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Hakkarainen and Sintonen (2002) praise the descriptive adequacy of Hintikka's Interrogative Model of Inquiry (imi) to describe children's practices in an inquiry-based learning context. They further propose to use the imi as a starting point for developing new pedagogical methods and designing new didactic tools. We assess this proposal in the light of the formal results that in the imi characteri
Urinary tract infection is the most common infection in man. P fimbriae are virulence factors of uro-pathogenic Escherichia coli. They are expressed by 70-90 % of acute pyelonephritis isolates and up to 100% of the most virulent isolates that cause bacteremia. This thesis concerns the interaction between P fimbriae and the urinary tract mucosa, and the host receptors involved in fimbrial recognit
Colonialism’ and ‘decolonization’ have been dealt with by postcolonial studies and, more recently, by scholars identified with the ‘de-colonial turn’. At the same time, in the ethnopolitically charged context of contemporary Bolivian society, colonialism and decolonization have become issues of political, existential and even cosmological import. This thesis identifies a need to root the ‘de-colon
In this article the authors reflect upon and critically examine signs of a contradiction in higher education which they discuss in terms of the tension between 'use value' and 'exchange value'. Use value here represents learning as something valuable ‘in itself’ whereas exchange value represents learning as an achievement of grades and credits to be ‘traded’ on a market. Their aim in this article
An ability to interact with plasminogen or plasmin could provide micro-organisms with a mechanism for invasion. Thus, group A, C and G streptococci secrete streptokinase which binds and activates plasminogen. Some streptococci also express surface structures which bind plasminogen without causing its activation. Plasminogen-binding surface proteins were extracted from one group C and one group G s
The self-diffusion coefficients of water in casein solutions and gels were measured using a pulsed-gradient spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance technique (PGSE NMR). The dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient of water on the concentration and structure-of casein is reported. The results were analyzed using a cell model. It was found that the water self-diffusion coefficient is insensitive t
Proteins can adjust their structure and function in response to shifting environments. Functional diversity is created not only by the sequence but by changes in tertiary structure. Here we present evidence that lipid cofactors may enable otherwise unstable protein folding variants to maintain their conformation and to form novel, biologically active complexes. We have identified unsaturated C18 f
Rats and mice with a lower capacity to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) because of allelic polymorphisms in the Ncf1 gene (which encodes neutrophil cytosolic factor 1) are more susceptible to develop severe arthritis. These data suggest that ROS are involved in regulating the immune response. We now show that the lower capacity to produce ROS is associated with an increased number of reduced
Epithelial cells are characterized by their polarized organization based on an apical membrane that is separated from the basolateral membrane domain by tight junctions. Maintenance of this morphology is guaranteed by highly specific sorting machinery that separates lipids and proteins into different carrier populations for the apical or basolateral cell surface. Lipid-raft-independent apical carr
Our aim in this study was to explore women's responses to reported ad-hoc demands for unauthorized user fees during pregnancy and childbirth in Luanda, Angola. Ten focus group discussions were conducted and data were analysed using grounded theory. Women were found to apply six strategies as they "endeavored to cope with demands for unauthorized user fees" (core category): (i) blowing the whistle,
Elevated plasma cytokines is a common finding in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), although not consistent. It is currently not known whether the inflammatory changes are confined to any specific subgroup of depressive patients. We here analyzed three inflammatory markers in suicidal and non-suicidal depressive patients, as well as healthy controls. Plasma interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6 and tumor necrosi
The interaction between DNA and cationic cosolutes- multivalent ions, cationic surfactants and cationic macromolecules- has direct biological implications and is also foreseen to have a number of applications, in particular for transfection and protection and purification of DNA. We have during the last few years established a broad physico-chemical research program on various mixed systems of DNA
Patient associations for cancer patients (PACPs) are increasing in number as well as in the number of members. We utilised a questionnaire to investigate how members of 13 PACPs motivated their memberships. The study included 1,810 individuals who had been treated for breast cancer, gynaecological cancer, or prostate cancer. Through questionnaires these individuals were asked to articulate why the
