The surface properties of several modified stainless steel samples were characterized according to their chemical composition, roughness, topography and wettability. The modifications tested were SiF3+ and MoS22+ ion implantation; diamond-like carbon (DLC) sputtering: DLC. DLC-Si-O and SiOx, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD); autocatalytic Ni-P-PTFE and silica coating. X-ray photoe

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with a posterior indentation in the pharyngoesophageal segment (PES) are generally considered to have an abnormality of the cricopharyngeal muscle (CPM). In this study we determined the actual width of the PES and the pressure circumstances during swallowing within the pharynx and PES in such patients. METHODS: Simultaneous videofluoroscopy and solid state manome

Two isolated mosasaur teeth, one from the upper Campanian of Piotrawin, the other from the upper Maastrichtian at Nasilow (Wisla River valley, central Poland), recently described as Plioplatecarpinae sp. A and Plioplatecarpinae sp. B, respectively, are reassigned to the tylosaurine genus Hainosaurus Dollo, 1885. The present record thus adds to the list of Hainosaurus species known to date from els

An overview is given of serum and urine prostate cancer markers that are currently under investigation and subsequently the P-Mark project is introduced. There are many markers showing promise to overcome the limitations of prostate specific antigen (PSA). Eventually, these markers should be able to increase the specificity in diagnosis, differentiate between harmless and aggressive disease and id

The crystal structure of human cystatin C, a protein with amyloidogenic properties and a potent inhibitor of cysteine proteases, reveals how the protein refolds to produce very tight two-fold symmetric dimers while retaining the secondary structure of the monomeric form. The dimerization occurs through three-dimensional domain swapping, a mechanism for forming oligomeric proteins. The reconstitute

Automatic localisation of correspondences for the construction of Statistical Shape Models from examples has been the focus of intense research during the last decade. Several algorithms are available and benchmarking is needed to rank the different algorithms. Prior work has focused on evaluating the quality of the models produced by the algorithms by measuring compactness, generality and specifi

Immune system modulates atherosclerosis and immunization using homologous LDL reduces atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic animals. The nature of athero-protective antigenic epitopes in LDL remains unclear. We have recently identified nearly a 100 antigenic epilopes in human apo B-100 and in this study we evaluated the effects of immunization with two such epitopes on atherosclerosis in hypercholeste

PURPOSE: To determine the effective time window for MR imaging of tumors with blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage after injection of Gd-containing contrast media. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eleven patients with 15 brain lesions (metastasis, glioma, abscess) were studied with a T1-weighted spin-echo sequence repeated over periods of up to 43 min after contrast injection. A quotient was calculated between t

The possibility of using carriers made of recycled glass in anaerobic packed bed reactors has been studied in laboratory-scale experiments. Two types of carrier were studied: a porous bead of glass foam and an open ring of a smoother, sintered glass. The performance of processes with these carriers was compared with a conventional upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) process. The treatment of wa

Abstract not available. Letter to the editor

Background. Umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry is a routine method for fetal surveillance in high-risk pregnancy. Uterine artery Doppler seems to give comparable information, but it can be difficult to interpret as there are two arteries, which might show notching and/or increased pulsatility index (PI) as signs of increased vascular impedance. Combining the information on vascular resistance on

Axl belongs to a particular subfamily of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases, the biological ligand for which is the growth/survival factor Gas6. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms for Axl activation and signal transduction. We have previously identified a novel interaction between the intracellular domain of Axl and Ran binding protein in microtubule organising centre (Ra