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Background and objectives: Platelet-derived CD40L is known to regulate neutrophil recruitment and lung damage in sepsis. However, the mechanism regulating shedding of CD40L from activated platelets is not known. We hypothesized that matrix metalloproteinase-9 might cleave surface expressed CD40L and regulate pulmonary accumulation of neutrophils in sepsis. Methods: Abdominal sepsis was induced by

to assess how well insulin resistance predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD) in non-diabetic men and women and to explore the influence of physical activity.

Small punch (SP) fracture testing with subsequent SEM fractographic analysis was applied to an A 508 Class 3 reactor pressure vessel(RPV) steel, used originally in the NESC-I spinning cylinder experiment, in order to determine the SP ductile-brittle transition temperature of both the base material and the sub-clad heat affected zone. In addition to the evaluation of the SP transition temperature,

Background. In some western populations, increased serum uric acid has been positively associated with cardiovascular disease, possibly because hyperuricaemia could be an untoward part of the insulin-resistant metabolic syndrome. However, there is evidence that uric acid is a free radical scavenger capable of inhibiting LDL oxidation. Amongst the traditional horticulturalists of Kitava, Trobriand

Objectives: To study diagnostic delay in invasive bladder cancer in a population-based material with long-term follow-up, and to evaluate whether delay in diagnosis affects the risk of bladder cancer death. Material and Methods: In a previous study, 177 patients with invasive bladder cancer (T1-T4) diagnosed in 1988 were investigated with regard to diagnostic delay. A review of all available clini

We studied the association between alexithymia (20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, TAS-20) and obesity, and also assessed the construct validity of the TAS-20 in terms of personality dimensions in obese patients. The TAS-20 and its subscales were analysed for their correlations with the NEO Personality Inventory - Revised (NEO PI-R) in an obese sample of 259 patients. Obesity was associated with h

Time-domain Green dyadics for linear, homogeneous, temporally dispersive bi-isotropic media are presented. A complex time-dependent electromagnetic field is introduced. Approximation to the complex field from an electric point dipole in an unbounded bi-isotropic medium with respect to the slowly varying components (second forerunner approximation) is obtained. Numerical examples are presented. Sur

We hypothesised that pieces of nerve that are normally trimmed away during graft repair could be a source of Schwann cells and used to create an autologous cell-containing nerve graft. To test the idea a transsection injury was made on the rat sciatic nerve. Seven days later, pieces from the proximal and distal stumps were used for the immediate isolation of its non-neuronal cells. These cells, of

AIMS: This study sets out to investigate direct care staff's views of their need for support, supervision, and training in their practice in day care settings when supporting daily occupations among developmentally disabled persons. BACKGROUND: The first line staff are considered as having a prominent role in the successful delivery of service. METHODS: Three municipalities, one urban and two rura

We report on large-scale ab initio calculations for intercombination lines in Si I-like ions. Two measurable quantities, the lifetime of the 3s3p(3 5)S(2) level and the branching ratio of the two lines are discussed, to infer the importance of different features of our calculations. The effects of core polarization, two-body spin-dependent operators and Dirac contra Breit-Pauli approaches are disc

Females of many species mate with several males. According to a recent hypothesis, female promiscuity serves to avoid inbreeding. We tested this hypothesis in a polygynous bird, the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), in which extra-pair fertilization, inbreeding and inbreeding depression occur. However, the extra-pair males and social males did not differ in relatedness to the promisc

Random mesh phases share many common features with the classical lamellar phase in that they are layered phases; but crucially, they possess nonuniform interfacial curvature, since the lamellae are pierced by water-filled pores. The introduction of curvature into the lamellae has been posited as a transitional precursor for other lyotropic phases. In this paper, we show that simple H-2 nuclear mag

The lysozyme-sodium dodecyl sulfate-water system features several interesting aggregation phenomena and is also of interest as it constitutes a model system for mixtures of a charged colloid with an oppositely charged surfactant, as both colloid and surfactant are pure and monodisperse compounds. The structure of such mixed protein - surfactant systems has been investigated by means of SANS contra

Geographical variations in cardiovascular mortality have been reported from Mid-Sweden. IHD mortality for men aged 45-64 was 60% higher in the western part than in the east. Mortality from stroke for men aged 45-74 was 73% higher on the west. Similar differences were found for women. One possible explanation could be that there are no incidence differences but that the mortality differences are du

Increased urinary albumin excretion rate (AER), microalbuminuria, has been regarded as a sign of incipient nephropathy. The influence of exercise on AER was investigated in 10 male type I diabetics and in 12 age-matched male controls. The duration of diabetes was 7-31 years (median 14 years). The exercise tests were performed both as a combined submaximal workload-waterload test and as a maximal w

Objective. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a highly lethal disease and most patients are not eligible for curable resection. Estimation of prognosis is essential in order to provide the best individual treatment for patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Prediction of survival by current methods is limited, therefore the objective of this study was to determine possible prognostic factors id

The interactions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with chemically cross-linked gels of ethyl(hydroxyethyl) cellulose (EHEC) were studied. Above the so-called critical association concentration (cac), binding of SDS gives rise to an increased swelling of the EHEC gels. The binding of SDS to the gels was measured with flame emission analysis of the sodium ion. The self-diffusion of the surfactant ion