Complement analysis in the clinic is usually associated with the quantification of C3 and C4, measurement of C1-inhibitor and screening for complement activity. These analyses have been available in routine diagnostic laboratories for decades. In recent years, however, the field of complement analysis has expanded considerably, with the introduction of novel assays to detect complement activation

Background: Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) and long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) are the two treatment alternatives when treating respiratory insufficiency in patients with kyphoscoliosis. We aimed to study the effect on survival with regard to HMV or LTOT alone in patients with respiratory insufficiency due to kyphoscoliosis. Methods: Swedish patients with nonparalytic kyphoscoliosis (ie, scolio

Platinum and other nobel metals have been found to catalyze the complete oxidation of sucrose and other sugars by vanadium(IV) in acid environments. As the redox potential of vanadium(IV)/vanadium(III) differs substantially from that of dioxygen/water, it might be possible to use this reaction to construct a redox type of fuel cell. In the present paper, the requirements on the catalyst are discus

Background: Foods with a low glycemic index are increasingly being acknowledged as beneficial in relation to the insulin resistance syndrome. Certain organic acids can lower the glycemic index of bread products. However, the possible effect of acids in fermented milk products on the glycemic index and on insulinemic characteristics has not been addressed. The metabolic effects of fermented milk or

The mechanical properties of the aorta play a major role in the regulation of blood pressure and cardiac performance. The effect of sympathetic stimulation on the mechanical properties of the human abdominal aorta was studied in 19 healthy volunteers, divided into young (25 +/- 2 years) and elderly individuals (69 +/- 2 years) of both sexes. A non-invasive ultrasonic echo-tracking system for measu

It has been suggested that the increase in the number of Hox genes may have been one of the key events in vertebrate evolution. Invertebrates have one Hox cluster, while mammals have four. Interestingly, the number of Hox gene clusters is greater in the teleost fishes, zebrafish and medaka, than in mouse and human. The greater number of Hox clusters in the teleosts suggests that Hox gene duplicati

A method to enhance weak two-neutron exit channels in heavy-ion induced fusion-evaporation reactions is demonstrated with a data set from the NORDBALL detector array, True two-neutron events are enhanced in relation to spurious events from cross-talk by a factor of 30. In the process the peak-to-background ratio in the coincident gamma-ray spectra improves more than 3 times.

The interaction between the dye cis-bis(4,4‘-dicarboxy-2,2‘-bipyridine)-bis(isothiocyanato)-ruthenium(II), Ru(dcbpyH2)2(NCS)2, and nanostructured ZnO was investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) using synchrotron radiation. The results are compared with those of nanostructured TiO2 sensitized with the same dye, which to date is the most efficient system for dye-sensitized photoelectrochemi

A mixed initial-boundary value problem for a nonlocal, hyperbolic equation is analyzed with respect to unique solubility and causality. The regularity of the step response and impulse response (the Green functions) is investigated, and a wave front theorem is proved. The problem arises, e.g., at time-varying, electromagnetic, plane wave excitation of stratified, temporally dispersive, bi-isotropic

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if the preventive measures taken to reduce the occupational exposure to asbestos have resulted in a decreased incidence of pleural mesothelioma in Sweden. METHODS: The incidence of pleural mesothelioma between 1958 and 1995 for birth cohorts born between 1885 and 1964 was investigated. The cases of pleural mesothelioma were identified through the Swedish Cancer Register.

Probabilistic analysis is the usual starting point for sociotechnical risk assessments aimed at deciding whether or not a particular risk is acceptable. However, the available probabilistic evidence is usually insufficient as a basis for such decisions, and so the assessment has to be supplemented by a judgemental process of a more deterministic nature. This concluding phase in decisionmaking is e

1 We studied the effects of a thromboxane A2 receptor (TP receptor) antagonist, ICI-192,605 (0.5mgkg-', i.v.) and a selective thromboxane (Tx) synthetase inhibitor, OKY-046 (30mgkg-1, i.v.), on airway responses induced by leukotriene D4 (LTD4; 0.2 nmol) or prostaglandin F2a, (PGF2,; 20 nmol) instilled via the airways route to anaesthetized guinea-pigs. For a comparison, airway responses to a TxA2-

In this paper, a control strategy for introducing enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) in an alternating plant designed for enhanced biological nitrogen removal (EBNR) is presented. Alternating aerobic and anaerobic conditions to promote EBPR are provided by controlling the phases of the operational cycle, instead of a separate anaerobic volume. By utilising the control schemes already bu

We present a multiplexed and internally calibrated quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (QRT-PCR) assay to detect human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) transcripts in blood samples from healthy subjects and prostate cancer (PC) patients. The assay detected 50 copies of hK2 and PSA mRNA, and 1 PSA- and 10 hK2-expressing LNCaP cells in the presence of 2.5 x 10(6) P