Presently, unrestrained plethysmography is widely used to assess bronchial responsiveness in mice. An empirical quantity known as enhanced pause is derived from the plethysmographic box pressure [P-b( t), where t is time] and assumed to be an index of bronchoconstriction. We show that P-b(t) is determined largely by gas conditioning when normal mice breathe spontaneously inside a closed chamber in

We have transiently expressed decorin with a C- terminal KDEL endoplasmic reticulum retention signal peptide in COS- 7 cells to study initiation of galactosaminoglycan synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum- Golgi intermediate compartment. All decorin- KDEL molecules were substituted with N- linked oligosaccharides sensitive to endoglycosidase H, indicating that the core protein was located proxim

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of contextual (social capital and administrative/neo-materialist) and individual factors on lack of access to a regular doctor. Methods The 2000 public health survey in Scania is a cross-sectional study. A total of 13,715 persons answered a postal questionnaire, which is 59% of the random sample. A multilevel logistic regression

Female mate-choice based on genetic compatibility is an area of growing interest. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are likely candidates for such mate-choice since these highly polymorphic genes may both increase offspring viability and also provide direct cues for mate-choice. In great reed warblers, females actively choose a breeding partner out of a handful of males that they vi

Adsorption of titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc) on rutile TiO2(110) modified by a set of pyridine derivatives (2,2'-bipyridine, 4,4'-bipyridine, and 4-tert-butyl pyridine) has been investigated using synchrotron radiation based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For the unmodified TiOPc/TiO2 system, a strong charge transfer is observed from the first layer TiOPc into the substrate, which leads t

Background: Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) resulting in infants born small for gestational age is a known risk factor for neurologic deficits and may predispose to poor cognitive development later in life. We recently found an association between IUGR and a reduced neuroretinal rim area at 18 years of age. We evaluated the possible association between IUGR and visual function. Subjects and

This article is based on a keynote presentation at the 12th Nordic Congress in General Practice in Trondheim, Norway in September 2002. The aim was to demonstrate the strengths and limitations of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in a primary healthcare setting. The presentation comprised two separate lectures discussing an authentic case history from everyday practice that had been presented to the a

Cubozoans differ from other cnidarians by their body architecture and nervous system structure. In the medusa stage they possess the most advanced visual system within the phylum, located in sophisticated sensory structures, rhopalia. The rhopalium is a club-shaped structure with paired pit-shaped pigment cup eyes, paired slit-shaped pigment cup eyes, and two complex camera-type eyes: one small up

Background. General practitioners need to play a more active role in the management of patients with breast cancer, specifically in screening programs, counseling, follow-up, palliative care, and psychosocial support. Special training is needed to meet these demands, Methods. An interactive training program resident on CD-ROM was developed. It includes nine cases designed according to the case met

This review presents the added value for diagnosis of acute ischemia/infarction of considering ST elevation in the 12 inverted leads (-I, -II, -II, -aVR, etc) of the standard electrocardiogram in addition to ST elevation in 12 positive leads. A small number of studies have been published showing substantial increases in sensitivity at the "cost of' slight decreases in specificity. One recent study

In a population of 956 women, attending for contraceptive advice, 131 (13.7%) were found to have BV acording to Amsel's criteria. Clue cells were detected in 200 (20.9%) women, a positive amine ('sniff') test in 191 (20.0%), a vaginal pH > or = 4.7 in 243 (25.4%) and a "characteristic" vaginal discharge in 104 (10.9%) women. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values in rela

Social capital is often operationalised as social participation in the activities of the formal and informal networks of civil society and/or as generalised trust. Social participation and trust are two aspects of social capital that mutually affect each other, according to the literature. In recent years there has been an increased attention to the fact that generalised trust decreases for every

In discussions on naturalism vs. stylization in the design of virtual pedagogical agents (VPAs), the smooth communication argument is one of the most central in favour of visual naturalism. Yet, this argument dissolves if we separate design into the levels of: (l) linguistic performance, where the support for naturalism is strong; (2) dynamic visual appearance, in the sense of bodily behaviour, wi

Identification of genes controlling complex diseases has proven to be difficult; however, animal models may pave the way to determine how low penetrant genes interact to promote disease development. We have dissected the Cia5/Eae3 susceptibility locus on mouse chromosome 3 previously identified to control disease in experimental models of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Congenic strai

Introduction Amplification of the TNK2 gene in primary tumours correlates with poor prognosis. In accordance, TNK2 overexpression was shown to promote invasion of cancer cells - but the mechanism by which TNK2 mediates these effects is unresolved. TNK2 was suggested to regulate Cdc42-driven migration by activation of breast cancer antioestrogen resistance 1 (BCAR1); however, distinct from this eff

In this paper we present an object detection system for city environments. We focus on the problem of automatically detecting windows on buildings. Several possible applications for the detection system are given, such as recognition of buildings, pose estimation, rectification and 3D reconstruction. Experimental validations on real images are also provided. The system is capable of detecting wind