An effective system has been developed for purification of apolipoprotein A-1 from Escherichia coli fermentation solution and human plasma using aqueous two-phase extraction and thermal-phase separation. The system included non-ionic surfactants (Triton or Tween) and as top phase-forming polymer a random copolymer of ethylene oxide (50%) and propylene oxide (50%), Breox PAG 50A 1000, was used. The

Intensive insulin therapy, aiming for strict normoglycaemia, is associated with increased survival in critically ill patients. Insulin therapy concomitantly reduces plasma-free fatty acids. Recent studies indicate that free fatty acids mediate inflammation. In addition to plasma glucose and free fatty acid-lowering effects, insulin also has anti-inflammatory properties. This study was designed to

The generation of thrombin by the prothrombinase complex constitutes an essential step in hemostasis, with thrombin being crucial for the amplification of blood coagulation, fibrin formation, and platelet activation. In the prothrombinase complex, the activated form of coagulation factor V (FVa) is an essential cofactor to the enzyme-activated factor X (FXa), FXa being virtually ineffective in the

In 1999, we published a report on how an introduction of 20 males into a severely inbred and isolated population of adders (Vipera berus) halted its decline towards extinction, induced a profound change in population genetic variability, resulted in a dramatic increase in offspring viability and thus in a rapid increase in numbers. Since the publication of our paper we have received numerous inqui

We have used the endo-β-1,4-mannanase from Trichoderma reesei (Tr Man5A), the endo-β-1,4-mannanase from Aspergillus niger (An Man5A) and the exo-β-1,4-mannosidase from A. niger (An Mnd2A) to follow the enzymatic degradation of mannan I and II crystals. The degradation process was studied by transmission electron microscopy and also followed by analysis of the released soluble reducing sugars. The

We examine the propagation of solitary waves in elongated clouds of trapped bosonic atoms as the confinement, the strength of the interatomic interaction, and the atom density are varied. We identify three different physical regimes and develop a general formalism that allows us to interpolate between them. Finally we pay special attention to the transition to the Tonks-Girardeau limit of strongly

In an experiment with a factorial design, the following aspects were scrutinized: the impact on disintegration time and crushing strength caused by the loss-on-drying of the granulation; the granule-size distribution; the lubricant concentration; the compression force; and the pre-compression. Both with regard to disintegration time and crushing strength, these factors were found to have a signifi

PURPOSE: A multitude of breast cancer mRNA profiling studies has stratified breast cancer and defined gene sets that correlate with outcome. However, the number of genes used to predict patient outcome or define tumor subtypes by RNA expression studies is variable, nonoverlapping, and generally requires specialized technologies that are beyond those used in the routine pathology laboratory. It wou

The electrical conductivity of milk at various dilutions was measured at different temperatures from; 2 to 70 degrees C The results showed that dilution has only, a small influence on the temperature dependence of conductivity. A simple power-law model predicts that the conductivity is proportional to the milk concentration to the power of 0.84 and a two-term model describes the temperature depend

We studied clinical performance of serum TRACP 5b and other bone turnover markers, including S-CTX, U-DPD, S-PINP, S-BALP, and S-OC, for monitoring alendronate treatment. TRACP 5b had higher clinical sensitivity, area under the ROC curve, and signal-to-noise ratio than the other markers. INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical performance of serum TRACP 5b (S-TRACP5b) w

Background The lead concentration in plasma is correlated to that in whole blood with a two to fourfold variation. It has never been investigated if this variation is interindividual. Methods Lead and hemoglobin were determined in blood and plasma from 13 lead workers with a history of relatively high blood-lead concentrations, sampled three times during 1 day. The variation in the distribution of

A concise biomimetic approach toward transtaganolides C and D involving an Ireland-Claisen rearrangement/intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction sequence suggesting the involvement of pericyclic reactions in the biosynthesis of these biologically active plant metabolites is presented. A final coupling reaction establishes the carbon framework of the transtaganolides.

Transient contacts between denatured polypeptide chains are likely to play an important part in the initial stages of protein aggregation and fibrillation. To analyze the nature of such contacts, we have carried out a protein engineering study of the 102-residue protein U1A, which aggregates transiently in the wild-type form during refolding from the guanidinium chloride-denatured state. We have p

A multireference second-order perturbation theory using a restricted active space self-consistent field wave function as reference (RASPT2/RASSCF) is described. This model is particularly effective for cases where a chemical system requires a balanced orbital active space that is too large to be addressed by the complete active space self-consistent field model with or without second-order perturb

In concert with the latest experiment of velocity imaging technique [X. P. Zhang et al., ChemPhysChem 9, 1130 (2008)], quantum chemical calculations with relativistic effect were performed on the photodissociation of bromobenzene (BrPh) and iodobenzene (IPh) at 266 nm. The method of multistate second order multiconfigurational perturbation theory in conjunction with spin-orbit interaction through

The influence of the addition of carbohydrates with different physicochemical properties on weight loss and formation of heterocyclic amines (HAs) during the frying of beef burgers was examined. Furthermore, the capability of carbohydrates to bind HAs was tested. Beef burgers containing 1.5% NaCl and 0.3% tripolyphosphate (reference), with the addition of 1.5% carbohydrate, were fried for 5 min at

Among the three recently described GB viruses (GBV-A, GBV-B, and GBV-C), only GBV-C has been linked to cryptogenic hepatitis in man. Because of the limited utility of currently available research tests to determine antibody response to GBV-C proteins, the prevalence of GBV-C RNA in human sera was studied using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The prevalence of GBV-C is hig

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To establish a pig model suitable for imitating pulmonary emboli to facilitate research in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. METHODS: Thirteen animals were anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, and subjected to pulmonary artery catheterization initiated from the right external jugular vein. With the use of a Swan-Ganz catheter, repetitive occlusion/reperfusion maneuve