Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate, using simulations, a method for improved contrast agent (CA) quantification in DCE-MRI. Methods: We developed a maximum likelihood estimator that combines the phase signal in the DCE-MRI image series with an additional CA estimate, e.g. the estimate obtained from magnitude data. A number of simulations were performed to investigate the ability

Germ layer formation and primary axis development rely on Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). In Xenopus, the secreted serine protease HtrA1 induces mesoderm and posterior trunk/tail structures by facilitating the spread of FGF signals. Here, we show that the serpin Protease nexin-1 (PN1) is transcriptionally activated by FGF signals, suppresses mesoderm and promotes head development in mRNA-injecte

Label-free LC-MS methods are attractive for high-throughput quantitative proteomics, as the sample processing is straightforward and can be scaled to a large number of samples. Label-free methods therefore facilitate biomarker discovery in studies involving dozens of clinical samples. However, despite the increased popularity of label-free workflows, there is a hesitance in the research community

Perinatal factors including high birth weight have been associated with childhood brain tumors in case-control studies. However, the specific contributions of gestational age and fetal growth remain unknown, and these issues have never been examined in large cohort studies with follow-up into adulthood. We conducted a national cohort study of 3,571,574 persons born in Sweden in 1973-2008, followed

This study analyzes (a) the relation between injury severities, the age of the bicyclist and the speed environment at accident locations (mean travel speed of the traffic flow involved in the accident) where a bicyclist was struck by a motorized vehicle and (b) how these relations differ from those for struck pedestrians. Accident data from Sweden for the years 2004-2008 was used to identify accid

Energy relaxation is well-established by several researchers – especially in the field of the modelling of solid-solid phase transformations. Nevertheless, critics still counter this concept by considering it as a purely mathematical tool with poor physical significance. In this contribution we aim at emphasising the significance of energy relaxation methods for the modelling of dissipative solids

Dietary chloroplast thylakoids have previously been found to reduce food intake and body weight in animal models, and to change metabolic profiles in humans in mixed-food meal studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the modulatory effects of thylakoids on glucose metabolism and appetite-regulating hormones during an oral glucose tolerance test in pigs fed a high fat diet.

Objectives: Depression is common but not always recognized and often undertreated among elderly. Cardiovascular diagnoses have been reported to be associated with depression. The study examined if this association could be confirmed in a frail elderly population. It also assessed the association between high depressive scores and certain health complaints and the use of certain drugs, respectively

Background: There is increasing recognition of stroke as an important contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality. Current estimates of global childhood stroke burden and its temporal trends are sparse. Accurate and up-to-date estimates of childhood stroke burden are important for planning research and the resulting evidence-based strategies for stroke prevention and management. Objectives: T

This paper analyzes the properties of panel unit root tests based on recursively detrended data. The analysis is conducted while allowing for a (potentially) non-linear trend function, which represents a more general consideration than the current state of affairs with (at most) a linear trend. A new test statistic is proposed whose asymptotic behavior under the unit root null hypothesis, and the

Although recent studies suggest that high intakes of meat and heme iron are risk factors for several types of cancer, studies in relation to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) are scarce. Previous results in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) based on a relatively small number of cases suggested a positive association between processed meat and EAC. In this study,

Chromatography has become an indispensable tool for the purification of proteins. Since the regulatory demands on protein purity are expected to become stricter, the need for generating improved resins for chromatographic separations has increased. More advanced scientific investigations of protein structure/function relationships, in particular, have also been a driving force for generating more

The intensification of the hydrological cycle, with an observed and modeled increase in drought incidence and severity, underscores the need to quantify drought effects on carbon cycling and the terrestrial sink. FLUXNET, a global network of eddy covariance towers, provides dense data streams of meteorological data, and through flux partitioning and gap filling algorithms, estimates of net ecosyst

Global gene expression analysis was performed on pre-treatment biopsies from patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) to discover biomarkers that can predict outcome of radiation based therapy.

Gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with numerous diseases, including type 1 diabetes. This pilot study determines how geographical location affects the microbiome of infants at high risk for type 1 diabetes in a population of homogenous HLA class II genotypes.

The existing investigations of heat transfer characteristic of Marangoni condensation were mainly on experimental methods. Due to the limitations of experimental studies and the diversity of experimental results, the correlation with dimensionless numbers for Marangoni condensation was attempted. The heat transfer characteristic of Marangoni condensation for water-ethanol mixture vapors was review

The article uses embodiment and the experiential basis of conceptual metaphor to argue for the metaphorical essence of abstract legal thought. Abstract concepts like ‘law’ and ‘justice’ need to borrow from a spatial, bodily, or physical prototype in order to be conceptualised, seen, for example, in the fact that justice preferably is found ‘under’ law. Three conceptual categories of how law is con

Reference attribute grammars (RAGs) provide a practical declarative means to implement programming language compilers and other tools. RAGs have previously been extended to support nonterminal attributes (also known as higher-order attributes), circular attributes, and context-dependent declarative rewrites of the abstract syntax tree. In this previous work, interdependencies between these extensi