We examined the effects of various leukotriene synthesis inhibitors on calcium signalling in HeLa cells, before and after transfection with BLT1. All of the inhibitors studied were found to reduce increases in intracellular calcium concentration induced by BLT1, but also by an ionophore or activation of various G-protein coupled receptors, regardless of BLT1 expression. In order to explore the mec

Plant growth forms are widely used to predict the effects of environmental changes, such as climate warming and increased nitrogen deposition, on plant communities, and the consequences of species shifts for carbon and nutrient cycling. We investigated whether the relationship between growth forms and patterns in litter quality and decomposition are independent of environmental conditions and whet

Free neutral potassium clusters of two different mean sizes were produced using a gas aggregation source. The K 3p core level was probed by means of synchrotron radiation based photoelectron spectroscopy. The absolute binding energy and the intensity ratio of the surface and bulk spectral features were used to obtain independent estimates of the cluster size. Plasmon satellites in core level spect

Solvation of protein surface charges plays an important role for the protonation states of titratable surface groups and is routinely incorporated in low dielectric protein models using surface accessible areas. For many-body protein simulations, however, such dielectric boundary methods are rarely tractable and a greater level of simplification is desirable. In this work, we scrutinize how charge

Field experiments with ISA (intelligent speed adaptation) were carried out in Hungary and Spain in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Twenty private vehicles in each country were equipped with two kinds of systems: (1) support via an active accelerator pedal (AAP) and (2) warning via beep signals and a flashing red light when the speed limit was exceeded (BEEP). The test drivers drove for a month with b

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is induced in H-2(q) mice after immunization with rat type II collagen (CII). The immunodominant T cell epitope on heterologous CII has been located to CII256-270. We have previously shown that TSC transgenic mice, which express the heterologous epitope in type I collagen (CI), e.g. in skin, are tolerized against rat CII and resistant to CIA. In this study we trans

Let ${\bold D}$ denote the unit disk in the complex plane and let $m$ be the area Lebesgue measure on ${\bold D}$. Given a positive integrable function $w$ (a weight) on ${\bold D}$, let $L^p_{\rm a}(w)$ denote the collection of analytic functions $f$ on ${\bold D}$ such that $|f|^pw$ is integrable. Given an analytic function $g$ on ${\bold D}$, the operator $T_g$ is defined by $T_g f(z) = \int_

This paper illustrates a novel method to analyze artificial neural networks so as to gain insight into their internal functionality. To this purpose, we will show analysis results of some feed-forward-error-back-propagation neural networks for image processing. We win describe them in terms of domain-dependent basic functions, which axe, in the case of the digital image processing domain, differen

An in-house-made alignment system for deep X-ray lithography is presented that features low costs, low weight and little demand in space. Synchrotron radiation illuminates alignment marks on mask and substrate. The radiation transmitted through these alignment marks is detected by X-ray-sensitive diodes. The mask is fixed to the vacuum chamber, whereas the substrate is mounted on a six-axis kinema

We recommend prophylaxis in haemophilic children with an inhibitor as a way of preventing the musculoskeletal impairment that is likely to affect them. This approach has been used for children without inhibitors with excellent results. If prophylaxis is not feasible, we suggest that intensive on-demand treatment should be given. Two agents, recombinant activated FVII (rFVIIa) and activated prothro

Stellar clusters are highly useful as tools for determination of distances, ages and abundances of heavy elements of galaxies, also at larger distances. Their utility for these purposes has, so far, been severely limited, mainly due to image crowding. The introduction of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) with full adaptive optics (AO) and near diffraction limited performance should imply a drastic

Many models currently discussed in PR studies lack a supporting meta-theory of what managing communication is about, and consequently paint a simplistic picture of what communicating with publics or managing phenomena such as reputation actually means. While it is common to speak of “building” trust or “constructing” images, “cultivating” seems a more appropriate metaphor. Publics are complex, dyn

The capillary filtration coefficient (CFC) is assumed to reflect both microvascular hydraulic conductivity and the number of perfused capillaries at a given moment (precapillary sphincter activity). Estimation of hydraulic conductivity in vivo with the CFC method has therefore been performed under conditions of unchanged vascular tone and metabolic influence. There are studies, however, that did n

How do different levels of sibling competition affect nestling growth strategies? We investigated this through the effect of different levels of per capita feeding rate on the average growth rate of nestlings and on individual growth strategies within broods. To manipulate sibling competition, we transferred marsh tit nestlings between nests creating broods with fewer (reduced) or more (enlarged)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to validate the conceptual definitions of accessibility and usability, and to explore differences between objective accessibility assessments and subjective ratings of usability in different client groups. Method: The Housing Enabler and the Usability in My Home instruments were used for 131 persons above 18 years of age, living in ordinary housing and receiving