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Bacterial spores in a metabolically dormant state can survive long periods without nutrients under extreme environmental conditions. The molecular basis of spore dormancy is not well understood, but the distribution and physical state of water within the spore is thought to play an important role. Two scenarios have been proposed for the spore's core region, containing the DNA and most enzymes. In
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the construct validity of a new rating scale for self-reported impairments in persons with late effects of polio. DESIGN: Psychometric analysis of data on self-perceived impairments in persons with prior polio. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and seventy-three persons with prior polio (119 men and 154 women; mean age, 63.5 years). METHOD: Rasch analysis of a 13-item rating scale w
Abstract The main purpose of palatoplasty is to establish normal speech and deglutition. To enhance the chance of successful palatal repair, as well as optimal velopharyngeal competence, the anatomy of the palate has to be thoroughly understood. While carrying out the repair, some surgeons prefer to cut the tensor veli palatini (TVP) tendon, others perform a tenopexy or fracture the hamulus around
Multi-functionality and the provision of eco-system services are politically highly prioritised aspects of farming. This study uses a Symmetric Generalised McFadden cost function to analyze the relationship between costs of production and the provision of biodiversity for Swedish milk farms. Biodiversity indicators are based on the number of valuable plant species present at the farm and are model
Background: Mancozeb and its main metabolite ethylene thiourea (ETU) may alter thyroid function; thyroid hormones are essential for fetal brain development. In Costa Rica, mancozeb is aerially sprayed at large-scale banana plantations on a weekly basis. Objectives: (1) evaluate urinary ETU concentrations in pregnant women living nearby large-scale banana plantations; (2) compare their estimated da
Pollinator populations have suffered severe declines in many industrialised countries due to reduced floral and nesting resources, brought on by agricultural intensification. One potential method of mitigating these effects is creating flower strips. Most previous studies have shown higher pollinator abundances in flower strips, but none have been able to demonstrate increased pollinator abundance
Recent studies have shown that activation of the complement and contact systems results in the generation of antibacterial peptides. Streptococcus pyogenes, a major bacterial pathogen in humans, exists in more than one hundred different serotypes due to sequence variation in the surface-associated M protein. Cases of invasive and life-threatening S. pyogenes infections are commonly associated with
The nocturnal migration of many passerines starts after sunset and reaches peak intensity during the dark hours of the night. Birds destined for high Arctic breeding grounds encounter a special situation, as they will experience continuous daylight when reaching the high latitudes during the final part of spring migration. How does this affect the pattern of nocturnal migration? We consider three
We report on a sediment record from a small lake within the subarctic wetland complex Stordalen in northernmost Sweden covering the last 1000 years. Variations in the content of minerogenic material are found to follow reconstructed variations in the activity of the Sun between the 13th and 18th centuries. Periods of low solar activity are associated with minima in minerogenic material and vice ve
Climate change policies have stimulated a shift towards renewable energy sources such as biomass. The economic crisis of 2008 has also increased the practice of household biomass burning as it is often cheaper than using oil, gas or electricity for heating. As a result, household biomass combustion is becoming an important source of air pollutants in the European Union.This position paper discusse
Processing of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) for clinical transplantation or research applications aims to effectively isolate or deplete specific cell populations, utilizing primarily magnetic or fluorescence activated sorting methods. Here, we investigated the performance of microfluidic acoustophoresis for the separation of lymphocyte subsets from PBPC, and present a novel method for
Objectives: The characteristic clinical symptoms of collagenous colitis are non-bloody diarrhoea, urgency and abdominal pain. Treatment is aimed at reducing the symptom burden and the disease impact on patients' health-related quality of life. The objective of this study was to analyse health-related quality of life in patients with collagenous colitis. Methods: In a cross-sectional, postal HRQL s
BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their binding proteins (BPs) regulate cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis, and may have a role in the aetiology of various cancers. Information on their role in pancreatic cancer is limited and was examined here in a case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. METHODS: Serum conc
The bacteria Staphylococcus aureus is part of the normal bacterial flora and produces a repertoire of enterotoxins which can cause food poisoning and toxic shock and might contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. These enterotoxins directly cross-link the T cell receptor with MHC class II, activating large amounts of T cells and are therefore called superantigens. It was recently d
The effect of deglycosylation of pyranose dehydrogenase (PDH) obtained from Agaricus meleagris (Am) and recombinantly expressed in Pichia pastoris on its electrocatalytic activity was investigated. Glycosylated (gAmPDH) and deglycosylated PDH (dgAmPDH) were immobilised on spectrographic graphite (G) simultaneously with an osmium redox polymer (Os-RP) using poly(ethylene glycol)(400) diglycidyl eth
Purpose – The rapid proliferation of mobile context aware applications has resulted in an increased research interest towards developing specialized context data management strategies for mobile entities. The purpose of this paper is to aim to develop a new way to model mobile entities and manage their contexts accordingly. Design/methodology/approach – This paper proposes the concept of “Mobile
By having phenotypically plastic traits, many organisms optimize their fitness in response to fluctuating threats. Freshwater snails with translucent shells, e.g. snails from the Radix genus, differ considerably in their mantle pigmentation patterns, with snails from the same water body ranging from being completely dark pigmented to having only a few dark patterns. These pigmentation differences
