Motor neuron cell death was studied in organotypic cultures of adult spinal cord slices from the mouse. Six hours after excision, many motor neuron nuclei displayed apoptotic features including nuclear and chromatin condensation. At this time point, many motor neurons also exhibited immunoreactivity to calpain II. Both the calpain inhibitor VI and ethyleneglycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N

Organisers of external quality assurance programmes may, for various reasons, also manufacture in vitro diagnostic medical devices, or provide calibration services. This paper describes measures taken by a Swedish organiser to meet the requirements of the European Commission's directive 98/79/EC for a national calibration of prothrombin time. Quality management system requirements and interactions

Purpose: The loss of Wnt-5a, a G-protein-coupled receptor ligand, or Syk, an intracellular kinase, has in separate studies been associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer patients. Both proteins are involved in cell adhesion, a key event in epithelial cancer metastasis. Here, we have investigated whether Syk is part of the Wnt-5a/discoidin domain receptor-1 (DDR1) signaling pathway and if a s

Collagen type II (CII) is a cartilage-specific target of pathologic humoral autoimmune responses in rheumatoid arthritis as well as in the collagen-induced arthritis model. The aim of the present study is to investigate the critical amino acid residues conferring CII epitope specificity of the prototypic arthritogenic murine mAb CIIC1. A homology model of the CIIC1 single-chain antibody fragment (

During the last few years, recombinant viral vectors derived from adenovirus (Ad), adeno-associated virus (AAV) or lentivirus (LV) have been developed into highly effective vehicles for gene transfer to the adult central nervous system. In recent experiments, in the rat model of Parkinson's disease, all three vector systems have been shown to be effective for long-term delivery of glial cell line-

The Scandinavian trilobites described in the classical papers by Moberg and Moller (1898) and Moberg (1898) are reviewed, based on the original type collections. The ten species and subspecies originally described are here considered to represent 12 species and subspecies, ranging in age from the latest Furongian (late Cambrian) through the Tremadocian (Early Ordovician). Lectotypes are selected f

High hydrogen ion concentrations of runoff events were analyzed in terms of the probability distributions of frequency, duration, magnitude, and time of occurrence. Simple stochastic models were applied to the probability distributions of the annual frequency of high hydrogen ion concentration flows and their magnitudes. A consideration of the statistical properties of the given stochastic variabl

Objective: Conjunctiva-associated lymphoid tissue is the conjunctival equivalent to mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma has been shown to be associated with Helicobacter pylori. In this study, the prevalence and possible role of H. pylori infection in conjunctival MALT lymphoma were evaluated. Design: Retrospective noncomparative case series. Partic

The aim of this study was to investigate the specificity of the H-3-triolein assay and to investigate the recovery of highly purified pancreatic lipase and pancreatic lipase in the form of pure non-activated pig pancreatic juice. Blood plasma from pigs was analysed for pancreatic lipase activity using the H-3-triolein substrate assay, with a method specific for lipoprotein lipase and with a method

The role of osteopontin in bone resorption was elucidated by studies of mice with knock out of the osteopontin gene generated by a different approach compared to previous models. Thus, a targeting vector with the promoter region as well as exons 1, 2, and 3 of the osteopontin gene was replaced by a loxP-flanked Neo-TK cassette, and this cassette was eliminated through transient expression of Cre r

The collections of fungus gnats by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt (1785-1874), lodged in the Museum of Zoology in Lund, Sweden, are examined for all species belonging in the tribe Exechiini Edwards. The majority of the material was collected in Fennoscandia, mainly in Sweden, in the first half of the 19(th) century. Altogether 37 species of the tribe Exechiini could be safely identified. Three addition

Background: Ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring (Holter) with ST-analysis as a measure of myocardial ichemia has in populations with coronary heart disease been shown to predict major coronary events: death, myocardial infarction or coronary revascularization. There has, however, been conflicting evidence regarding the usefulness of this technique in identification of healthy subjects with inc

In vitro amplification of nucleic acids using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has become, since its discovery in the 1980s, a powerful diagnostic tool for the analysis of microbial infections as well as for the analysis of microorganisms in food samples. However, despite its potential, PCR has neither gained wide acceptance in routine diagnostics nor been widely incorporated in standardized me

Semiconductor-based single-electron transistors have been fabricated using heterostructure nanowire growth, by introducing a double barrier of InP into InAs nanowires. From electrical measurements, we observe a charging energy of 4 meV for the approximately 55 nm diameter and 100 nm long InAs islands between the InP barriers. The Coulomb blockade can be periodically lifted as a function of gate vo

OBJECTIVE: To compare symptoms and signs in women with single and mixed genital infections. METHODS: The study population comprised 996 apparently healthy women. Gynecological symptoms and signs were looked for and diagnostics for the most prevalent gynecological infections were made. RESULTS: When co-infections were excluded, chlamydial infections, bacterial vaginosis and cervical human papilloma

Aluminum oxide films were produced by reactive dc magnetron sputtering of Al in Ar+O2. The composition of the films was characterized by Rutherford backscattering measurements. Stoichiometric films possessed excellent optical properties with a refractive index of ∼1.6 for visible and near-infrared light. It was possible to produce stoichiometric films while keeping the target in the metallic mode