An algorithm is presented for the fast and accurate solution of the electrostatic equation on multi-component random checkerboards. It relies on a particular choice of integral equation, extended as to separate ill-conditioning due to singular fields in corners from ill-conditioning due to interaction of clusters of well-conducting squares at large distances. Two separate preconditioners take care

The outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), is a lipid-protein membrane that experiences considerable osmotic stress from a dry and cold climate. The natural moisturizing factor (NMF) comprises small and polar substances, which like osmolytes can protect living systems from osmotic stress. NMF is commonly claimed to increase the water content in the SC and thereby protect the skin f

Background and aims: A skewed thiopurine metabolism is a phenomenon associated with both poor treatment response and toxicity. Our aim was to evaluate the frequency of this phenomenon and the relationship to thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) function. Methods: All thiopurine metabolite measurements in adult patients (n=4033) between January 2006 and April 2012 were assessed to evaluate the occur

The synthesis and structural determination of the compound δ″-Au1+xCd2-x (0.07 ≤ x ≤0.08) is reported. The structure may be formally derived from that of ξ-CoZn13, but elemental ordering causes an incommensurate modulation as determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at room temperature. The compound δ″-Au3.23Cd5.76 crystallizes in the monoclinic super space group C2/m(0β(1)/2)00 with lattice

Introduction. In children treated surgically for first-time perianal abscesses, discovery and excision of concomitant fistulas may also be warranted. Aim. To evaluate children of varying age after incision and drainage of first-time perianal abscesses, examining recurrences rates with and without search for a fistula. Method. A retrospective review was conducted, analyzing children (ages 0-15 year

Objective. The purpose of this experimental study was to elucidate alterations in fetal energy metabolism in relation to ECG changes during extreme fetal asphyxia, postnatal resuscitation and the immediate post-resuscitatory phase. Study design. Five near-term fetal sheep were subjected to umbilical cord occlusion until cardiac arrest followed by delivery, resuscitation and postnatal pressure-cont

We investigated neural distinctions between inflectional and derivational morphology and their interaction with lexical frequency using the mismatch negativity (MMN), an established neurophysiological index of experience-dependent linguistic memory traces and automatic syntactic processing. We presented our electroencephalography (EEG) study participants with derived and inflected words of variabl

Sterically hindered amines, such as 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP), are an interesting alternative to the amines used in conventional CO2 absorption processes in industrial applications. One reason for this is because the carbamate formed is not stable, which may be beneficial during the regeneration of the amine solution in terms of a reduced energy requirement. This paper presents experiment

We here suggest and test a new method to obtain stable energies in proteins for charge-neutral reactions by running large quantum mechanical (QM) calculations on structures obtained by combined QM and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) geometry optimisation on several snapshots from molecular dynamics simulations. As a test case, we use a proton transfer between a metal-bound cysteine residue and a secon

Magnetic compass orientation in a night-migratory songbird requires that Cluster N, a cluster of forebrain regions, is functional. Cluster N, which receives input from the eyes via the thalamofugal pathway, shows high neuronal activity in night-migrants performing magnetic compass-guided behaviour at night, whereas no activation is observed during the day, and covering up the birds' eyes strongly

Objectives To investigate, using a Dutch model, whether and under what variables framed for other European countries screening for human papillomavirus (HPV) is preferred over cytology screening for cervical cancer, and to calculate the preferred number of examinations over a woman's lifetime. Design Cost effectiveness analysis based on a Dutch simulation model. Base case analyses investigated the

The currently used patch test concentration of formaldehyde (1.0% aqua; 0.30 mg/cm(2) ) has been shown to fail to detect ˜ 50% of contact allergies to formaldehyde.

Cytokeratin 20 (CK20) is a well-established marker for colon epithelium. Herein, we suggest that CK20 is a biomarker for detecting circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Blood specimens (7.5 mL) were collected during surgery after liver mobilization from 25 patients with colorectal cancer. The FDA approved CellSearch™ system and two panels of antibodies again