Objectives: Capillary damage is a characteristic feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc). This work aimed to explore the potential clinical value of simple microscopic counting of capillary density. Methods: In 325 patients admitted because of a clinical suspicion of SSc and in 80 healthy controls, nailfold capillary microscopy (NCM) was performed using a stereo-zoom microscope in 20x magnification an

Abstract in UndeterminedStable carbon- (delta(13)C), nitrogen- (delta(15)N) and hydrogen (delta D) isotope profiles in feathers of migratory Great Reed Warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus recaptured for 2 or more years in 6 successive years were examined to test whether the isotope profiles of individual warblers appeared to be consistent between years. Similar isotopic signatures in successive yea

Until recent technical developments, such as the use of satellite telemetry, little has been known about the movements, physiology and behaviour of long-distance migratory fish. Recently, Bloch and co-workers used electronic data storage tags surgically implanted into bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus or linked to satellites, to reveal interesting details of the movement patterns, area use and environm

Aims: The indigenous flora of freshly chilled cold-smoked salmon just after the vacuum packaging, and the spoilage flora after storage, in vacuum package at 7 degrees C for 19 days, were to be investigated with two different sampling strategies. Methods and Results: Identification was performed using 16S rRNA sequencing of both isolated bacteria and bacterial DNA from tissue extract. The indigenou

Abstract in UndeterminedC-14 specific activities were measured in grass samples collected around Brazilian nuclear power reactors. The specific activity values varied between 227 and 299 Bq/kg C. Except for two samples which showed C-14 specific activities 22% above background values, half of the samples showed background specific activities, and the other half had a C-14 excess of 1-18%. The high

The camera eyes of fishes and cephalopods have come forth by convergent evolution. In a variety of vertebrates capable of color vision, longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) of the optical system is corrected for by the exactly tuned longitudinal spherical aberration (LSA) of the crystalline lens. The LSA leads to multiple focal lengths, such that several wavelengths can be focused on the retina

Soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SXPS) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) have been combined with low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) to examine the growth of titanium dioxide thin films on Ni(110). Depending on the initial titanium coverage, the formation of two different films is observed, a quasi-hexagonal phase and a film with rutile (110) rods. Spectroscopy (SXPS and XA

By extending the Marxian theory of fetishism from money and commodities to machines, we may achieve an epistemological shift in our understanding of the foundations of 'technological development'. The first part of the article discusses previous definitions of fetishism in order to distil some central themes that appear to be particularly significant to the argument on machine fetishism. It is arg

The performance of anaerobic, packed-bed bioreactors treating leachate from potato waste was evaluated in terms of organic loading rate (OLR) as well as the recirculation flow rate. Two 1 litre bioreactors, filled with porous glass beads as biofilm carriers and with continuous recirculation flow rates of 10 ml min(-1) and 20 ml min(-1) respectively, were used in the experiment. The OLR applied to

Charge-charge interactions in proteins are important in a host of biological processes. Here we use C-13 NMR chemical shift data for individual aspartate and glutamate side chain carboxylate groups to accurately detect site-specific protonation equilibria in a variant of the B1 domain of protein G (PGB1-QDD). Carbon chemical shifts are dominated by changes in the electron distribution within the s

In the western Pyrenees (Southwest France and Northwest Spain), a narrow hybrid zone exists between the common chiffchaff Phylloscopus (collybita) collybita and the Iberian chiffchaff Phylloscopus (c.) brehmii. In this zone, which is approximately 20 km wide, mixed matings and individuals singing the songs of both taxa occur at substantial frequencies (24 and 8.6%, respectively), suggesting freque

The aim of this study was to analyse the mechanical behaviour of paperboard packages subjected to static compressive loads. The study was divided in three parts and experiments and finite element analysis conducted for each part. First, a panel of paperboard was subjected to edge compressive loading as a means of checking the material model. Second, the package was cut into segments and each segme

Abnormalities in nuclear morphology are frequently observed in malignant tissues but the mechanisms behind these phenomena are still poorly understood. In this study, the relation between abnormal nuclear shape and chromosomal instability was explored in short-term tumor cell cultures. Mitotically unstable ring and dicentric chromosomes were identified by fluorescence in situ hybridization at meta

We examine a recently proposed symmetry/condition by Friedberg and Lee in the framework where three right-handed neutrinos are added to the spectrum of the three-family Minimal Standard Model. It is found that the right-handed neutrinos are very special, with respect to this symmetry. In the symmetry limit the neutrinos are massless and that may be a hint about why they are light. Imposed as a con