We examined the relationship between plant species diversity, productivity and the development of the soil community during early secondary succession on former arable land across Europe. We tested the hypothesis that increasing the initial plant species diversity enhances the biomass production and consequently stimulates soil microbial biomass and abundance of soil invertebrates. We performed fi

Direct and interactive effects of CO2 and light on tree phytochemistry and insect fitness parameters were examined through experimental manipulations of plant growth conditions and performance of insect bioassays. Three species of deciduous trees (quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides: paper birch, Betula papyrifera; sugar maple, Acer saccharum) were grown under ambient (387 +/- 8 mu L/L) and elevate

Chromosome aberrations, in particular translocations and their corresponding gene fusions, have an important role in the initial steps of tumorigenesis; at present, 358 gene fusions involving 337 different genes have been identified. An increasing number of gene fusions are being recognized as important diagnostic and prognostic parameters in malignant haematological disorders and childhood sarcom

Soil microbial properties were studied from localities on a transect along the Yenisei River, Central Siberia. The 1000 km-long transect, from 56°N to 68°N, passed through tundra, taiga and pine forest characteristic of Northern Russia. Soil microbial properties were characterized by dehydrogenase activity, microbial biomass, composition of microbial community (PLFAs), respiration rates, denitrifi

Motor neuron cell death was studied in organotypic cultures of adult spinal cord slices from the mouse. Six hours after excision, many motor neuron nuclei displayed apoptotic features including nuclear and chromatin condensation. At this time point, many motor neurons also exhibited immunoreactivity to calpain II. Both the calpain inhibitor VI and ethyleneglycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N

Organisers of external quality assurance programmes may, for various reasons, also manufacture in vitro diagnostic medical devices, or provide calibration services. This paper describes measures taken by a Swedish organiser to meet the requirements of the European Commission's directive 98/79/EC for a national calibration of prothrombin time. Quality management system requirements and interactions

Purpose: The loss of Wnt-5a, a G-protein-coupled receptor ligand, or Syk, an intracellular kinase, has in separate studies been associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer patients. Both proteins are involved in cell adhesion, a key event in epithelial cancer metastasis. Here, we have investigated whether Syk is part of the Wnt-5a/discoidin domain receptor-1 (DDR1) signaling pathway and if a s

Collagen type II (CII) is a cartilage-specific target of pathologic humoral autoimmune responses in rheumatoid arthritis as well as in the collagen-induced arthritis model. The aim of the present study is to investigate the critical amino acid residues conferring CII epitope specificity of the prototypic arthritogenic murine mAb CIIC1. A homology model of the CIIC1 single-chain antibody fragment (

During the last few years, recombinant viral vectors derived from adenovirus (Ad), adeno-associated virus (AAV) or lentivirus (LV) have been developed into highly effective vehicles for gene transfer to the adult central nervous system. In recent experiments, in the rat model of Parkinson's disease, all three vector systems have been shown to be effective for long-term delivery of glial cell line-

The Scandinavian trilobites described in the classical papers by Moberg and Moller (1898) and Moberg (1898) are reviewed, based on the original type collections. The ten species and subspecies originally described are here considered to represent 12 species and subspecies, ranging in age from the latest Furongian (late Cambrian) through the Tremadocian (Early Ordovician). Lectotypes are selected f

High hydrogen ion concentrations of runoff events were analyzed in terms of the probability distributions of frequency, duration, magnitude, and time of occurrence. Simple stochastic models were applied to the probability distributions of the annual frequency of high hydrogen ion concentration flows and their magnitudes. A consideration of the statistical properties of the given stochastic variabl

Objective: Conjunctiva-associated lymphoid tissue is the conjunctival equivalent to mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma has been shown to be associated with Helicobacter pylori. In this study, the prevalence and possible role of H. pylori infection in conjunctival MALT lymphoma were evaluated. Design: Retrospective noncomparative case series. Partic

The aim of this study was to investigate the specificity of the H-3-triolein assay and to investigate the recovery of highly purified pancreatic lipase and pancreatic lipase in the form of pure non-activated pig pancreatic juice. Blood plasma from pigs was analysed for pancreatic lipase activity using the H-3-triolein substrate assay, with a method specific for lipoprotein lipase and with a method

The role of osteopontin in bone resorption was elucidated by studies of mice with knock out of the osteopontin gene generated by a different approach compared to previous models. Thus, a targeting vector with the promoter region as well as exons 1, 2, and 3 of the osteopontin gene was replaced by a loxP-flanked Neo-TK cassette, and this cassette was eliminated through transient expression of Cre r

The collections of fungus gnats by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt (1785-1874), lodged in the Museum of Zoology in Lund, Sweden, are examined for all species belonging in the tribe Exechiini Edwards. The majority of the material was collected in Fennoscandia, mainly in Sweden, in the first half of the 19(th) century. Altogether 37 species of the tribe Exechiini could be safely identified. Three addition

Background: Ambulatory electrocardiogram monitoring (Holter) with ST-analysis as a measure of myocardial ichemia has in populations with coronary heart disease been shown to predict major coronary events: death, myocardial infarction or coronary revascularization. There has, however, been conflicting evidence regarding the usefulness of this technique in identification of healthy subjects with inc