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Soil disturbance is a common phenomenon in semi-natural sandy grasslands, caused by management practices, livestock trampling and erosion. To better understand ecosystem processes when the surface layers of the soil are disturbed, we investigated the effects of disturbance on different functional microbial groups by the use of signature fatty acid analysis. Four levels of disturbance were investig
Hemicelluloses isolated from agricultural residues have the potential to replace fossil-based materials in high-value-added applications, provided that cost-efficient isolation processes are developed. In this study, a feed solution containing hemicelluloses extracted from wheat bran with a particular high viscosity was used to study the performance of ultrafiltration for hemicellulose isolation a
Menstrual and reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use have been investigated as pancreatic cancer risk factors in case-control and cohort studies, but results have been inconsistent. We conducted a prospective examination of menstrual and reproductive factors, exogenous hormone use and pancreatic cancer risk (based on 304 cases) in 328,610 women from the EPIC cohort. Then, in a case-control
ABSTACT: Src homology 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase-2 (SHP-2) is an important regulator of cell signaling because of its ability to dephosphorylate receptors of growth factors as well as the cytokines and tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins associated with these receptors. In the current study, we used four different prostate cancer cell lines: PC3, DU145, LNCaP and LNCaP-IL6+. Tumor speci
Purpose This study aims to report the clinical outcome of computer-assisted fundoplication (CAF) in children. Methods As our center changed policy to using computer-assisted surgery only, a prospectively studied cohort of 40 children underwent CAF, during the period from January 2006 through May 2013. The collected data include patient demographics and postoperative complications as well as medica
Vertebral fracture risk is a heritable complex trait. The aim of this study was to identify genetic susceptibility factors for osteoporotic vertebral fracture applying a genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach. The GWAS discovery was based on the Rotterdam Study, a population-based study of elderly Dutch individuals aged >55 years; and comprising 329 cases and 2666 controls with radiographic
Congenital muscular dystrophy with laminin α2 chain-deficiency (MDC1A) is one of the most severe forms of muscular disease and is characterized by severe muscle weakness and delayed motor milestones. The genetic basis of MDC1A is well-known, yet the secondary mechanisms ultimately leading to muscle degeneration and subsequent connective tissue infiltration are not fully understood. In order to obt
Despite a growing awareness of the presence of cyanobacterial toxins, knowledge about the ability of specific species to produce toxic compounds is still rather limited. It was the overall goal of the current work to investigate if probes derived from the freshwater species Lyngbya aerugineo-coerulea (Kutz.) Gomont, a cyanobacterium frequently found in southern Europe and not previously investigat
Background Systemic inflammation has been suggested to underlie in part the elevated risk of arrhythmias and myocardial dysfunction during the first weeks after cardiac surgery. Recent transthoracic Doppler studies from our centre indicated increased basal coronary arterial flow in children 5 days after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. In these children, we investigated whether the inflammatory med
Aggressiveness during intersexual conflicts is predicted to depend on its costs, the value of winning and the power asymmetry of the contestants, all of which may vary between populations. In the marine isopod Idotea baltica (Pallas) a conflict occurs as females resist the attempts by males to start precopulatory mate guarding. We analysed contest dynamics with respect to female maturity stage, th
An increasing number of investigations suggest volumetric changes and glial pathology in several brain regions of patients with bipolar disorder. Lithium, used in the treatment of this disorder, has been reported to be neuroprotective and increase brain volume. Here we investigate the effect of lithium on the proliferation and survival of glial cells positive for the chondroitin sulphate proteogly
Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus is an extremely thermophilic, gram-positive anaerobe which ferments cellulose-, hemicellulose- and pectin-containing biomass to acetate, CO2, and hydrogen. Its broad substrate range, high hydrogen-producing capacity, and ability to coutilize glucose and xylose make this bacterium an attractive candidate for microbial bioenergy production. Here, the complete gen
The effect of pretreating cell suspensions of embryonic rat ventral mesencephala (VM) with antioxidant combinations on the survival of dopaminergic (DA) neurons was studied in vitro and following transplantation into the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rat model of Parkinson's disease. The in vitro experiments examined the effects of two thiol antioxidants, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC)
The concentrations of the monoamine metabolites homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (HMPG) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with clinical frontotemporal dementia (FTD; n = 30), early onset Alzheimer's disease (EAD; n = 33), late onset Alzheimer's disease (LAD, n = 27) and normal controls (n = 31) were determined using HPLC. A
Background: Recent studies on the pathophysiology of heart failure indicate the role of neurohormones and immune and inflammatory processes as potential mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis and clinical course of chronic heart failure (CHF). Aim: To analyse the relationship between concentrations of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), endothelin-1 (ET-1), inflammatory cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-6) a
A disturbed proprioception has been described in patients with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficient knee. The relation to demographic data and to different commonly associated anatomical lesions, as well as to subjective knee function, was prospectively studied in 16 consecutive patients after an acute knee ligament injury. All patients had a complete rupture of the ACL, but variable asso
Decreased information processing speed (mental slowing) is a known sequelae of many brain disorders, and can be assessed by continuous naming tasks. Functional imaging studies have shown that pause and articulation times in continuous speech are normally associated with different brain regions, but knowledge about such association in dementia is lacking. We therefore tested the hypothesis that per
This paper, the first in a series on the automatic generation of detailed hydrocarbon mechanisms for hydrocarbons, describes how generalized reaction types, specifically the 25 types outlined by Curran et al. for heptane and isooctane combustion, can be translated into general reaction classes. Each type description from Curran et al. ranges from specific, such as differentiating among 1degrees, 2
Background Methadone and buprenorphine are well-documented treatment options for opiate dependence, and there is substantial evidence to support adjunct psychosocial support for methadone maintenance treatment. Although drug-free treatment is preferred by a large number of patients and has considerable political support, less is known about treatment to support and maintain complete abstinence fro
It is assumed that the Id helix-loop-helix (HLH) proteins act by associating with ubiquitously expressed basic HLH (bHLH) transcription factors, such as E47 and E2-2, which prevents these factors from forming functional hetero- or homodimeric DNA binding complexes. Several tissue-specific bHLH proteins, including HASH-1, dHAND, and HES-1, are important for development of the nervous system. Neurob
