Water-soluble hemicelluloses were extracted from spruce chips by microwave heat-fractionation. The galactoglucomannan (GGM) extraction was evaluated on the basis of weight-average molecular weight (MW), yield and carbohydrate composition of the GGM. The MW was determined by size-exclusion chromatography with column calibration using off-line MALDI-MS analysis, and determination of mannan content i

For a set of rooted, unordered, distinctly leaf-labeled trees, the NP-hard maximum agreement subtree problem (MAST) asks for a tree contained (up to isomorphism. or homeomorphism) in all of the input trees with as many labeled leaves as possible. We study the ordered variants of MAST where the trees are uniformly or non-uniformly ordered. We provide the first known polynomial-time algorithms for t

The H-1 NMR Fast Field Cycling relaxometry was applied to study the molecular dynamics of the human protein HC (alpha(1)-microglobulin), its hydration and aggregation in solution state. The H-1 NMRD data have revealed the complex nature of the water/protein HC system resulting from the co-existence of monomer and dimer forms of the protein in solution as well as the presence of oligosaccharides li

The mechanisms by which gestational infections, blood incompatibility, birth weight, mother's age and other prenatal or neonatal events increase the risk for type 1 diabetes are not understood. Studies so far have been retrospective, and there is a lack of population-based prospective studies. The possibility identifying children at type 1 diabetes risk among first-degree relatives has resulted in

The phylogenetic positions of the 4 clades, Euarchontoglires, Laurasiatheria, Afrotheria, and Xenarthra, have been major issues in the recent discussion of basal relationships among placental mammals. However, despite considerable efforts these relationships, crucial to the understanding of eutherian evolution and biogeography, have remained essentially unresolved. Euarchontoglires and Laurasiathe

The present article describes data from pilot studies with the Swedish versions of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS). The MAAS and two of the KIMS scales, Act with Awareness and Accept without Judgment, were found to correlate in the predicted direction with measures of well-being and emotional distress. The KIMS scales Observe and

A numerical investigation to determine the velocity and heat transfer characteristics of multiple impinging slot jets in rib-roughened channels in the presence of cross-flow has been carried out. Fluid flow is modeled using an explicit algebraic stress model. A simple eddy diffusivity and a generalized gradient diffusion hypothesis are applied for the modeling of turbulent heat fluxes. The computa

The purpose of this in vitro study was to assess the effect of 17beta-estradiol on hemorheologic parameters, namely on erythrocyte aggregation and deformability and membrane fluidity.Blood samples from 65 women (aged 57 +/- 4 years) undergoing postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy were obtained and were incubated for 5 min in absence and presence of 17beta-estradiol 10(-5) M. The measured par

Starch microparticle is a dosage form suitable for encapsulation of protein drugs. The microparticle characteristics can be influential factors for consecutive sustained drug release from the starch matrix and impact its ability to be coated by poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide). In this study, six types of starch microparticles were investigated and characterized. Desired qualities of the microsphere

Three-terminal junction devices are realized in an InGaAs/InP quantum well by focused ion beam (FIB) implantation and selective wet etching. Room temperature electrical measurements show that the fabricated devices exhibit strong nonlinear electrical properties. The results are discussed in terms of ballistic electron transport. It is demonstrated that FIB-enhanced etching processing can be exploi

Nanotechnology has provided methods to fabricate surface patterns with features down to a few rim. If cells or cell processes exhibit contact guidance in response to such small patterns is an interesting question and could be pertinent for many applications. In the present study we investigated if axonal outgrowth was affected by nano-printed patterns in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-covered silic

Two endothermic transitions, at 36 degrees C and 44 degrees C, were observed with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) upon heating dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide vesicle dispersions that were equilibrated below 15 degrees C while in samples kept at 25 degrees C there was only the transition at 44 degrees C, which was shown to be the gel to liquid-crystalline transition by H-1-NMR measurem

Ion microprobe U-Th-Pb analyses of zircons in variably metamorphosed and veined orthogneisses in the southern part of the parautochthonous Eastern Segment of the Sveconorwegian (1.20-0.90 Ga) orogen, SW Sweden, broadly define two age groups, oscillatory and sector zoned magmatic zircon cores yield 1.70-1.68 Ga while overgrowths, homogeneous crystals, and recrystallized domains in primary zircon yi

Glucocorticoids have a well-known clinical effect on brain edema and intracranial hypertension, but the mechanism of action is still poorly understood. In the present report the effect of beta-methasone on choroid plexus transport and CSF formation was studied. Following 5 days of daily treatment with betamethasone the CSF production rate in rabbits was reduced by 43% as measured by ventriculo-cis

Helicobacter pylori has been proposed as a causative agent of gastric cancer. The aim of this study was to define serum antibodies response against different H. pylori antigens in patients with gastric cancer. Serum samples were collected from 115 Lithuanian patients with non-cardia gastric cancer and 110 age- and sex-matched controls without cancer. Heat-stable, low-molecular-mass, and outer memb