The caudal limit of Otx2 expression positions the isthmic organizer.

The homeobox gene Otx2 is expressed in the anterior neural tube with a sharp limit at the midbrain/hindbrain junction (the isthmic organizer). Otx2 inactivation experiments have shown that this gene is essential for the development of its expression domain. Here we investigate whether the caudal limit of Otx2 expression is instrumental in positioning the isthmic organizer and in specifying midbrain versus hindbrain fate, by ectopically expressing Otx2 in the presumptive anterior hindbrain using a knock-in strategy into the En1 locus.

Selenium speciation in human milk with special respect to quality control.

Selenium- (SE) organo compounds of pooled human milk (7th-14th d after delivery) were separated by centrifugation and subsequent size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) as described in ref. (1). The SEC fractions were used for Se determinations by electrothermal vaporization inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ETV-ICP-MS) in parallel to identification procedures of the organic ligands by two different capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) methods.

Daily mortality and air pollutants: findings from Köln, Germany.

Study Objective And Design: For the APHEA study, the short term effects of air pollutants on human health were investigated in a comparable way in various European cities. Daily mortality was used as one of the health effects indicators. This report aims to demonstrate the steps in epidemiological model building in this type of time series analysis aimed at detecting short term effects under a poisson distribution assumption and shows the tools for decision making.

Measuring the steady-state value and the dynamics of the skin blood flow using the non-contact laser speckle method.

The non-contact laser speckle method provides a measure of skin blood flow with a time resolution of 1 s. Information about different characteristics of the blood flow can be obtained from measurements of the steady state and from the time course during ischaemia and reactive hyperaemia. Special signal processing, a microprocessor and a computer program facilitate the analysis of the data.

Indicator parameters for PCDD/F as a possible means to monitor emissions of toxicity equivalents from waste incinerators.

In the stack emissions from a hazardous waste incinerator we found highly significant correlations between 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxicity equivalents (I-TE) and pentachlorobenzene (CI5Bz) and between I-TE and heptachlorobiphenyl (CI7B). We therefore propose to utilize these substances as indicator parameters from which I-TE values can be estimated. Since they are easier to analyze than PCDD/F the use of indicator parameters such as CI5Bz and CI7B offers the chance to monitor I-TE emissions which are limited to 0.

Endogenous superantigen expression controlled by a novel promoter in the MMTV long terminal repeat.

Endogenous superantigens are encoded by the open reading frame contained within the mouse mammary tumour virus long terminal repeat (MMTV LTR). Superantigen expression results in T-cell proliferation and, during early ontogeny, T-cell deletion. Here we identify a novel promoter located upstream of the previously described MMTV promoter.

Skin blood flow evaluated by the laser speckle method and the transcutaneous oxygen tension: interpretation of the dynamics using a simple model.

Spontaneous fluctuations of skin blood flow were measured by the laser speckle method in a time interval of 1024s. The frequency spectra of the resulting signal (blood flow parameter B) were calculated using the fast Fourier transformation. The mean spectrum was obtained from at least six single measurements on different days in the range 0.

Genetic risk for asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.

In order to explore the genetic risk of a child with a family history of allergies developing asthma, allergic rhinitis, or atopic dermatitis, questionnaires filled in by 6665 families were analysed. The data were collected in a population based cross sectional survey of 9-11 year old schoolchildren living in Munich and southern Bavaria. The relation between asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis and the number of allergic first degree relatives, and the type of allergic disease was examined.