Popular Abstract in English The conservation of forests is receiving increasing international attention. News reports of rampant deforestation for oil palm plantations in Indonesia or soy and cattle ranching in Brazil are the visible images that many of us know. Combating the loss of forests and mitigating climate change through the prevention of further carbon emissions to the atmosphere are promMarket-based instruments have become a widely used approach to motivate landowners to conserve forests instead of clearing them. However, such market-based instruments are increasingly criticized for their simplistic view on complex environmental, social and economic issues; for their ethical stance; and for creating exchange value for essential ecosystems services, which potentially perpetuates a

Many cells express receptors for plasminogen (Pg), although the responsible molecules in most cases are poorly defined. In contrast, the group A streptococcal surface protein PAM contains a domain with two 13-amino acid residue long repeated sequences (a1 and a2) responsible for Pg binding. Here we identify the region in Pg that interacts with PAM. A radiolabeled proteolytic plasminogen fragment c

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Objective To compare long-term work loss in methotrexate-refractory early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) randomized to addition of infliximab or conventional combination treatment. Methods Multicentre, two-arm, parallel, randomized, active-controlled, open-label trial. RA patients with

Several commercial UF-membranes are characterized by water contact angles. Two different methods of contact angle measurements, the sessile drop and the captive bubble methods, are compared. Differences in results between the two methods occur for the DDS GR 61 membrane; otherwise the methods give rather consistent results. The advancing and the receding contact angles are measured for the UF-memb

A rheological method for screening water soluble polymers intended for fouling prevention of membranes is investigated.Viscosity is measured of mixtures between polymers (neutral Dextran T500 positively charged DEAE-dextran and negatively charged dextran sulphate) and proteins (BSA, ovalbumin, pepsin and lysozyme).The method is sensitive enough to detect interactions between the polymers and the p

Milk and whey are widely processed by membrane filtration, often using polysulphone membranes. Adsorption of β-lactoglobulin onto polysulphone was studied at protein concn. of 0.1 and 1.0%, as well as 12% to represent concn. encountered during ultrafiltration. Adsorption onto silica and methylated silica surfaces (representing strongly hydrophilic and strongly hydrophobic surfaces resp.) was also

Polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes were modified with dextran, dextran sulfate and diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) dextran. The behavior of the modified membranes towards static adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated in the pH range 3-7. The modified membranes showed lower flux losses after protein adsorption than unmodified membranes. The plain dextran was considered to be the best

The phenomenon of protein adsorption to solid surfaces affects the performance of many materials and processes, in areas ranging from medicine to biochemical engineering. Controlling protein adsorption, from solutions of single proteins as well as from more complex mixtures, requires an understanding of the mechanism(s) by which it occurs. This, in turn, entails detailed characterization of both t