A recently developed multiple fibre system for treating malignant tumours with interstitial photodynamic therapy was used in studies on rats with colon adenocarcinoma inoculated into the muscles of the hind legs. The animals were intraperitonially administrated delta -aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which is metabolised to protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in the tissue. The treatment system consists of a laser

The original immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) suggested that testosterone has a handicapping effect in males by both promoting the development of sexual signals and suppressing immune function. A modified version, the stress-linked ICHH, has recently proposed that testosterone is immunosuppressive indirectly by increasing production of corticosterone. To test both the original and stres

Background: To show results of a prespecified pooled analysis of the studies SPORTIF III (open-label) and SPORTIF V (double-blind), to assess the homogeneity of the results and to explore subgroup analyses and adverse events. Methods and Results: 7,329 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and 1 additional stroke risk factor were randomized to warfarin (international normalized ratio 2.0-3.0) or

Introduction: The timed 'Up & Go' (TUG) is a performance test identifying problems in functional mobility. More knowledge on how the type of chair used influences test results is needed. Objective: To investigate inter-rater agreement on the time score and to assess if chair type used influenced the performance of the test. Setting: (1) Inter-rater agreement investigation on the time score was

The EPR and thermodynamic properties of semiquinone (SQ) species stabilized by mammalian succinate:quinone reductase (SQR) in situ in the mitochondrial membrane and in the isolated enzyme have been well documented. The equivalent semiquinones in bacterial membranes have not yet been characterized, either in SQR or quinol:fumarate reductase (QFR) in situ. In this work, we describe an EPR-detectable

We examined the effects of main clause verb pragmatics and left-edge boundary tones on syntactic processing in Swedish embedded clauses, using listener judgments and Event-Related Potentials. When the syntactic structure did not match the expectation based on the occurrence of a left-edge boundary tone, the acceptance rate decreased significantly, and a biphasic positive effect with an early peak

Abstract in Undetermined Previous work has presented contrasting views of the last glaciation on Jameson Land, central East Greenland, and still there is debate about whether the area was: (i) ice-free, (ii) covered with a local non-erosive ice cap(s), or (iii) overridden by the Greenland Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Here, we use cosmogenic exposure ages from erratics to reconc

Clinical decisions often entail in intertemporal trade-off. Moreover, they often involve physicians of different specialities. In an experiment dealing with the management of small asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms (a clinically relevant problem) we find that specialists in internal medicine exhibit higher implicit discount rates than vascular surgeons, general practitioners, and actual and

Challenges with an ageing population are increasingly becoming a reality in the Western world. Since cognitive impairment increases with age, we can expect an increasing number of older people in need of care. The aim of this article is to describe, analyse and compare different focuses on care of older people with dementia, using examples from France, Portugal and Sweden. The questions are princi

Background: Impaired trophoblast invasion is suggested as the main cause of reduced placental perfusion, which results in fetal growth restriction and preeclampsia. Immunological response against the invading tissue has been given as the explanation. Preeclampsia frequently recurs during the next pregnancy. Doppler ultrasound can predict increased vascular impedance in the uteroplacental circulati

In this paper, the effect of two polysaccharides (chitosan and dextran) on latex film morphology and porosity is investigated with atomic force microscopy, and the water permeability of the films is examined as well. Furthermore, latex films formed with mixtures of dextran and poly(ethylene glycol), PEG, are investigated.

We evaluated the host response to murine retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) following transplantation to the subretinal space (SRS) of the pig. RPCs from GFP mice were transplanted subretinally in 18 nonimmunosuppressed normal or laser-treated pigs. Evaluation of the SRS was performed on hematoxylin-cosin (H&E)-stained sections. Serum samples were taken from naive and RPC-grafted pigs and mouse-r

SPECT projections are contaminated by scatter, resulting in reduced image contrast and quantitative errors. When tissue is present behind the source, some of the detected photons backscatter via this tissue. Particularly in dual-isotope SPECT and in combined emission-transmission SPECT, backscatter constitutes a major part of the down-scatter contamination in lower-energy windows. In this paper, t

Synovial sarcoma is a morphologically, clinically and genetically distinct entity that accounts for 5-10% of all soft tissue sarcomas. The t(X;18)(p11.2;q11.2) is the cytogenetic hallmark of synovial sarcoma and is present in more than 90% of the cases. It produces three types of fusion gene formed in part by SS18 from chromosome 18 and by SSX1, SSX2 or, rarely, SSX4 from the X chromosome. The SS1

The paper presents a fed-batch fermentation technique for bioreactors operating close to their maximum oxygen transfer capacity. The method combines the advantages of the probing feeding strategy and the temperature limited fed-batch technique. When the maximum oxygen transfer capacity of the reactor is reached, the temperature is decreased to lower the oxygen demand. To achieve a good control of

Phylogenetic relationships within the family Parmeliaceae (lichenized ascomycetes) with emphasis on the heterogeneous group of cetrarioid lichens are reconstructed. The results are based on cladistic analyses of DNA-sequences, morphological and chemical data. Almost all currently recognized cetrarioid genera were included in the analyses together with parmelioid and alectorioid members of the pres

The objective of this study was to characterise anaerobic batch biodegradation of potato waste alone and when co-digested with sugar beet leaves. The effects of increasing concentration of potato waste expressed as percentage of total solids (TS) and the initial inoculum-to-substrate ratio (ISR) on methane yield and productivity were investigated. The ISRs studied were in the range 9.0-0.25 and in

Transport policies often contain explicit goals for the travel quality of disabled passenger groups. Addressing the user perspective, focus group discussions with wheelchair-seated passengers (using bus transit and Special Transportation Services) were therefore held, in order to qualitatively explore perceived comfort and safety - two important quality factors. The comfort and safety constructs w