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Because quality differences between individuals affect fitness, much research has attempted, with limited success, to relate physiological condition (e.g., body reserves), to differences in life history between individuals. Recently, it has been suggested that immunocompetence may reflect condition, and it thus may mediate variation in individual quality and reproductive performance and, ultimatel

Decay kinetic properties of a two-level atom near the band edges of photonic crystals (PCs) with absolute gaps are studied based on the Green's function expression for the evolution operator. The local coupling strength between the photons and an atom is evaluated by an exact numerical method. It is found that the decay behavior of an excited atom can be fundamentally changed by the variation of t

Wetland creation aiming at a simultaneous increase in nutrient retention and species diversity in agricultural landscapes has recently become applied as a catchment-scale compensation measure for past wetland losses. Here, we evaluate if, and to what extend, dual-purpose wetlands benefit local and regional diversity of agricultural landscapes. We analysed composition and alpha, beta, and gamma div

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in predicting destructive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the knee joint, and to compare this method with clinical examination and conventional radiography (CR). Methods: Clinical evaluations of the knee joint, followed by MRI and CR examinations were performed in 30 patients with early RA. The MRI examination included evaluati

The removal of trans-chlordane (C(10)H(6)Cl(8)) from aqueous solutions was studied using UV, UV/H(2)O(2), UV/H(2)O(2)/Fe(2+), UV/TiO(2), or UV/TiO(2)/H(2)O(2) treatment using either UV/Vis blue lamps or UVC lamps (254nm). H(2)O(2), FeSO(4) and TiO(2) were added at 1700, 456, and 2500mgL(-1), respectively. trans-Chlordane was not significantly removed in non-irradiated controls and in samples irrad

Objective. Lung damage is the most common cause of death in cystic fibrosis (CF). It is induced by bacterial colonization and inflammatory activity perpetuates its course. Autoantibodies directed against BPI (bactericidal permeability increasing protein), called BPI-ANCA, have recently been associated with cystic fibrosis. Here we confirm this association and evaluate the relation between ANCA and

A tree t-spanner T of a graph G is a spanning tree of G whose max-stretch is t, i.e., the distance between any two vertices in T is at most t times their distance in G. If G has a tree t-spanner but not a tree (t−1)-spanner, then G is said to have max-stretch of t. In this paper, we study the Max-Stretch Reduction Problem: for an unweighted graph G=(V,E), find a set of edges not in E originally wh

Recent studies have provided evidence for a major role of urothelially released ATP acting on a subpopulation of pelvic afferent nerves in mechano-afferent transduction in the bladder. We investigated whether desensitization of capsaicin-sensitive nerve fibres by systemic resiniferatoxin (RTX)-pretreatment can counteract the detrusor over-activity induced by intravesical capsaicin, acetic acid or

We studied the population structure of a high arctic breeding wader bird species, the White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis. Breeding adults, chicks and juveniles were sampled at seven localities throughout the species' breeding range in arctic Canada in 1999. The mitochondrial control region was analysed by DNA sequencing, feathers were analysed for carbon isotope ratios (C-13/C-12) by isot

A connection between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and endothelium pathology has been inferred from measured decreases in both blood flow and metabolism in the parietal and temporal cortex. However, it is not known whether these alterations are seen in normal aging. We performed regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measurements in 22 AD patients and in 44 non-demented subjects during a simple test of in

Here we investigate ERα and ERβ expression and regulation in vascular smooth muscle cells from mouse aorta. Immunocytochemistry showed nuclear staining for both ERα and ERβ. Double stainings revealed co-expression of ERα and ERβ in vascular smooth muscle cells. ERα (66 kDa) and ERβ (54 kDa) expression determined by Western blotting was unchanged within 7 h after inhibition of protein synthesis wit

We here study the interactions of a polyamide with large DNA, and compare to those of minor groove binder distamycin (DST), including high ligand/DNA binding ratios. Specific as well as nonspecific binding is probed using polarized-light spectroscopy combined with singular value decomposition analysis. Circular and linear dichroism data confirm binding geometries consistent with minor groove bindi

Seven-transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptors play a central role in physiology by facilitating cell communication through recognition of a wide range of ligands. Even more important, they represent important drug targets. Unfortunately, for many of these receptors the endogenous ligands, and hence their functions, remain to be identified. These receptors are referred to as "orphan" receptors. A

OBJECTIVE: A low Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a concept related to a feeling of ill health. Not much is known about possible relationships between SOC and biological factors. SETTING: Population-based study of middle-aged women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Four-hundred-and-fifty women participated as a subgroup of a larger study of cardiovascular risk factor screening. A self-administered questionnaire w

A rapidly implemented qualitative study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of women about abortion in Egypt using in-depth interviews with hospitalised patients and focus group discussions with family planning clients and non-contracepting women. The most salient issue confronting the patients (whether the abortion had been spontaneous or induced) was their physical survival. The necessi

The water-soluble zwitterionic polythiophene, poly(3-((S)-5-amino-5-carboxyl-3-oxapentyl)-2,5-thiophene) hydrochloride (POWT), is a conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) with properties well suited for biochip applications. CPEs readily form hydrogels when exposed to water-based buffer solutions or biomolecule solutions. In this work, we used in situ quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D)

Background Despite the long history of tuberculosis (TB) research, population-based studies from developing countries are rare. Methods In a prospective community study in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau, we assessed the impact of demographic, socioeconomic and cultural risk factors on active TB. A surveillance system in four districts of the capital identified 247 adult (greater than or equa

This article present an investigation of the combined analog locked loop universal modulator (CALLUM) linear transmitter architecture. A simple approximate formula is derived, linking the instantaneous frequency of the CALLUM signals to the modulation depth of the information signal. Further, the effect of the frequency mismatch between the VCOs present in the CALLUM architecture is examined, and