BACKGROUND: Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is an abnormal phospholipid formed in mammalian cells that have been exposed to ethanol. It has been suggested that PEth mediates some of the damaging effects of ethanol on cells. This study was performed to investigate the level of PEth in organs of rats after in vivo alcohol exposure. METHODS: Three exposure models were studied: (1) acute, intraperitoneal i

Sera from 79 patients with acute self-limiting hepatitis, 17 patients with acute hepatitis B evolving into chronic HBsAg carriership, and 43 chronic HBsAg carriers without a history of acute hepatitis were analyzed for presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA by a molecular hybridization technique. In acute self-limiting hepatitis, HBV-DNA was cleared within a few weeks after the onset of clinical

Antimicrobial peptides are important effectors of the innate immune system. These peptides belong to a multifunctional group of molecules that apart from their antibacterial activities also interact with mammalian cells and glycosaminoglycans and control chemotaxis, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Here we demonstrate a novel antimicrobial activity of the heparin-binding and cell-binding domain 5 of h

Objective. Fibrotic skin changes in systemic sclerosis (SSc) are preceded by the appearance of an inflammatory infiltrate rich in T cells. Since no direct comparison with T cells in normal skin has been performed previously, this study was undertaken to functionally characterize T cells in the skin of patients with early active SSc and in normal skin. Methods. We characterized coreceptor expressio

Traditional ice sheet reconstructions have suggested two distinctly different ice sheet regimes along the East Greenland continental margin during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM): ice to the shelf break south of Scoresby Sund and ice extending no further than to the inner shelf at and north of Scoresby Sund. We report new Be-10 ages from erratic boulders perched at 250 m a.s.l. on the Kap Brewster

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of denervation and alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) administration on the development of osteopenia in the turkey radius. At 22 d of age, all turkeys were subjected to neurectomy of the right radius. Control turkeys were given a saline solution into the crop each day for 97 d. Experimental turkeys were given 0.4 g of AKG/kg of BW into the crop each da

A number of Extremely Large Telescopes for visual-infrared and adjacent wavelengths are in various degrees of progress. All have primary mirrors with equivalent diameters larger than 20 m and are intended for operation with adaptive optics systems. We discuss several ELT observing parameters as functions of wavelength. Stellar energy distributions and atomic line spectra are inspected as are the t

Abstract in UndeterminedThe dominant explanation for China's unprecendented rates of economic growth in the last three decades has regarded them as the consequence of the reform policies that, after Mao, the Chinese leaders embarked upon in 1978. The present study, in contrast, argues for continuity between the socialist period and the post-refrom era in China's economic course.Chinse socialism, i

Neuroblastoma patients show remarkable clinical heterogeneity, with courses ranging from spontaneous regression to fatal tumor progression despite intense multi-modal treatment. Previous studies have shown that hypoxia pushes neuroblastoma cells towards a more immature phenotype, which correlates to aggressive disease. Here we define a role for the hypoxia inducible factor-2α in neuroblastoma tu

This thesis adds to the knowledge base of how the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) can be optimized to secure a more sustainable working career for people with severe mental illness (SMI). The thesis has given the IPS-participants an active voice about what it is like to start to work in a Swedish context, visualised the psychiatric disability in relation to work, discerned the support and p

We calculated average aquatic dissolved organic carbon (DOC) age (the time span from soil discharge to observation) in water from the inlets and outlets of two unproductive Swedish lakes at different times during an annual cycle. Bacterial production (BP) and bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) determined during 7-d bioassays decreased with increasing average aquatic DOC age. Parallel to the decline

Purpose: To investigate differences in calculated doses and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) values between different dose algorithms. Methods: Six dose algorithms from four different treatment planning systems were investigated: Eclipse AAA, Oncentra MasterPlan Collapsed Cone and Pencil Beam, Pinnacle Collapsed Cone and XiO Multigrid Superposition, and Fast Fourier Transform Convolut

Some of the main bottlenecks for the development and commercialization of photovoltaic/thermal hybrids are the lack of an internationally recognized standard testing procedure as well as a method to compare different hybrids with each other and with conventional alternatives. A complete methodology to characterize, simulate and evaluate concentrating photovoltaic/thermal hybrids has been proposed

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured omega meson production via leptonic and hadronic decay channels in p + p, d + Au, Cu+ Cu, and Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. The invariant transverse momentum spectra measured in different decay modes give consistent results. Measurements in the hadronic decay channel in Cu Cu and Au + Au collisions show that. p

By examining trends in intra-organizational and inter-organizational job transition probabilities among professional and managerial employees in Germany, we test the applicability of mainstream career theory to a specific context and challenge its implied change assumption. Drawing on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), we apply linear probability models to show the influence of tim

The pro-inflammatory mediator LTD4 is an important component in the pathogenesis of inflammatory conditions as inflammatory bowel diseases. Patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases face an increased risk of intestinal cancer development. Therefore it is important to investigate the role of LTD4 signalling in cancer development and progression. In this thesis I show that there is an end