Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are the most common infectious micro-organisms isolated from prosthetic devices. To determine whether von Willebrand factor (vWF) acts as an adhesin in bacterial recognition, bacterial binding of recombinant vWF (rvWF) was studied. Eleven CNS strains, belonging to S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus and S. hominis species, bound soluble rvWF, but to a lesser exte

The PHENIX tracking system consists of Drift Chambers (DC), Pad Chambers (PC) and the Time Expansion Chamber (TEC). PC1/DC and PC2/TEC/PC3 form the inner and outer tracking units, respectively. These units link the track segments that transverse the RICH and extend to the EMCal. The DC measures charged particle trajectories in the r-phi direction to determine P-T of the particles and the invariant

A new palaeoenvironmental record of the post-glacial history of the southern Baltic Sea (~14 ka to present) is presented. During this period, large water level and salinity changes occurred in the Baltic Basin due to opening and closing of connections to the North Atlantic. Previous attempts to establish a detailed chronology for these palaeoenvironmental changes have been conducted mainly in coas

Background: To evaluate the mechanisms by which cholecystokinin (CCK) regulates the exocrine pancreas, the role and location of CCK receptors in the pig were investigated using the CCK-B receptor antagonist YF476 and different administration routes of CCK. Methods: In 11 anaesthetized pigs, catheters were surgically implanted in the pancreatic duct for juice collection, and in the gastric arteries

The effect of varying the fraction of charged monomer units of the polyion in aqueous polyion-oppositely charged surfactant complex salts has been investigated. The complex salts used were based on cetyltrimethylammonium (C(16)TA(+)) with three different polymeric counterions: poly(acrylate) (PA(-)) or poly(acrylate) copolymerized with either dimethylacrylamide (PA(-)/DAM) or N-isopropylamide (PA(

Complement, which bridges innate and adaptive immune responses as well as Immoral and cell-mediated immunity, is antiviral. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes a lytic cycle protein called KSHV complement control protein (KCP) that inhibits activation of the complement cascade. It does so by regulating C3 convertases, accelerating their decay, and acting as a cofactor for factor

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was diagnosed in a 19-year-old man in 1961, and the disease remained in chronic phase, with occasional exacerbations, for 27 years. In 1976, when the first cytogenetic analysis was performed, t(9;22)(q34;q11) was found as the sole abnormality in all mitoses. During accelerated phase in 1988, a second cytogenetic investigation showed the karyotype 45,XY,t(9;22)(q34;q1

The 2p(5)3s3p, 3p2, 3s4s, 3s3d, and 3s4f core-excited configurations of Mg II have been studied experimentally by beam-foil spectroscopy and theoretically by multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock calculations with Breit-Pauli relativistic corrections. The previously established energy levels belonging to the former four configurations have been reexamined leading to significant corrections of the 3p2 4D

Recent investigations of the DNA interactions with cationic surfactants and catanionic Mixtures are reviewed. Several techniques have been used such as fluorescence microscopy, dynamic light scattering, electron microscopy, and Monte Carlo simulations. The conformational behaviour of large DNA molecules in the presence of cationic surfactant was followed by fluorescence microscopy and also by dyna

I rapporten redovisas dagens kunskapsnivå avseende termiskt klimat, luftkvalitet, ljud samt elektromagnetiska fält. Dessutom redovisas de överkänslighetsrelaterade besvär, sjukdomsrelaterade besvär och symptom eller allmänna obehag av diskomfort som anses orsakas av inomhusmiljön. Rapporten är skriven så att de som arbetar med inomhusmiljörelaterade frågor, med varierande bakgrund, erbjuds en tvär

Among hole-nesting birds, the blood-sucking hen flea is a common parasite affecting both nestlings and parents. By adding fleas to marsh tit (Parus palustris) nests, I aimed to investigate the effect of fleas on nestling growth rate and parental effort as well as evaluating a potential mechanism by which fleas affect nestlings (i.e., resting metabolic rate; RMR). Nestlings from flea-infested brood

A multicenter, open-label, randomized efficacy and safety study was performed with combined human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (recFSH) (Puregon(R)) treatment to induce spermatogenesis in hypogonadotropic hypogonadal male patients. Patients were pretreated for 16 weeks with hCG to normalize testosterone levels. A total of 30 of 49 (61%) subjects had nor

Background: A new technique, cutaneous field stimulation (CFS), which activates electrically unmyelinated C-fibers, is used to treat localized itch. Its action is similar to that of capsaicin, the pungent agent in hot peppers, which enhances delayed allergic reactions. The aim of the study was to investigate how experimental contact dermatitis responds to CFS. Methods: Twelve patients with contac

This review is a comprehensive summary of available collection techniques in supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), with emphasis on which parameters are especially important for a successful analyte collection. Environmental, biological and agricultural applications, including several types of sample matrices and analyte groups, are discussed with respect to choice of collection mode and optimizat