Vitamin D deficiency is associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis, and its biologically active metabolite, 1 alpha,25 dihydroxyvitamin D-3 (1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D-3), has pleiotropic immune effects. The mechanisms by which 1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D-3 protects against tuberculosis are incompletely understood. 1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D-3 reduced the growth of mycobacteria in infected human PBMC cultures in a dos

The effects of 'natural' disasters in cities can be worse than in other environments, with poor and marginalised urban communities in the developing world being most at risk. To avoid post-disaster destruction and the forced eviction of these communities, proactive and preventive urban planning, including housing, is required. This paper examines current perceptions and practices within internatio

How does the language of the kontakia by Romanos address their liturgical context? This article presents a new translation of the poet’s famous Christmas Hymn and investigates liturgical aspects of the drama by proposing a liturgical reading of it. Furthermore it suggests that in retelling the story of the adoration of the Magi the Melodist tells the story of the adoration of the congregation. The

Remains of Halisaurus sternbergi (Wiman, 1920) from the latest Early Campanian (sensu germanico) of the Kristianstad Basin, southern Sweden, represent the first record of this species outside of the USA. The material comprises numerous marginal tooth-crowns, a premaxilla, an incomplete pterygoid, and vertebrae. The Kristianstad Basin population of H. sternbergi was probably derived from individual

The administration and management of organizations and companies is based upon the belief in the rationality of certain ideas Ð here referred to as management ideas Ð that is, the belief in these ideas1 ability to solve problems and provide opportunities for betterment. The talk of and writings on management ideas (lexis) constitute discursive formations that precede and shapes practices (praxis),

ABSTRACT Optimal breeding of mice is very important in biomedical science today. The understanding why some strains breed better and some worse enable scientists to create better in vivo models for human diseases. The aim of this thesis was to identify and characterize new genetic regions linked to reproductive performance and autoimmune inflammation in female mice. Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA

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The purpose of this study is to contrast the forecasting performance of two non-linear models, a regime-switching vector autoregressive model (RS-VAR) and a recurrent neural network (RNN), to that of a linear benchmark VAR model. Our specific forecasting experiment is U.K. inflation and we utilize monthly data from 1969 to 2003. The RS-VAR and the RNN perform approximately on par over both monthly

Sixty-seven patients (45 males and 22 females) aged 2 to 70 years (mean 36 years) who had suffered closed head injury were investigated with daily transcranial Doppler (TCD) recordings. A total of 470 TCD recordings (mean 7) were made during Days 1 to 14 after admission. Blood flow velocities were determined in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and the extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA). Tw

In this dissertation, I have studied Native North American reservations and why they still exist. My research was carried out with the Ojibway, Lakota and Métis peoples in the Midwestern region of the USA and Canada. I chose three reservations with public radio facilities and one reserve community without radio in order to complete this investigation. Also, I have examined and described the Powwow

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the clinical phenotype, with emphasis on electrophysiology and blood flow measurements, of a family with dominant optic nerve atrophy and an identified mutation in the OPA1 gene. METHODS: Seven family members were examined. Ophthalmological evaluation included testing of visual acuity, ophthalmolscopy, kinetic perimetry, color vision testing, full-field electroretinograp

Proton and deuteron production has been observed in S+S and S+Pb collisions at 200 A-GeV and in Pb+Pb reactions at 158 A-GeV at the CERN SPS accelerator. For Pb+Pb triton production was also measured. The p and d spectra as well as the p and t spectra were observed in similar rapidity ranges and over similar ranges of transverse momenta per nucleon, making it possible to interpret the cross sectio

We explored possible differences in the peripheral and central pharmacokinetics of L-DOPA as a basis for individual variation in the liability to dyskinesia. Unilaterally, 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesioned rats were treated chronically with L-DOPA for an induction and monitoring of abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs). Comparisons between dyskinetic and non-dyskinetic cases were then carried ou

In the rat, prolonged activation of beta 1-adrenoceptors causes a gain in salivary gland weight, whereas prolonged blockade of these receptors causes a reduction in weight.