Endothelial cell seeding has been advocated as a method for reducing the thrombogenicity of prosthetic grafts. Principally two different techniques for endothelial cell seeding can be used: immediate seeding of grafts followed by implantation or initial growth and establishment of an endothelial cell-covered surface before subsequent late implantation. This study was designed to determine whether

UV/TiO2/H2O2, UV/TiO2 and UV/H2O2 were compared as pre-treatment processes for the detoxification of mixtures of 4-chlorophenol (4CP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) prior to their biological treatment. When each chlorophenol was initially supplied at 50mg l(-1),UV/TiO2/H2O2 treatment supported the highest pollutant removal, COD removal, and dechl

The clinical background and circumstances of 75 patients who had survived a near-fatal choking episode, i.e., had undergone a Heimlich maneuver, oropharyngeal suctioning, or intubation, is reported. Sixty had choked on a solid bolus (often of a complex texture like sandwiches and chicken soup). Four patients had choked on mashed banana. In 30 patients neurologic disease (such as cerebrovascular di

An immunological capacitive biosensor for calpastatin was developed, optimized and applied for the analysis of meat extract samples. Anti-calpastatin antibody was immobilized on a gold electrode modified with a self-assembled monolayer of mercaptoundecanoic acid and Protein A from Staphylococcus aureus, and the obtained immunosensor was inserted as the working electrode in an electrochemical cell

A method is presented that combines the modelling of cracks by distributed dislocation dipoles with developing plasticity represented by discrete dislocations moving along slip bands. Crack growth is due to the emission of dislocations from the crack tip along preferred slip planes. Eventual annihilation of dislocations occurs by reunion with the corresponding displacement steps of the crack surfa

In patients with radiculopathy due to degenerative disease in the cervical spine, surgical outcome is still presenting with moderate results. The preoperative investigations consist of clinical investigation, careful history and most often magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine. When MRI shows multilevel degeneration, different strategies are used for indicating which nerve root/ro

Tawny owls Strix aluco generally roost in cryptic locations during the day. To test the hypothesis that this cryptic behaviour is an effort to avoid mobbers or avian predators, we measured diurnal behaviour and cause-specific mortality of radio-tagged birds. Non-breeding adults (assumed to be well fed individuals, optimising their own survival) roosted in less exposed locations than adults with yo

We describe three patients in whom we used MRI, including diffusion- and perfusion-weighted imaging (DWI, PWI) in conjunction with endovascular therapy. Two had intracranial aneurysms and one an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The aneurysms were treated by coil embolisation or detachable balloons for proximal artery occlusion; the AVM was obliterated by intranidal glue injection. All patients ha

The mechanism underlying ethanol-induced apoptosis in liver cells is not clear. Sphingomyelin (SM) metabolism is a novel signal transduction pathway that has an impact on apoptosis in many cell types. We investigated whether the SM pathway is involved in ethanol-induced apoptosis in the liver. Hep G2 cells were treated with ethanol followed by assaying apoptosis, sphingomyelinase (SMase) activity,

Currently, it is thought that inhalational anesthetics cause anesthesia by binding to ligand-gated ion channels. This is being investigated using four-alpha-helix bundles, small water-soluble analogues of the transmembrane domains of the "natural" receptor proteins. The study presented here specifically investigates how multiple alanine-to-valine substitutions (which each decrease the volume of th

The transparent corneal stroma contains a population of corneal fibroblasts termed keratocytes, which are interspersed between the collagen lamellae. Under normal conditions, the keratocytes are quiescent and transparent. However, after corneal injury the keratocytes become activated and transform into backscattering wound-healing fibroblasts resulting in corneal opacification. At present, the mos

Parallel to the rapid development of clinical MRI, MR spectroscopy (MRS) has, after starting as an analytical tool used in chemistry and physics, evolved to a noninvasive clinical examination. Most common neuroradiological diagnostic indications for MRS are functional inborn errors, neonatal hypoxia, ischaemia, metabolic diseases, white matter and degenerative diseases, epilepsy, inflammation, inf

One way to maintain confidence in vaccination programmes is to improve monitoring of immunisation safety. We studied active parental reporting of adverse events after a booster dose of diphtheria-tetanus toxoid (DT). 7193 children received the vaccine. Questionnaires were submitted by 84.2% of the parents, who reported reactions for 9.2% of the children. Four percent of events were classified as m

Using PCR, the complete mitochondrial genome was sequenced in three frillneck lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii). The mitochondria spanned over 16,761 bp. As in other vertebrates, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 13 protein coding genes were identified. However, similar to some other squamate reptiles, two control regions (CRI and CRII) were identified, spanning 801 and 812 bp, respectively. Our res

Recent theory on sexual selection1–4 suggests that females in species without paternal care choose mates by their secondary sexual characters because these indicate genotypic quality which will be transmitted to the offspring. These ideas are not yet empiri-cally supported as data quantifying the relationship between female mate choice and female reproductive success are lacking. Only in one case,

We have previously shown that hyperhomocysteinaemia is common in elderly heart failure patients, and is associated with endothelial dysfunction, impaired vasodilatory capacity and a low-grade inflammation. In the present study we examined if supplementation with B6, B12 and folate could normalize the hyperhomocysteinaemia and if so, in turn, would improve the associated parameters. This was an ope

The literature on simulation models for multi-cylinder paper dryers is surveyed, 20 such models being reviewed. Models for intraweb heat and mass transfer are treated extensively, a separate chapter being devoted to them. In some of the models the specific physical transfer phenomena are modelled in detail, whereas in other models a more macroscopic approach is adopted. Normally the latter approac