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Measurements of health-related quality of life (HRQL) have not been reported in patients with chronic alveolar hypoventilation (CAH) before starting home mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this study was to investigate quality of life in a population of such patients. Forty-four consecutive patients with CAH due to previous polio, scoliosis, healed pulmonary tuberculosis or neuromuscular disea
In this paper, anew model for random loads - the Laplace driven moving average - is presented. The model is second order, non-Gaussian, and strictly stationary. It shares with its Gaussian counterpart the ability to model any spectrum but has additional flexibility to model the skewness and kurtosis of the marginal distribution. Unlike most other non-Gaussian models proposed in the literature, suc
Traits related to allocation of resources to sexual and asexual reproduction, together with seed production, were-scored on Allium vineale plants sampled from five sites in southern Sweden during a period of 4 years. In addition, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting of the sampled plants allowed the identification of genets. Integration of genetic and phenotypic data from field a
The t(1;19)(q23;p13), which results in a fusion of TCF3 (previously E2A) at 19p13 with PBX1 at 1q23, is one of the most common translocations in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is seen either as a balanced t(1;19) or as an unbalanced der(19)t(1;19); occasional cases with coexisting t(1;19)- and der(19)-positive clones also have been described. Although it generally has been assumed that the
Objectives This study evaluated the role of pre-procedural clinical variables to predict procedural and clinical outcomes of catheter ablation in patients with long-lasting persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Background Catheter ablation of persistent AF remains a challenging task. Methods Catheter ablation was performed in 90 patients (76 men, age 57 +/- 11 years) with long-lasting persistent AF
Temperate and boreal forest ecosystems contain a large part of the carbon stored on land, in the form of both biomass and soil organic matter. Increasing atmospheric [CO2], increasing temperature, elevated nitrogen deposition and intensified management will change this C store. Well documented single-factor responses of net primary production are: higher photosynthetic rate (the main [CO2] respons
Background: Some bees and wasps have evolved nocturnal behavior, presumably to exploit night-flowering plants or avoid predators. Like their day-active relatives, they have apposition compound eyes, a design usually found in diurnal insects. The insensitive optics of apposition eyes are not well suited for nocturnal vision. How well then do nocturnal bees and wasps see? What optical and neural ada
We present an EBL-defined nanowire pattern that can sort axons coming from different directions on a substrate. The pattern defines tracks for left-bound traffic and right-bound traffic, which opens up new possibilities for designing neural networks on a chip.
We investigate the mechanical unfolding of the tenth type III domain from fibronectin (FnIII(10)) both at constant force and at constant pulling velocity, by all-atom Monte Carlo simulations. We observe both apparent two-state unfolding and several unfolding pathways involving one of three major, mutually exclusive intermediate states. All three major intermediates lack two of seven native beta-st
Background: C-erbB2 is overexpressed in approximately one-fourth of human breast cancers. In spite of numerous reports suggesting a connection of c-erbB2 overexpression with cell cycle regulation through p27, D cyclins and c-myc. the relationship between c-erbB2 and proliferation through de-regulation of the pRb pathway in primaty breast cancer has not been fully clarified. Materials and Methods:
Wave propagation of transient electromagnetic waves in time-varying media is considered. The medium, which is assumed to be inhomogeneous and dispersive, lacks invariance under time translations. The spatial variation of the medium is assumed to be in the depth coordinate, i.e. it is stratified. The constitutive relations of the medium are a time integral of a generalized susceptibility kernel and
Background Stigma affects not only people with mental illnesses, but their families as well. Understanding how stigma affects family members in terms of both their psychological response to the ill person and their contacts with psychiatric services will improve interactions with the family. Aims To investigate factors of psychological significance related to stigma of the relatives. Method In a
The ratio of the electric and magnetic form factors of the proton G(Ep)/G(Mp), which is an image of its charge and magnetization distributions, was measured at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) using the recoil polarization technique. The ratio of the form factors is directly proportional to the ratio of the transverse to longitudinal components of the polarization of the r
Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the major cause of cervical cancer. Use of HPV genotyping in cervical screening programs and for monitoring the effectiveness of HPV vaccination programs requires access to economical, high-throughput technology. Methods: We used the Sequenom MassARRAY platform to develop a high-throughput mass spectrometric (MS) method for detecting 14 specific oncogeni
The plasminogen activating system is involved in tumor growth and metastasis by degradation of extracellular matrix, and modulation of cell adhesion and migration. Benign and well-differentiated malignant ovarian tumors present as cystic lesions with preserved glandular morphology, whereas poorly differentiated tumors and metastases are solid with characteristic absence of glandular morphology. We
Background: Few studies have described how neurohormonal activation is influenced by treatment with beta-receptor antagonists in patients with heart failure after acute myocardial infarction. The aims were to describe neurohormonal activity in relation to other variables and to investigate treatment effects of a beta, receptor-antagonist compared to a partial beta, receptor-agonist. Methods: Doubl
Pulmonary delivery of pharmaceutical aerosols can be quantified using gamma scintigraphy. Technetium-99m, the most commonly used radionuclide in scintigraphic studies, cannot be incorporated into the drug molecule and, therefore, may be distributed differently from the drug itself, particularly if the drug is presented as a solid in a liquid suspension or as a dry powder formulation. This study de
