Background: Previous studies have shown that the ratio between alveolar volume (VA) and total lung capacity (TLC) reflects ventilation heterogeneity in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the ratio and its correlation to respiratory symptoms had to our knowledge not previously been investigated in subjects with mild chronic airflow obstruction or without airflow ob

The critical role of polyamines in key processes such as cell growth, differentiation and macromolecular synthesis makes the enzymes involved in their synthesis potential targets in the treatment of certain types of cancer and parasitic diseases. Here we present a study on the inhibition of human and Leishmania donovani ODC (ornithine decarboxylase), the first committed enzyme in the polyamine bio

Human cystatin C undergoes dimerization before unfolding. Dimerization leads to a complete loss of its activity as a cysteine proteinase inhibitor. A similar process of dimerization has been observed in cells, and may be related to the amyloid formation seen for the L68Q variant of the protein. Dimerization is barrier controlled, and no dimer/monomer interconversion can be observed at physiologica

The production of single charged and neutral intermediate vector bosons in e(+)e(-) collisions has been studied in the data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 183 and 209 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 640 pb(-1). The measured cross-sections for the reactions, determined in limited kinematic regions, are in agreement with the Stand

Emission formation and flame stability were investigated, both experimentally and computationally, for premixed combustion with varying amounts of water vapor in the mixture. Emission measurements were made in a gas turbine combustor at atmospheric conditions, using Danish Natural Gas (NG) as fuel. The emissions were mapped as a function of humidity, inlet air temperature, equivalence ratio and ae

Abstract in UndeterminedObligatory educational training of Swedish university teachers rarely involves senior teaching staff from research-dominated environments, despite the positive effects of junior staff training. Senior science academics were surveyed to gauge their views on the principles of teaching and learning and of teaching rewards. These views were compared with educational developers'

The chapter traces the development of the international response to the pandemic of HIV/AIDS from the designation of the World Health Organization (WHO) as “lead agency” in the late 1980s to the emergence of a variety of public-private partnerships from the 1990s onwards. This trajectory is related to general trends in global public health governance. Existing partnerships in the field of HIV/AIDS

There has not been a satisfying numerical validation of the theory of effective waves in random particulate materials. Validation has been challenging because the theoretical methods for effective waves have been limited to random particulate media in infinite slabs or half-spaces, which require a very large number of particles to perform accurate numerical simulations. This paper offers a solutio

Sustainable business model innovation cannot reach its full sustainability potential if it neglects the importance of multi-stakeholder alignment. Several studies emphasize the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to enable sustainable business model innovation, but few studies offer guidance to companies for engaging in such a collaborative process. Based on the concept of boundary work, this

A new rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (RCARS) concept based on interferometric quantum control (IQC) is demonstrated. Two wavepackets originating from pure rotational states are created by a femtosecond stimulated rotational Raman interaction. The two Raman responses are instantly probed by a single-mode ns pulse generating two interfering RCARS polarizations. The resulting sign

Interviews with 75 teenagers and young adults were performed to investigate how young people with dyslexia experienced school in terms of well-being, educational achievement, self-esteem, peer relations and belief in their future. Results from earlier studies suggest that secondary emotional problems are common. The first six grades in school were experienced by the interviewees as full of distres

Calcareous soils are frequently characterized by the low bioavailability of plant nutrients. Consequently, many vascular plant species are unable to successfully colonize calcareous sites and the floristic composition of calcareous and acid silicate soils has been shown to differ markedly. The root exudation of oxalate and citrate has been suggested to play a pivotal role in same nutrient acquisit

Background: The association between nasal and bronchial symptoms, and the course of bronchial responsiveness and airway inflammation in house dust mite sensitive persistent rhinitis over a prolonged time period has not been thoroughly explored. Objective: To determine if nasal symptoms were associated with bronchial symptoms in persistent rhinitic subjects, and to assess their bronchial responsive

Objective: To investigate the association between patient characteristics and disease-specific and generic quality of life (QOL) as well as the degree of bother in women seeking treatment for urinary incontinence (UI). Methods: The Prospective Urinary Incontinence Research (PURE) was a 6-mo observational study with 1055 physicians from 15 European countries enrolling 9487 women. QOL was assessed a

Free radicals have recently been proposed to play a role in the development of diabetic retinopathy. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the abnormal metabolism caused by diabetes and by ischemia followed by recirculation interferes with a free radical enzyme defense system in the retina, ie, glutathione. Diabetes mellitus was induced by injecting streptozotocin ([STZ] 60 mg/kg bod

A diagnosis-antibiotic prescribing study was performed in 5 counties in Sweden during 1 week in November in 2000 and 2002 respectively. As a part of the study, the use and results of C-reactive protein (CRP) tests in relation to duration of symptoms and antibiotic prescribing in 6778 patients assigned a diagnosis of respiratory tract infections were analysed. In almost half (42%) of the patients,