Background and Objectives. Osteopontin (OPN) is a non-collagenous matrix protein produced by various cells including osteoblasts, osteoclasts and several types of tumor cells. It is involved in a number of physiologic and pathologic events including adhesion, angiogenesis, apoptosis, inflammation, wound healing and tumor metastasis. We wanted to investigate the potential role of OPN in multiple my

To determine the stabilizing effect of external lumbar supports on the intervertebral mobility in the lower lumbar spine, seven patients with a posterolateral lumbosacral fusion without internal fixation were examined by roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis in supine and erect positions 1 month after surgery, that is, after soft tissue healing but before fusion consolidation. Each patient was e

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors for acidemia at birth. METHODS: From September 1988 to December 1996, cord arterial blood pH was measured in 23,016 of 27,064 live-born infants (85.0%). Values below 7.05 were observed in 264 newborns (1.1%), of whom 14 born by cesarean delivery before labor and one triplet infant were excluded from the study. The remaining 249 newborns with acidemia and their m

A multiconfigurational approach to the quantum chemistry of heavy element compounds is described. Relativistic effects are treated in two steps, both based on the Douglas-Kroll Hamiltonian. Scalar terms are included in the basis set generation and are used to determine wave functions and energies, which include static (through the use of the CASSCF method) and dynamic correlation effects (using mu

Human skeletal muscles are composed of two distinguishable types of fibres, which in healthy muscles appear to be randomly arranged. Large groups of one fibre type are commonly regarded as evidence of a neuropathological process affecting the peripheral nerves or the nerve cells in the spinal cord. An objective method that detects non-random arrangements as a sign of a neurogenic disorder, particu

BACKGROUND: It has been assumed that gastrin stimulates the growth of pancreatic cancer in an autocrine way through co-expression of gastrin and the cholecystokinin-B receptor (CCK-BR). However, pancreatic cancer cell lines established directly from patients have revealed a great heterogeneity in cell proliferation when exposed to CCK, gastrin and their receptor antagonists. The aim of this study

Two main topics are dealt with in this thesis. Firstly, the performance of condensing boilers with finned tube heat exchangers and premix burners is evaluated. Secondly, ways of avoiding condensate formation in the flue system are evaluated. In the first investigation, a transient heat transfer approach is used to predict performance of different boiler configurations connected to different heati

Cytokines play a major role in lymphoid development. Defects of the common gamma chain (gamma (c)) or of the JAK3 protein in humans have been shown to result in a severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), with a profound defect in T and natural killer (NK)-cell development, whereas B-cell generation is apparently unaffected (T-B+NK- SCID). While extensive molecular and biochemical analysis of thes

The first experimental study of focusing synchrotron radiation by a parabolic planar glassy-carbon lens is presented. The lens consists of four biconcave single lenses with a curvature radius of 0.2 mm and a relief height comparable with the lens aperture (similar to1 mm). One lens gives rise to the formation of a linear focus with a length comparable with the height of a parabolic profile. The us

New software technologies are important for the future of control (and vice versa) in an age of increasing complexity. This paper discusses what are the trends.

The following presentation specifies the thermal characteristics of the compartment fire exposure and the standard fire exposure as a basis for an analytical fire design of load bearing structures, particularly steel structures. The connection between the two types of exposure is dealt with according to the concept of equivalent time of fire exposure. given in an approximate as well as in a more a

Background The purposes of this study were (1) to evaluate the wear pattern of the hydroxyapatite-coated "Dual Radius" Omnifit cup, (2) to investigate whether wear is correlated to any demographic or prosthesis-related factors, and (3) to describe micromotion of both the cup and the stem. Patients and methods 154 hips were implanted between 1990 and 1996 and followed for an average of 6 years. Wea

The effects of hypothermia on hypoglycemic brain damage were studied in rats after a 30-min period of hypoglycemic coma, defined as cessation of spontaneous EEG activity. The rats were either normothermic (37 degrees C) or moderately hypothermic (33 degrees C). Morphological brain damage was evaluated after various periods of recovery. Hypothermic animals with halothane anesthesia never resumed sp

Objective: The hemodynamic effects of vacuum-assisted closure therapy in cardiac surgery are debated. The aim of the present study was to quantify cardiac output and left ventricular chamber volumes after vacuum-assisted closure using magnetic resonance imaging, which is known to be the most accurate method for quantifying these measures. Methods: Six pigs had median sternotomy followed by vacuum-

Avhandlingen tar som utgångspunkt diofantisk approximation med fokus på dåligt approximerbara tal. För specialfallet de q-adiska rationella talen betraktar vi två typer av approximationsmodeller, en ensidig och en tvåsidig modell, och de dåligt approximerbara tal de ger upphov till. Vi visar med elementära metoder att Hausdorff-dimensionen av dessa två mängder beror kontinuerligt på en definierandThe thesis takes as starting point diophantine approximation with focus on the area of badly approximable numbers. For the special kind of rationals, the q-adic rationals, we consider two types of approimations models, a one-sided and a two-sided model, and the sets of badly approximable numbers they give rise to. We prove with elementary methods that the Hausdorff dimension of these two sets depe

This paper describes the sedimentology, morphology and diagenesis of recently discovered Middle Silurian low-relief micro-epikarst from the Klintehamn area on western Gotland (Sweden). The epikarst represents the most distal portion of an unconformity that truncates stratigraphic units across a major part of the Baltic palaeo-basin. It formed in the intertidal area during the late stage of platfor

A series of intramolecular condensation products were obtained by base-catalyzed treatment of the natural bioactive dimeric phthalide diligustilide (1) using different reaction conditions and the yields remarkably depend on these. The reaction conditions to obtain selectively the intramolecular condensation derivatives or the hydrolysis products of diligustilide (1) are described.