While the enormous clinical and psychosocial importance of pruritus in many areas of medicine and the detrimental effects of chronic 'itch' on the quality of life of an affected individual are widely appreciated, the complexity of this sensation is still often grossly underestimated. The current Controversies feature highlights this complexity by portraying pruritus as a truly interdisciplinary pr

Endometriotic tissue sometimes shows an invasive pattern. but the growth regulation of the tissue is insufficiently characterized. In a research programme on factors regulating endometriotic growth, the DNA ploidy status and S-phase fraction (SPF) were studied. Fresh-frozen endometriotic tissue from 14 women and endometrium from 11 of them were studied using flow cytometry. A clear diploid pattern

In this work, a k-space segmentation technique for quantitative studies of pulsatile cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow is suggested. Three k-space lines are sampled for each of two interleaved gradient-echo sequences (velocity-compensated and velocity-encoded) within each repetition interval. Nine cardiac phases are obtained at a heart rate of 60 bpm with maintained nominal resolution and a factor of

Endotoxin exposure is associated with wheeze and asthma morbidity, while early life exposure may reduce risk of allergy and asthma. Unfortunately, it is difficult to compare endotoxin results from different laboratories and environments. We undertook this study to determine if lipopolysaccharide ( LPS) extraction efficiency could account for differences among laboratories. We generated and collect

Mast cells are found in tissues throughout the body where they play important roles in the regulation of inflammatory responses. One characteristic feature of mast cells is their longevity. Although it is well established that mast cell survival is dependent on stem cell factor (SCF), it has not been described how this process is regulated. Herein, we report that SCF promotes mast cell survival th

PURPOSE: Adjuvant radiotherapy has during the past decades become increasingly used in the treatment of localized soft tissue sarcoma. We evaluated the effect of radiotherapy (RT) on local recurrence rates (LRRs) in Scandinavia between 1986 and 2005. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 1,093 adult patients with extremity or trunk wall soft tissue sarcoma treated at four Scandinavian sarcoma centers

A newly digitized record of snow depth from the Abisko Scientific Research Station in northern Sweden covers the period 1913-present. Mean snow depths were taken from paper records of measurements made on a profile comprising 10 permanent stakes. This long-term record yields snow depths consistent with two other shorter term Abisko records: measurements made at another 10-stake profile (1974-prese

Altered levels of enzymes in the central carbon metabolism in Streptococcus thermophilus increased the exopolysaccharide (EPS) production 3.3 times over that of the parent strain. The influence of enhanced EPS production on the rheological properties of fermented milk is described for engineered strains of S. thermophilus which produce different levels of EPSs.

The importance of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Y2 receptors in the regulation of bone and energy homeostasis has recently been demonstrated. However, the contributions of the other Y receptors are less clear. Here we show that Y1 receptors are expressed on osteoblastic cells. Moreover, bone and adipose tissue mass are elevated in Y1(-/-) mice with a generalized increase in bone formation on cortical a

Results are presented from an ongoing project on Swedish pre-school children with language disorders. The aim of the project is to develop clinically applicable methods for the analysis of grammatical and interactional abilities in children. The methods have been tested in a pilot study of ten dialogues between speech therapists and language disordered children. Results indicate that the grammatic

The feasibility of administering metoclopramide (MCA) as a radiosensitizer has been evaluated in 23 patients with a pathological or cytological diagnosis of a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, clinically evaluated as inoperable. All patients received 40-60 Gy radiotherapy fractionated into 1.8 Gy fractions 5 times per week (Monday-Friday). Two MCA treatment regimens were used: (i) MCA at 2 mg/k

The complexation, phase separation, and redissolution of polyelectrolyte-macroion solutions have been studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations. A simple model system with focus on the electrostatic interactions has been used to examine the properties of the macroion solutions at different amounts of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. As oppositely charged polyelectrolytes are added, the stabl

An extensive world-wide pursuit for new efficient fuel cell membranes materials is currently motivating research on proton-conducting ionomers based on durable aromatic main-chain polymers. In this context, most ionomers. have been prepared either by direct sulfonation of polymers, using for example. fuming. sulfuric-acid, or by direct polymerizations using different sulfonated monomers, Far less

A data set of adaptive optics images has been analyzed in order to study the effects of angular anisoplanatism and to characterize Mauna Kea nighttime turbulence. The data set consists of a selection of Galactic center images obtained with the adaptive optics instrument Hokupa'a and the near-infrared camera QUIRC on the Gemini-North 8 m telescope. Using the Strehl ratio and the FWHM as tracers for

Biogas production in anaerobic digestion in farm-scale units is typically performed under mesophilic conditions when used for producing domestic fuel and stabilizing animal waste for the use of digested manure as a fertilizer. Previous studies on the digestion of llama and cow manure have shown the feasibility of producing biogas under altiplano conditions (low pressure and low temperature) and of

Strain LBB3(T) isolated from Bogoria soda lake in Kenya is an alkaliphilic, Gram-positive, strictly aerobic, non-motile, spore-forming bacterium. It was identified as a member of the genus Bacillus on the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses. The organism grows optimally at 37 degrees C and pH 10. The G+C content of the genomic DNA is 37.5 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed 95 a

An integrated cell cultivation and protein product separation process was developed using a new type of supermacroporous polyacrylamide gel, called cryogel (pAAm-cryogel) support matrix. Human fibrosarcoma HT1080 and human colon cancer HCT116 cell lines were used to secrete urokinase (an enzyme of immense therapeutic utility) into the culture medium. The secreted protein was isolated from the circ