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Exposure of adult male animals to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) decreases serum androgen concentrations. Reduction in androgen levels after maternal exposure has also been reported, but these results have not been reproduced. We have earlier shown that TCDD stimulates rather than inhibits testosterone synthesis in the prenatal rat testis. The aim of the present study was to elucidate
Over the years, there has been much debate regarding the conformational behavior of flexible polyelectrolytes with electrostatic interactions described by the D bye-Huckel approximation. In particular, the electrostatic persistence length has been reported to depend both quadratically and linearly on the screening length as well as having no consistent power-law dependence at all. On the basis of
Childhood asthma and wheeze is more common among boys than girls, white the opposite is found in adults. The main objective was to study the incidence and the course of wheeze and asthma during adolescence with focus on gender differences. In addition, we explored associations between lifestyle factors at baseline and wheeze at follow-up. A total of 2399 adolescents answered validated questionnair
Fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF-8) is expressed in a large proportion of breast cancers, whereas its level in normal mammary gland epithelium is low. Previous studies have shown that FGF-8b stimulates breast cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo. To explore the mechanisms by which FGF-8b promotes growth, we studied its effects on cell cycle regulatory proteins and signalling pathways in mouse S1
The mutation G17736A/Val107Val (silent) was found in five of a total of 86 families with haemophilia B in Sweden. It is unlikely that five families with analogous clinical expression will have the same polymorphism, which is not found in other patients or normal subjects, or that they will be the only families in the population without any other causative mutation. All affected individuals in the
At night the Namib Desert spider Leucorchestris arenicola performs long-distance homing across its sand dune habitat. By disabling all or pairs of the spiders' eight eyes we found that homing ability was severely reduced when vision was fully abolished. Vision, therefore, seems to play a key role in the nocturnal navigational performances of L. arenicola. After excluding two or three pairs of eyes
Effects of furfural on the aerobic metabolism of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were studied by performing chemostat experiments, and the kinetics of furfural conversion was analyzed by performing dynamic experiments. Furfural, an important inhibitor present in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, was shown to have an inhibitory effect on yeast cells growing respiratively which was much greater than
Volatile anesthetics such as halothane efficiently inhibit nonshivering thermogenesis as well as the cellular manifestation of that phenomenon: norepinephrine-induced respiration in brown adipocytes. To identify the molecular site(s) of action of such anesthetics, we have examined the effect of halothane on the sequential intracellular steps from the interaction of norepinephrine with isolated bro
Many of the morphological features of animals are considered to be adaptations to the habitat that the animals utilize. The habitats utilized by birds vary, perhaps more than for any other group of vertebrates. Here, we study possible adaptations in the morphology of the skeletal elements of the hind limbs to the habitat of birds. Measurements of the lengths of the femur, tibiotarsus and tarsometa
Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether different behaviors in a stressful situation modify the risk of atherosclerosis in association with a myocardial infarction, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality. Many individuals have atherosclerotic changes in their arteries but may never experience any symptoms nor develop cardiovascular disease. A myocardial infarcti
Two barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) flying in the Lund wind tunnel were filmed using synchronised high-speed cameras to obtain posterior, ventral and lateral views of the birds in horizontal flapping flight. We investigated wingbeat kinematics, body tilt angle, tail spread and angle of attack at speeds of 414ms-1. Wingbeat frequency showed a clear U-shaped relationship with air speed with minima a
Objective - To screen risk groups for low bone mineral density by quantitative ultrasound in primary health care. Design - Cross-sectional. Intervention - None. Subjects - Risk categories for osteoporosis (a fragility fracture, malabsorption, immobilisation, inflammatory joint disease, glucocorticoid, fenantoin or thyroxin treatment, renal insufficiency or "miscellaneous"), 775 women and 179 men a
The emergence of levodopa (l-DOPA)-induced dyskinesia and motor fluctuations represents a major clinical problem in Parkinson's disease (PD). While it has been suggested that the daily dose of l-DOPA can play a critical role, the mechanisms linking l-DOPA dosage to the occurrence of motor complications have not yet been explored. Using an experimental model of PD we have recently demonstrated that
A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled cross-over multi-center study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in the treatment of neuropathic pain caused by traumatic or postsurgical peripheral nerve injury, using doses tip to 2400 mg/day. The study comprised a run-in period of two weeks, two treatment periods of five weeks separated by a three weeks' washout period.
Both brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and the serotonin receptor 2A (5-HT2A) have been related to depression pathology. Specific 5-HT2A receptor changes seen in BDNF conditional mutant mice suggest that BDNF regulates the 5-HT2A receptor level. Here we show a direct effect of BDNF on 5-HT2A receptor protein levels in primary hippocampal neuronal and mature hippocampal organotypic cultures
A generic protocol for the creation of material-mediated self-assembled patterns of streptavidin, defined solely by patterns of gold and SiO2, is presented. Protein-adsorption resistance of selected regions was obtained by material-specific adsorption of thiol-modified poly(ethylene)glycol (thiol-PEG) on gold followed by adsorption of poly-L-lysine (PLL) modified PEG (PLL-g-PEG) on SiO2. Selective
Objective To investigate the effect of high dose vitamin A supplementation given with BCG vaccine at birth in an African setting with high infant mortality. Design Randomised placebo controlled trial. Setting Bandim Health Project's demographic surveillance system in Guinea-Bissau, covering approximately 90 000 inhabitants. Participants 4345 infants due to receive BCG. Intervention Infants were ra
Background : Legal empowerment of the poor is highly relevant to public health as it aims to relieve income poverty, a main determinant of health. The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor (CLEP) has proposed legal empowerment measures in the following four domains: access to justice and the rule of law, property, labor, and business rights. Despite being overrepresented among the poor, CLEP
The main aim of this project was to explore whether the pine trees in Glen Affric (GAF), one of the more extensive pine woodlands in the northern Scottish Highlands, are, on average, reaching a senescent stage which could ultimately be detrimental to the sustainability of the pine woodland in this region under present management conditions This aim was realized by (1) comparing the mean stand age
Molecular sensing in the lingual mucosa and in the gastro-intestinal tract play a role in the detection of ingested harmful drugs and toxins. Therefore, genetic polymorphisms affecting the capability of initiating these responses may be critical for the subsequent efficiency of avoiding and/or eliminating possible threats to the organism. By using a tagging approach in the region of Taste Receptor
