Background Organic acid anhydrides are low molecular weight industrial chemicals, able to cause rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma associated with specific IgE against hapten-carrier protein conjugate. Only a proportion of exposed workers develop IgE-associated allergy to acid anhydrides. Objective We determined whether genetic susceptibility, in particular, HLA Class II alleles may be a risk factor.

A phytochemical investigation of the stem bark of Strychnos scheffleri resulted in the isolation of a new strychnos alkaloid N-a-deacetylmalagashine (1) together with the known derivative malagashine (2). Elucidation of the structures was based mainly on ID and 2D NMR and MS studies and by comparison with related compounds.

A better understanding of skeletal muscle lipid metabolism is needed to identify the molecular mechanisms relating intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG) to muscle metabolism and insulin sensitivity. An increasing number of proteins have been reported to be associated with intracellular triglyceride (TG), among them the PAT family members: perilipin, ADRP ( for adipocyte differentiation-related protein

The aim of this study was to describe in quantitative terms the effects of ETA and ETB receptor blockade on vascular tone (resistance) in large-bore arterial resistance vessels (> 25 microns), small arterioles (< 25 microns), and veins in the cat gastrocnemius muscle in vivo. In the muscle vascular bed, the combined ETA and ETB receptor antagonist PD145065 (1 mg/kg/min, intra-arterially) abolished

The aim of the present study was to validate a Swedish translation of the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) questionnaire in patients with gallstone disease. Sensitivity to change, internal consistency, and test-retest stability were tested in 187 consecutive patients who underwent planned cholecystectomy. Construct validity was assessed by comparing the GIQLI score with the bodily pa

Hamburgers and chicken fillets were cooked in convection ovens, deep-fried or contact fried and analysed for mutagenic activity using the Ames test. For the three different convection ovens, the cooking parameters studied included the presence of steam, air velocity, air temperature and holding time. For deep-frying and contact frying, the cooking parameters included cooking temperature and cookin

Parametric studies and corresponding results are presented using a theological model based on the limiting shear stress and possible occurrence of slip planes. The model is applied to elastohydrodynamically lubricated line contacts with smooth surfaces and isothermal conditions. A few investigations are carried out where different parameters are varied. The first study investigates the influence o

Which strategy-proof nonbossy mechanisms exist in a model with a finite number of indivisible goods (houses, jobs, positions) and a perfectly divisible good (money)? The main finding is that only a finite number of distributions of the divisible good is consistent with strategy-proofness and nonbossiness. Under various additional assumptions - neutrality, individual rationality, object efficiency,

Positive real cones in the space $H^infty$ appear naturally in many optimization problems of control theory and signal processing. Although such problems can be solved by finite-dimensional approximations (e.g., Ritz projection), all such approximations are conservative, providing one-sided bounds for the optimal value. In order to obtain both upper and lower bounds of the optimal value, a dual pr

The degree to which Carolus Linnaeus managed to describe the vascular plant species diversity of his native country, and the proportion of his taxonomic decisions concerning the rank and generic classification of these same species that are considered correct by present-day taxonomists, is analyzed by comparing the most recent checklist of the Swedish flora, excluding later immigrants, with the wo

Evidence suggests the transcription factor GATA-2 is a critical regulator of murine hematopoietic stem cells. Here, we explore the relation between GATA-2 and cell proliferation and show that inducing GATA-2 increases quiescence (G(0) residency) of murine and human hematopoietic cells. In human cord blood, quiescent fractions (CD34(+)CD38(-)Hoechst(lo)Pyronin Y-lo) express more GATA-2 than cycling

A multifactorial grading score (MGS) for invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix has demonstrated its capacity to predict survival in a 5-10 year perspective and metastasis frequencies, and is a valuable tool for treatment schedules. In this study it was shown that the power of prognosis is valid even up to 20 years. In this material from 619 cervical carcinoma patients the MGS scor

In a prospective population-based study, all open hand, wrist, and forearm injuries that were treated during a 10-year period, at hospitals and emergency wards in three Norwegian cities with 225,000 inhabitants, were registered. Injury severity was graded using the abbreviated injury scale (AIS). For moderate injuries (AIS 2) overall incidence (95% CI) was 59 (56-62), incidence among males 92 (86-

A wide range of methods has been proposed for ensuring central fixation in divided visual field studies of cerebral asymmetry. We present some of the problems associated with ensuring central fixation and argue that objectively monitoring fixation location with an eye-tracking device can provide the only accurate and, therefore, acceptable technique. However, the mere use of this equipment does no

We have used behavioural tests to determine the intensity thresholds of colour vision in Bourke's parrots (Neopsephotus bourkii) and budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). We have also examined the relationship between these thresholds and the optical sensitivities of single photoreceptors using morphological methods. Bourke's parrots lose colour vision in brighter light (0.4 cd m(-2)) than budger

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the neuropathological changes behind clinically defined dementia with Lewy bodies (clinDLB) compared with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (clinAD). METHODS: The prevalence of neuropathological findings in 48 clinDLB and 45 clinAD cases was compared. Sixteen clinDLB and 10 clinAD cases were reassessed with alpha-synuclein staining for Lewy bodies (LB). RESULTS: Alzhe

OBJECTIVE: Acute neck pain developing over hours or a few days is often an alarming symptom that may be due to an inflammatory process or another process affecting the spine or the spinal canal, nerve roots, or peripheral nerves. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four patients with acute onset of neck pain and dysphagia are presented. They were examined with MRI and CT, barium swallow, and plain radiography