With the growing interest in clinical interventions that involve medical devices, the role for new biomaterials in modern medicine is currently expanding at a phenomenal rate. Failure of most implant materials stems from an inability to predict and control biological phenomena, such as protein adsorption and cell interaction, resulting in an inappropriate host response to the materials. Contempora

At first, it may seem as if the sustainable transition would force us to make a cynical trade-off between (a) the immediate needs of the global poor and (b) the future needs of the global rich. Crucial objectives, such as climate stability, are commonly held to be unattainable if the rest of the world would come to enjoy present Western living standards. Challenging this pessimistic analysis, this

The water chemistry of 20 municipal water treatment plants in southern Sweden, representing various bedrock situations, and water qualities, were investigated. Four water samples, raw and treated. were collected from each plant and analyzed by predominantly ICP-OES and ICP-MS at four occasions from June to December, 2001. The concentrations of Ca, Mg. K.. Na, HCO3 and a number of micronutrients, v

The mobilization of free fatty acids from adipose triacylglycerol (TG) stores requires the activities of triacylglycerol lipases. In this study, we demonstrate that adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) are the major enzymes contributing to TG breakdown in in vitro assays and in organ cultures of murine white adipose tissue (WAT). To differentiate between ATGL- and

Imaginary companions and the characteristics of the children who invent them were explored through interviews. Twenty-six children took part. The first aim was to explore the phenomenon in general, the second to investigate the functions of imaginary companions. General findings concerned the kinds of imaginary companions and some facts about the children who created them. The imaginary companions

Natural radiative lifetimes, measured by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, are reported for eighteen levels of neutral erbium belonging to the odd-parity 4f(12)6s6p, 4f(11)5d6s(2), 4f(11)5d(2)6s and 4f(11)5d6s7s configurations in the wavenumber range from 26 237 to 42 154 cm(-1). Free erbium atoms were produced in a laser-induced plasma. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) t

HSL (hormone-sensitive lipase) is a key enzyme in the mobilization of fatty acids from acylglycerols in adipocytes as well as non-adipocytes. In adipocytes, catecholamines stimulate lipolysis mainly through PKA (protein kinase A)-mediated phosphorylation of HSL and perilipin, a protein coating the lipid droplet. The anti-lipolytic action of insulin is mediated mainly via lowered cAMP levels, accom

A key unanswered question in smooth muscle biology is whether phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) is sufficient for regulation of contraction, or if thin-filament-based regulatory systems also contribute to this process. To address this issue, the endogenous RLC was extracted from single smooth muscle cells and replaced with either a thiophosphorylated RLC or a mutant RLC (T

Background: Sphingomyelin (SM) hydrolysis generates biologically active products regulating cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Dietary SM has been found to inhibit colonic tumorigenesis. Alkaline sphingomyelinase (alk-SMase) is the key enzyme responsible for sphingomyelin digestion in the gut. Whether or not dietary sphingomyelin affects alk-SMase expression was examined in a colon cancer

We analyzed the presenting features and survival in 1689 patients with multiple myeloma aged younger than 50 years compared with 8860 patients 50 years of age and older. Of the total 10 549 patients, 7765 received conventional therapy and 2784 received high-dose therapy. Young patients were more frequently male, had more favorable features such as low International Staging System (ISS) and Durle-S

Abstract in UndeterminedIn this paper, different multivariate statistical approaches for analysing wastewater treatment process data are presented and compared. For this purpose, all the methods have been tested using one-year operational data in a simulation model benchmark. The general monitoring strategy adopted includes a screening stage to improve data quality, all adaptive model to detect an

The 2nd Helsingborg Consensus Conference on European Stroke Strategies, was held March 2006 with the aims to update core issues in stroke management, to monitor progress, and to set new targets for the year 2015. the congress was organized by the International Society of Internal Medicine, endorsed by the European Stroke Council and the International Stroke Society, and co-sponsored by the WHO Reg