Background: The palatine tonsils have a pivotal role in immunological detection of airborne and ingested antigens like bacteria and viruses. They have recently been demonstrated to express Toll-like receptors ( TLRs), known to recognize molecular structures on such microbes and activate innate immune responses. Their activation might also provide a link between innate and adaptive immunity. In the

Background. D-galactosamine together with lipopolysaccharide can lead to a pronounced secretion by Kupffer cells of pro-inflammatory mediators, which have been shown to be early and important mediators of liver injury. Probiotics and dietary supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts with high content of antioxidants, such as blueberry, could be beneficial in protecting against hepatotoxicit

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with chemical shift resolution is a recent extension of MRI and it provides information about species resolved molecular transport on the macroscopic scale in complex systems. In this contribution, we show that by using this novel method, one can predict the behavior of drug and food molecules when they are in contact with the mucosal layer in the gastrointestinal

The effect of plant species diversity on productivity and competitive ability was studied in an experiment carried out simultaneously in five European countries: Czech Republic (CZ), the Netherlands (NL), Sweden (SE), Spain (SP), and United Kingdom (UK). The aim was to separate the 'chance' or 'sampling effect' (increasing the number of sown species increases the probability that a species able 't

We investigated the effects of a single course of antenatal betamethasone on cognition- and anxiety-related behavior and synaptophysin and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) immunoreactivity in the adult rat hippocampus. On d 20 of gestation, pregnant rats were injected with either 1) 170 mu g/kg body weight of betamethasone ("clinically equivalent dose," equivalent to 12 mg twice, 24 h apart

Great tit breeding performance in small habitat islands in an agricultural landscape was compared to that in large deciduous woods. Clutch size was similar in both habitats, but more nestlings starved and fledgling weight was lower in the small habitat islands. The area of wooded habitat in the territories of tits breeding in the small habitat islands was less than what is common to encounter in '

Growth factors, comprising diverse protein and peptide families, are involved in a multitude of developmental processes, including embryogenesis, angiogenesis, and wound healing. Here we show that peptides derived from HB-EGF, amphiregulin, hepatocyte growth factor, PDGF-A and PDGF-B, as well as various FGFs are antimicrobial, demonstrating a previously unknown activity of growth factor-derived pe

bjective Seasonal variation in photoperiod or temperature may influence human reproductive biology. The present study evaluated whether seasonal changes occurred in the levels of reproductive hormones and the major melatonin metabolite, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), in populations exposed to extreme variation in photoperiod and temperature. Design Two separate cohorts of Norwegian men were recruit

Controllable production of nanometre-sized structures is an important field of research, and synthesis of one-dimensional objects, such as nanowires, is a rapidly expanding area with numerous applications, for example, in electronics, photonics, biology and medicine. Nanoscale electronic devices created inside nanowires, such as p-n junctions(1), were reported ten years ago. More recently, hetero-

During past 10 years, the availability of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tools has made application of hard turning increase remarkably in a range of industrial areas, especially in automotive, roller bearing and hydraulic industry. Among the applications of CBN cutting tools, precision hard turning attracts great interests since its environmentally friendly and flexibility, which ulti

New aqueous liquid-liquid two-phase systems based on bovine serum albumin and sodium thiocyanate in combination with either poly(vinyl alcohol) or poly(ethylene glycol) were investigated. Phase diagrams are presented. Lactate dehydrogenase and some mitochondrial enzymes were partitioned in the systems. All the phase components used influenced, either positively or negatively, the activity of lacta

Background It has been proposed that the mechanism of action of the new risk factors for myocardial infarction and stroke, von Willebrand factor (vWF), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) could possibly be mediated via a primary effect on atherogenesis but there is little data to substantiate this. Design A prospective single-centre cohort study

This paper examines how legal science can provide a new perspective and instrument of analysis for understanding how action is produced by legal rules in a given system. By treating legal rules as a factor of explanation in perceiving political action, the authors aim to use them as a scientific perspective that will reflect whether there is a normative determination to generate harmonised legisla

The structural integrity of the ubiquitous enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD1) relies critically on the correct coordination of Cu and Zn. Loss of these cofactors not only promotes SOD1 aggregation in vitro but also seems to be a key prerequisite for pathogenic misfolding in the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We examine here the consequences of Zn2+ loss by selective

The combination of the CELSIUS ring, operating in slow ramping mode, the cluster-jet target. the large multi-detector array CHICSi and additional internal and external detector systems for specific emission components in p-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions is presented. This combination operates Well under realistic experimental conditions. Scientific perspectives, commissioning and first exp

We demonstrate metal organic vapour phase epitaxy growth of GaP/GaAs1-xPx/GaP double heterostructure nanowires on GaP(111)B, and report bright photoluminescence at room temperature. By using different PH3 to AsH3 flow ratios during growth of the GaAs1-xPx segment, we are able to control the composition of the segment, making it feasible to tune the wavelength of the emitted light. A photoluminesce

Aim To implement plant hydraulic architecture within the Lund-Potsdam-Jena Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (LPJ-DGVM), and to test the model against a set of observational data. If the model can reproduce major patterns in vegetation and ecosystem processes, we consider this to be an important linkage between plant physiology and larger-scale ecosystem dynamics. Location The location is global, ge

Background: Malignant hyperthermia (MH) susceptibility is a pharmacogenetic disorder of intracellular calcium homeostasis. In susceptible individuals, halogenated anaesthetics and/or suxamethonium may trigger an MH reaction. The diagnosis of MH susceptibility is made by an in vitro contracture test of biopsied muscle strips. Methods: In 27 MH susceptible (MHS) probands and four MH negative (MHN) p