OBJECTIVE: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. Several chemokines are important for monocyte/macrophage and T-cell recruitment to the lesion. CXCL16 is a recently discovered chemokine that is expressed in soluble and transmembrane forms, ligates CXCR6 chemokine receptor, and guides migration of activated Th1 and Tc1 cells. It is identical to scavenger receptor SR-PSOX, which mediates uptak

A general thermodynamic model of the concentration polarization phenomena of colloidal particles at a membrane surface is presented. The model is based on the balance between a thermodynamic force, due to the osmotic pressure gradient, and a frictional force, due to the fluid flow around each particle. A cell model description is used to model the concentration dependence of the thermodynamic forc

The neurotransmitter peptides vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) are located in nerve fibers supplying the pig choroid plexus, which receives an abundant sympathetic innervation. We characterized the release of [3H]noradrenaline ([3H]NA) from this tissue elicited by electrical field stimulation and studied the effects of the above-m

Formation of insoluble polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) between RNA and polycations was followed by measuring the residual RNA absorbance in the solution after separation of the precipitate. The polycations studied were poly(N,N-dimethyldiallylammonium) chloride (pendant type) and 2,5-ionene bromide (integral type) with quaternary amino groups in every monomer unit. The data obtained were compared

Aim: To estimate hazard ratio (HR) of first incident fatal/non-fatal cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in female/male type 2 diabetic patients, with tight versus adverse control of HbA1c and blood pressure (BP) at baseline, age 30-70 years, no baseline CVD, followed for mean 5.7 years. Methods: 2593 patients with tight control of HbA1c

This paper presents an experiment with a linguistic support tool for consolidation of requirements sets. The experiment is designed based on the requirements management process at a large market-driven software development company that develops generic solutions to satisfy many different customers. New requirements and requests for information are continuously issued, which must be analyzed and re

ABSTRACT In species with separate sexes, antagonistic selection on males and females (intralocus sexual conflict) can result in a gender load that can be resolved through the evolution of sexual dimorphism. We present data on intralocus sexual conflict over immune defense in a natural population of free-ranging lizards (Uta stansburiana) and discuss the resolution of this conflict. Intralocus sexu

We investigate universal properties of strongly confined particles that turn out to be dramatically different from what is observed for electrons in atoms and molecules. For a large class of harmonically confined systems, such as small quantum dots and optically trapped atoms, many-body particle addition and removal energies, and energy gaps, are accurately obtained from single-particle eigenvalue

Aim: Metformin is the 'drug-of-first-choice' in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) due to its antihyperglycaemic and cardiovascular protective potentials. In non-obese patients with T2DM, insulin secretagogues are empirically used as first choice. In this investigator-initiated trial, we evaluated the effect of metformin vs. an insulin secretagogue, repaglinide on glycaemic regula

This paper analyzes the recently undertaken restructuring of the Ministry of Health in Uganda, which was carried out because the previous structure did not comply well with the decentralization framework or policy. The Ministry was put under pressure by higher political levels, supported by the donor community, to restructure. The paper describes the principles that were guiding this operation, an

Detailed ecological, morphological and molecular analyses were performed in mixed populations of diploid and autotetraploid Dactylorhiza maculata s.l. in Scandinavia. Comparisons were made with pure populations of either diploid ssp. fuchsii or tetraploid ssp. maculata. It was shown that mixed populations are the result of secondary contact between ssp. fuchsii and ssp. maculata. No patterns of re

Couplings of microscopic stochastic models to deterministic macroscopic ordinary and partial differential equations are commonplace in numerous applications such as catalysis, deposition processes, polymeric flows, biological networks and parametrizations of tropical and open ocean convection. In this paper we continue our study of the class of prototype hybrid systems presented in [8]. These mode

PURPOSE: This study describes the quality of life (QOL) and uncertainty in patients who have an l implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and predicts QOL at long-term follow-up. METHODS: Long-term follow-up was defined as 6.9 years 1 year (range 4.11-8.7 years). QOL was measured with the Quality of Life Index, and uncertainty was measured with the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale. RESULTS

OBJECTIVE: To develop an algorithm to detect the edges between lung tissue, perivascular interstitium, and microvessel using digital processing of in vivo microscopic images of lung surface. METHODS: A numerical technique was developed to identify three different regions (namely, pulmonary microvessel, perivascular interstitium, and lung tissue) based on their corresponding gray level distribution

The identity of the enzymes responsible for lipase and cholesterol esterase activities in the small intestinal mucosa is not known. Because hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) catalyzes the hydrolysis of acylglycerols and cholesteryl esters, we sought to determine whether HSL could be involved. HSL mRNA and protein were detected in all segments of the small intestine by Northern and Western blot analys

Simple and standardized assays for detection and quantification of neutralizing antibodies to primary HIV-1 isolates are needed in research on HIV-1 vaccines and pathogenesis. Here we describe a new HIV-1 neutralization assay that is based on plaque formation in U87.CD4-CCR5 and U87.CD4-CXCR4 cells, which is an attractive alternative to peripheral blood mononuclear cell-based assays. Infected cell