of RSG compared with placebo. Methods. We recruited participants for BP evaluation of RSG treatment from a larger intervention trial. Office BP was rec

Nonlinear propagation of electromagnetic waves is an important problem in optics. Often the properties of the nonlinear media are not fully understood. The solution of an inverse problem can provide an aid to that understanding. An inverse transmission problem is posed; it is one of reconstructing the medium parameters, by measurement of a wave that has been propagated through the nonlinear mediu

Reduction of bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-2,6-dione to (1R, 4S, 6S)-6-hydroxy-bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-2-one by whole cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was improved using an engineered recombinant strain and process design. The substrate inhibition followed a Han-Levenspiel model showing an effective concentration window between 12 and 22 g/l, in which the activity was kept above 95%. Yeast growth stage, subs

We discuss partially quenched chiral perturbation theory (PQ chi PT) and possible fitting strategies to lattice QCD data at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the mesonic sector. We also present a complete calculation of the masses of the charged pseudoscalar mesons, in the supersymmetric formulation of PQ chi PT. Explicit analytical results are given for up to three nondegenerate sea-quark f

Cerebral blood flow was estimated on 60 occasions in 15 well infants, 29-34 wk of gestational age, 5-17 days after birth, using 133-Xenon clearance after intravenous injection. The sleep state of the infants was determined by biparietal electroencephalography, clinical observation, and tracings of heart rate and respiration. Blood flow was 22% higher in the 11 estimations made during wakefulness,

Previously the effect of atmospheric dispersion on telescope performance has attracted only relatively little attention. This may be due to the fact that the dispersion effects have been evaluated in relation to the size of the diffraction limited resolution angle of current telescopes, or to seeing limited telescopes. However, since the resolution angle is inversely proportional to telescope diam

Polycythaemia vera (PV) and primary myelofibrosis (MF) show concordant familial clustering but limited population level data are available on the aggregation of other discordant neoplasms in these families. We used the Swedish Family-Cancer Database to assess risks for VP and MF in families of cancer patients. A total of 3530 first PV and 1606 MF patients were identified, with high concordant fami

Background Common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with blood low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol modestly affect lipid levels. We tested the hypothesis that a combination of such SNPs contributes to the risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods We studied SNPs at nine loci in 5414 subjects from the cardiovascular cohort of the Malmö

This statement provides a concise list of diagnostic terms for ECG interpretation that can be shared by students, teachers, and readers of electrocardiography. This effort was motivated by the existence of multiple automated diagnostic code sets containing imprecise and overlapping terms. An intended outcome of this statement list is greater uniformity of ECG diagnosis and a resultant improvement