The effective self-management of obstructive lung disease is dependent upon the patient achieving good inhaler technique. However, many current inhalers are complicated to use, which may lead to handling difficulties. These difficulties can cause clinically relevant errors, whereby pharmacotherapy fails to achieve adequate lung deposition and therapeutic effect. In this report, the potential of no

It is important to know the contributions of bacteria and fungi to decomposition in connection with both the structure of the food web and the functioning of the ecosystem. However, the extent of the competition between these groups of organisms is largely unknown. The bacterial influence on fungal growth in a soil system was studied by applying three different bacterial inhibitors - bronopol, tyl

Objective. Low molecular mass proteins (LMMP) are putative uraemic toxins, but their elimination is negligible in standard haemodialysis (HD). In this study, we used beta(2)-microglobulin, cystatin C and beta-trace protein, which differ in molecular mass and charge, to characterize the elimination patterns of three different dialysis modalities. Material and methods. Plasma samples were obtained a

In alpine and high-latitude regions, water resource decision making often requires large-scale estimates of snow amounts and melt rates. Such estimates are available through distributed snow models which in some situations can be improved by assimilation of remote sensing observations. However, in regions with frequent cloud cover, complex topography, or large snow amounts satellite observations m

The marriage squeeze in China, whereby the sex ratio imbalance leaves many males without a marriage partner, is not only about numbers, but also about how the institution of marriage is socially, economically, and politically underpinned. This paper uses the concept of ecology of choice in mate selection to demonstrate how different social processes and practices have ramifications on who can marr

Rapid and reliable observations of soil electrical conductivity are essential in order to maintain sustainable irrigated agriculture. Direct measurement of the electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste (ECe), however, is tedious andtime consuming. Therefore, there are needs to find efficient indirect methods to predict the soil salinity from other readily available observations. In this pape

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We report on a time-resolved study of the fifth harmonic generated in xenon by 140 ps pulses from a Nd:YAG laser in the 10(13) W cm-2 intensity regime. Absolute timing between the driving laser pulse and the harmonic pulse could be determined by means of reference harmonics generated in non-linear crystals and a single common streak camera. Above a certain laser intensity the centre of the observe

Galiellalactone is a potent and specific inhibitor of STAT3 signaling which has been shown to possess growth inhibitory effects on prostate cancer cells expressing active STAT3. In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of galiellalactone on prostate cancer stem cell-like cells. We explored the expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) as a marker for cancer stem cell-like cells in differ

BACKGROUND: Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury is a pivotal mechanism in critical illness and in the development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, in which the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation plays a central role. Intestinal I/R injury initiates the extrinsic tissue factor or factor VIIa-dependent pathway of coagulation, also of importance in multiple organ dysfuncti