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Background Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) is common in bakery workers. The relation between bronchial responsiveness measured with a tidal breathing method and smoking, airway symptoms, IgE-sensitization, nasal indices of inflammation and flour dust exposure have been studied with bronchial responsiveness expressed as a continuous outcome. Material and methods Bakery workers (n = 197) were su
Nanometre-sized particles (1-100 nm) have unique properties receiving growing attention in wide areas of research. Here, a convenient method to deposit size-selected nanoparticles on surfaces by means of electrospraying colloidal suspensions in the aerosol phase is presented. We demonstrate the deposition of individual nanoparticles and the feasibility of this method in seeding gold particles for
A subset of populations of the European taxa of Carex sect. Digitatae, including Carex digitata, C. pallens, C. ornithopoda, C. pediformis ssp. rhizodes and C. humilis have been investigated for allozyme variation. The (presumably) distantly related C. pendula was used a's a reference taxon. Carex digitata, C. pallens and C. ornithopoda on the one hand, and C. humilis and C. pediformis on the othe
To elucidate the possible role of selenoproteins for milk formation and mammary gland physiology, the activities of selenoprotein enzymes and the expression of selenoprotein genes were studied in the bovine mammary gland. Messenger RNA was demonstrated for selenoprotein P, thioredoxin reductase 1, and for glutathione peroxidase (GPx) 1, 3, and 4. Significant differences in mRNA expression between
The risk of superinfection following routine abdominal drainage after major surgery is debated. Especially in patients with malignant diseases and a compromised host defense, this might be a factor increasing morbidity and mortality. During a 3-year period (1986-1988) 41 patients operated on for malignant abdominal conditions received a peritoneal catheter connected to a subcutaneous portal insert
Aims: The aims were to estimate the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of autoantibodies to tissue transglutaminase (IgA- and IgG-tTG), gliadin (AGA) and endomysium (EMA) in relation to human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQB1 alleles to identify silent celiac disease at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Methods: IgA- and IgG-tTG were measured in radioligand binding assays in 165 type 1 diabetic patien
Prey densities often show fluctuating patterns over various timescales. Focusing on short-term, within-generation fluctuating patterns of local prey availability, we suggest that prey that show synchronized and high-amplitude fluctuations in availability experience decreased risks of predation, but also enhance the maintenance of predator interference hierarchies by affecting the relative foraging
Helicobacter pylori can transform, in vivo as well as in vitro, from dividing spiral-shaped forms into nonculturable coccoids, with intermediate forms called U forms. The importance of nonculturable coccoid forms of H. pylori in disease transmission and antibiotic treatment failures is unclear. Metabolic activities of actively growing as well as nonculturable H. pylori were investigated by compari
Sphingolipids are degraded by sphingomyelinase and ceramidase in the gut to ceramide and sphingosine, which may inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, and thus have anti-tumour effects in the gut. Although previous rodent studies including experiments on knockout mice indicate a role of neutral ceramidase in ceramide digestion, the human enzyme has never been purified and characterized i
Background: The relationship between plasma markers of inflammation and the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is still unclear. This population-based study explored whether raised levels of five inflammation-sensitive plasma proteins (ISPs) predicted hospital admissions for COPD during 25 years of follow-up. Methods: Spirometric tests and measurements of five ISPs (fibrinog
Nanomechanical resonators have been monolithically integrated on preprocessed complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chips. Fabricated resonator systems have been designed to have resonance frequencies up to 1.5 MHz. The systems have been characterized in ambient air and vacuum conditions and display ultrasensitive mass detection in air. A mass sensitivity of 4 ag/Hz has been determined in
The structure of a stationary Gaussian process near a local maximum with a prescribed heightu has been explored in several papers by the present author, see [5]–[7], which include results for moderateu as well as foru→±∞. In this paper we generalize these results to a homogeneous Gaussian field {ξ(t) t ∈ R n}, with mean zero and the covariance functionr(t). The local structure of a Gaussian field
During the 1990s three new techniques to reduce spasticity and dystonia in children with cerebral palsy (CP) were introduced in southern Sweden: selective dorsal rhizotomy, continuous intrathecal baclofen infusion and botulinum toxin treatment. In 1994 a CID register and a health care programme, aimed to prevent hip dislocation and severe contractures, were initiated in the area. The total populat
Previous studies have suggested that the bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine may have a non-specific beneficial effect on childhood survival in areas with high mortality. We examined whether BCG-vaccinated children with a BCG scar or a positive tuberculin reaction had better survival than children without such reactions. As part of an ongoing two-dose measles vaccine trial for which children wer
Absorption and fluorescence emission spectra were measured at room temperature (ca. 22.degree.C) for solutions of phycocyanin-1, phycocyanin-2, and allophycocyanin from Phormidium luridum, and also for phycobilisome preparations from various blue-green algae (Anabaena variabilis, Nostoc muscorum strain A, Nostoc sp. strain Mac. Phormidium luridum). Kennard-Stepanov (KS) temperatures (T) were compu
Caloplaca sorediella Arup is described as a new species. It is so far known only from extreme maritime situations on seashore rocks in western England, Scotland and Wales.
Background Chitosans of high molecular weights have emerged as efficient. nonviral gene delivery systems, but the properties and efficiency of well-defined low molecular weight chitosans ((.) 5 kDa) have not been studied. We therefore characterized DNA complexes Of Such low molecular weight chitosans and related their physical shape and stability to their efficiency as gene delivery systems in vit
A new approach to the production and detection of bound neutron clusters is presented. The technique is based on the breakup of beams of very neutron-rich nuclei and the subsequent detection of the recoiling proton in a liquid scintillator. The method has been tested in the breakup of intermediate energy (30–50 MeV/nucleon) 11Li, 14Be, and 15B beams. Some six events were observed that exhibit the
