A set of rectangles S is said to be gridpacked if there exists a rectangular grid (not necessarily regular) such that every rectangle lies in the grid and there is at most one rectangle of S in each cell. The area of a grid packing is the area of a minimal bounding box that contains all the rectangles in the grid packing. We present an approximation algorithm that given a set S of rectangles and a

We have investigated the binary system of a triblock copolymer of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), EO5PO68EO5, in water. The ternary system with the same polymer, water and soybean phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) has also been studied. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), 2H NMR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to characterize these systems. The phase

Popular Abstract in Swedish Kroppens immunförsvar, vars uppgift är att skydda oss mot infektioner, består av ett antal olika celltyper som till stor del finns i blodet. Immunförsvaret kan indelas i två delar; ett medfött försvar som är likadant hos alla individer och ett försvar som byggs upp under individens livstid. Det senare utformas olika beroende på vilka bakterier och virus som individen utThe cells of the innate immune system are essential for the host's first line defence against infection. Among these cells the neutrophil granulocyte has a central role by the production of antibiotic proteins and peptides. These are targeted for storage in secretory lysosomes and other neutrophil granules for subsequent release by regulated secretion in an inflammatory process. However, the granu

Background & objectives: We have earlier proposed that group A streptococcal (GAS) immunoglobulin binding surface proteins (IgGBPs) might trigger anti-IgG production and immune complex formation leading to glomerulonephritis. In the present study, cardiac tissue material from rabbits injected with heat-killed GAS was investigated. Methods: Rabbits were injected intravenously with 10(9) colony

We investigated the effects of an exotic snail, the golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in tropical wetland ecosystems. This large snail (up to 80-mm shell height) has invaded large parts of Southeast Asia during recent decades. A survey of natural wetlands in Thailand showed that high densities of the snail were associated with almost complete absen

We develop a uniform semiclassical trace formula for the density of states of a three-dimensional isotropic harmonic oscillator (HO), perturbed by a term 1/4 epsilon r(4). This term breaks the U(3) symmetry of the HO, resulting in a spherical system with SO(3) symmetry. We first treat the anharmonic term for small e in semiclassical perturbation theory by integration of the action of the perturbed

Background: The clinical benefit of combining long-acting beta(2)-agonists with inhaled corticosteroids rather than doubling the dose of corticosteroid has been well-documented. However, there are concerns that this might result in a masking of underlying airway inflammation. Objective: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the addition of the long-acting beta(2)-agonist salmeterol

Some of the compounds used for density gradient separation of blood cells have high osmolarities at the concentrations needed to create the required specific densities. Several mixed media use a combination of hyperosmolar shrinkage and red cell aggregation to improve cell separation. Due to the characteristics of Percoll density gradient medium the density and osmolarity of the gradient can be co

Forty isoniazid-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates were characterized on the basis of phenotypic properties (i.e., catalase activity, MIC of isoniazid, and growth pattern in the presence of 7 different concentrations of isoniazid) and alterations in the katG gene (codons 315 and 463). Three different growth patterns could be distinguished: concentration-dependent inhibition of growth wa

The capability of wood-rotting fungi (WRF) to colonise contaminated soil is an important fungal characteristic in the development of WRF-based soil bioremediation, it is also important to have methods that monitor the presence of the WRF in the soil. In this lab-scale study, it was shown that it was possible to re-capture, localise and identify a brown-rot fungus, Antrodia vaillantii, after it has

Perlecan is a heparan-sulfate proteoglycan abundantly expressed in pericellular matrices and basement membranes during development. Inactivation of the perlecan gene in mice is lethal at two developmental stages: around E10 and around birth. We report a high incidence of malformations of the cardiac outflow tract in perlecan-deficient embryos. Complete transposition of great arteries was diagnosed

Biomarkers for organ damage and/or dysfuntion are used in almost all areas of medicine. The brain has eluded this technological development for some time. Recently, the S100B protein has been shown to be a promising marker of brain damage. However, before S100S can reach clinical reality, several problems must be solved. The specificity of S100B requires special investigative attention. Although t

En källare ska alltid utformas så att den ger ett säkert och beständigt skydd mot fukt. Även om man inte avser att källaren ska vara uppvärmd kan det vara lämpligt att utforma fuktskyddet så att detta är möjligt i framtiden. I denna skrift beskrivs olika fuktbelastningar och fuktproblem i källare. Åtgärder för att åstadkomma en torr och fuktsäker källare redovisas samt lämpliga sätt att tilläggsis

Finite gradient pulse lengths are traditionally considered a nuisance in q-space diffusion NMR and MRI, since the simple Fourier relation between the acquired signal and the displacement probability is invalidated. Increasing the value of the pulse length leads to an apparently smaller value of the estimated compartment size. We propose that q-space data at different gradient pulse lengths, but wi

Abstract. Söderberg S, Ahrén B, Eliasson M, DinesenB, Olsson T (Umeå University, Umeå, Lund University and Luleå Hospital, Lund, Sweden; and Steno Diabetes Center, Gentofte, Denmark). The association between leptin and proinsulin is lost with central obesity. J Intern Med 2002; 252: 140-148. OBJECTIVE: Hyperproinsulinaemia and hyperleptinaemia are interrelated features of the insulin resistance sy