Introduction: Objectives were to give an overview of endotoxin exposure and its determinants in sewage treatment workers, and to study exposure to culturable and non-culturable microorganisms and the applicability of the LAL assay in this work environment. Material and methods: In 43 Dutch sewage treatment plants 470 full-shift, 123 task-based personal and 54 stationary inhalable dust samples were

Plants have evolved many mechanisms to increase the chance of gene dispersal mainly through pollen and environmental factors play an important role. Understanding the mechanism behind gene dispersal is therefore crucial in the correct evaluation of the use of genetically modified crops for cultivation. In this paper we address the question of weather nutrient availability for the female affects th

Metabolic variables in samples of synovial fluid (SF) from 33 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) knees were analyzed. These variables were correlated with radiological destruction and SF proteoglycan concentrations. SF acidosis correlated with radiological involvement (rs = 0.62, p less than 0.002), but not with proteoglycan concentrations. A weak correlation was found between SF acidosis and granulocyte c

Real or virtual pions are important ingredients of nuclear reactions at intermediate energies, and their couplings to major nuclear de-excitation modes can determine the final reaction products starting from several beam species. One of these modes is the important fission decay channel for heavy nuclei, induced with real pion beams over a wide range of energies and nuclei, largely using SSNTD. Th

The objective was to investigate if healthy elderly people respond and adapt differently to postural disturbances compared to middle-aged people. Thirty middle-aged (mean age 37.8 years, range 24–56 years) and forty healthy elderly subjects (mean age 74.6 years, range 66–88 years) were tested with posturography. Body sway was evoked by applying pseudorandom vibratory stimulation to the belly of th

Quantitative photoelectron spectromicroscopy has been used to study polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resist residues on SiO2 surfaces after electron beam exposure and resist development, It was found that correctly exposed and developed PMMA leaves residues with an average thickness of about 1 nm. Higher exposure doses result in the decrease in film thickness, but with residues of about 0.5 mn. The t

Sepsis and septic shock remain an important medical problem, emphasizing the need to identify novel therapeutic opportunities. Hypovolemic hypotension, coagulation dysfunction, disturbed microcirculation, and multiorgan failure due to vascular leakage are often observed in these severe conditions. In the present study, we find that HKH20, a peptide derived from human high molecular weight kininoge

Collagen XVI is integrated tissue-dependently into distinct fibrillar aggregates, such as D-banded cartilage fibrils and fibrillin-1-containing microfibrils. In skin, the distribution of collagen XVI overlaps that of the collagen-binding integrins alpha 1 beta 1 and alpha 2 beta 1. Basal layer keratinocytes express integrin alpha 2 beta 1, whereas integrin alpha 1 beta 1 occurs in smooth muscle ce

It is demonstrated how microemulsions can be used as model systems to study a range of fundamental liquid state phenomena. By carefully characterizing a single ternary system it is possible to obtain both a qualitative understanding and a quantitative description using the concept of the curvature energy of the surfactant film at the water-oil interface. We demonstrate the approach on the followin

Expression of the metastasis-associated protein, ezrin, in over 5,000 human cancers and normal tissues was analyzed using tissue microarray immunohistochemistry. Ezrin staining was compared between cancers and their corresponding normal tissues, between cancers of epithelial and mesenchymal origin, in the context of the putative inhibitor protein, merlin, and against clinicopathological data avail

1 This work demonstrates that spatial distribution of understorey vegetation and gross N transformation rates in a mixed beach-oak forest is closely correlated within a distance of a few metres. The findings imply that plant diversity and productivity have a major influence on gross rates of N transformation and vice versa. 2 A geostatistical analysis was used to evaluate the spatial relationship

We evaluated the effects of different electrical parameter settings on the intelligibility of speech in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) bilaterally treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Ten patients treated with DBS for 15 +/- 5 months (mean, SD) with significant (P < 0.01) symptom reduction (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III) were included.

The prognostic impact of body mass index ( BMI) in patients following acute myocardial infarction ( AMI) may be altered by neurohormonal blockade. Methods: The impact of neurohormonal blockade on the association between BMI and mortality was examined in 5548 patients following AMI ( CONSENSUS II), 50% receiving enalapril and 7% beta- blockade, and in 4367 patients with coronary artery disease ( CA

The objective of this review is to examine the published data regarding quality of life (QOL) in patients with bladder cancer. Not a single, randomized controlled trial exists. Most studies are retrospective, cross-sectional, and have serious methodological flaws. There is no single QOL tool preferably used in bladder cancer. While there is no long-term data after therapy for Superficial cancer, m

Gate arrays are often presented as a convenient means for ASIC prototyping. Obviously, they can both perform the same function and therefore be built from the same behavioral description. Design development implies a process of subsequent parameter bindings, leaving steadily less freedom for the remaining implementation choices. On the other hand, the ASIC offers more place & route freedom tha