OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the development of handicap in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) followed 8 years from onset. METHODS: The study group consisted of 106 patients participating in a prospective early RA study. The mean duration of joint symptoms at inclusion was one year. The patients were assessed at least once annually. Disability was measured with the Health Assessment Questionnaire

Cutting tool spontaneous failure such as, edge fracture and chipping are common phenomena in the metal cutting process, especially when difficult workpiece materials which have poor cutibility are met in the machining process. The tool failures are often caused by high mechanical and thermal stresses acting in it. Monitoring stresses acting in a cutting edge during machining process can provide mo

dsDNA in bacteriophages is highly stressed and exerts internal pressures of many atmospheres (1 atm = 101.3 kPa) on the capsid walls. We investigate the correlation between packaged DNA length in A phage (78-100% of WT DNA) and capsid strength by using an atomic force microscope indentation technique. We show that phages with WT DNA are twice as strong as shorter genome mutants, which behave like

Water–biomolecule interactions have been extensively studied in dilute solutions, crystals, and rehydrated powders, but none of these model systems may capture the behavior of water in the highly organized intracellular milieu. Because of the experimental difficulty of selectively probing the structure and dynamics of water in intact cells, radically different views about the properties of cell wa

Important corrections to BFKL evolution are obtained from non-leading contributions and from non-linear effects due to unitarisation or saturation. It has been diffcult to estimate the relative importance of these effects, as NLO effects are most easily accounted for in momentum space while unitarisation and saturation are easier in transverse coordinate space. An essential component of the NLO co

This is a case study of managerial identity work, based on an in-depth case of a senior manager and the organizational context in which she works. The article addresses the interplay between organizational discourses, role expectations, narrative self-identity and identity work Identity is conceptualized in processual terms as identity work and struggle. The article illuminates fragmentation as we

OBJECTIVE: To determine 1. whether maternal fever during term labour is associated with acidaemia at birth and neonatal infection and 2. whether fetal tachycardia precedes maternal fever and is associated with neonatal infection. DESIGN: Retrospective matched-pair case-control study. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and forty-eight newborn infants whose mothers developed fever during term labour (cases) and

This study prospectively evaluated the rate of biologic response to desmopressin (DDAVP) in 66 patients with type I or 2 von Willebrand disease (VWD), each of whom had, on the basis of available records, a clinically significant bleeding history and at least one of the following laboratory abnormalities: bleeding time (BT) longer than 15 minutes, ristocetin cofactor activity (VWF:RCo) less than 10

Three-terminal ballistic junctions (TBJs) are fabricated from a high-mobility InP/In0.75Ga0.25As heterostructure by electron-beam lithography. The voltage output from the central branch is measured as a function of the voltages applied to the left and right branches of the TBJs. The measurements show that the TBJs possess an intrinsic nonlinearity. Based on this nonlinearity, a novel room-temperat

Bleach plant effluent is treated in the ultrafiltration plant at Stora Enso Nymblla pulp and paper mill. The plant is the largest of its kind in the world, with a total membrane area of 4800 m(2) (2900 m(2) on the softwood line and 1900 m(2) on the hardwood line) and a processing capacity of 400 m(3) bleach plant effluent per hour. The ultrafiltration plant has been in operation since 1995. The op

This is a prospective study of 100 consecutive stroke patients. Within 24 h after stroke onset they were asked specifically about swallowing complaints and subjected to a clinical examination including neurologic examination, Mini-Mental test, and Barthel score. Dysphagic patients were examined with the repetitive oral suction swallow test (the ROSS test) for quantitative evaluation of oral and ph

In 1980, Sweden was a highly regulated economy with several state monopolies and low levels of economic freedom. Less than twenty years later, liberal reforms turned Sweden into one of the world's most open economies with a remarkable increase in economic freedom. While there is resilience when it comes to high levels of taxes and expenditure shares of GDP, there has been a profound restructuring

Objective: To outline the best available method of measurement for detecting progression of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip especially in therapeutic trials. Method A Medline search of articles related to progression of hip CA was performed. A group of experts met over a 1.5-day session to review available literature and new research. Specific questions were addressed in order to reach a consensus

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between individual health beliefs and risk factors for coronary heart disease. DESIGN: Health beliefs indices, formed by factorial analysis of ratings of statements on health related matters in a questionnaire, were related to risk factors for coronary heart disease, assessed with physical examinations and self reports of medical history and habits. SETTING: An

Mucosal Toll-like receptors (TLRs) respond to pathogens, but remain inert to the indigenous flora, suggesting that the TLRs can receive pathogen-specific signals. For example, TLR4 signalling is activated in CD14-negative epithelial cells by P-fimbriated, uropathogenic Escherichia coli, but not by lipopolysaccharide. The fimbriae use glycosphingolipids as recognition receptors and there is release

This paper uses a census of Russian manufacturing firms to study the relationship between exports and productivity at the firm level. The period studied, 1996–2002, implies that the results are affected by the Russian financial crisis of 1998. Exporters are shown to be more productive and larger than non-exporters, seemingly an effect of more productive firms self-selecting into the export market,

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric adenocarcinoma and MALT lymphoma. Mice with H. pylori infection develop severe gastritis and atrophic changes in their stomachs after 6 months. We followed H. pylori -infected animals for 13 months to find out whether dysplasia, carcinoma or lymphoma developed. Six-week-old C57BL/6 mice were infected

Background/Aims: The causes of ulcerative colitis are unknown, although it is plausible that dietary factors are involved. Case-control studies of diet and ulcerative colitis are subject to recall biases. The aim of this study was to examine the prospective relationship between the intake of nutrients and the development of ulcerative colitis in a cohort study. Methods: The study population was 26

In this study, dynamic light scattering (DLS), turbidity, and rheo-small angle light scattering (rheo-SALS) methods have been utilized to examine the impact of pH (1