Intracellular Ca2+ was determined with the fura-2 technique during electrically induced contractions in the rabbit rectococcygeus smooth muscle at 22 degreesC. The muscles were electrically activated to give short, reproducible contractions. Intracellular [Ca2+] increased during activation; the increase in [Ca2+] preceded force development by approximately 2 s. After cessation of stimulation Ca2+

Mycorrhizal symbiosis involves reciprocal transfer of carbon and nutrients between shoots on the one hand and roots colonized by symbolic fungi on the other. Mycorrhizas may improve the mineral nutrient acquisition rates, but simultaneously increase the belowground demand for carbon. Mycorrhizal plants will have a selective advantage over non-mycorrhizal ones if they are more cost-efficient in ter

Concentrations of ara-CTP in leukemic cells isolated from CSF and of ara-C in lumbar CSF were measured following intraventricular ara-C administration in two girls with refractory meningeal leukemia. CSF samples were collected with a permanent intrathecal-lumbar catheter. In contrast to the comparatively short retention of ara-C in the CSF (t1/2 1.8 to 2.9 hours), there was a high accumulation and

The extension theory for semibounded symmetric operators is generalized by including operators acting in a triplet of Hilbert spaces. We concentrate our attention on the case where the minimal operator is essentially self-adjoint in the basic Hilbert space and construct a family of its self-adjoint extensions inside the triplet. All such extensions can be described by certain boundary conditions,

Economists have debated the issue of state intervention in the economic process in capitalist economies intensively for decades. Often, however, without considering the effects of state intervention on entrepreneurship. In this paper we undertake a critical analysis of the institutionalist theory of state intervention developed by Ha-Joon Chang. He identifies two key roles for the state in facilit

Mutations within the DNA mismatch repair gene, "postmeiotic segregation increased 2" (PMS2), have been associated with a predisposition to hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC; Lynch syndrome). The presence of a large family of highly homologous PMS2 pseudogenes has made previous attempts to sequence PMS2 very difficult. Here, we describe a novel method that utilizes long-range PCR as

Background: Black and white pain drawings were introduced as a proposed means to identify patients, presenting with low back pain, who demonstrated functional overlay upon neurological testing. The use of color may enhance the usefulness of such pain drawings, but has not been described for adult patients. Aims: To retrospectively explore the use of colored pain drawings in patients with neck, low

In vitro, pancreatic triglyceride lipase requires colipase to restore activity in the presence of inhibitors, like bile acids. Presumably, colipase performs the same function in vivo, but little data supports that notion. Other studies suggest that colipase or its proform, procolipase, may have additional functions in appetite regulation or in fat digestion during the newborn period when pancreati

OBJECTIVE: The acute-phase inflammatory response is closely correlated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis, but the pathophysiologic role of its specific components is largely unknown. We investigated the genetic control of the acute-phase protein response in pristane-induced arthritis (PIA), which is a chronic erosive arthritis model in rats. METHODS: Plasma levels of the acute-phase pro

Mid-Ordovician fossil meteorites found in the Thorsberg quarry, southern Sweden, are believed to have been deposited during a period of enhanced meteorite flux following the fragmentation of the L chondrite parent body. During diagenesis, the fossil meteorites were largely replaced by a secondary mineral assemblage. However, primary chromite grains have been preserved. High-precision oxygen isotop

OBJECTIVE: The concentration of serum total sialic acid (S-TSA) is one recently investigated risk marker for cardiovascular mortality and atherosclerosis. Since the mortality from coronary heart disease is higher in the United States than in Japan, one could expect the S-TSA to be higher among Caucasian US citizens than among Japanese citizens, a hypothesis that is tested in this study. DESIGN: Cr

The notion of 'fluency' is most often associated with spoken-language phenomena such as stuttering. The present article investigates the relevance of considering fluency in writing. The basic argument for raising this question is empirical - it follows from a focus on difficulties in written and spoken language as manifestations of different problems which should be investigated separately on the

The bacterial spore, the hardiest known life form, can survive in a metabolically dormant state for many years and can withstand high temperatures, radiation, and toxic chemicals. The molecular basis of spore dormancy and resistance is not understood, but the physical state of water in the different spore compartments is thought to play a key role. To characterize this water in situ, we recorded t

Abstract Bacterial diversity in the microbial communities of posterior gut sections of three temperate marine herbivorous fish species from New Zealand was characterised using Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis, and 16S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing methods. The fish were collected in 1999–2000 in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand (35°54’–36°24’S, 174°48’–175°25’E). The gastrointest

In this work an artificial neural network (ANN) is used to correlate experimentally determined and numerically computed Nusselt numbers and friction factors of three kinds of fin-and-tube heat exchangers having plain fins, slit fins and fins with longitudinal delta-winglet vortex generators with large tube-diameter and large the number of tube rows. First the experimental data for training the net

In TSP with neighborhoods we are given a set of objects in the plane, called neighborhoods, and we seek the shortest tour that visits all neighborhoods. Until now constant-factor approximation algorithms have been known only for cases where the objects are of approximately the same size. We present the first polynomial-time constant-factor approximation algorithm for disjoint convex fat objects of

The increasing microbial antibiotic resistance motivates research for non-antibiotic treatment alternatives. In recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), 'bacterial interference' has attracted interest as a possible alternative treatment option. The observation that asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) protects against recurrent UTI has prompted clinical trials with deliberate colonization of the human

In a field irradiation experiment UV-B radiation was enhanced to simulate 15% ozone depletion under clear sky conditions in northern Sweden. This was accomplished by using UV-B fluorescent lamps mounted on metal frames raised over a naturally growing plant community. 2. The study area consisted of a dwarf shrub heath mainly composed of the four species Vaccinium vitis-idaea, V. myrtillus, V. uligi

Liver is one of the most important organs in energy metabolism. Most plasma apolipoproteins and endogenous lipids and lipoproteins are synthesized in the liver. It depends on the integrity of liver cellular function, which ensures homeostasis of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. When liver cancer occurs, these processes are impaired and the plasma lipid and lipoprotein patterns may be changed. Liv