A compact fluorosensor with a fiber-optic measurement probe was developed, employing a continuous-wave violet diode laser as an exciting source and an integrated digital spectrometer for the monitoring of fluorescence signatures. The system has the dimensions 22x13x8 cm(3), and features 5 nm spectral resolution and an excellent detectivity. Results from measurements on vegetation and human premali

ABSTRACT: The microbiological composition of tobacco products was studied using culture and chemical analysis (of tobacco leaves) or chemical analysis only (tobacco and tobacco smoke). The chemical analyses utilized gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for determining 3-hydroxy fatty acids, muramic acid, and ergosterol as markers of respectively lipopolysaccharide (LPS), peptidoglycan, and

Obesity is a major global public health problem, and understanding its pathogenesis is critical for identifying a cure. In this study, a gene knockout strategy was used in post-neonatal mice to delete synoviolin (Syvn)1/Hrd1/Der3, an ER-resident E3 ubiquitin ligase with known roles in homeostasis maintenance. Syvn1 deficiency resulted in weight loss and lower accumulation of white adipose tissue i

Fler och fler byggnader utformas och uppförs där målsättningen är att uppnå någon form av balans mellan byggnadens energibehov och energi som byggnaden själv tillför. I dagsläget finns ingen tydlig definition av hur denna balans skall beräknas, varken nationellt eller internationellt. Denna artikel presenterar viktiga frågor som bör besvaras i samband med ett sådant definitionsarbete. Artikeln bas

Popular AbstractI början på 1990-talet drabbades Sverige av en mycket djup ekonomisk kris. Den svenska nittiotalskrisen uppfattades inte som en tillfällig konjunkturnedgång utan som symptom på grundläggande systemfel i Sveriges ekonomi. Många bedömare menade att den s.k. svenska modellen med stor välfärdsstat och höga skatter hade försämrat marknadsekonomins effektivitet och gjort att Sverige undeIn the early 1990s, Sweden was hit by a profound economic crisis. The Swedish crisis of the nineties was not perceived as a temporary recession, but rather as a fundamental and systemic fault in Swedish economy. Many commentators held that the Swedish model with a large welfare state and high taxes had impaired Sweden's economic performance. The aim of this thesis is to empirically assess the hypo

BACKGROUND: Patients with elevated intracranial pressure risk compromising their cerebral blood flow, resulting in ischemia. Lowering of the raised intracranial pressure, is therefore, mandatory. Reduction of the cerebral blood volume (CBV) might be target. In finding ways to do so, one has to be able to measure CBV. Measurement of CBV is, however, difficult. Radio(99mTc-)labeled erythrocytes (99m

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by the accumulation of fibroblasts/myofibroblasts and aberrant remodeling of the lung parenchyma. However, the sources of fibroblasts in IPF lungs are unclear. Fibrocytes are circulating progenitors of fibroblasts implicated in wound healing and fibrosis. In this study we evaluated evidence for the presence of fibrocytes in the lung of patients with i

BACKGROUND: To date, the only estimate of the heritability of telomere length in wild populations comes from humans. Thus, there is a need for analysis of natural populations with respect to how telomeres evolve. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we show that telomere length is heritable in free-ranging sand lizards, Lacerta agilis. More importantly, heritability estimates analysed within, a