Purpose: To identify target genes of clinical significance for patients with malignant peripheral-nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), an aggressive cancer for which no consensus therapy exists. Materials and Methods: Biopsies and clinical data from 51 patients with MPNST were included in this study. Based on our previous research implicating chromosome arm 17q amplification in MPNST, we performed gene exp

The remarkable progress of cryoelectron microscopy and crystallography in elucidating ribosomal structure and function continues. Most recently, two papers about complete 70S ribosomes from Thermus thermophilus at 2.8- and 3.7-angstrom resolution give us more details about the conformations of bound transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules; the bridges between subunits; the locations and roles of proteins, m

This investigation determined the effects of fermented oat-based products containing both native and microbial beta-glucans on plasma lipids and on fecal total bacterial count and Bifidobacterium ssp. The study was randomized, double blind with 3 parallel groups. Sixty-two free-living volunteers with moderately increased plasma cholesterol levels were recruited. In the final analysis, 56 subjects

At small x, the effects of finite transverse momenta of partons inside a hadron become increasingly important, especially in analyses of jets and heavy-quark production. These effects can be systematically accounted for in a formalism based on k(perpendicular to)-factorization and unintegrated distribution functions. We present results for the unintegrated distribution function, together with the

Comparing observed Swedish security policy behavior to generally recognized models suggests that Sweden resorted to a variety of strategies in the 19th century, within the general position of nonalignment, in order to successfully avoid being drawn into war. Three phases are identified during the period examined, revealing a pendulum pattern in policy choices. The weak-state strategies employed by

We have reviewed initial diagnostic features, treatment, and outcome in 29 patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage due to non-traumatic vertebrobasilar artery dissection diagnosed in our hospital between 1993 and 2003. The dissections occurred in the vertebral artery in 19 patients, the posterior inferior cerebellar artery ( PICA) in two patients, the basilar artery in four patients, and in th

A combination of intumescent components was evaluated as a novel flame retardant system in a flexible polyurethane foam, and the incorporation of these components gave rise to a significant enhancement of the flame retardant properties of the foam. The heat release rate was lowered at an early stage as well as throughout the fire, the total heat production was decreased and the time to ignition wa

Effects of surrounding climate give temperature variations in both time and space for concrete structures. The associated thermal strains may give rise to stresses and cracking due to external or internal restraint. This will affect the performance of the structure. It is therefore important to analyze the temperature variations and the extreme situations that can occur. To predict the dynamic the

The orbicular rock at Slattemossa, southeastern Sweden, has a quartz monzodioritic composition. The cores of the orbicules crystallized directly from the orbicule-forming magma; cores made up of xenoliths have not been observed. Outside the core follow first an inner mafic, a felsic and then an outer mafic shell. The orbicules occur in a matrix, which is similar to the core. They grew simultaneous

This article proposes a bias-adjusted estimator for use in cointegrated panel regressions when the errors are cross-sectionally correlated through an unknown common factor structure. The asymptotic distribution of the new estimator is derived and is examined in small samples using Monte Carlo simulations. For the estimation of the number of factors, several information-based criteria are considere

Wear particles commonly used for experiments may carry adherent endotoxin on their surfaces, which may be responsible for the observed effects. In this study, we attached titanium plates to the tibiae of 20 rats. After osseointegration, endotoxin-contaminated or uncontaminated high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) particles were applied. Contaminated specimens showed a dramatic resorption of bone after

Introduction: Fibrillatory rates can reliably be obtained from surface ECGs during atrial fibrillation (AF) and correspond with right atrial (RA) and coronary sinus (CS) rates, while both the relation with pulmonary venous (PV) rates and determinants of fibrillatory waveform are unknown. Class III antiarrhythmic drugs prolong atrial refractoriness and decrease its dispersion, effects that may be r

Development of inhibitors is a severe complication of haemophilia posing many management challenges. While a long-term goal in inhibitor patients is eradication of inhibitors through immune tolerance induction, bypassing agents such as recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) and activated prothrombin complex concentrate (aPCC) are essential for control of bleeding episodes. Paediatric patients w

In two laboratory experiments, we examined short- and long-term responses of the detritivorous amphipod Gammarus pulex to chemical cues from potential predators fed various diets. In the first experiment we studied the short-term effect on G. pulex (locomotory activity) when exposed to chemical cues from three co-existing predators; sculpin (Cottus gobio), trout (Salmo trutta), and signal crayfish

The varying degrees of protonation of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine (PMG, glyphosate) were investigated with infrared JR) spectroscopy and ab initio frequency calculations. The zwitterionic nature of PMG in solution was confirmed, and intramolecular hydrogen bonding was identified. Successive protonation of the PMG molecule follows the order amine, phosphonate, carboxylate. Intramolecular hydrogen bo

The electronic structure of Mn/ZnO system has been invesigated by synchrotron radiation photoemission. Manganese vacuum deposition was done at room temperature onto a ZnO(0001) single crystal for coverage Mn-Theta = 1.2 ML shows at least three features: a major Mn3d structure at 3.8-4.5 eV below the Fermi edge, a valence structure at lower binding energy (1-3 eV) and a broad satelite in the 5.5-9

Background. Lung transplantation using "donation after cardiac death" donors is a potential means to alleviate the shortage of suitable donor lungs for transplantation, but the practicality and utility of the various possible techniques need to be clarified. Methods. Using a dog model, we explored seven variations of standoff (ischemic) time (50 to 240 minutes), topical cooling (60 to 120 minutes)

A critical cell cycle regulatory protein, cyclin A1, has been implicated in the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here, we have examined the expression and clinical significance of cyclin A1 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Cyclin A1 was highly expressed in lymphoblastic leukemic cell lines and in 22 of 30 ALL patients (73%). Cyclin A1 expression correlated with patient

This paper addresses one of the important dimensions of the experience of youth in contemporary urban Vietnam; that is their sexual practices, behaviour and attitudes. Within a conceptual framework that focuses on sexuality and social change in a modernising and increasingly open society, and based on data collected from ethnographic fieldwork in Hanoi from 1999 to 2004., this paper describes an e