The aim is to study the effect of dimethylsulfoxide-soluble smoking particles (DSP) and nicotine on the contractility of rat mesenteric artery. The superior mesenteric artery segments were cultured with DSP or nicotine for 24 h. The vascular contractibility was recorded with myograph system. DSP 0.4 mL/L and nicotine 0.48 and 0.96 mg/L shifted the concentration-contractile curves induced by sarafo

Resistance to the anticoagulant action of activated protein C, APC resistance, is a highly prevalent risk factor for venous thrombosis among individuals of Caucasian origin. In most cases, APC resistance is associated with a single missense mutation in the gene for coagulation factor V (FVLeiden), which predicts the replacement of Arg506 with a Gln at one of the cleavage sites for APC in factor V.

Objective: The course and the long-term outcome of 'refractory' secretory otitis media (SOM), defined as continuous SOM for more than 6 years, were studied in 52 young patients. They had during childhood been treated for bilateral SOM on average for 12 years (range 6 to 26 years). The mean interval between resolution of SOM and examination was 7 years. Methods: At follow up the patients' medical r

Vitellogenin (VTG) is a well known protein biomarker for exposure to environmental estrogens and possible endocrine disruption in fish. VTG is very dominant in plasma after the onset of vitellogenesis and the protein is heavily phosphorylated. This enables indirect quantification through measurement of alkali-labile protein bound phosphate (ALP) as an alternative to the more expensive enzyme linke

Repeated immunization of mice with bacterial superantigens induces extensive deletion and anergy of reactive CD4 T cells. Here we report that the in vitro proliferation anergy of CD4 T cells from TCR transgenic mice immunized three times with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) (3x SEB) is partially due to an increased frequency of Foxp3(+) CD4 T cells. Importantly, reduced number of conventional C

Impinging flame jets are widely used in applications where high heat-transfer rates are needed, for instance in the glass industry. During the heating process of glass products, internal thermal stresses develop in the material due to temperature gradients. In order to avoid excessive thermal gradients as well as overheating of the hot spots, it is important to know and control the temperature dist

AIMS: The oncological, surgical and cosmetic results, patient satisfaction and psychological morbidity of immediate breast reconstruction following mastectomy for breast cancer were evaluated. METHODS: From 1980 to 1994, 79 immediate breast reconstructions were performed in Malmo. From 1985 immediate breast reconstruction was performed in 21% of mastectomies among patients

One of the five largest mass extinctions of the past 600 million years occurred at the boundary of the Triassic and Jurassic periods, 201.6 million years ago. The loss of marine biodiversity at the time has been linked to extreme greenhouse warming, triggered by the release of carbon dioxide from flood basalt volcanism in the central Atlantic Ocean. In contrast, the biotic turnover in terrestrial

Background: Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS) like Tamoxifen and Raloxifen are used for menopausal symptoms, prevention of cardio-vascular diseases, osteoporosis and mammary carcinoma. Tamoxifen acts as an estrogen inhibitor on the mammary gland, but stimulates postmenopausal uterine mucosa in about 25% of cases while decreasing the risk of osteoporosis. Materials, Methods and Results

Abstract not available.

This paper overviews basic theory on distinguishing attacks on stream ciphers. It illustrates underlying ideas and common techniques without going into too many details on each topic. Some new approaches in distinguishing attacks are also included.

The DyDOC model simulates the C dynamics of forest soils, including the production and transport of dissolved organic matter (DOM), on the basis of soil hydrology, metabolic processes, and sorption reactions. The model recognizes three main pools of soil C: litter, substrate (an intermediate transformation product), and humic substances. The model was used to simulate the behavior of C in the 0 ho

Recently, associations of several common genetic variants with height have been reported in different populations. We attempted to identify further variants associated with adult height in a self-contained population (the Sorbs in Eastern Germany) as discovery set. We performed a genome wide association study (GWAS) (similar to 390 000 genetic polymorphisms, Affymetrix gene arrays) on adult height

Magnetic compass orientation in birds has been shown to be light dependent. Results from behavioural studies indicate that magnetoreception capabilities are disrupted under light of peak wavelengths longer than 565 nm, and shifts in orientation have been observed at higher light intensities (43-44x1015 quanta s-1 m-2). To investigate further the function of the avian magnetic compass with respect

To investigate a possible time trend in serum concentrations of persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs), representative samples of the young (median age 18 years) Swedish male population were investigated in the years 2000 and 2004. Due to their low age, these men were assumed not to have reached steady state of body burdens of POPs, why their serum concentrations were considered to represent