Intim a-media thickness (IMT) is considered as a valuable marker of early atherosclerosis. We suggest a new algorithm for simultaneous measurements of absolute diameter at diastole, distension (diameter change), IMT at diastole and the intima-media compression (IMC) with a new fast, robust, high-resolution, and automatic algorithm utilizing the ultrasonic gray-scale information. The new algorithm

Ionizing radiation is a well-known risk factor for sarcoma development. To investigate whether radiation-associated sarcomas are characterized by chromosome aberrations that distinguish them from de novo sarcomas, we identified those patients in our series of more than 500 cytogenetically abnormal sarcomas that fulfilled the following criteria: (1) each patient should have been irradiated for anot

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension may result in significant morbidity and mortality after pediatric cardiac surgery. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and outcome of severe pulmonary hypertension, defined as a ratio of pulmonary to systemic arterial pressure equal to or greater than 1.0, after cardiac surgery in children. METHODS: Data from all children younger than 18 ye

The self-shrinking generator was introduced in 1994. It is based on the idea behind the shrinking generator and despite its simplicity it has remained remarkably resistant to efficient attacks. Several known plaintext attacks have been proposed on the generator, some operating on a short keystream and others requiting a longer sequence to succeed. In this paper, two new attacks on the self-shrinki

We investigated the relationship between mast seeding in beech Fagus sylvaticus and oak Quercus spp., and the occurrence of the rodent-dependent predators Tengmalm's Owl Aegolius funereus, Long-eared Owl Asio otus and Tawny Owl Strix alaco in south-eastern Sweden (Blekinge) 1992-2000. We also compared available data on seed production with data on winter flocks of Brambling Fringilla montifringill

The regional distribution and timing of spring passage of the Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica in Sweden is reported (160,300 observed birds in 1976-1995). Birds were observed in most provinces, with the highest concentrations in southernmost Sweden. Timing of passage was bimodal, with distinct peaks in the middle and end of May, suggesting that two separate populations are passing. The peak in

Ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi growing in symbiosis with tree seedlings have been found in laboratory experiments to stimulate weathering and the uptake of nutrients from silicate minerals. In the present study, we used the natural abundance of strontium isotopes to confirm that these fungi obtain strontium from biotite and microcline under field conditions. Minerals enriched in radiogenic Sr-87 were

Det finns idag ett fåtal stora välkontrollerade, placebokontrollerade behandlingsstudier publicerade när det gäller patienter med hjärtsvikt och preserverad systolisk funktion. Vad gäller patienter med s k diastolisk hjärtsvikt finns ett fåtal kontrollerade studier. Två stora placebokontrollerade studier är på gång. Hitintills föreligger således inga konklusiva studier som talar om hur vi skall be

The role of caldesmon in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction was investigated in chemically skinned smooth muscle fibres from the guinea-pig taenia coli. A 19-kDa C-terminal fragment of caldesmon gave a minor (

Seventy-three Swedish blood donors (52 men, 21 women; median age 36 years) repeatedly reactive for hepatitis C antibodies (anti-HCV C-100-3) were tested with a second-generation (2nd-gen) anti-HCV Elisa and a 4-band recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA 2). These results were correlated to serum alanine aminotransferase (S-ALAT), liver morphology and viremia as detected by 'nested' polymerase chain r

Carbon-oxygen-related complexes in Si crystals enriched with either oxygen (O-16,O-18) or carbon (C-12, C-13) isotopes were investigated by Fourier Transform infrared absorption spectroscopy. The samples were irradiated with electrons at room temperature as well as at elevated temperatures (400-600 degreesC). The oxygen isotopic shifts of the local vibrational modes related to C3 and C4 centers we

Despite their sympathetic neuroblast origin, highly malignant neuroblastoma tumors and derived cell lines have no or low expression of the neurotrophin receptor genes, trkA and trkC. Expression of exogenous trkA in neuroblastoma cells restores their ability to differentiate in response to nerve growth factor (NGF). Here we show that stable expression of trkC in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells resulted

Background: Transcription factors are frequently involved in the process of cellular transformation, and many malignancies are characterized by a distinct genetic event affecting a specific transcription factor. This probably reflects a tissue specific ability of transcription factors to contribute to the generation of cancer but very little is known about the precise mechanisms that governs these

Object: The abdominal aorta (AA) has a predilection for aneurysm formation. An etiologic factor may be underlying aortic wall stress. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the AA, as a surrogate to arterial wall thickness, can be measured noninvasively with satisfactory results to calculate circumferential wall stress, and to evaluate regional and gen

In this paper, we study convergence of truncated representations of the frequency-response operator of a linear time-periodic system. The frequency-response operator is frequently called the harmonic transfer function. We introduce the concepts of input, output, and skew roll-off. These concepts are related to the decay rates of elements in the harmonic transfer function. A system with high input

A biosensor for monitoring acetonitrile was constructed. A mixed culture was taken from a degradation reactor and mounted on top of a Clark electrode. The amperometric biosensor was placed in a flow-through cell and integrated into a flow injection system. The metabolic response in terms of oxygen consumption was well correlated to the concentration of acetonitrile in standard solutions. However,