Frequent allelic deletions at chromosome 11q24-q25 have been described in both early and late onset breast cancers, suggesting the existence of a gene locus implicated in the initiation and/or progression of the disease. In the present study we fine mapped this region further by loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis in a population of early onset breast cancer cases (n = 102, 22 to 36 years old).

The ability of mothers to modify offspring phenotype to match prevailing environmental conditions is an important component of reproductive success, especially in variable environments. Pre-breeding conditions, such as food abundance, may have significant consequences for both the number and quality of offspring a female produces as well as her ability to rear the offspring. In an experiment where

A generalized form of viscoplasticity is proposed, within a thermodynamic concept. The theory developed is based on an expansion of the dissipation inequality, where additional quantities are introduced. These quantities are obtained by an additive split of the conjugated thermodynamic forces. Additional potential functions that depend on these quantities can be introduced, which enables one to ac

The spatial energy distributions of beams of protons accelerated by ultrahigh intensity (>10^19 W/cm2) picosecond laser pulse interactions with thin foil targets are investigated. Using separate, low intensity (

Purpose: To compare the outcome of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) versus conventional open repair (OR) in patients with a short, angulated or otherwise challenging proximal neck. Methods: The definition of a challenging proximal neck was based on diameter (>= 28 mm), length (= 60 degrees), shape (reverse tapered or bulging), and thrombus lining (>50%). Between January 2005 and December 2007,

Free heterogeneous argon-krypton clusters have been produced by coexpansion and investigated by means of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. By examining cluster surface and bulk binding energy shifts, relative intensities, and peak widths, we show that in the mixed argon-krypton clusters the krypton atoms favor the bulk and argon atoms are pushed to the surface. Furthermore, we show that krypton at

Song complexity is often regarded as a sexually selected trait that reflects the overall quality of a male. In many passerine species, old males possess larger song repertoires than younger males. This may be either because individual males improve their performance as they get older (longitudinal increase) or because poor singers have reduced viability and, hence, are underrepresented in old age

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibits insulin signaling and, when overexpressed, plays a role in insulin resistance (Ahmad et al. 1997). We identified, in the 3' untranslated region of the PTP1B gene, a 1484insG variation that, in two different populations, is associated with several features of insulin resistance: among male individuals, higher values of the insulin resistance HOMA(IR)

We developed a simple one-step dual-label immunoassay for simultaneous measurement of the free, noncomplexed form of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and total PSA. The assay is based on time-resolved fluorescence and includes a stable fluorescent chelate of Eu to label a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that detects only free PSA, whereas a second mAb labeled with a fluorescent chelate of Tb provides equ

Background/Objectives: In previous studies we observed a high incidence of elevated plasma homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in psychogeriatric patients. Plasma tHcy is increased in folate deficiency. Folates are sensitive to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress, caused by inflammatory processes, could represent an endogenous reason for folate deficiency, even when the dietary intake of the vitamin

We used roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis to follow 33 C-stem femoral components for two years after primary total hip arthroplasty. All components migrated distally and posteriorly within the cement mantle. The mean distal migration was 1.35 mm (SD 0.62) at two years and the mean posterior migration was 1.35 mm (SD 0.69) at two years. All the femoral components rotated into retroversion wit

A 62-year-old man suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and was treated with mechanical compression-decompress ion during transport to the hospital. In the emergency department, 28 min after cardiac arrest, spontaneous circulation returned briefly but the patient rapidly became asystolic and mechanical compression-decompression was again applied. After further resuscitation a spontaneous circula

This article discusses the currently used methodologies for monitoring exocytosis as changes in cell capacitance. Details are given on composition of solutions, experimental protocols, and how the observed responses can be interpreted physiologically. The concepts are illustrated by examples from our own work on insulin-releasing pancreatic P-cells. Finally, we consider the feasibility of applying

In precision hard turning, a remaining problem is to minimise tool wear to maintain the accuracy of geometry and surface finish. Tool wear not only directly reduces the part geometry accuracy but also increases cutting forces drastically. The change in the cutting forces also causes instability in the tool motion, which results in more inaccuracy. PCBN cutting tools are often used in hard turning.

The impeller speed, the loss-on-drying of starch, and the added amount of water significantly influenced these response variables: granule fractions of less than 0.150 mm and more than 2.00 mm; and granule median diameter. The influence of the drug concentration on the response variables was less important. All the response variables showed significant interactions. At a fixed impeller speed, the