Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is a glycoform profile of serum transferrin that increases in response to sustained high alcohol intake and over the last decades has become an important alcohol biomarker with clinical and forensic applications. However, the wide range of CDT measurement procedures has resulted in lack of uniform results and reference limits, and hampered comparison of res

Making the diagnosis fatal intoxication is a challenging task for the forensic pathologist and toxicologist, particularly when the cases involve substances where reference information is scarce or not at all available. This study presents postmortem femoral blood concentrations for 24 antipsychotic substances, based on samples collected and analyzed from 4949 autopsy cases in Sweden during 1992-20

The Bacova_02091 gene in the β-mannan utilisation locus of Bacteroides ovatus encodes a family GH36 α-galactosidase (BoGal36A), transcriptionally upregulated during growth on galactomannan. Characterisation of recombinant BoGal36A reveals unique properties compared to other GH36 α-galactosidases, which preferentially hydrolyse terminal α-galactose in raffinose family oligosaccharides. BoGal36A pre

Renewable technology expands geographically and in capacity. The long transmission distance and bulk power transfer involved make multi-terminal VSC-HVDC systems a key technology for future power systems. This expansion could be hampered by the pace of development of multi-terminal systems especially when standardization is not reached in hardware or the control system. A general control system st

This thesis analyses the Spanish tax system between 1960 and 1990, with special attention to its effects on the income distribution. It provides with a quantitative consistent evaluation of the reforms that took place during transition to democracy.Because of the long dictatorship suffered by the country between 1936/39 and1976, Spain introduced the 20th Century tax ideas with a considerable lag w

Successful enlargement of the small aortic root in children has remained a management challenge, particularly in the neonates and small infants. Achieving this aim requires thorough understanding of the anatomic features of the left ventricular outflow tract, careful patient selection, and skilful execution of complex surgery. This article reviews the anatomical principles upon which the surgical

Change is sweeping through the world of museums, technologically, financially, and ideologically, impacting on the sociocultural evolution of their roles and status. We seek to contribute to ongoing reflections by offering a conceptual framework that links museums with democratic theory, to citizenship and its practices – a domain that is also in notable transition. We connect concretely with the

Experimental studies of laser-driven acceleration of charged particles, in particular electrons and protons, are described in this dissertation. Tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses with intensities exceeding 1018 W/cm2 were used to accelerate charged particles to high energies over distances of a few millimeters. Although the transverse fields of such laser pulses are sufficient to directly a

We describe here a 72-year-old female patient with an acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (M7 by FAB Classification) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The patient had not been pretreated with immunosuppressive therapy, which is potentially leukaemogenic. The karyotype displayed multiple, structural and numerical anomalies, suggesting a possible de novo rather than a secondary nature of leukaemi

Rat catechol O-methyltransferase cDNA was introduced into an E. coli expression vector pKEX14, which utilizes the inducible T7 promoter. Active and soluble recombinant catechol O-methyltransferase was produced in bacteria and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by chromatographic procedures. The purified enzyme has been crystallized by the method of vapor diffusion using polyethylene glycol as

The coding sequence of rat liver catechol-O-methyl-transferase (COMT; EC 2.1.1.6) was determined from rat cDNA and genomic libraries were screened with DNA probes and specific antiserum. The open reading frame consisted of 663 nucleotides coding for a 221-amino acid (aa) polypeptide with a deduced Mr of 24747. No obvious hydrophobic signal sequence, membrane-spanning domains, or potential N-glycos

BACKGROUND: Cirrhosis represents a state of functional immune paresis with increased infection risk.AIMS: To investigate polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocyte and monocyte function in ambulatory cirrhotics, and their potential relation with cirrhosis etiology or patient outcome.METHODS: Consecutive ambulatory cirrhotics without current or recent ( 0.05 for all). In Cox regression analysis, increased s