A genetic algorithm for optimal placement of optical fibers in arbitrary geometries for interstitial photodynamic therapy has been developed. Based on calculated fiber positions, the diffuse light distribution is simulated by solving the diffusion equation by means of the finite element method and the treatment time is calculated. Utilizing an instrument for interstitial photodynamic therapy that

Randomized clinical trials have established the role of third-generation aromatase inhibitors (AIs) (letrozole, anastrozole, and exemestane) as standard treatment for patients with hormone-sensitive metastatic breast cancer who have experienced disease progression with antiestrogen therapy. Significant gains in clinical efficacy and improved tolerability over progestins (megestrol acetate) and the

The combination between a protein separation technique and the PIXE method has a great potential for large surveys, including thousands of samples, in which multielemental analysis is required. Gel filtration with a Sephadex G-200 gel and a TRIS-acetate buffer was used for separating proteins in human serum. The fractions were doped with an yttrium/vanadium standard and then concentrated and pipet

The implicit assumption of many scientific and regulatory frameworks that ecosystems impacted by human pressures may be reverted to their original condition by suppressing the pressure was tested using coastal eutrophication. The response to nutrient abatement of four thoroughly studied coastal ecosystems that received increased nutrient inputs between the 1970s and the 1980s showed that the traje

I Norge liksom i Sverige har det visat sig att det finns ett stort behov av en lärobok på universitetens grundutbildning i dramatikanalys. I Norge är det mer än 25 år sedan som en sådan bok kom ut. För fem år sedan var situationen densamma i Sverige. Frode Hellands och Lisbeth Pettersen Wærps bok Å lese drama. Innføring i teori og analyse är därför välkommen – inte minst därför att den som titeln

Basal cell carcinoma cells show low proliferation rates at the invasive front and a concordant upregulation of the cdk-inhibitor p16, limiting proliferative capacity. Little is known about the mechanisms of p16 regulation in normal and malignant cells apart from that many transcription factors such as Ets1, Ets2, SP1, SP3, JunB and the polycomb protein Bmi1 have the potential to induce or repress

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) analysis is a promising tool for diagnosis and management of pulmonary diseases. Its clinical usefulness is still limited however due to unresolved issues around e. g. reproducibility, anatomical site of origin of EBC solutes and mechanisms of EBC formation. To gain some knowledge on these issues, three different airway deposition patterns of an aqueous aerosol cont

Because of their small size, great abundance and easy dispersal, it is often assumed that marine planktonic microorganisms have a ubiquitous distribution that prevents any structured assembly into local communities. To challenge this view, marine bacterioplankton communities from coastal waters at nine locations distributed world-wide were examined through the use of comprehensive clone libraries

Background: Intranasal and oral antihistamines are effective in treating allergic rhinitis. Studies comparing these routes of administration of an antihistamine regarding efficacy and pharmacokinetic profile are lacking. Objective: To compare topical and oral routes of administration of cetirizine regarding efficacy, plasma exudation, and systemic drug levels in a repeated allergen challenge model

Results from quantum chemical calculations that predict the existence of a series of diuranium molecules are reported. Two diuranium chlorides, U2Cl6 and U2Cl82-, and three different carboxylates, U-2(OCHO)(4), U-2(OCHO)(6), and U-2(OCHO)(4)Cl-2 have been studied. All species have been found to be stable with a multiply bonded U-2 unit.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Irena Daily Activity (IDA) assessment which measures occupational performance in adults with developmental disabilities. The instrument's content validity was investigated by elucidating its general appropriateness, its clinical applicability and the feasibility of the measurement procedure. Data were collected from a multidisciplina

BACKGROUND: The IFCC Reference Measurement System for hemoglobin (Hb)A(1)c (IFCC-RM) has been developed within the framework of metrologic traceability and is embedded in a network of 14 reference laboratories. This paper describes the outcome of 12 intercomparison studies (periodic evaluations to control essential elements of the IFCC-RM). METHODS: Each study included: unknown samples (to test in

Background/Aims: This study aims at describing the natural history and outcome of small duct primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Methods: Thirty-two patients with small duct PSC were studied. The average time taken for diagnosis was 69 (1-168) months. The median follow-up time was 63 (1-194) months. Results: All patients including one who underwent liver transplantation because of end-stage live

The paper treats the problem of ratio control. Previous solutionsbased on simple Ratio stations perform poorly during transientscaused by setpoint changes. A new solution, the Blend station, thatimproves control during transients, is proposed. Both a constant-gainand an adaptive version are presented.

The ability of the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteins biglycan, decorin and chondroadherin to interact with collagen VI and influence its assembly to supramolecular structures was studied by electron microscopy and surface plasmon resonance measurements in the BIAcore 2000 system. Biglycan showed a unique ability to organize collagen VI into extensive hexagonal-like networks over a time period of

Background: Little is known about the influence of racemic ketamine on autoregulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF), and available reports regarding its influence on cerebral hemodynamics are contradictory. This study was designed to evaluate cerebrovascular responses to changes in the mean arterial pressure (MAP) during ketamine anesthesia. Methods: In eight normoventilated pigs anesthesia was in

Name analysis for Java is challenging with its complex visibility rules involving nested scopes, inheritance, qualified access, and syntactic ambiguities. We show how Java name analysis including ambiguities related to names of variables, fields, and packages, can be implemented in a declarative and modular manner using the JastAdd compiler construction system. Declarative attributes and context-d

Smad5 is known to transduce intracellular signals from bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), which belong to the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily and are involved in the regulation of hematopoiesis. Recent findings suggest that BMP4 stimulates proliferation of human primitive hematopoietic progenitors in vitro, while early progenitors from mice deficient in Smad5 display increa