Spatial variations in nutrient concentrations and turnover may contribute to variations in productivity within forest ecosystems and be responsible for creating and maintaining diversity of plant species. The aim of this study was to relate spatial patterns in soil nutrient availability and microbial properties in the forest floor and mineral soil in order to explore the controls on variations in

Milk fat is high in saturated fatty acids (SFA) and high intakes of SFA are associated with cardiovascular diseases. The aim of the present study was to prospectively evaluate the potential risk of a first-ever acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in relation to the estimated milk-fat intake, reflected as the proportions of pentadecanoic acid (15: 0) and heptadecanoic acid (17: 0) in serum lipid este

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) was isolated from human faeces using a fetal rhesus monkey kidney cell line (Frhk-4). Infectious medium from passage 12 was used to inoculate a large (5000 cm2) microcarrier cell culture maintained in suspension. The microcarriers used were swollen, collagen-coated dextran beads on which it was easy to propagate Frhk-4 cells. Intra- and extra-cellular virus levels were assa

Density-dependent territorial interactions have been suggested to cause immunosuppression and thereby decrease fitness, but empirical support from natural populations is lacking. Data from a natural lizard population (Uta stansburiana) showed that breeding females surrounded by many territorial neighbors had suppressed immune function. Furthermore, variation in immunological condition had differen

The self-diffusion coefficients of water in casein solutions and gels were measured using a pulsed-gradient spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance technique (PGSE NMR). The dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient of water on the concentration and structure-of casein is reported. The results were analyzed using a cell model. It was found that the water self-diffusion coefficient is insensitive t

We present experimentally derived potential curves and spin-orbit interaction functions for the strongly perturbed A (1)Sigma(+)(u) and b (3)Pi(u) states of the rubidium dimer. The results are based on laser-induced fluorescence and optical-optical double-resonance polarization spectroscopy measurements combined with earlier laser-induced fluorescence data. We used an analytic potential (Hannover

The association of statins with markers of inflammation, vasoconstriction, and coagulation was evaluated in 325 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm with respect to statin treatment or not. Variables evaluated included routine laboratory markers, lipids, homocysteine, endothelin-1, matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and -9, and activated protein C-protein C inhibitor (APC-PCI) complex. Statin-tr

Toxoplasma gondii infection can lead to life-threatening systemic disease in the immunocompromised individual and in the developing fetus. Despite intensive investigation in animal models of toxoplasmosis, the processes leading to systemic dissemination remain poorly characterized. In the present study, in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) was applied to the Toxoplasma mouse model to study the dy

For a class of unbounded operators, a deformation of a Bott projection is used to construct an integer-valued invariant measuring deviation of the non-commutative deformations from the commutative originals, and its interpretation in terms of K-theory of C*-algebras is given. Calculation of this invariant for specific important classes of unbounded operators is also presented.

Objective. Exocrine function always is and autonomic nervous function may be impaired in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Since autonomic nervous signaling is a prerequisite for exocrine secretion we wanted to assess autonomic nervous function in pSS and relate it to diagnostic measures of exocrine function. Methods. Autonomic nervous function was determined in 46 patients with pSS using the deep

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have found an increased risk for both anxiety disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the adult relatives of children with ADHD in comparison with adult relatives of normal controls. Such findings may account for the high rates of comorbid anxiety found in children with ADHD, and they suggest a relationship between the two disorders. However, addit

Despite a growing awareness of the presence of cyanobacterial toxins, knowledge about the ability of specific species to produce toxic compounds is still rather limited. It was the overall goal of the current work to investigate if probes derived from the freshwater species Lyngbya aerugineo-coerulea (Kutz.) Gomont, a cyanobacterium frequently found in southern Europe and not previously investigat

The decomposition of organic matter in a forest ecosystem is simulated by DECOMP, a process-based, semi-mechanistic model built on system dynamic principles. The model divides a litter into four different substrate quality classes with different decomposition rates which are differently influenced by temperature, soil moisture content, pH and aluminum concentration in the soil solution. The model

Recent studies show that several Hox transcription factors are important for regulation of proliferation and differentiation in hematopoiesis. Among these is HOXA10, which is selectively expressed at high levels in the most primitive subpopulation of human CD34(+) bone marrow cells. When overexpressed, HOXA10 increases the proliferation of early progenitor cells and can lead to the development of

Lyme borreliosis is a tick-borne disease often manifesting as a circular skin lesion. This cutaneous form of the disease is known as erythema migrans. In a 5-year follow-up study in southern Sweden, 31 of 708 individuals initially diagnosed with erythema migrans and treated with antibiotics were found to be reinfected with Borrelia burgdorferi. Although men and women were tick-bitten to the same e

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the two antioxidants, ascorbic acid and (+)catechin, on the oxidation of 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG), using an iron-mediated Fenton reaction. The oxidation products 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and 8,5'-cyclo-2'-deoxyguanosine, together with the secondary oxidation products guanidinohydantoin and dehydroguanidinohydantoin,

A novel method of indirect deposition by means of a focused ion beam (FIB) is utilized to develop metal/insulator/semiconductor nanowire core-shell structures. This method is based upon depositing an annular pattern centered on a nanowire, with secondary deposition then coating the wire. Typical cross-sectional deposition area increments as a function of ion doses are 1.3 x 10(-2) mu m(2) nC(-1) f