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Parasite-mediated selection may contribute to the maintenance of genetic variation at host immune genes over long time scales. To date, the best evidence for the long-term maintenance of immunogenetic variation in natural populations comes from studies on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, whereas evidence for such processes from other immune genes remains scarce. In the present stu

Though activation of Broca's region in the combinatorial processing of symbols (language, music) has been revealed by neurometabolic studies, most previous neurophysiological research found the earliest grammar indices in the temporal cortex, with inferior-frontal generators becoming active at relatively late stages. We use the attention- and task-free syntactic mismatch negativity (sMMN) event-re

In South-East Asia, sedimentary basins displaying continental Permian and Triassic deposits have been poorly studied. Among these, the Luang Prabang Basin (North Laos) represents a potential key target to constrain the stratigraphic and structural evolutions of South-East Asia. A combined approach involving sedimentology, palaeontology, geochronology and structural analysis, was thus implemented t

Common European tree species ( oak, ash, beech, birch, lime and spruce) planted in adjacent stands on six sites were compared in terms of macronutrient concentrations in foliar and stem wood ( including bark) biomass. The nutrient concentrations in both biomass compartments were much more dependent on species than on site although soil conditions differed between the sites. Differences between spe

Rapid economic development in the aftermath of the Chinese post-1978 reforms has resulted in a shrinking of grain grown area in the southern and eastern regions of the country which in turn is believed to have put the marginal northern regions under increased pressure. This paper examines key indicators of agricultural performance as well as cultivated land area development of the pre- and post-19

Background: The lectin, phytohemagglutinin (PHA) has been shown to induce growth and functional maturation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in suckling rats. Objectives: To investigate the effect of the administration route, and whether enteral exposure to PHA was necessary to induce functional maturation. Methods: Fourteen-day-old rats were daily administered PHA via orogastric feeding (0.05 mg

It has recently been discovered that the honey bee Apis mellifera has a large flora of symbiotic lactic acid bacteria in its honey stomach, belonging to the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. It appears that the flora may protect the honey bees, their larvae and their food against harmful microorganisms. Since bumble bees (Bombus spp.) are related to honey bees and have a honey stomach wher

Two well dated Holocene sediment records bordering the Denmark Strait region have been used to reconstruct past climate variability. The content of biogenic silica, clastic and organic material and moss in a lacustrine record from Lake N14 has been used to infer past variability in precipitation and temperature in southern Greenland. Sedimentologic and petrologic composition of sand in a shelf sed

Aim: The role of islet nitric oxide (NO) production in insulin releasing mechanisms is unclear. We examined whether the beneficial effects of the imidazoline derivative RX 871024 (RX) on beta-cell function might be related to perturbations of islet NO production. Methods: Experiments were performed with isolated islets or intact mice challenged with glucose or carbachol with or without RX treatmen

PURPOSE: To assess the risk of death in patients who survive more than 5 years after diagnosis of childhood cancer and to evaluate causes of death in fatal cases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a population-based study in the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) using data of the nationwide cancer registries and the cause-of-death registries. The study cohort inclu

The process of photoactivation has been studied in dark grown cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. A mutant, FUD 39, lacking the Cl-concentrating 23-kDa psbP protein of photosystem II was found to have a decreased capability to perform photoactivation. The yield of the process never reached wild type level, and contrary to the wild type, it was highly dependent on the intensity of the activating li

The composition of the dominating population of freshly cut beef, and beef stored at 4 degrees C for 8 d, was studied by direct analysis of the 16S rRNA gene (PCR amplification, cloning and sequencing) and compared with pure culture technique where the isolates picked from the viable plate count were identified by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The composition of the bacterial population was rec

Using glacial rebound models we have inverted observations of crustal rebound and shoreline locations to estimate the ice thickness for the major glaciations over northern Eurasia and to predict the palaeo-topography from late MIS-6 ( the Late Saalian at c. 140 kyr BP) to MIS-4e ( early Middle Weichselian at c. 64 kyr BP). During the Late Saalian, the ice extended across northern Europe and Russia

Purpose: To evaluate changes in distribution of hepatic arterial blood flow in the liver following insertion of an uncovered stent and subsequently a stent-graft in the trans-jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) channel. Methods: The experiments were performed in eight healthy pigs under general anesthesia. In a pilot study in one pig, scintigraphic evaluation of arterial perfusion to t

Aims: To investigate the effects of inoculation strategy and cultivation approach on the performance of microbial fuel cell (MFC). Methods and Results: A dual-chamber sediment fuel cell was set up fed with glucose under batch condition. At day 30, the supernatant consortium was partly transferred and used as inoculum for the evaluation of cultivation approach. Power output gradually increased to 9

OBJECTIVE: Based on the hypothesis that blood flow in the inflamed joint is inadequate to maintain aerobic glycolysis, we sought to estimate the correlation between blood flow, glucose metabolism, and cellular proliferation rate in the arthritic joint. METHODS: Experiments were performed on rats with antigen induced arthritis (AIA). Regional blood flows (RBF) were measured with the microsphere tec

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of contextual (social capital and neo-materialist) and individual factors on sense of insecurity in the neighbourhood. Methods: The 2000 public health survey in Scania is a cross-sectional study. A total of 13,715 persons answered a postal questionnaire, which is 59% of the random sample. A multilevel logistic regression model, wit

Seasonal variation in home-range size and habitat area requirement of lesser spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos minor) were studied by radio-tracking in southern Sweden for 6 years. Home-range size did not vary between age-groups or sexes, but varied with season and decreased successively from 742 ha in winter (n = 10), 355 ha in early spring (n = 15), 103 ha in late spring (n = 22) to 43 ha during