Nuclear microscopy is a technique based on a focused beam of accelerated particles that has the ability of imaging the morphology of the tissue in vivo and of producing the correspondent elemental maps, whether in major, minor, or trace concentrations. These characteristics constitute a strong advantage in studying the morphology of human skin, its elemental distributions and the permeation mechan

Large eddy simulations (LES) of the flow in stirred tanks were performed. One of the advantages with LES is that it can provide details of the flow field that cannot be obtained with so-called Reynolds averaged equations and the corresponding models. Simulations were done on both single and multi-impeller systems. Both Rushton and curved-blade radial impellers were studied in both a fixed and a ro

Several risk factors for severe non-proliferative and proliferative retinopathy in type 1 diabetes mellitus have been proposed without explaining the rapid progression of retinopathy in some patients. Since GAD65 autoantibodies (GAD65Abs) are detected against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), which is mainly expressed in islets and nervous tissue in type 1 diabetic patients, the aim of the presen

Background: The human chromosome 21 has been shown to contain the gene for the subunit of the S100B protein. The present case-control study was aimed at investigating whether overproduction of S100B protein is detectable in the amniotic fluid of foetuses with trisomy-21. Methods: Measurements of S 10013 in amniotic fluid samples from 14 pregnant women with trisomy-21 foetuses were compared with th

The effects of an increase in UV-B radiation on growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) were investigated at four levels of applied nitrogen (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha−1 of N) under Mediterranean field conditions. The experiment simulated a 20% stratospheric ozone depletion over Portugal. Enhanced UV-B and N deficiency decreased yield and total biomass production by 22–49%. High UV-B dose reduced

In this study,a silicon micro immobilised enzyme reactor (mu IMER) has been applied for hydrolysis of maltoheptaose as a model maltodextrin and starch using immobilised otamylase (from Aspergillus oryzae) and glycoamylase (from Aspergillus niger). The influence of several parameters was investigated such as immobilisation chemistry, buffer constituents, pH, temperature, flow rate and substrate con

Background: Health effects and health care seeking were investigated among women in rural Vietnam exposed to physical and/or sexual violence from their partner in the past year. The study was conducted within the framework of the demographic surveillance site in Bavi District, Ha Tay Province in northern Vietnam. Methods: Face-to-face interviews based on a questionnaire developed by the WHO for us

n mechanically ventilated patients, sedatives and analgesics are commonly used to ensure comfort, but there is no documented knowledge about the impact of depth of sedation on patients' perception of discomfort. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the relationship between stressful experiences and intensive care sedation, including the depth of sedation. During 18 months, 313 intu

The lifetime of the metastable level 3d(21)G(4) in a singly charged scandium has been experimentally investigated at the ion storage ring CRYRING. A laser probing technique has been used for the studies. We also report calculated lifetimes and transition rates for 10 metastable levels in Sc II, including the 3d(21)G(4) state, by calculations using configuration interaction wave functions. The life

Illumination of a chick’s eye allows light to pass through to the retina of the contralateral eye. Electroretinographic (ERG) recording employing the scalp or comb as a reference results in shorter implicit time, higher amplitude and lower sensitivity during the day than during the night in a light:dark (LD) cycle and in constant darkness (DD). ERG recordings employing the contralateral eye as ref

This paper demonstrates that light diffraction tomography can be used to measure the acoustic field of micromachined ultrasonic transducers (MUT) in cases in which standard methods like hydrophone and microphone measurements fail. Two types of MUTs have been characterized with the method, one air-coupled capacitive MUT (cMUT) and one waterloaded continuous wave (CW) miniature multilayer lead zirco

A personal diary may be more appropriate than a questionnaire for assessing self-reported current use of hormone therapy (estrogens, progestagens, or their combination); however, use of a questionnaire is more feasible and less expensive. The authors compared both methods for 16,060 Swedish women aged 45-73 years from the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study (baseline, 1991-1996). In a reliability analysis

The combination of environmental chamber exposure and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was used to study the effects of the common air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Eighteen healthy nonsmokers were exposed to NO2 during 20 min in an exposure chamber during light bicycle ergometer work. All subjects were examined with BAL at least 3 wks before exposure, as a reference. The subjects were re-examined

Objectives: To evaluate the importance of different autoantibodies against modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Background: Previous studies of autoantibodies against LDL have shown that patients with CAD have increased titers of autoantibodies against LDL modified by copper and malondialdehyde (MDA), whereas there is a lack of information about au

Particle image velocimetry is applied to measure the vertical (r-z) plane flow structures in a light-duty direct-injection diesel engine with a realistic piston geometry. The measurements are corrected for optical distortions due to the curved piston bowl walls and the cylindrical liner. Mean flow fields are presented and contrasted for operation both with and without fuel injection and combustion

Precipitates formed due to Fe(II)-oxidation catalysed by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans between pH 1.6 and 3.2 have been studied by powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and Mossbauer spectroscopy. The precipitates consist of well crystalline, ammonium-containing jarosite at pH 1.6, and mixtures of jarosite and poorly crystalline schwertmannite at pH 2.5 and 3.2. At low temperatures ( 10

Efficient screening of ligands interacting with G-protein-coupled receptors is central for modern drug development. Here, we describe an optimized reporter vector primarily intended for use in reporter cell lines expressing such receptors. The construct consists of a synthetic enhancer containing 9x TRE (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-responsive elements) fused to a minimal CMV (cytomegalovi