It has been previously suggested that leukotriene-induced Ca2+ signalling is mediated through a Rho-dependent process, but neither direct activation of Rho nor a mechanism underlying such signalling has been reported. Accordingly, we used the Rhotekin binding assay to assess RhoA activation in intestinal epithelial cells and observed that RhoA was activated by leukotriene D4 (LTD4). We also found

The effect of salt on the location and structure of a flexible polyelectrolyte confined inside a viral capsid and the Donnan equilibrium of the salt across the capsid have been examined using a coarse-grained model solved by Monte Carlo simulations. The polyelectrolyte was represented by a linear jointed chain of charged beads, and the capsid was represented by a spherical shell with embedded char

Objectives. Infliximab is an anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) mousehuman IgG1/k antibody used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory diseases. Unfortunately, response failure and side-effects due to immunogenicity of the drug are not rare. In this study, we have compared different methods of assessing drug levels and anti-infliximab antibodies (Abs) an

The objective of this paper is to investigate how the velocity and turbulence within different locations close to the spark plug influence the combustion at individual cycles in a SI-engine. 2-D cycle-resolved laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements have been done both inside the spark gap and around the spark tip to extract velocity information. The pressure in the cylinder was measured with

A 12-year-old girl with multifocal skeletal sclerosis has been investigated. She was BCG vaccinated at birth and developed regional lymphadenitis in her left groin at two months of age. She was healthy until approximately 10 years of age, after which deficient height and weight gain occurred. BCG-itis was diagnosed in skeleton lesions. No evidence of immunodeficiency was found in the patient. Afte

A search for isomeric states was performed in the nucleus Nd-140(60)80 using in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy and the Te-126(O-18,4n) reaction. Prompt and delayed gamma-ray coincidences were measured with the AFRODITE spectrometer using the pulsed beam delivered by the Separated Sector Cyclotron of iThemba LABS. One new isomer was identified, with spin-parity I-pi=20(+) and lifetime T-1/2 >= 400 ns,

The conceptual design of the Large Earth-based Solar Telescope (LEST)has evolved through the years. In 1995-97 it was discussed whether atechnology demonstration telescope could be built at a lower cost thanthe LEST originally proposed. In 1997, a de-scoped LEST design, theso-called "Mini-LEST", was conceived and proposed to the LEST community.The telescope has an innovative design with a small fi

Excited states of Ge-65 were populated via the C-12 + Ni-58 (261 MeV) reaction using the NORDBALL detector array equipped with charged-particle and neutron detector systems for reaction channel separation. On the basis of yy-coincidence relations and angular distribution ratios a significantly extended level scheme was constructed up to E-x = 9 MeV and J(pi) = (33/2(-)). The low-energy states of t

A phenomenological model for evolving anisotropy at large strains is presented. The model is formulated using spatial quantities and the anisotropic properties of the material is modeled by including structural variables. Evolution of anisotropy is accounted for by introducing substructural deformation gradients which are linear maps similar to the usual deformation gradient. The evolution of the

This article outlines an experimental and numerical study on the estimation of under-pressure in the pore water of HPC. For this purpose 96 sealed cylinders made of 8 HPCs with w/c varying between 0.25 and 0.38, based on low-alkali Portland Cement, were manufactured. Five or ten per cent silica fume was used in the HPCs as calculated on the basis of the cement content. Basic creep was studied on t

It is commonly believed that high-quality CdTe nanoparticles with strong luminescence can only be prepared under the protection of an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon. Here, we report the preparation of highly luminescent CdTe nnaoparticles in air and compare their luminescence properties with CdTe nanoparticles made in nitrogen. We find that both water-soluble CdTe nanoparticles made in air an

Catchment-scale material transport models are today important tools for water and environmental management. However, modelling of material transport is extremely complex due to the physical, chemical and biological processes involved. The complexity calls for spatial distribution and thereby a need for large amounts of input data that generally are not available. Lumped models based on conceptual