Susceptibility to lung cancer may in part be attributable to inter-individual variability in metabolic activation or detoxification of tobacco carcinogens. The glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) genetic polymorphism has been extensively studied in this context; two recent meta-analyses of case-control studies suggested an association between GSTM1 deletion and lung cancer. At least 15 studies ha

The lithology, age, geological setting, structural and metamorphic history of the granitic mylonites from the Mylonite Zone (MZ) in southwestern Sweden have been studied extensively. The deformation history, growth of microstructures, intensity of deformation, changes in mineral compositions, and pressure-temperature conditions of deformation have, however, not been addressed. In this study, powde

2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is the major explosive ingredient in ammunition dumped into lakes and sea after World War II. The aim of the present field study was to study the fate and effect of TNT and its degradation products from dumped ammunition. Artillery shells were cleaved longitudinally to expose TNT and placed in open boxes filled with sediment, and then placed at the sea bottom. Sediment

The study of creativity needs a theory of personality as its backbone. Several alternatives are reviewed. Psychoanalysis is deemed unserviceable because of its lack of an integrated theory of perception. A useful theory of personality should be process-oriented and avoid substance concepts like traits. It may still borrow a number of fruitful constructs from its predecessors. One such, often debat

Prenatal stress has been shown to disturb neonatal rat brain development. The astroglial-specific neurotrophic factor S100B is known to play an important role in normal brain development. In the present study, we investigated the effects of prenatal stress on S100B concentrations in the hippocampus of I-day-old Fischer 344 rats. Overall, prenatal stress resulted in a 25% reduction in hippocampal S

A dot blot hybridization method was developed to detect Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites in naturally infected mosquitoes. A fluorescein-labelled oligomer was used as a probe. Initial non-specific hybridization was found to correlate with the presence of blood in the mosquitoes. This was eliminated by allowing digestion of the engorged blood by keeping the mosquitoes in cages for 48 h before proc

BACKGROUND: This study compares the high-frequency QRS components (HF-QRS) in patients with and without standard electrocardiogram (ECG) changes indicative of old myocardial infarction (MI). Previous studies have indicated that patients with an old MI differ in their HF-QRS compared with healthy subjects. The HF-QRS has been reported to be decreased during acute coronary occlusion and increased af

We take a fairly comprehensive approach to the problem of solving elliptic partial differential equations numerically using integral equation methods on domains where the boundary has a large number of corners and branching points. Use of non-standard integral equations, graded meshes, interpolatory quadrature, and compressed inverse preconditioning are techniques that are explored, developed, mix

Two variants of an endo-β-1,4-mannanase from the digestive tract of blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, were purified by a combination of immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography, size exclusion chromatography in the absence and presence of guanidine hydrochloride and ion exchange chromatography. The purified enzymes were characterized with regard to enzymatic properties, molecular weight, isoelectr

Purified, recombinant M12 protein from Streptococcus pyogenes CS24 has recently been demonstrated to bind human immunoglobulin G3 (IgG3). The binding site for IgG has been localized to an internal peptide encoded by a PvuII fragment of the gene emm12. We have investigated the ability of an isolated recombinant M12 protein consisting of the peptide encoded by the PvuII fragment to bind various mono

To efficiently classify and track video objects in a surveillance application, it is essential to reduce the amount of streaming data. One solution is to segment the video into background, i.e. stationary objects, and foreground, i.e. moving objects, and then discard the background. One such motion segmentation algorithm that has proven reliable is the Stauffer and Crimson algorithm. This paper in

In this paper, we report the preliminary result from the first Coulomb excitation experiment at REX-ISOLDE (Habs et al 1998 Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 139 128) using neutron-deficient Sn-beams. The motivation of the experiment is to deduce the reduced transition probability, B(E2; 2(+) -> 0(+)), for the sequence of neutron deficient, unstable, even-even Sn- isotopes from Sn-110 to ultimately Sn-110.

The dynamic climate in the Northern Hemisphere during the early Holocene could be expected to have impacted on the global carbon cycle. Ice core studies however, show little variability in atmospheric CO2. Resolving any possible centennial to decadal CO2 changes is limited by gas diffusion through the firn layer during bubble enclosure. Here we apply the inverse relationship between stomatal index

Many countries in the Western world are facing great challenges posed by an ageing population. Since cognitive impairments and the prevalence of dementia increases with age, we can expect an increasing number of older people in need of care. However, severe problems with such care are already reported by researchers as well as in the mass media. The aim of this paper is to discuss how the identity

Lately, sensor networks have received much attention in the research community. One of the aims of these networks is to make them self-configuring and self-healing so that they can be easily deployed and self-sufficient. A fundamental limitation with sensor networks is their limited life span because of their battery operation. To that end, much research has been carried out to maximize the life s

It is clinically important to estimate the size of a myocardial infarction (MI) to predict patient prognosis, to determine the ability of a therapy to limit its size, and to evaluate its effect on left ventricular function. Various electrocardiographic methods have been used for these purposes but their accuracies have not been compared with each other using an identical reference population of an