The seasonal decline in reproductive success observed in many animal species may be caused by timing per se (timing hypothesis) or by variation in phenotypic quality between early and late breeding females (quality hypothesis). To distinguish between these two hypotheses, several studies of birds have used clutch removal experiments to manipulate breeding date. However; removal experiments also in

The static (parallel-plate thermal-gradient) diffusion chamber (SDC) was one of the first instruments designed to measure cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations as a function of supersaturation. It has probably also been the most widely used type of CCN counter. This paper describes the detailed experimental characterization of a SDC CCN counter, including calibration with respect to super

We used an enrichment technique to isolate 18 novel di and tri microsatellites for the socially monogamous lizard Tiliqua rugosa. These loci were amplified in conjunction with previously described loci in two and three PCR multiplexes for T. rugosa and the endangered T. adelaidensis, respectively. The loci were highly polymorphic in both species, exhibiting between 2 and 32 alleles with observed h

The eight-twenty-one (ETO) homologues, represented by ETO, myeloid transforming gene-related protein 1 (MTGR1) and myeloid transforming gene chromosome 16 (MTG16), are nuclear repressor proteins. ETO is part of the fusion protein acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)1-ETO, resulting from the translocation (8;21). Similarly, MTG16 is disrupted to become part of AML1/MTG16 in t(16;21). The aberrant expressi

This article examines the institution of retirement on some estates in Scania, the southernmost part of Sweden, in the nineteenth century. It is obvious that tenant farmers on the estates were practising the same retirement system as was customary among freeholders, that is they were entering into retirement contracts with their offspring or with a non-relative, making over the farm in exchange fo

We investigated the development of a heterotrophic plankton food web with or without phytoplankton primary production in a long-term (>1 yr) laboratory experiment. Water from 3 Swedish lakes (humic, oligotrophic clearwater, eutrophic) was exposed to low light or kept in total darkness in triplicate 100 1 cylinders. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics, bacterial growth and biomass of protozoans

Mixed catanionic surfactant systems based on amino acids were investigated with respect to the formation of liquid crystal dispersions and the stability of the dispersions. The surfactants used were arginine-N-lauroyl amide dihydrochloride ( ALA) and NR-lauroyl-arginine-methyl ester hydrochloride ( LAM), which are arginine-based cationic surfactants; sodium hydrogenated tallow glutamate ( HS), a g

Huntington disease (HD) is an adult onset, neurodegenerative disorder that results from CAG expansion in the HD gene. Recent work has demonstrated testicular degeneration in mouse models of HD and alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in HD patients. Here, we show that HD patients have specific testicular pathology with reduced numbers of germ cells and abnormal seminiferous

An up to 12-year follow-up of 51 single-coated STAR revealed that 15 ankles had undergone fusion. The mean time from primary surgery to the first revision was median 51 months. In a series of 58 double-coated STAR ankles followed up to 5 years only one ankle had to be revised for component loosening. In this series the clinical survival rate was 98% and the radiographic survival rate 94% at 5 year

The detection of contamination such as salt in outdoor high-voltage insulator systems and its subsequent removal are vital for a reliable transmission of electric power. Remote detection of salt on a copper metal surface was carried out by using a mobile laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) Lidar system with a laser wavelength of 355 nm. Detection of salt on a polymeric high-voltage insulat

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is most common in the elderly, and most elderly are thought to be unfit for intensive treatment because of the risk of fatal toxicity. The Swedish Acute Leukemia Registry covers 98% of all patients with AML (non-acute promyelocytic leukemia) diagnosed in 1997 to 2005 (n = 2767), with a median follow-up of 5 years, and reports eligibility for intensive therapy, performa

Short-hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated gene knockdown is a powerful tool for targeted gene silencing and an emerging novel therapeutic strategy. Recent publications, however, reported unexpected toxicity after utilizing viral-mediated shRNA knockdown in vivo. Thus, it is currently unclear whether shRNA-mediated knockdown strategy can be used as a safe and efficient tool for gene silencing. In this stu

Accumulation of Nodularia spumigena toxins by Mytilus edulis was studied during laboratory and mesocosm experiments in order to investigate the possible pathways of nodularin in mussels and calculate toxin budgets. Mussels were exposed to 0.2-15.6 mu g nodularin 1(-1), fed for up to 5 days with Nodularia cells from culture, or blooming in different nutrient-treated seawater. Toxin concentration wa

Data from ten Swedish-Arabic preschool children with language impairment and ten Swedish-Arabic children with normal language development matched for age and exposure to Swedish were analyzed. Specific tasks for both Swedish and Arabic were designed. By using the hierarchy predicted by processability theory as a yardstick, grammatical development was measured in the two languages of the children.

Kinins are proinflammatory peptides that mediate numerous vascular and pain responses to tissue injury. Two pharmacologically distinct kinin receptor subtypes have been identified and characterized for these peptides, which are named B1 and B2 and belong to the rhodopsin family of G protein-coupled receptors. The B2 receptor mediates the action of bradykinin (BK) and lysyl-bradykinin (Lys-BK), the

Abstract in Spanish Antecedentes: Las pruebas cutáneas con determinantes mayores y menores de la penicilina se utilizan de forma habitual para el diagnóstico de reacciones de hipersensibilidad inmediata a los antibióticos betalactámicos. Estos extractos diagnósticos han sido recientemente retirados del mercado europeo. Objetivo: Estudio de una nueva marca de determinantes para el diagnóstico de reBACKGROUND: Skin testing with major and minor determinants of benzylpenicillin is recommended standard practice for the evaluation of patients with immediate hypersensitivity reactions to beta-lactams. However, commercial reagents for this purpose were recently dropped from the European market. OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we assessed a new brand of reagents for use in skin testing in patients

The galectins are a family of -galactoside-binding proteins that have been implicated in cancer and inflammation processes. Herein, we report the synthesis of a library of 28 compounds that was tested for binding to galectins-1, -3, -7, -8N and -9N. An aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction between 1,5-difluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and a galacto thiol gave 5-fluoro-2,4-dinitrophenyl 2,3,4,6-tet

During pregnancy, specific variants of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IEs) can accumulate in the placenta through adhesion to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) mediated by expression of PfEMP1 encoded by var2csa-type genes. Antibodies against these variants are associated with protection from maternal malaria. We evaluated antibodies among Kenyan, Papua New Guinean, and Malawian men and Ke

An investigation of the behavior of O-2 molecules in and on O-2-doped large (< N > similar or equal to 8000) Ar host clusters has been performed by means of core and valence photoelectron spectroscopy. Data from pure O-2 and Ar clusters, as well as from O-2-doped Ar clusters, are presented. The experimental data together with calculations of the binding energy shifts of oxygen molecular ions in an