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

We investigate the hardness of approximating the longest path and the longest cycle in directed graphs on n vertices. We show that neither of these two problems can be polynomial time approximated within n(1-epsilon)for any epsilon > 0 unless P = NP. In particular, the result holds for digraphs of constant bounded outdegree that contain a Hamiltonian cycle. Assuming the stronger complexity conject

The European Gaia astrometry mission is due for launch in 2011. Gaia will rely on the proven principles of the ESA Hipparcos mission to create an all-sky survey of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond, by observing all objects down to 20 mag. Through its massive measurement of stellar distances, motions and multicolour photometry, it will provide fundamental data necessary for

Patients with contact allergy to sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are usually hypersensitive to Asteraceae plant products such as herbal teas. The objective of this study was to show sensitizers in chamomile tea by patch testing with thin-layer chromatograms. Tea made from German chamomile was separated by thin-layer chromatography. Strips of the thin-layer chromatograms were used for patch testing SL

Estrogen and progesterone are key regulators of normal breast epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation. They are also involved in the initiation and progression of breast tumorigenesis. Several experimental studies have demonstrated that steroid hormones affect cell cycle proteins associated with tumor initiation and progression. Hormone replacement therapy (HT) is widely used to alleviat

The importance of particular genes in neuronal death following global cerebral ischemia can readily be studied in genetically modified mice provided a reliable model of ischemia is available. For that purpose, we developed a mouse model of global cerebral ischemia that induces consistent damage to different regions of the brain and with a low mortality rate. Twelve minutes of ischemia was induced

A quantitative determination of 2s vacancy lifetimes in surface and bulk atoms of free Ne clusters has been made. While for free atoms the 2s inner-valence hole has a ps lifetime, it reduces to 6+/-1 fs for cluster bulk atoms. For surface atoms, the lifetime is on average longer than 30 fs. The lifetime estimate was obtained from fits of high-resolution photoelectron spectra of Ne clusters. The sh

The relation between supraphysiologic circulating testosterone levels and prostatic diseases is unclear and difficult to study in men. Animal models may be advantageous. Based on a pilot study, testosterone enantate 50 mg (n=12) or 25 mg (n=12) was administered to guinea-pigs intramuscularly every 3 weeks, for either 7 or 14 months. The histopathology of the prostate was described. Epithelial hype