Prostacyclin is the major arachidonic acid metabolite of the vascular endothelium and is produced mainly via the cyclooxygenase-2 pathway. By acting on the prostacyclin (IP) receptor on platelets and vascular smooth muscle cells, prostacyclin exerts vasodilatory and antiaggregative/antiadhesive effects. Previous studies have shown that prostacyclin production increases after brain trauma, but the

Rapeseed and tall oil are important renewable feedstocks for chemicals and energy — the former, an agricultural crop, and the latter, is a by-product of the pulp and paper industry. This report presents a study on the production of fatty epoxides from rapeseed methyl ester, tall oil methyl ester, and tall oil fatty acids by a solvent-free lipase-mediated process. Fatty epoxides are useful reactive

Background and Purpose 1-adrenoceptor (-AR) antagonists may facilitate ureter stone passage in humans. We aimed to study effects by the 1A-AR selective antagonist silodosin (compared to tamsulosin and prazosin) on ureter pressures in a rat model of ureter obstruction, and on contractions of human and rat isolated ureters. Experimental Approach After ethical approval, ureters of male rats were cann

There is no doubt that information systems (IS) are the backbone of today’s organizations. Having an initial inspection on sourcing motives in the financial sector it can be stated that resources used in development of information systems (IS) are seen as an important factor for sustained competitive advantage. However, it can be claimed that it depends to a high extent on the application of diffe

This thesis investigates the combination of pose and radio channel estimation. Pose is the knowledge of the position and orientation of a device whereas the radio channel describes the transmission medium between radio transmitters and receivers. The two subjects are both active research topics with a long history of applications but there has to the author's knowledge been very little work publis

The first radiographic scoring system for pulmonary cystic fibrosis was presented in 1958. Since then a multitude of scoring systems for radiography and computed tomography (CT) have been presented, recently also for tomosynthesis and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of the current review was to analyse and compare the plethora of scoring systems for cystic fibrosis, especially regarding

OBJECTIVE - To compare the sensitivity and specificity of luciferase immunoprecipitation (LIPS) with radioimmunoprecipitation (RIP) for the measurement of autoantibodies to the type 1 diabetes autoantigens glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) and insulinoma-associated protein (IA)-2 beta. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Sera from 49 type 1 diabetic patients and 100 nondiabetic control subjects fro

Although temperature is a key parameter controlling the activity and growth of all microorganisms, information about how water temperature may structure the bacterioplankton community is not consistent. We examined the relationship between temperature and the community composition, cell volume, and morphology of marine bacterioplankton in 4 continuous cultures harbouring multispecies communities.

The stability of accelerated electron beams produced by self injection of plasma electrons into the wakefield driven by a laser pulse guided inside capillary tubes is analyzed statistically in relation to laser and plasma parameters, and compared to results obtained in a gas jet. The analysis shows that reproducible electron beams are achieved with a charge of 66 pC +/- 11%, a FWHM beam divergence

Spin-echo modulation small-angle neutron scattering (SEMSANS) is based on the detection of spatial beam modulation, which is induced by triangular spin echo precession regions and subsequent spin analyses. In order to detect such signal and exploit it for small angle scattering investigations neutron detection with sub-millimeter spatial resolution is required. Here an approach is reported where i

We explored impacts of climate change on the geographic distribution of European beech by applying state of the art statistical and process-based models, and assessed possible climate change impacts on both adaptive capacity in the centre of its distribution and adaptive responses of functional traits at the leading and trailing edge of the current distribution. The species area models agree that

The MBE processes were performed in order to form the MnSb inclusions. Two kinds of substrates (GaSb and GaAs) as well as growth temperatures (450 and 520 degrees C) were examined. SEM imaging was performed to determine the shape and size of formed inclusions. In all the samples the inclusions of few hundred nm were formed. Their shapes depended strongly on the type of substrate while the size sli

Introduction: In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within two genes involved in the NF-kappa B cascade (GPR177 and MAP3K14) and bone mineral density (BMD) assessed at different skeletal sites, radial geometric parameters and bone turnover. Methods: Ten GPR177 SNPs previously associated with BMD with genome-wide significance and twelv

This tutorial will describe the field of high-order harmonics in gases, including attosecond pulse generation. (C) 2006 Optical Society of America

Approximately 50% of Sweden's electricity is produced by hydropower. This makes energy production in the country vulnerable to factors affecting water availability. Research has shown a positive correlation between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and hydropower production in Norway and northern Sweden during winter months. The correlation is, however, weaker in southern Sweden, which indicate

Probiotics are Live microorganisms that confer a health benefit on the host. The composition of the microflora in the gastrointestinal tract is rather constant in healthy subjects, but is easily disturbed by severe illness and the use of antibiotics. The intestinal barrier that separates the luminal contents, with a very high density of microorganisms, from an almost sterile milieu in the gut wall