A sensitive method for the detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) using a flow-injection capacitive biosensor is presented. SEB was purified from a crude culture filtrate of Staphylococcus aureus through three chromatographic steps. The first two steps were based on ion-exchange chromatography, and the last step was carried out on a gel filtration column. The SEB recovery values after the

AIM: To assess the prevalence of borderline isolated systolic hypertension (borderline ISH), and to examine its association with other cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional community-based study was carried out in 1993-1994 in Skara, Sweden, including 1109 randomly chosen subjects > or = 40 years old. Normotension (NT) was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) < 140 and diasto

Objective. To investigate the incidence of noncardiac vascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its relationship to systemic extraarticular disease in a community-based cohort. Methods. A retrospective medical record review of 609 patients with incident RA diagnosed during 19551994 was carried out in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Patients were followed up from 1955 to 2000 (medi

OBJECTIVE: To obtain knowledge about factors that could influence women's informed choice and extent of prenatal diagnosis, her feelings when implementing it, and her satisfaction. METHOD: A questionnaire including Visual Analogue Scale was given to 823 women and replies received from 662 (80.4%). Ease of choice was the basis for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: The factors that most often influ

The conformational entropy of proteins can make significant contributions to the free energy of ligand binding. NMR spin relaxation enables site-specific investigation of conformational entropy, via order parameters that parameterize local reorientational fluctuations of rank-2 tensors. Here we have probed the conformational entropy of lactose binding to the carbohydrate recognition domain of gale

In this study, we developed a microdispenser technique in order to create protein patterns for guidance of neurites from cultured adult mouse dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The microdispenser is a micromachined silicon device that ejects 100 picolitre droplets and has the ability to position the droplets with a precision of 6-8 mu m. Laminin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used to create adhesive a

This article presents an experimental investigation of cite heat transfer characteristics between the confined impinging slot jets and a fat surface. During the experiments, single slot, multiple slots with cross flow effects, and multiple slots with symmetrical exhaust ports between neighboring jets are tested The exhaust ports are manufactured to eliminate the cross-flow effects from the upstrea

Glucagon release upon hypoglycemia is an important homeostatic mechanism utilized by vertebrates to restore blood glucose to normal. Glucagon secretion itself is triggered by Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated ion channels, and the gene inactivation of R-type Ca2+ channels, with Ca(v)2.3 as the ion conducting subunit, has been shown to disturb glucose homeostasis. To understand how glucagon release

The purpose of this study was to gain an enhanced understanding of how people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience their engagement in occupations. We interviewed 10 people and then analyzed the data gathered using the constant comparative method of grounded theory, The findings encompassed the core category "essentials of a constantly changing life," showing that along a continuum of change, t

Many new therapeutic strategies have been and are being developed to correct, prevent, or slow the progression of osteoarthritis. Our ability to evaluate the efficacy of these techniques, or to determine the situations for which they might provide the most benefit, critically depends on diagnostic measures that can serve as proxies for the present or predicted state of the cartilage. Many of the m

Intrastriatal delivery of the tyrosine hydroxylase gene by viral vectors is being explored as a tool for local delivery of L-dopa in animals with lesions of the nigrostriatal pathway. The functional effects reported using this approach have been disappointing, probably because the striatal L-dopa levels attained have been too low. In the present study, we have defined a critical threshold level of

Invasive infections caused by the important pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes are often associated with disturbed blood coagulation in the human host, and may in severe cases develop into the life-threatening condition disseminated intravascular coagulation. In this study, the addition of M1 protein to human blood or purified peripheral blood mononuclear cells led to a dose-dependent increase of pro

Based on research to date, we can state some expectations about terrestrial ecosystem response as several elements of global climate change develop in coming decades. Higher plant species will vary considerably in their response to elevated UV-B radiation, but the most common general effects are reductions in height of plants, decreased shoot mass if ozone reduction is severe, increased quantities

A high-spin rotational cascade of six gamma rays has been observed in Zn-62. The quadrupole moment of 2.7(-0.5)(+0.7) e b measured for this band corresponds to a deformation beta(2) = 0.45(-0.07)(+0.10). The properties of this band are in excellent agreement with calculations that predict high-spin superdeformed bands in Zn-62 with deformations beta(2) = 0.41-0.49. These results establish a new re

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe the perception of hypercholesterolaemia among middle-aged, urban men who had recently received the diagnosis of moderate hypercholesterolaemia. METHOD: Within a project screening for risk factors for coronary heart disease among 453 men, 63 were identified as moderately hypercholesterolaemic. Among these, 62 agreed to tape-recording and transcription of the first co

Gaucher disease (GD) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the glucosidase, beta, acid (GBA) gene that encodes the lysosomal enzyme glucosylceramidase (GCase). GCase deficiency leads to characteristic visceral pathology and, in some patients, lethal neurological manifestations. Here, we report the generation of mouse models with the severe neuronopathic form o

Aim: To test the reliability, validity and sensitivity of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-MY24 questionnaire, designed to assess the quality of life of myeloma patients with the QLQ-C30. Methods: The study was carried out through the EORTC Quality of Life Group using clinical trials in seven countries. All trials used the QLQ-C30 and QLQ-MY24 at baseline

Isolated pial arteries from a previously well-characterized model of experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in baboon were tested for their contractile response to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) and the effect of the calcium antagonist, nimodipine. Autologous blood was injected cisternally at three times with one-day intervals to a tota

In the present investigation of Brassica cretica, a wild relative of the cultivated cabbage, B. oleracea, we performed an extensive crossing experiment, involving self-pollinations, random outcrosses within populations and hybridizations between populations or species, to evaluate the relationship between crossing distance and developmental stability, estimated as the absolute difference between t