A laboratory study on the sublethal effects of cadmium (Cd) on the net-spinning process of the larvae of Hydropsyche slossonae was conducted in order to assess the potential of net anomalies as an indicator of chronic exposure to Cd. Two major anomalies with different frequency levels were identified after chronic exposure to 0.37, 1.2, 11.6, 21.4 and 43.3 μg l−1 of Cd. The first was a distortion

Endoderm development is an area of intense interest in developmental biology, but progress has been hampered by the lack of specific markers for differentiated endodermal cells. In an unbiased secretion cloning screen of Xenopus gastrula embryos we isolated a novel gene, designated Darmin. Darmin encodes a secreted protein of 56 kDa containing a peptidase M20 domain characteristic of the glutamate

Regeneration of cells in the central nervous system is a process that might be affected during neurological disease and trauma. Because nitric oxide (NO) and its derivatives are powerful mediators in the inflammatory cascade, we have investigated the effects of pathophysiological concentrations of NO on neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and the expression of proneural genes in primary adult neural stem c

Neuropsychological sex differences have since long been under debate. Support for the relation between behavioral differences and biological variables like hormone influence is, however, emerging. Sixteen men and sixteen women, all university students, were tested with computerized neuropsychological tests (APT), the Bem Sexual Role Inventory, and asked about pubertal age. The results were in line

Human semen has several important constituents, including the prostate secreted proteins beta-microseminoprotein (MSP), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), and the seminal-vesicle-derived coagulum proteins semenogelin I (SEMG1) and semenogelin II (SEMG2). The research underlying this thesis explored the evolution, expression and structure of seminal plasma protein

The Role of women in medieval and early modern England

Nutrient availability is a major constraint to plant production and carbon storage in arctic ecosystems, but there are few studies coupling processes in the decomposer and microbial food web and the implications these processes have on the control of nutrient mineralization. We studied the relationship between microbial biomass and the abundance of microbivore and the role of grazing on nutrient t

Ethanol produced from various lignocellulosic materials such as wood, agricultural and forest residues has the potential to be a valuable substitute for, or complement to, gasoline. One of the major resources in the Northern hemisphere is softwood. This paper reviews the current status of the technology for ethanol production from softwood, with focus on hemicellulose and cellulose hydrolysis, whi

PURPOSE: Activation of soluble guanylate cyclase with a subsequent increase in intracellular levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate is necessary for normal erection. In vascular tissue 3(5'-hydroxymethyl-2'-furyl-1-benzyl indazole (YC-1) (Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Illinois) has been shown to stimulate soluble guanylate cyclase independent of nitric oxide. We studied whether YC-1 modula

The primary purification of a 6.1kilo base pair (kbp) plasmid from a desalted alkaline lysate has been accomplished by a thermoseparating aqueous two-phase system [(50% ethylene oxide-50% propylene oxide)-Dextran T 500]. The partitioning of the different nucleic acids (plasmid DNA, RNA, genomic DNA) in the thermoseparating aqueous two-phase system was followed both qualitatively by agarose gel ele

Adsorption of a model protein to a surface with end-grafted polymers was studied by Monte Carlo simulations. In the model the effect on protein adsorption in the presence of end-grafted polymers was evaluated by calculating the change in free energy between an end-grafted surface and a surface without polymers. The change in free energy was calculated using statistical mechanical perturbation theo

Desalted plasma from a 2,4- and 2,6-toluene diisocyanate (2,4- and 2,6-TDI) exposed worker at a factory producing flexible polyurethane foam was separated and fractionated into 200 fractions using ion-exchange chromatography followed by a gel-filtration separation and fractionation into 59 fractions. The corresponding amines (to the isocyanates), 2,4- and 2,6-toluenediamine (2,4- and 2,6-TDA), wer

I here propose a modification of the English butterfly census method (Pollard 1977) for studies of large areas with a relatively low density of butterflies. The transect line should not be more than 10 m from any point in open terrain and open forests, but only 5 m from sunny edges and patches with a high density of flowers. The transect line is adjusted between visits to most intensively cover si

Mixtures of ethyl (hydroxyethyl)cellulose (EHEC) and sodium dodecanoate (SDoD) were investigated using surface tension, conductivity and transmittance measurements. The parameters of the surfactant to polymer association processes such as the critical aggregation concentration (cac) and saturation of the polymer by SDoD (psp) were determined from the plots of surface tension and specific conductiv