Eosinophil degranulation is a characteristic feature of asthma and allergic rhinitis. However, degranulated eosinophils have not been convincingly demonstrated in the common mouse models of these airway diseases. This study uses eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) histochemistry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis to assess eosinophil degranulation in the airways of ovalbumin (OVA)-sensiti

Background The long-term outcome of anorexia nervosa is insufficiently researched. Aims To study prospectively the long-term outcome and prognostic factors in a representative sample of people with teenage-onset anorexia nervosa. Method Fifty-one people with anorexia nervosa, recruited by community screening and with a mean age at onset of 14 years were compared with 51 matched comparison individu

A Swedish/Norwegian head and neck cancer study was designed to assess prospectively the levels of mental distress and psychiatric morbidity in a heterogeneous sample of newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients. A total of 357 patients were included. The mean age was 63 years, and 72% were males. The patients were asked to answer the HAD scale (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale) six ti

Müller cells are essential in creating and maintaining intricate neuroretinal architecture. The functions of this important glial cell are not limited to mere support of the retinal neurons, but also include interaction in synaptic transmission and activation in response to retinal insult. In this study, we have examined Müller cell morphology and degree of activation in embryonic full-thickness r

Aim To critically review the status of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) using the best available scientific studies as there is a prevailing view that this species is globally endangered and its marine ecosystem functions compromised. Location Ogasawara (Japan), Hawaii (USA), Great Barrier Reef (Australia), Florida (USA), Tortuguero (Costa Rica). Methods We compiled seasonal nesting activity

The influence of temperature on cost and energy consumption during nanofiltration has been evaluated. The effect of temperature on pressure drop, fouling, concentration polarisation and changes in the membrane performance were evaluated experimentally and theoretically. Nanofiltration experiments using pure solutions and wastewater from the meat industry were performed at 25 and 55 °C with an Alfa

Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes were measured at a tundra site near Chokurdakh, in the lowlands of the Indigirka river in north-east Siberia. This site is one of the few stations on Russian tundra and it is different from most other tundra flux stations in its continentality. A suite of methods was applied to determine the fluxes of NEE, GPP, R-eco and methane, including eddy covariance, chamber

The branching plane associated with the conical intersection controlling the photochemical Z -> E isomerization reaction of rhodopsin has been mapped using a CASPT2//CASSCF/ AMBER quantum mechanics-molecular mechanics method. The nature of the derivative coupling and gradient difference vectors spanning the branching plane has been investigated, showing that the conical intersection is not only as

The microbial communities and photosynthetic capacity of cryoconite holes on the Midre Lovénbreen Glacier at 79°N in Spitzbergen (Svalbard Archipelago) were investigated in July/August 2000 and July 2001. The constituents of the microbial assemblages were more abundant in material on the cryoconite bottoms than in the overlying water. Bacterial concentrations ranged from 1.00 to 4.502104 ml-1 in t

Cellular reuptake of monoamines, which is mediated by cell membrane transporters, is followed by accumulation in vesicles by vesicular monoamine transporters (VMAT). The aim of this study was to demonstrate the presence of functional monoamine transporters with high affinity for histamine in human endometrial tissue, since histamine has been implicated as a paracrine signal during endometrial deci

The standard way of suppressing movement artefacts in Doppler measurements is by means of a high-pass filter. This is because artefacts usually are of high amplitude, but have low frequencies. The immediate drawback is, then, that low-velocity blood flow is also filtered out. In this paper, a method to reduce movement artefacts in blood perfusion measurements is proposed, using simultaneous transm

in an aqueous solution of a hydrophobically, end-modified poly(ethylene glycol) polymer, HM-PEG, the thickening effect is dependent on intermolecular hydrophobic associations and the formation of a network structure. In the present investigation cyclodextrin, CD, has been added to an aqueous HM-PEG solution and a decrease in Newtonian viscosity has been followed. The decreased viscosity refers to

Infection of the stomach by Helicobacter pylori is ubiquitous among humans. However, although H. pylori strains from different geographic areas are associated with clear phylogeographic differentiation(1-4), the age of an association between these bacteria with humans remains highly controversial(5,6). Here we show, using sequences from a large data set of bacterial strains that, as in humans, gen

Interband and intersubband transitions of lateral InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As dots-in-a-well quantum dot infrared photodetectors were studied in order to determine the origin of the photocurrent. The main intersubband transition contributing to the photocurrent (PC) was associated with the quantum dot ground state to the quantum well excited state transition. By a comparison between intersubband PC measur

Flt3 has emerged as a potential regulator of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Sixty percent of cells in the mouse marrow Lin(-)Sca1(+)c-kit(+) HSC pool expressed flt3. Although single cell cloning showed comparable high proliferative, myeloid, B, and T cell potentials of Lin(-)Sca1(+)c-kit(+)flt3(+) and Lin(-)Sca1(+)c-kit(+)flt3(-) cells, only Lin(-)Sca1(+)c-kit(+)flt3(-) cells supported sustained

The influence of added colloidal particles on the phase separation of mixed aqueous polymer solutions is investigated. Two types of particles (polystyrene latex or silica) and different combinations of segregating polymers (dextran of varying molar mass combined with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) of varying molar mass, or Ucon, a copolymer of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide) were used. All systems