High-voltage outdoor insulators made from silicone rubber are sometimes reported to be colonised by microorganisms. When the hydrophobic polymeric surface is covered by a hydrophilic biofilm, the electrical properties of the insulator are altered. In this work, mixed biofilms, similar to those formed on the surfaces of polymeric insulators in the field, were successfully grown on five types of sil

This study aimed to compare the duration of protection against exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) after inhalation of formoterol (Oxis) Turbuhaler with that of terbutaline Turbuhaler and placebo Turbuhaler in asthmatic patients treated regularly with formoterol Turbuhaler 9 microg b.i.d. and inhaled steroids. The study. performed at three centres (Goteborg and Lund, Sweden, and Trondheim,

Purpose: Bladder outlet obstruction leads to bladder enlargement and subsequent decreases in contractile function in vivo and in vitro. We determined whether there were regional differences in bladder wall properties and in vitro contractile responses after 2 weeks of bladder outlet obstruction. Materials and Methods: Male rabbits underwent cystometry. The bladder was then filled to 40 ml. and the

Aims To describe clinical and demographic characteristics at baseline of a European cohort of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) and to assess mortality and morbidity in a 5 year follow-up period. Methods and results Data collected as part of the Euro Heart Survey on adult CHD was analysed. This entailed information transcribed from the files of 4110 patients diagnosed with one of eight co

Xenopus oocytes devoid of their follicular enclosure provide a frequently used expression system for investigating receptors that transduce through activation of adenylyl cyclase following injection of the appropriate mRNA. However, due to a low basal activity of the cyclase they cannot be utilized to investigate receptor-mediated reductions in endogenous cAMP levels. In order to overcome this lim

Background: In westernized societies, acne vulgaris is a nearly universal skin disease afflicting 79% to 95% of the adolescent population. In men and women older than 25 years, 40% to 54% have some degree of facial acne, and clinical facial acne persists into middle age in 12% of women and 3% of men. Epidemiological evidence suggests that acne incidence rates are considerably lower in nonwesterniz

We used the tropical oceanic planktonic diatom species Nitzschia marina, Rhizosolenia bergonii and Azpeitia africana/Azpeitia neocrenulata, most commonly found in the surface sediments of the northeastern most South China Sea (SCS) where the Kuroshio Current enters the SCS through the Bashi Strait north of Luzon, to analyse the influence of the the Kuroshio Current on the SCS. The impact of the Ku

Background: Carboxypeptidase B from the pancreatic gland may exist in three different molecular and immunoreactive forms: the proenzyme, the active enzyme, and the activation peptide. Aims: To investigate levels of procarboxypeptidase B (proCAPB) and its activation peptide in serum in acute pancreatitis to test the accuracy of these two variables as markers for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis

We report measurements of the relative intensities of 81 emission linesof Fe II between 160 nm and 350 nm (62 168 cm-1 to 28 564cm-1) from 4 levels by high resolution Fourier transformspectrometry, using a Penning discharge lamp as light source. Theserelative intensities have been used to determine the line branchingfractions, which have then been combined with accurate experimentalradiative lifet

An amorphous, colorless, and highly transparent polymer containing boron atoms in its branched chain architecture was synthesised from boron trioxide, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and methoxy end-capped PEG. Electrolytes based on this polymer and different concentrations of lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) were prepared and characterised by impedance spectroscopy, calorimetry and thermogravimetry. The

We have studied the atomic scale structure of molecular beam epitaxy grown Ga1-xMnxAs compounds with various Mn concentrations by cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and first principles calculations. Only bright protrusions close to the top layer As atoms are directly correlated with the bulk Mn concentration. Atomically resolved filled and empty states images of this defect are compare