introduction: failure of human body tissue and organs is believed to be one of the most important health problems all over the world. the great challenge for tissue engineers is to optimize suitable systems to separate, proliferate and differentiate the cells so that they can set out to create tissue by a harmonic 3-d growth. therefore, the tissue engineers must provide an environment like the ...

ß -carotene is a human nutrient found in plants or animals. It is also can be synthesized chemically. It is lipid-soluble, and is yellow, orange or red in color. ß-Carotene can be cleaved into vitamin A in vivo. The most abundant form of ß-carotene in human serum is trans isomer; cis isomers such as 9-cis ß-carotene, 13-cis ß-carotene, and 15-cis ß-carotene are only present in trace amounts. ß-...

.............................................................................6 ORIGINAL PAPERS....................................................................7 ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................8 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................9 The structure of a pancreatic islet................................

Although many endo-ß-1,4-glucanases have been isolated in invertebrates, their cellulolytic systems are not fully understood. In particular, gastropod feeding on seaweed is considered an excellent model system for production of bioethanol and renewable bioenergy from third-generation feedstocks (microalgae and seaweeds). In this study, enzymes involved in the conversion of cellulose and other p...

This paper examines an infinite family of proximity drawings of graphs called open and closed ß-drawings, first defined by Kirkpatrick and Radke [15, 21] in the context of computational morphology. Such proximity drawings include as special cases the well-known Gabriel, relative neighborhood and strip drawings. Complete characterizations of those trees that admit open /^-drawings for 0 < ß < iz...

Wound healing is a complex process that relies on proper levels of cytokines and growth factors to successfully repair the tissue. Of particular interest are the members of the transforming growth factor family. There are three TGF-ß isoforms-TGF- ß 1, 2, and 3, each isoform showing a unique expression pattern, suggesting that they each play a distinct function during development and repair. Pr...

Microdialysis sampling of lipophilic molecules in human tissues is challenging because protein binding and adhesion to the membrane limit recovery. Hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HP-ß-CD) forms complexes with hydrophobic molecules thereby improving microdialysis recovery of lipophilic molecules in vitro and in rodents. We tested the approach in human subjects. First, we determined HP-ß-CD influe...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This study examined the association of physical activity and sedentarism with tobacco and alcohol consumption, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in teenagers of both genders. METHODS A total number of 1897 Spanish teenagers (12-16 year-olds) took part in the present cross-sectional study. The variables were measured by means of questionnaires previously validat...

The compound poly-ß-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a polymer of the short chain fatty acid ß-hydroxybutyrate, was shown to protect experimental animals against a variety of bacterial diseases, (including vibriosis in farmed aquatic animals), albeit through undefined mechanisms. Here we aimed at unraveling the underlying mechanism behind the protective effect of PHB against bacterial disease using gnoto...