Stretch of vascular smooth muscle stimulates growth and proliferation as well as contraction and expression of contractile/cytoskeletal proteins, all of which are also regulated by calcium-dependent signals. We studied the role of the calcium- and integrin-activated proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (PYK2) in stretch-induced responses of the rat portal vein loaded by a hanging weight ex vivo. PYK2 ph

Aim: To investigate the therapeutic effects of fluorouracil (5-Fu) and octreotide (Oct) continuous regional arterial infusion (CRAI,) alone or in combination, was administered in a canine model of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Materials and Methods: The animals were divided into five groups; group A (Sham), group B (SAP), group C (SAP and 5-Fu), group D (SAP and Oct), and group E (SAP and 5-Fu

We used molecular dynamics simulation to model the effect of urea and thiourea on the solvent quality of aqueous solutions with respect to cellulose. A model system consisting of a periodically replicated cellulose molecule of effectively infinite degree of polymerization immersed in aqueous (thio-)urea solution was considered. Kirkwood-Buff theory, which relates the pair distribution functions to

The 24th of April 2015 will mark the centennial commemoration of the Armenian genocide and is expected to be a worldwide ceremony. Hundred years will have passed since the start of the state orchestrated massacres and deportations in 1915 which emptied the majority of historical Armenia from its native population. A century has passed, but ironically, the Armenian genocide seems to become more top

The development of strategies for dissolution and regeneration of cellulose constitutes an increasingly active research field due to the direct relevance for many production processes and applications. A wide variety of suitable solvents for cellulose are already available. However, cellulose solvents are of highly different nature reflecting the great challenges in the understanding of the subtle

Depressive symptoms are potential outcomes of poorly functioning work environments. Such symptoms are frequent and cause considerable suffering for the employees as well as financial loss for the employers. Accordingly good prospective studies of psychosocial working conditions and depressive symptoms are valuable. Scientific reviews of such studies have pointed at methodological difficulties but

Decreased insulin sensitivity, also referred to as insulin resistance (IR), is a fundamental abnormality in patients with type 2 diabetes and a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. While IR predisposition is heritable, the genetic basis remains largely unknown. The GENEticS of Insulin Sensitivity consortium conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for direct measures of insulin sensitiv

The structural and optical properties of three different kinds of GaAs nanowires with 100% zinc-blende structure and with an average of 30% and 70% wurtzite are presented. A variety of shorter and longer segments of zinc-blende or wurtzite crystal phases are observed by transmission electron microscopy in the nanowires. Sharp photoluminescence lines are observed with emission energies tuned from 1

Because of its existential character, organ transplantation is strongly connected to a person's view of life. This article describes how participants in a focus group use religious elements in decision-making on transplantation medicine in four European countries. Further these findings are related to two influential theologians: James Gustafson and Paul Ramsey, and their thinking on the role of r

This dissertation explores how son preference is constructed and renegotiated in light of social change in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Based on secondary sources and interviews with women and men in rural Anhui Province as well as key informants, it addresses son preference from conceptual, methodological, empirical and ideological perspectives. The analysis centres around son preference

Nocturnal hawkmoths are known for impressive visually guided behaviours in dim light, such as hovering while feeding from nectar-bearing flowers. This requires tight visual feedback to estimate and counter relative motion. Discrimination of low velocities, as required for stable hovering flight, is fundamentally limited by spatial resolution, yet in the evolution of eyes for nocturnal vision, main

Software development companies operating in market-driven domains need to deliver new and appealing software products at an increasing rate in order to stay competitive. This requires fast and efficient development of software for which the requirements are based on ever-changing market demands. Agile development claims to achieve increased development efficiency by performing the requirements eng

In this paper a modified two-dimensional Luikov model for evaluating the non-isothermal moisture migration in porous building materials was proposed. The coupled heat and moisture transfer problem was modeled. Vapor content and temperature were chosen as the principal driving potentials. The coupled equations were solved by a numerical method, which consists of a finite difference technique with a

Enumeration of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) obtained from minimally invasive blood samples has been well established as a valuable monitoring tool in metastatic and early breast cancer, as well as in several other cancer types. The gold standard technology for detecting CTCs in blood against a backdrop of millions of leukocytes is the FDA-approved CellSearch system (Janssen Diagnostics), which r

The Mobile Service Support system (MSS), which Ericsson AB develops, handles the setup of new subscribers and services into a mobile network. Experience from deployed systems show that traffic monitoring and control of the system will be crucial for handling overload situations that may occur at sudden traffic surges. In this paper we identify and explore some important control challenges for this

Eiglera flavida and Epilichen scabrosus should be deleted from the Danish checklist. The collections of Caloplaca citrina are revised and most of them referred to C. flavocitrina. Amandinea pelidna, Arthonia peltigerae, A. phaeophysciae, Caloplaca britannica, C. polycarpa, Clauzadea metzleri, Cyphelium karelicum, Dendrophoma lecanorae, Didymellopsis collematum, Endococcus protoblasteniae, Ephebe p

Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus is an extreme thermophilic bacterium recognized for its saccharolytic ability and superior ability to produce high yields of hydrogen. However,most studies have been made using yeast extract (YE) as a rich but expensive nutrient source. For the first time, we show that C. saccharolyticus is able to grow on defined minimal media, including essential vitamins, pr