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The increasing demand for solid biofuels, such as primary forest fuels, has highlighted the importance to consider that they, in contrast to fossil fuels are produced in dynamic ecosystems. Environmental effects of changes in ecosystem management policies, positive and negative, are not obvious. To that end, calculations of carbon budgets in single forest stands show that the carbon balance dramat
The initiation of a migraine attack involves a primary central nervous system dysfunction with subsequent activation of the trigeminovascular system. In trigeminal ganglia, the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) have been demonstrated by immunocytochemistry. During migraine attacks, the level of released CGRP is increased. Meanwhi
Anestesiläkare rapporterades i en svensk studie ha en högre mortalitet än genomsnittet av läkare. Detta fynd har dock ej kunnat reproduceras i motsvarande studier i de övriga nordiska länderna. Likväl har det spekulerats i om den angivna överrisken bland svenska anestesiläkare kan relateras till gruppens jourarbete med höga krav, nattarbete och stress. Kunskapen om hälsoeffekter av läkares jourarb
The long-term advance in the timing of bird spring migration in the Northern Hemisphere is associated with global climate change. The extent to which changes in bird phenology reflect responses to weather conditions in the wintering or breeding areas, or during migration, however, remains to be elucidated. We analyse the relationships between the timing of spring migration of 9 species of trans-Sa
Modal analysis is a widely accepted tool for non-destructive evaluation of mechanical properties of materials and structures. In this paper, a partial modal analysis is used to examine whether internal decay in living trees can be detected by studying the resonance frequencies of the trees. We examine the resonance frequencies of living spruce of species Picea abies (Norway spruce) by means of the
For group-living animals, the maintenance of a position in the social hierarchy may be associated with physiological costs such as increased stress and energy expenditure or suppressed immune functions. In this study, we experimentally manipulated the social status of house sparrows so that each bird experienced two social environments in random sequence: being dominant and subordinate. For 14 mal
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
The respiratory tract pathogen Haemophilus influenzae frequently causes infections in humans. In parallel with all Gram-negative bacteria, H. influenzae has the capacity to release OMV. The production of these nanoparticles is an intriguing and partly unexplored phenomenon in pathogenesis. Here, we investigated how purified human peripheral blood B lymphocytes respond to OMV derived from unencapsu
Unilateral intrastriatal and intra-medial forebrain bundle injections of 6-OHDA impair the performance in a lateralised choice reaction time task. However, the extent and pattern of deficits after nigral 6-OHDA injections is less well studied, as well as the impact of training regime or the modification of various task parameters. The nigral 6-OHDA lesion resulted in impaired response accuracy and
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma, and neutralization of TNF-alpha is an effective therapy for inflammatory diseases. The present study tested the idea that a TNF-alpha antibody, infliximab, may be useful in the management of asthma. E3 rats were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA)/alum and received infliximab intra-peritoneally. Two weeks later,
Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is an autoimmune disorder that primarily affects young women and is characterized by inflammation in several organs including the kidneys, skin, joints, blood, and nervous system. Abnormal immune cellular and humoral responses play important roles in the development of the disease process. Impaired clearance of apoptotic material is a key factor contributing to ac
Wild dabbling ducks (genus Anas) are the main reservoir for influenza A virus (IAV) in the Northern Hemisphere. Current understanding of disease dynamics and epidemiology in this virus-host system has primarily been based on population-level surveillance studies and infection experiments conducted in laboratory settings. Using a combined experimental-natural approach with wild-strain captive malla
The increasing demand for solid biofuels, such as logging residue fuels, has highlighted the importance of considering that, in contrast to fossil fuels, biofuels are produced in dynamic ecosystems. The environmental effects of changes in management policy, whether positive and negative, are not obvious. For example, calculations of the carbon budget in single forest stands show that the carbon ba
The normal flora furnishes the host with ecological barriers that prevent pathogen attack while maintaining tissue homeostasis. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) constitute a highly relevant model of microbial adaptation in which some patients infected with Escherichia coil develop acute pyelonephritis, while other patients with bacteriuria exhibit an asymptomatic carrier state similar to bacterial
Habitat area is an important predictor of spatial variation in animal densities. However, the area often correlates with the quantity of resources within habitats, complicating our understanding of the factors shaping animal distributions. We addressed this problem by investigating densities of insect herbivores in habitat patches with a constant area but varying numbers of plants. Using a mathema
The aim of this study was to investigate how the biomass of extramatrical mycorrhizal mycelia (EMM) is influenced by the addition of different phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and PK fertilizers in peatland forests with variable P and K availability. Four fertilizers were used: apatite, biotite, Rauta-PK (TM) (apatite and ferrosulphate) and a test fertilizer (50% apatite and 50% recycled iron phospha
We study the mechanical failure of cemented granular materials (e.g., sandstones) using a constitutive model based on breakage mechanics for grain crushing and damage mechanics for cement fracture. The theoretical aspects of this model are presented in Part I: Tengattini et al. (2014), A thermomechanical constitutive model for cemented granular materials with quantifiable internal variables, Part
The activity of heterotrophic soil microorganisms is usually limited by the availability and quality of carbon (C). Adding organic substances will thus trigger a microbial response. We studied the response in bacterial growth and respiration after the addition of low amounts of glucose. First we determined if additions of glucose, at concentrations which did not result in an exponential increase i
In osteoblasts, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) is the major isozyme responsible for production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are local mediators of bone resorption and formation and are known to be involved in bone's adaptive response to fluid shear stress (FSS). We have previously described a model of trabecular bone loss in hindlimb-suspended mice and rats and demonstrated partial protection from
Growth hormone (GH) has insulin-antagonistic effects, and GH secretion is augmented during fasting and hypoglycemia. In the present study, 10 patients aged 21 to 28 years with childhood-onset GH deficiency (GHD) were studied during a 24-hour fast and a hypoglycemic glucose clamp before and after 9 months of GH replacement. During the 24-hour fast, blood glucose, serum insulin, and serum free fatty
