In acidic soils, monomeric aluminium (Al3+) can reach levels that are toxic to plants, thus preventing many species from growing there. Organic acids chelate Al and render it non-toxic. It has been shown that exudation of organic acids by Al-tolerant crops increases their tolerance to Al. We have extended this observation to wild plants by comparing the ability of ten herbs to exude organic acids

Meningitis caused by Escherichia coli K1 is a serious illness in neonates with neurological sequelae in up to 50% of survivors. A high degree of bacteremia is required for E. coli K1 to cross the blood-brain barrier, which suggests that the bacterium must evade the host defence mechanisms and survive in the bloodstream. We previously showed that outer membrane protein A (OmpA) of E. coli binds C4b

In this work we present a PFG-SE technique to obtain the a characteristic time for molecular exchange between domains with slow diffusion and domains with fast diffusion. The method has been demonstrated by measuring the change of exchange time with temperature for a sedimented yeast cell suspension. Compared to previous methods the new protocol is more sensitive to exchange and as few as 40 data

We have demonstrated the possibility of using repetitive ultrafast melting of InSb as a timing diagnostic in connection with visible-light pump/x-ray probe measurements at high-repetition-rate x-ray facilities. Although the sample was molten and regrown approximately 1x10(6) times, a distinct reduction in time-resolved x-ray reflectivity could be observed using a streak camera with a time resoluti

We consider a Casimir apparatus consisting of two perfectly conducting parallel plates, subject to the weak gravitational field of the Earth. The aim of this paper is the calculation of the energy-momentum tensor of this system for a free, real massless scalar field satisfying Neumann boundary conditions on the plates. The small gravity acceleration (considered here as not varying between the two

BACKGROUND: Circulating human osteocalcin (hOC) has been used as a marker of bone formation. Our aim was to validate three immunofluorometric assays (IFMAs), measuring different forms of hOC. METHODS: The two-site IFMAs were based on previously characterized monoclonal antibodies. Assay 2 recognized intact hOC, assays 4 and 9 measured the NH(2)-terminal mid-fragment and the intact hOC. In addition

Ring chromosomes are cytogenetic hallmarks of genomic amplification in several bone and soft tissue tumors, in particular atypical lipomatous tumors (ALT). In ALT, the ring chromosomes invariably contain amplified material from the central part of the long arm of chromosome 12, mainly 12q 12 -> 15, but often also segments from other chromosomes are involved. Previous studies have shown that one of

Vitryssland, Ukraina och Moldova började genom den politiska utvecklingen senhösten 2004 och vintern 2005 att skrivas in i ett europeiskt sammanhang. Det är inte omöjligt att det är fråga om en stor historisk förändring. Ukraina kom genom Jusjtjenkos seger i presidentvalet att tydligt orienteras närmare EU och bort från Ryssland. Praktiskt taget hela det politiska spektret i Moldova signalerade i

Purpose: To assess how general practitioners (GPs) from European countries prioritized their genetic educational needs according to their geographic, sociodemographic, and educational characteristics. Methods: Cross-sectional survey, random and total samples of GPs in five European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and United Kingdom), mailed questionnaires; Outcome: Genetic Edu

The main purpose of this study was to verify the feasibility of brain temperature mapping with high-spatial- and reduced-spectral-resolution magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). A secondary goal was to determine the temperature coefficient of water chemical shift in the brain with and without internal spectral reference. The accuracy of the proposed MRSI method was verified using a wat

In patients with severe hypertension and in age and sex matched controls the circulating levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity (CGRP-LI) and substance P-LI were measured. Samples were taken before medication, after 2-4 weeks and 2-12 months of pharmacological treatment to normotension. In the control group CGRP-LI levels were significantly higher for females than for male

A thermostable glycoside hydrolase family-10 xylanase originating from Rhodothermus marinus was cloned and expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris (SMD1168H). The DNA sequence from Rmxyn10A encoding the xylanase catalytic module was PCR-amplified and cloned in frame with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-factor secretion signal under the control of the alcohol oxidase (AOX1) promoto

We conducted stable isotope analyses of nitrogen and carbon on feathers obtained from willow warblers in Africa to find an explanation for a previously observed pattern of different delta N-15 and delta C-13 values across a migratory divide in central Scandinavia. A new data set confirms that north Scandinavian birds of the subspecies P. t. acredula have higher delta N-15 values than south Scandin

Background Despite recent successes with biological agents as therapy for autoimmune inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis ( RA), many patients fail to respond adequately to these treatments, making a continued search for new therapies extremely important. Recently, the prevailing hypothesis that reactive oxygen species (ROS) promote inflammation was challenged when polymorphisms in N

The growth arrest-specific gene 6 (Gas6) plays a role in pro-atherogenic processes such as endothelial and leukocyte activation, smooth muscle cell migration and thrombosis, but its role in atherosclerosis remains uninvestigated. Here, we report that Gas6 is expressed in all stages of human and mouse atherosclerosis, in plaque endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and macrophages. Gas6 expression

Based on articles published 1990-2004 in 21 LIS journals, a set of co-citation analyses were performed to study changes in research fronts over the last 15 years, where LIS is at now; and to discuss where it is heading. To study research fronts, here defined as current and influential co-cited papers, a citations among documents methodology was applied; and to study changes, the analyses were time

Current evolutionary models of dispersal set the ends of a continuum where the number of individuals emigrating from a habitat either equals the number of individuals immigrating (balanced dispersal) or where emigrants flow from a source habitat to a corresponding sink. Theories of habitat selection suggest a more sophisticated conditional strategy where individuals disperse from habitats where th