RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. The authors evaluate the feasibility of differential imaging of contrast media, with division of individual pixel values obtained from digital images generated by characteristic radiation from a laser-produced plasma, bridging the K-absorption edge of the contrast agent. METHODS. Laser pulses from an ultrashort-pulse terawatt laser system were focused onto gadolinium and

Experimental, epidemiological and clinical studies suggest that calcium and/or its regulating hormones affect breast cancer risk. There has been no prospective cohort study investigating serum calcium levels and breast cancer aggressiveness, as determined by tumour histology and stage. Dichotomized prediagnostic serum calcium levels were investigated in relation to breast cancer aggressiveness as

PURPOSE: The objective was to estimate health care costs and productivity losses due to epilepsy in Sweden and to compare these estimates to previously published estimates. METHODS: Register data on health care utilisation, pharmaceutical sales, permanent disability and mortality were used to calculate health care costs and costs that accrue due to productivity losses. By linkage of register info

The hypothesis was that some occupations could lead to preterm birth (PTB) because of potential exposures to various agents. The objective in this nationwide follow-up study was to analyse the association between PTB and parental occupational groups, controlling for potential confounders. Data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, in which all children born in Sweden from 1990 onward are regist

AIM: The cholesterol-lowering properties of oats, largely ascribed to its contents of soluble fibers, beta-glucans, are well established, whereas effects on atherogenesis are less well elucidated. Oats also contains components with reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that may affect atherogenesis. In this work we examined effects of oat bran on plasma cholesterol, markers of inflamm

The mechanisms of neutral dissociation of oxygen molecules in the excitation energy range 15–25 eV have been studied in a dispersed fluorescence experiment. By detecting the fluorescence from excited oxygen atoms, we find that neutral superexcited O2 states below 20 eV dissociate into O(g.s.)+O(3s,3p). At higher excitation energies (hν=20–25 eV) the curve-crossing interactions following excitation

Scandinavian physiotherapists (PT) treat patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorder, mainly because of the latter's bodily difficulties. One commonly used method is Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT), targeting the difficulties with sensory motor dysfunction and disembodiment. The aim of the study is to describe the physiotherapist's experiences of using BBAT for patients wit

Statins have been reported to exert anti-inflammatory actions and protect against septic organ dysfunction. Herein, we hypothesized that simvastatin may attenuate neutrophil activation and lung damage in abdominal sepsis. Male C57BL/6 mice were pretreated with simvastatin (0.5 or 10 mg/kg) before CLP. In separate groups, mice received an anti-CD40L antibody or a CXCR2 antagonist (SB225002) prior t

The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the ability to make inferences in three groups of children ranging from 5;2 to 10;9 years: 10 children with cerebral palsy (CP), 10 children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH) and 10 children with pragmatic language impairment (PLI). The relationship between inferential and literal comprehension was investigated by analysing atypical respo

Angiogenesis and increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier have been reported to occur in animal models of Parkinson's disease and l-dopa-induced dyskinesia, but the significance of these phenomena has remained unclear. Using a validated rat model of l-dopa-induced dyskinesia, this study demonstrates that chronic treatment with l-dopa dose dependently induces the expression of vascular end

Reviews of two art cinema DVD's, issued from Medienwerkstatt Wien & sixpackfilm.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane], are environmental contaminants with potential endocrine disrupting activity. DNA methylation levels in peripheral blood lymphocytes have been associated with serum concentrations of POPs in Greenland Inuit and Korean populations. Greenland Inuits are characterized

Summary. In an ongoing health-technology assessment of haemophilia treatment in Sweden, performed by the governmental agency Dental and Pharmaceutical Benefits Agency (TLV; tandva˚rds-och lākemedelsförma˚nsverket), the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment (SBU; statens beredning för medicinsk utvārdering) was called upon to evaluate treatment of haemophilia A and B and von Willebrand's

distribution G on [math not displayed] is called matrix-exponential if the density has the form αeTz s where α is a row vector, T a square matrix and s a column vector. Equivalently, the Laplace transform is rational. For such distributions, we develop an operator calculus, where the key step is manipulation of analytic functions f(z) extended to matrix arguments. The technique is illustrated via

OBJECTIVE: To study how the incidence of cancer is related to diabetes, obesity or abnormal blood lipids. METHODS: Diagnosis of diabetes, obesity or abnormal blood lipids was studied 0-10 years prior to the diagnosis of cancer in 19,756 cases of cancer and in 147,324 controls matched regarding age, sex and domicile. RESULTS: Diabetes was significantly more common prior to diagnosis in patients w