Background: The primary sensory cortex (S1) in the postcentral gyrus is comprised of four areas that each contain a body map, where the representation of the hand is located with the thumb most laterally, anteriorly and inferiorly and the little finger most medially, posteriorly and superiorly. Previous studies on somatotopy using functional MRI have either used low field strength, have included a

Effects of smoking on breast cancer risk remains controversial. Tar products have been claimed to increase risk, antioestrogenic effects to reduce risk. Another possibility is that associations to smoking have been confounded by diet. The increasing incidence of breast cancer from 1960 to 1994 in Sweden is parallel to that of lung cancer and the increasing proportion of female smokers. The inciden

Lung surfactant (LS) is an extra-cellular lipid-protein system responsible for maintaining low surface tension in the lung and alveolar stability. Serum proteins cause dysfunction of this material, e.g. in adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). BLES is a clinically used LS consisting of most of the lipids and associated proteins from bovine lung lavage. Aqueous phases of BLES at 30% and 70% h

Background and Objectives. Human leukocyte elastase, proteinase 3 and cathepsin G are neutrophil granule proteins belonging to the hematopoietic serine protease superfamily. In addition to their established roles in inflammation, they have recently been implicated as regulators of granulopoiesis and mediators of apoptosis. We set out to characterize the individual biosynthetic profiles of these pr

Good heat transfer performance with a moderate pressure drop penalty contributes to the gas turbine engine lifetime and guaranteeing engine efficiency. In this study, the dimple effects for a Lamilloy (R) (Allison Advanced Development Corporation, Indiana, IN, USA) cooling structure on the heat transfer and friction factor are numerically investigated. The dimple is positioned directly under the j

OBJECTIVE:: The optimal blood pressure (BP) in persons with type-2 diabetes is debated. We investigated shapes of the associations of SBP and DBP levels with risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in a large primary care-based sample of diabetic patients. METHODS:: We investigated all 34 009 consecutive cardiovascular disease-free type-2 diabetes patients aged 35 years or older (mean age 64 y

Emerging evidence suggests that functional γ-aminobutyric acid B receptors (GABABRs) are expressed by astrocytes within the mammalian brain. GABABRs are heterodimeric G-protein coupled receptors that are composed of R1/R2 subunits. To date, they have been characterized in neurons as the principal mediators of sustained inhibitory signaling, however their roles in astrocytic physiology have been il

To examine risk of malignancy and death in patients with kidney transplant who receive the immunosuppressive drug sirolimus.

During the last 10 years, whole genomes have been sequenced from an increasing number of organisms. However, there is still no data on complete genomes of avian and lizard Plasmodium spp. or other haemosporidian parasites. In contrast to mammals, bird and reptile red blood cells have nuclei and thus blood of these vertebrates contains high amount of host DNA; that complicates preparation of purifi

Previous studies focused mainly on the provision of ecosystem services by species movements between semi-natural and managed habitats, whereas data on spillover effects between two managed habitats or between habitats that provide target resources in non-overlapping time periods are lacking. We studied densities of three pollinator groups on sunflower fields as a late mass-flowering crop in 16 lan

A detailed investigation of the decomposition reactions and decay in the hydrogen storage capacity during repeated hydrogen release and uptake cycles for the reactive composite LiBH4-Al (2:3) is presented. Furthermore, the influence of a titanium boride, TiB2, additive is investigated. The study combines information from multiple techniques: in situ synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction,

Software breast phantoms are increasingly seeing use in preclinical validation of breast image acquisition systems and image analysis methods. Phantom realism has been proven sufficient for numerous specific validation tasks. A challenge is the generation of suitably realistic small-scale breast structures that could further improve the quality of phantom images. Power law noise follows the noise

A monatomic layer of graphite (MG or graphene) adsorbed on the (111) faces of transition metals Pt, Ir, and Ni, has been employed for controlling the atomic hydrogen adsorption site selectivity and the amount of hydrogen adsorbed upon saturation. The variations in the graphene-metal chemical bonding caused by hydrogenation and the values of saturated hydrogen coverage have been studied by X-ray ph

Islands of innovation as magnetic centres of star scientists? Empirical evidence on spatial concentration and mobility patterns, Regional Studies. Drawing on the results of a survey of 720 ‘star scientists’, this paper seeks to analyse the role of islands of innovation in the United States and Europe in providing educational and employment opportunities for such scientists and in attracting intern

Abstract Patients' satisfaction is an important outcome measure in reconstructive surgery and quality assurance is today central in the clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the patients' satisfaction with the process and final result after reconstruction for congenital microtia. A questionnaire was designed and sent to 78 patients who had undergone unilateral ear reconstruction

In the Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) trial, combined ezetimibe (10 mg) and simvastatin (40 mg) decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by 50% and ischemic cardiovascular event (ICE) risk by 22% compared to placebo. A larger decrease in ICE risk might have been expected for the degree of lipid-lowering observed. This analysis investigated relations between changes

The role of community based dynamics in successful agrarian development is considered through comparing two neighbouring villages in Ghana, with similar agro-ecological conditions and market access: one, Gyedi, is a religious community and the other, Apaa, is not. While the direct role of religion in promoting agrarian development is limited, interaction with extension staff in Gyedi enables farme