The prognosis of patients with advanced stages of neuroblastoma with N-myc amplification remains poor despite escalated therapy, a situation that has called for alternative therapeutic approaches. Neuroblastoma cells, which represent immature peripheral neuronal cells, treated with certain physiologic and nonphysiologic agents such as retinoic acid (RA), phorbol esters and interferons (IFN) in vit

The cyanobacterial water-soluble orange carotenoid binding protein (OCP) is an ideal system for study of the effects of protein environment on photophysical properties of carotenoids. It contains a single pigment, the carotenoid 3'-hydoxyechinenone (hECN). In this study, we focus on spectroscopic properties of hECN in solution and in the OCP, aiming to elucidate the spectroscopic effects of the ca

Radiative lifetimes of 11 levels in Cd I belonging to the 5s5p 1po1 and 5snd 3D1,2(n=6-9) and 5sns 3S1 (n=7,8) series, and of 5 levels of Cd II belonging to the 4d105p 2po1/2,3/2, 4d106s 2S1/2, and 4d105d 2D3/2,5/2 configurations were measured using the time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence technique. Free neutral and singly ionized cadmium were generated by laser ablation. Single- or two-step

The quantification of species along environmental gradients has long been the subject of study regarding natural plant communities and, more recently, ecosystems disturbed by anthropogenic emissions of eutrophying and acidifying substances. We studied 527 sites in southern Swedish deciduous forests divided into two regions, with mean nitrogen depositions of 17 and 9 kg ha(-1) y(-1). The higher dep

Electrical characteristics of living tissues have been investigated for a long time in the search for further methods to complement the traditional investigations of pathology and physiology. Tumour tissue has been shown to exhibit a larger permittivity and conductivity than normal tissues. This might be associated with the fact that tumour cells have a higher water content and sodium concentratio

The performance of the ALICE detector in searches for new heavy stable charged particles in pp collisions is discussed in this paper Gluino R-hadron was chosen as an example of a candidate, and cross sections and kinematic properties were obtained from PYTHIA simulations for various gluino masses (100 - 500 GeV/c(2)) Detector response simulations for R-hadrons in the TPC acceptance (vertical bar e

This paper deals with the problem of tracking cardiac motion and deformation using velocity-encoded magnetic resonance imaging. We expand upon an earlier described method and fit a spatiotemporal motion model to measured velocity data. We investigate several different spatial elements both qualitatively and quantitatively using phantom measurements and data from human subjects. In addition, we als

The rotational properties of a mixture of two distinguishable Bose gases that are confined in a ring potential provide novel physical effects that we demonstrate in this study. Persistent currents are shown to be stable for a range of the population imbalance between the two components at low angular momentum. At higher values of the angular momentum, even small admixtures of a second species of a

There is one primary goal and several secondary goals to fulfill when designing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The main goal is to create an indoor climate that satisfies the user and this should be achieved in the most energy efficient way and with a system that also function in a long-term perspective. Higher supply air flow have the potential of increasing office wor

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system characterized by inflammation, demyelination, axonal degeneration and accumulation of neurological disability. Previously, we demonstrated that stem cells constitute a possible endogenous source for remyelination. We now addressed the question of whether neurogenesis can occur in neuroinflammatory lesions. We demonstrated

The interaction and hierarchy of celestial and magnetic compass cues used by migratory songbirds for orientation has long been the topic of an intense debate. We have previously shown that migratory Savannah sparrows, Passerculus sandwichensis, use polarized light cues near the horizon at sunrise and sunset to recalibrate their magnetic compass. Birds exposed to a +/-90 deg. shifted artificial pol

Purpose of review Few human studies have been performed with specific genetic endpoints coupled with erectile function or dysfunction. Most knowledge of gene expression and the function thereof on penile erection has been aqcuired in experimental models. The purpose of the present review is to give an overview of the available information obtained in studies of genes or genetic products versus ere

Lipoteichoic acid from Staphylococcus aureus was a potent inducer of procoagulant activity in isolated mononuclear cells but not in whole blood. In contrast, staphylococcal peptidoglycan showed equal levels of potency in isolated mononuclear cells and whole blood, suggesting that peptidoglycan is an important inducer of procoagulant activity in severe sepsis involving gram-positive bacteria.

The mixing process is studied in grid-generated turbulent flow for single- and bubbly two-phase flow systems. Concentration and mixing characteristics in the liquid phase are measured with the aid of a PLIF/PLIF arrangement. A nearly isotropic turbulent flow field is generated at the center of the vertical pipe by using a honeycomb, three grids and a contraction. In two-phase flow experiments, air