To determine which chemokine receptors might be involved in T lymphocyte localization to the intestinal mucosa, we examined receptor expression on human intestinal lamina propria lymphocytes (LPL), intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) and CD45RO+beta7hi gut homing peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Virtually all LPL and IEL expressed CXCR3 and CCR5, receptors that have been associated with Th1(Tc1)/

One of the outstanding challenges for evolutionary biologists is to understand how developmental plasticity can influence the evolutionary process. Developmental plasticity frequently involves parental effects, which might enable adaptive and context-dependent transgenerational transmission of phenotypic strategies. However, parent-offspring conflict will frequently result in parental effects that

Subungual exostosis is a benign bone- and cartilage-producing tumor occurring in the hands and feet of children and young adults. The recent identification of a recurrent chromosomal translocation t(X;6)(q24-q26;q15-21) in short-term-cultured tumor cells strongly suggests that subungual exostosis is a neoplastic lesion caused by rearrangement of genes in the two breakpoints. To identify the genes

Activity and stability characteristics of an alkaline active cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) enzyme from the alkaliphilic Bacillus agaradhaerens LS-3C strain are reported. The enzyme displays unusually high amylolytic activity in relation to the cyclization activity. Disproportionation activity of the CGTase was optimal with maltose as the acceptor substrate. The product of cyclization r

The effects of high optical depth phenomena, such as superradiance, are investigated in potential quantum memory materials. The results may have relevance for several schemes, including controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening, atomic frequency combs, and quantum memories based on electromagnetically induced transparency, which are based on using ensembles as storage media. It is shown that

The quality of the working environment affects the health status of a population. In the absence of government intervention this quality would be determined by market forces, but the market outcome is generally not accepted. Instead public policy attempts to carefully monitor the level of occupational hazards, which are invariably subject to regulation in industrialized countries. However, this st

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a connective tissue disease where inflammatory activity affects several organ systems. An increased risk of cardiovascular disease has been identified in these patients, even after correction for traditional risk factors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate arterial stiffness and central hemodynamics in women with SLE in comparison to controls. Arteri

Objective. To describe ultrasound characteristics of adnexal malignancies, i.e., borderline ovarian tumors, primary invasive ovarian epithelial cancer stage 1, primary invasive ovarian epithelial cancer stages 2–4, rare types of malignancy, and metastatic tumors. Methods. In a prospective international study involving nine European ultrasound centers, 1066 women with a pelvic mass judged to be

By interviewing 22 psychiatric nurses, the present study aimed to reveal the meaning and significance of systematic clinical group supervision and supervised individually planned nursing care, using latent content analysis. The interpreted meaning was 'confronting the complexity of ongoing life in daily nursing care' and the interpreted significance was 'strengthening the foundation for nursing ca

Background When this study was initiated, no previous studies comparing methotrexate and ciclosporin for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis had been performed. Objectives To compare the effectiveness, quality of life and side-effects of methotrexate and ciclosporin treatments in a context reflecting normal clinical practice. Methods Eighty-four patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis

Complete and partial genome sequence information is underway in several parasitic and symbiotic fungi that infect humans, other animals and plants. Comparative analyses of these sequences will provide new insights into the genomic plasticity and evolution of parasitism and mutualism in fungi.

This paper reports the findings of a global survey of practice patterns for the management of patients with haemophilia A. A total of 147 haemophilia treatment centres worldwide responded to the questionnaire, supplying data for 16 115 patients with haemophilia A. From these responses, 38% (range: 25-48%) of patients were under 18 years old. Almost half (47%) of patients were reported to have mild

Beta-hexosaminidase activity in plasma and urine was measured and compared in insulin dependent diabetics (IDDM) with and without proliferative retinopathy. No difference in the activity of beta-hexosaminidase was found between the two groups indicating that this enzyme is not involved in the development of diabetic microangiopathy.

The formation of inhibitory alloantibodies is, in the postinfectious era, the most severe and costly complication of replacement therapy in patients with haemophilia. The complexity of the immune response to the infused factor becomes more and more obvious as knowledge in the area increases. Antibodies develop as a result of a complex multi-factorial interaction between antigen-presenting cells, T

Objective and Background: Pulse wave amplitude (PWA) derived from the digital vascular bed has been used in sleep studies. The nocturnal attenuation of PWA has been shown to reflect sympathetic activation during sleep. We assessed the relationship between nocturnal PWA attenuation and office blood pressure (BP). Methods: Eighty-one subjects (46 men; age 60 7 years: body mass index [BMI] 28.2 +/- 4

BACKGROUND: Positron emission tomography (PET) provides metabolic information of tissues in vivo. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of PET with 2-[(18) F] fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) in prediction of therapy outcome (tumor response, survival, and locoregional control) in locally advanced HNSCC. METHODS: Between 1993 and 1999 47 patients underwent PET before (PET(1)) and after (P

In experiments, the feasibility was demonstrated of generating multi-MeV electrons in a form of a collimated beam utilizing a table-top laser system delivering 200 fs pulses with P-L=1.2 TW and 10 Hz capability. The method uses the process of relativistic self-channeling in a high-density gas jet producing electron densities in the range of 3x10(19)-6x10(20) cm(-3). In a thorough investigation, an

Objective: The objective was to analyse relationships between inspiratory and expiratory static and dynamic elastic pressure-volume (P-el/V) curves in healthy pigs. Design: The modulated low flow method was developed to allow studies also of the expiratory P-el/V curves. Static P-el/V (P-el,P-st/V) and dynamic P-el/V (P-el,P-dyn/V) loops were studied in healthy pigs. Setting: Animal research labor