AIMS: Atrial fibrillation cycle lengths can be assessed from right precordial ECG leads and the unipolar oesophageal ECG using a non-invasive method called Frequency Analysis of Fibrillatory ECG. The purpose of this report is to present the results from application of this method in a large group of patients with long-term atrial fibrillation and to examine the differences between patients with 'c

BACKGROUND: Previously we have found reduced levels of total serum calcium and 1,25(OH)2D3 despite an unaltered stimulated parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion 1 year after hemithyroidectomy. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the possible relationship between calcium homeostasis, thyroid hormones and bone resorption in a group of 45 consecutive patients subjected to hemithyroidectomy be

One aim of rehabilitation after brain lesions should be to optimise the function of the remaining intact brain. Experimental studies on focal cerebral infarcts in the rat have demonstrated that postischemic environmental enrichment significantly improves functional outcome, increases dendrite branching and number of dendritic spines in the contralateral cortex, influences expression of many genes

In this Letter we describe a new method to combine the methods of matrix inversion and order-of-scattering to solve the light scattering of aggregates of arbitrary spheres by extending Mie theory, which is more expedient for calculations of the local field in both outside and inside of the spheres. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

We present a search for excited neutrinos using e(-) p data taken by the H1 experiment at HERA at a center-of-mass energy of 318 GeV with an integrated luminosity of 15 pb(-1). No evidence for excited neutrino production is found. Mass dependent exclusion limits are determined for the ratio of the coupling to the compositeness scale, f/Lambda, independently of the relative couplings to the SU(2) a

Helicobacter species are fastidious bacterial pathogens that are difficult to culture by standard methods. A PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique for detection and identification of different Helicobacter species was developed and evaluated. The method involves PCR detection of Helicobacter DNA by genus-specific primers that target 16S rDNA and subsequent differentiatio

A newly isolated, purified, and characterized PQQ-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (a bacterial membrane-bound protein) was recently found to display a surprisingly large linear range and high selectivity towards ethanol when integrated into a conducting polymer network on a platinum electrode. These findings motivated us to study the enzyme when simply immobilized onto carbonaceous surfaces in ord

Biological pathways represent the relationships (reactions and interactions) between biological molecules in the context of normal cellular functions and disease mechanisms. Understanding the roles of proteins and signaling pathways expressed within disease, and their link to drug discovery and drug development are central in today's target-driven pharmaceutical processes. This article gives an ov

Precipitation profiles of spot immunoprecipitate assay (SIA) reactions in gel are shown to have characteristics analogous to classic precipitin curves representing such immune reactions in solution. Thus SIA profiles of precipitated human albumin (HSA) and anti-HSA as checkerboard analysis permit: (1) determination of optimal proportions of antibody and antigen, (2) titration of antiserum as to an

Objectives To develop normal reference ranges for cervical volume and vascular indices using three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasonograpby from 17 to 41 gestational weeks. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 352 nulliparous and 291 parous women who delivered at term and underwent transvaginal 3D power Doppler ultrasound examination of the cervix once at 17 to 41 weeks' gestation. We

The properties of the bootstrap test for restrictions are studied in two versions: 1) bootstrapping under the null hypothesis, restricted, and 2) bootstrapping under the alternative hypothesis, unrestricted. This article demonstrates the equivalence of these two methods, and illustrates the small sample properties of the Wald test for testing Granger-Causality in a stable stationary VAR system by

Ecosystems along the 0degreesC mean annual isotherm are arguably among the most sensitive to changing climate and mires in these regions emit significant amounts of the important greenhouse gas methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. These CH4 emissions are intimately related to temperature and hydrology, and alterations in permafrost coverage, which affect both of those, could have dramatic impacts on t

A key question for understanding the mechanisms of pulsatile insulin release is how the underlying beta-cell oscillations of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+](i)) are synchronized within and among the islets in the pancreas. Nitric oxide has been proposed to coordinate the activity of the beta-cells by precipitating transients of [Ca2+](i). Comparing ob/ob mice and lean controls, we have