In 91 patients (36 men, 55 women) who were hospitalized with symptoms of acute cholecystitis, cholescintigraphy was performed with 99m-Tc-ethyl-IDA, in order to evaluate the method in the diagnosis of acute inflammatory disease of the gallbladder. Five groups of patients were recognized: (A) abnormal scintigraphy and verified gallbladder disease, (B) abnormal scintigraphy without verified gallblad

Solid and gel electrolytes based on comblike poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) have been prepared and studied. The polymer consisted of a polyethylene backbone densely grafted with PPO side chains terminated by hexadecanoyl chain ends. Analysis by impedance spectroscopy of the solid polymer electrolytes containing lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) salt showed ion conductivities of 10(-5

This article is based on the belief that research focused on PR tourism is of fundamental importance to understanding the role of PR in contemporary culture. Our analysis shows that tourism has not received much attention from PR researchers and that a critical perspective uncovers a host of key issues in promotional culture: power, politics and diplomacy in international communication; risk, ethi

In this article the authors suggest that chaos theory can provide us witha new perspective on archaeology. Newtonian thinking is predominantin archaeology, as well as in the humanities in general. This results inthe hegemony of analytic methods and a linear way of thinking on causeand effect. However, chaos theory has shown that behind many phen-omena that may seem random lies order. Since these c

Podoscyphic acid 1, a fungal metabolite inhibiting RNA-directed DNA polymerises, was synthesised in four steps starting from dodecanal. The concluding ester hydrolysis of 4 was not feasible with chemical reagents, only enzymatic hydrolysis was mild enough to release the highly reactive natural product in good yields. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background: Thalidomide has a chiral centre, and the racemate of (R)- and (S)-thalidomide was introduced as a sedative drug in the late 1950s. In 1961, it was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy. There is now a growing clinical interest in thalidomide due to its unique anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Objective: To critically review pharmacokinetic studies and briefly rev

Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP)-1B, encoded by the PTPN1 gene, inactivates the insulin signal transduction cascade by dephosphorylating phosphotyrosine residues in insulin signaling molecules. Due to its chromosomal location under a chromosome 20 linkage peak and the metabolic effects of its absence in knockout mice, it is a candidate gene for type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have associated com

With shrinking technologies and higher clock rates comes the possibility to transform multi chip implementations to a single System on Chip (SoC). Implementing clock distribution and limiting the power consumption becomes increasingly troublesome with increased clock rate and chip area. Therefore, designing large Systems on Chip makes it necessary to search for new implementation methods. In this

A series of celloendoglucanases: Bacillus agaradhaerens Cel 5a, Humicola insolens Cel 5a, H. insolens Cel 7b, H. insolens Cel 45a, Trichoderma reesei Cel 7b, and T reesei Cel 45a were used to hydrolyse carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and the hydrolysis products were investigated with a novel liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method. Separation was achieved using a graphitised carbon chr

Treatment of [(mu-H)Os-3(CO)(10)(mu-OMe)] (1) with dppm {dppm = bis(diphenylphosphino)methane} at 110 degrees C gave the known compound [Os-3(CO)(10)(mu(2)-eta(2)-dppm)] (2) and the new compound [(mu-H)Os-3(CO)(8)(mu-OMe)(mu(2)-eta(2)-dppm)] (3). A similar reaction of 1 with dppe {dppe=bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane} afforded two products, [(mu-H)Os-3(CO)(8)(mu-OMe)(mu(1)-eta(2)-dppe)] (5) and [(mu-

We have investigated laser-induced fluorescence frompost mortem human arteries in order to find spectroscopic properties allowing discrimination between normal and atherosclerotic vessel wall. A pulsed nitrogen laser emitting light at a wavelength of 337.1 nm was used as an excitation source. The fluorescence spectrum from 370 to 700 nm was captured and analysed by an optical multichannel analyser

This study examines processes of transnational alliance-building among political parties in the European Union (EU). It is associated with theories of transnational relations, neofunctionalist integration theory and domestic politics approaches to international co-operation and integration. The overall aim of the study is to contribute to the understanding and growth of knowledge of transnational