DNA compaction by alkyltrimethylammonium surfactants at hydrophobized silica surfaces and the effect of the counterion, as well as the hydrocarbon chain length, was investigated by in situ null-ellipsometry. In addition, DNA compaction in the presence of a gemini surfactant, hexyl-alpha,omega-bis(dodecyldimethylammonium bromide), was studied. The type of cationic amphiphile used was found not to h

Multiparity decreases the risk of breast cancer in white women, whereas it is a risk factor in black women < 50 years. Early-onset breast cancer (< 50 years) has been associated with high insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels. Absence of the common IGFI 19 cytosine-adenine ( CA)- repeat allele (IGFI-19/-19) inverts the effect of several non-genetic factors on breast cancer risk but the inter

Granulites from the high-grade Sveconorwegian (corresponding to Grenvillian) gneiss terrane of SW Sweden were investigated in order to relate magnetic properties to the granulite facies mineralogy and the amphibolite facies retrograde mineralogy. We used standard paleomagnetic techniques, susceptibility measurements, electron and optical microscopy, and a new way to analyze demagnetization curves

Responses from pheromone-specific receptor neurones in male Agrotis segetum (Denis & Schiffermuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were recorded in a laboratory wind tunnel. Stimuli were: (1) rubber septum dispensers loaded with single components or a four-component pheromone blend, (2) excised glands from female A. segetum, (3) constrained A. segetum females with extruded glands. Dose-response cur

Microglia are the immune cells of the brain. Here we show a massive infiltration of highly ramified and elongated microglia within the core of amyloid plaques in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Many of these cells originate from the bone marrow, and the beta-amyloid-40 and -42 isoforms are able to trigger this chemoattraction. These newly recruited cells also exhibit a specifi

This paper expands Ghaddar et al. [N. Ghaddar, K. Ghali, R. Saadeh, A. Keblawi, Design charts for combined chilled ceiling displacement ventilation system (1438-RP), ASHRAE Transactions, 143 (2) (2008) 574-587] design charts of combined chilled ceiling (CC) displacement ventilation (DV) system to operating sensible load ranges from 40 W/m(2) to 100 W/m(2). It develops a global correlation of syste

Deviating cytokine patterns, as a consequence of aberrant immunoregulation, is implicated to be of aetiopathogenetic importance in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). To evaluate the possibility of anti-cytokine autoantibody-mediated cytokine regulation/dysregulation, IgG class autoantibodies against cytokines (IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-10, TNFalpha and TGFbeta(1)) were analysed by enzyme-linked immunoso

Objective: The aim was to describe the patients' own experiences of risk information in connection with cardiac surgery and it's outcome. Methods: Questionnaires were answered prior to and 8 weeks after cardiac surgery. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Patients in the intervention group (n = 55) received standard information and a newly written extended information brochure a

OBJECTIVE: To determine microvascular diameter and perivascular interstitium thickness at the lung surface in the in situ, in vivo lung. METHODS: Microscopic images of the lung surface collected through a "pleural window" by a videocamera were digitized with a monochrome frame grabber (512 x 512 pixels, 8 bits per pixels) to be computer analyzed by image processing techniques. RESULTS: We found th

We used radiotelemetry to investigate the time of migratory flight initiation relative to available celestial orientation cues and departure direction of a nocturnal passerine migrant, the reed warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, during autumn migration. The study was carried out at Falsterbo, a coastal site in southwest Sweden. The warblers initiated migration from times well after local sunset and

The emotional aspects of the care-giving relationship in home-care services are studied, starting from the home-care recipients' and the home-care workers' perception of the emotional climate. Their experiences of the care-giving relationship and the influence from different aspects of the care-giving situation and social processes in the work organisation are explored. Two hundred and twenty-two

The world of Arda and the many stories set therein carry within them echoes of earlier tales, and even though it would be terribly reductive to discuss Tolkien’s work only in terms of its sources, knowledge of where the echoes come from contribute to our understanding and, perhaps more importantly, enjoyment of his world and stories. This is illustrated as much by the numerous university courses t

We examined the seasonal and inter-annual variation of leaf-level photosynthetic characteristics of three C-4 perennial species, Cyperus articulatus, Panicum repens and Imperata cylindrica, and their response to environmental variables, to determine comparative physiological responses of plants representing particular microhabitats within a seasonal tropical floodplain in the Okavango River Delta,

We study the Schrödinger operator with a constant magnetic field in the exterior of a compact domain in ℝ 2

Titanium spectra recorded in the infrared wavelength region with a Fourier Transform Spectrometer have been analysed, and 572 lines have been identified as transitions of the types 3d-4f, 4d-4f and 4-5g. 11 lines in the UV region around 2400 angstrom have been identified as belonging to the 3d(3)4s a(5)F-3d(2)4s(F-4)4f transition array. 113 levels of the 3d(2)4s(F-4)4f, 3d(3)(F-4)4f and 3d(2)4s(F-

Statins are inhibitors of the rate-limiting step of cellular cholesterol synthesis. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that statins have anti-inflammatory properties independent of their cholesterol-lowering effects. These observations prompted us to examine the effects of pravastatin (50 mgr; M) and native or oxidized low density lipoprotein (nLDL or oxLDL) (50 mgr; g ml(minus sign1)) on primar

Background The aim of this study was to investigate gene transfer to human umbilical cord blood (CB) CD34(+)/CD38(low) and NOD/SCID repopulating cells using oncoretroviral vectors and to compare the transduction efficiency using three different viral envelopes. Methods CB cells were transduced on Retronectin using an MSCV-based vector with the gene for GFP (MGIN), which was packaged into three dif

To construct the recombinant adenovirus vector containing the cDNA for recombinant mouse cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 3B (mPDE3B), the cDNA for mPDE3B was subcloned into pACCMV.pLpA. Subsequently, this recombinant plasmid, pACCMV.mPDE3B, was cotransfected with pJM17 plasmid containing the adenoviral genome into 293 human embryonic kidney cells, and the replication-deficient adenovirus AdCMV

The trxA gene is regarded as essential in Bacillus subtilis, but the roles of the TrxA protein in this gram-positive bacterium are largely unknown. Inactivation of trxA results in deoxyribonucleoside and cysteine or methionine auxotrophy. This phenotype is expected if the TrxA protein is important for the activity of the class Ib ribonucleotide reductase and adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate/3'-phosphoa