Objective. When treatments with the potential to change the natural history of a disease are introduced, their longer-term effect on costs and quality of life (utility) has to be estimated using economic models. However, to remain useful tools, models must be updated when new information becomes available. Our earlier models in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been based on functional status, but it

Excited states in 86,88Mo have been identified using recoil-gamma and gamma-gamma coincidences. Energy-level systematics of the molybdenum isotopes from the N = Z line to the N = 50 shell closure are compared to their strontium and zirconium neighbors. This comparison, an estimate of the B(E 2) strengths, and a Woods-Saxon cranking model have been used to suggest that the molybdenum isotopes under

The role of the exocrine pancreas in regulating gut microflora colonization is unclear. The main objective in the present study was to assess the affect of pancreatic fluid on the growth of pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Pancreatic juice samples used in the study were obtained from nine eight-week old weaned pigs in which catheters were implanted in the pancreatic duct. The antibacterial activity

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between polymorphisms in the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene and angiotensinogen (AGT) gene and hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes in a community population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphism of the ACE gene and the M235T polymorphism of the AGT gene were genotyped in 773 nondiabetic individuals with hypertension, 193 no

A brief introduction to convolutional coding is given. The active distances are reviewed and shown to be an important tool for analyzing the error correcting capability of maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding of convolutional codes when communicating over a binary symmetric channel (BSC). Due to memory and delay constraints in practical coding schemes, convolutional codes often are either terminated o

A charging unit for unipolar charging of cloud and fog droplets has been developed and calibrated regarding ion current, angular distribution of ions, mean droplet charge and droplet charge distribution. The charger is part of the droplet aerosol analyser, which is an instrument used for characterisation of droplets and interstitial particles in atmospheric clouds and fog. Three different calibrat

The enzymatic synthesis of dipeptide units of the d-d-configuration in aqueous media, catalysed by muramoyl-pentapeptide carboxypeptidase (E.C.3.4.17.8), is described. Ac-l-Lys(Ac)-d-Ala-d-Lac-OH and Ac-d-Ala-OMe were used as acyl-components. Neutral, basic, and hydrophobic amino acids acting as nucleophiles were incorporated. The enzyme is stereospecific in that only the d-enantiomers of amino ac

According to the polygyny threshold model, females are compensated for the cost of sharing a territory with other females by breeding in territories of higher quality than those of monogamously mated females. In the polygynous Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), the variation in territory quality may be associated with nest site characteristics or food supply. In this study, we examine

The number of elderly people is gradually increasing, and with it the number of persons receiving some kind of care in their everyday lives. However, researchers and the mass media recurrently report great difficulties for many caregivers in their work situations. This article considers process-oriented supervision as a pedagogic method for training and support of nurse aids and managers in Swedis

Differential dijet cross sections are measured in photoproduction in the region of photon virtualities Q(2) < 1 GeV2 with the H1 detector at the HERA ep collider using an integrated luminosity of 66.6 pb(-1). Jets are defined with the inclusive k perpendicular to algorithm and a minimum transverse momentum of the leading jet of 25 GeV is required. Dijet cross sections are measured indirect and res

The fluoroquinolone sensitivity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae was studied by determinations of Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) of norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin in consecutive clinical isolates. In P. aeruginosa, resistance or reduced susceptibility (MIC > or = 8 mg/l for norfloxacin and > or = 2 mg/l for ciprofloxacin) was found in 17% (9/54) of the isolates. Reduced

One-nucleon removal reactions at relativistic energies have been used as a spectroscopic tool for obtaining information about the ground state of neutron-rich oxygen isotopes. Using the FRS at GSI, the longitudinal momentum distributions of the emerging fragments after breakup were measured along with the one-nucleon removal cross-sections. The relative contributions of the remaining fragments in

The Interpersonal Addition Theorem, due to John Broome, states that, given certain seemingly innocuous assumptions, the overall utility of an uncertain prospect can be represented as the sum of its individual (expected) utilities. Given ‘Bernoulli’s hypothesis’, according to which individual utility coincides with individual welfare, this results appears to be incompatible with the Priority View.

Protein S deficiency is an autosomal dominant disorder that results from mutations in the PROS I gene. Conventional mutation detection techniques fail to detect a pathogenic PROSI mutation in approximately 50% of cases. The present study investigates whether large deletions of PROS I are found in families where mutations in the PROS I gene have not been found despite sequencing. For this purpose,

The diversion of pancreatic juice and bile stimulates pancreatic exocrine secretion but the mechanism behind this process is still not clear. The present study investigates the influence of long lasting (10 h) bile diversion or pancreatic juice and bile diversion on the pancreatic secretion in conscious pigs. The experiments were performed on 4 weaned piglets, which had a catheter inserted to the

I-131 radionuclide therapy studies have not shown a strong relationship between tumor absorbed dose and response, possibly due to inaccuracies in activity quantification and dose estimation. The goal of this work was to establish the accuracy of I-131 activity quantification and absorbed dose estimation when patient-specific, 3-dimensional (3D) methods are used for SPECT reconstruction and for abs

In this paper the predictive capability of the smoke transport model CFAST 2.0 is evaluated for five different scenario configurations. The evaluation is made by statistical analysis according to a methodology presented in an earlier paper. Model predictions and experimental data, previously published, are compared and quantitative measures of the predictive capability are thus derived. With the q