Surface heparinization of central venous catheters has earlier been shown to reduce the frequency of bacterial colonization and septicaemia. The present study was undertaken to investigate the benefit of surface heparinization of external ventricular drainage (EVD) catheters in relation to bacterial colonization, as measured by bacterial growth and examination by a 16S-rRNA PCR assay, of catheters

The serine-threonine kinase Akt1 promotes cell survival through inhibition of apoptosis. One of the potential downstream targets of Akt1 is p70 S6 kinase, p70(S6K), an enzyme implicated in the regulation of protein synthesis. In this study, we investigated the changes in total and phosphorylated levels of Akt1 and p70(S6K) during transient focal ischemia. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 2 h of

Progress in the definition of the roles of various costimulators and cytokines in determining the type and height of immune responses has made it important to explore genetically altered tumor cells expressing such molecules for therapeutic immunizations. We have studied the effect of therapeutic subcutaneous (s.c.) immunizations on the growth of preexisting intracerebral brain tumor isografts in

We have previously reported that immunizations with mutagen-induced immunogenic variants of a weakly immunogenic rat glioma could protect against isografts of the original tumor cells. In this study we show that prolonged survival and cures of rats with established gliomas in their brains can be achieved by therapeutic immunizations with tumor cell mutants, combined with in vitro and in vivo inter

The mechanisms which lead to secondary brain damage following transient ischaemia are incompletely defined. As discussed in this hypothesis article, the events which lead to such damage could encompass (a) a perturbed membrane handling of calcium, leading to a slow, gradual increase in the free cytosolic calcium concentration (Ca2(i)), with subsequent calcium overload of mitochondria, (b) a sustai

The present article is concerned with mechanisms which are responsible for the exaggerated brain damage observed in hyperglycemic animals subjected to transient global or forebrain ischemia. Since hyperglycemia enchances the production of lactate plus H+ during ischemia, it seems likely that aggravation of damage is due to exaggerated intra- and extracellular acidosis. This contention is supported

Previously established immunogenic (tum-) clones of an ENU (ethyl-N-nitrosourea)-induced rat glioma, N32, were compared to the original tumor concerning their capacity to induce T lymphocyte responses after in vivo immunization and in vitro restimulation of responder spleen cells in mixed lymphocyte tumor culture (MLTC) assays. Quite unexpectedly, original N32 (tum+) in vivo primed spleen cells pr

The objective of this article is to amalgamate previous results into a speculative synthesis that sheds light on the causes of secondary brain damage following either global/forebrain or focal ischemia. The hypothesis is based on the well-founded assumption that the pathophysiology of the brain damage incurred by global or forebrain ischemia is different from that of focal ischemia. In the former,

This exploratory study provides initial directions about how risk management programmes could be assessed in a supply chain setting and discusses how such a measurement system could be designed. Measures are needed both for the management to evaluate the success of actions taken in supply chain risk management, as well as for the (supply chain) risk manager to communicate the value of his work. A

BackgroundPrimary brain tumors, in particular glioblastoma (GBM), remain among the most challenging cancers. Like most malignant tumors, GBM is characterized by hypoxic stress that triggers paracrine, adaptive responses, such as angiogenesis and macrophage recruitment, rescuing cancer cells from metabolic catastrophe and conventional oncological treatments. The unmet need of strategies to efficien

Nya forskningsresultat vänder upp och ner på uppfattningen om hur kol inlagras i skogsmark. Det så kallade humuslagret i skogsmarken verkar byggas upp underifrån istället för ovanifrån. Det kan vara avgörande för att bättre kunna beskriva kolets kretslopp i ekosystemmodeller och i förlängningen göra bättre prediktioner i globala klimatmodeller.

Almost three out of four EU citizens live in urban areas. Knowledge on the city’s environmental structure and capabilities is needed as urbanization is expected to continue. In this study, eight indicators on urban ecosystems condition (ECIs) were quantified for 305 EU cities (>100.000 inhabitants). A composite indicator (CI), based on the ECIs, indicated differences between northern and southern

In May 2004 Turkey became a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In February 2009, in a time when the Protocol’s first commitment period comes to an end, Turkey also became a party to the Kyoto Protocol. The aim of this article is twofold: first, to identify the diverse factors that lie behind Turkey’s late ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, and second, to discuss i

Proteins residing in the plasma membrane have key functions in transport, signal transduction, vesicle trafficking and many other important processes. To better understand these processes it is necessary to reveal the identity of plasma membrane proteins and to monitor modifications and regulation of their expression. This chapter is an overview of the methods used in plant plasma membrane proteom

This paper aims to portray the increasingly complex normative structure of international climate change regime, which consists of the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Cimate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol as well as other additional elements that playing a role, such as the practices of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Global Environmental Facility and procedures of these inst