PURPOSE: The objectives of this study are: (1) to investigate the dosimetric differences of the different treatment planning systems (TPS) in breast irradiation with tangential fields, and (2) to study the effect of beam characteristics on dose distributions in tangential breast irradiation with 6 MV linear accelerators from different manufacturers. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Nine commercial and two u

This paper introduces a new class of algebras naturally containing, within a single framework, various deformations of the Witt, Virasoro and other Lie algebras based on twisted and deformed derivations, in addition to color Lie algebras and Lie superalgebras.

Protein D, having a glycerol-3-phosphodiester phosphodiesterase activity, is found at the surface of all Haemophilus influenzae strains and is a possible virulence factor. In the present study, the involvement of protein D in the entry of NTHi into human monocytic cells is reported. Primary monocytes and the monocytic cell lines U-937 and THP-1 were infected with NTHi strain 772 and the mutant 772

Transgenic Huntington's disease (HD) mice, expressing exon 1 of the human HD gene (lines R6/1 and R6/2), are totally resistant to striatal lesions caused by the NMDA receptor agonist quinolinic acid (QA). Here we show that this resistance develops gradually over time in both R6/1 and R6/2 mice, and that it occurred earlier in R6/2 (CAG-155) than in R6/1 (CAG-115) mice. The development of the resis

Carboxyl ester lipase (CEL) is involved in the hydrolysis and absorption of dietary lipids, but it is largely unknown to what extent CEL could be involved in determining the serum lipid levels. The C-terminal part of CEL consists of a unique structure with proline-rich O-glycosylated repeats of 11 amino-acid residues each. The common variant of the human CEL gene contains 16 proline-rich repeats,

The multicopper oxidases (MCOs) couple the four-electron reduction of dioxygen to water with four one-electron oxidations of various substrates. Extensive spectroscopic studies have identified several intermediates in the MCO catalytic cycle, but they have not been able to settle the structures of three of the intermediates, viz. the native intermediate (NI), the peroxy intermediate (PI), and the

Commitment of hematopoietic progenitor cells to B-lymphoid cell fate has been suggested to coincide with the development of PAX5-expressing B220(+)CD19(+) pro-B cells. We have used a transgenic reporter mouse, expressing human CD25 under the control of the B-lineage-restricted Igll1 (lambda 5) promoter to investigate the lineage potential of early progenitor cells in the bone marrow. This strategy

Perturbation of coronary blood flow (CF) is an important contributor to myocardium-related complications. The study was primarily designed to assess the impact of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery on CF by aid of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography. Changes in CF after off-pump coarctation surgery were also studied. All ultrasounds were performed before and 5 ± 1 days after surgery. Eighteen

Here, we have identified a protist (dinoflagellate) lineage that has diversified recently in evolutionary terms. The species members of this lineage inhabit cold-water marine and lacustrine habitats, which are distributed along a broad range of salinities (0-32) and geographic distances (0-18 000 km). Moreover, the species present different degrees of morphological and sometimes physiological vari

The accuracy of q-space measurements was evaluated at a 3.0-T clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, as compared with a 4.7-T nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. Measurements were performed using a stimulated-echo pulse-sequence on n-decane as well as on polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixed with different concentrations of water, in order to obtain bi-exponential signal decay cur

C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is a regulator of the classical complement pathway C3 convertase (C4bC2a complex). It is a disulfide-linked polymer of seven alpha-chains and a unique beta-chain; the alpha- and beta-chains are composed of eight and three complement control protein (CCP) domains, respectively. To elucidate the importance of the polymeric nature of C4BP and the structural requirements for

The aim of this study was to assess the relations between self-rated health (SRH), socioeconomic status (SES), body mass index (BMI) and disability pension. Five birth-year cohorts of middle-aged male residents in Malmo, Sweden, were invited and 5313 with complete data constituted the cohort in this study. Each subject was followed for approximately 11 years. Of all subjects, 73% perceived their h

The mechanisms behind the load building capabilities of a hyperbranched polymer (HBP) in polyurethane (PU) foams have been investigated, using microscopy techniques and mechanical analyses. By broadening the traditional uniaxial compression characterization of PU foams to include combined shear deformations and compression behavior, an apparent Poisson ratio of the foam could be obtained in situ.

Even though most bird species with a raptorial feeding habit express varying extents of reversed sexual dimorphism (RSD: females bigger than males), the evolutionary basis for its maintenance, as well as its possible secondary consequences for the ecological adaptations of the different sexes, is debated. We studied pairs of tawny owls, Strix aluco (females 20% heavier than males), throughout the

Background-Epidemiological studies indicate a genetic contribution to ischemic stroke risk, but specific genetic variants remain unknown, with the exception of a few rare variants. Recent genome-wide association studies identified and replicated common genetic variants on chromosome 9p21 to confer risk of coronary heart disease. We examined whether these variants are associated with ischemic strok

It is difficult to overestimate Paul Meehl's influence on judgment and decision-making research. His 'disturbing little book' (Meehl, 1986, p. 370) Clinical versus Statistical Prediction: A Theoretical Analysis and a Review of the Evidence (1954) is known as an attack on human judgment and a call for replacing clinicians with actuarial methods. More than 40 years later, fast and frugal heuristics

This paper focuses on the role of corporate financial strategies to improve their market valuations and lower their cost of capital. The identification of successful strategies is accomplished within an overall strategic framework. The paper is built on 12 longitudinal case studies from the Nordic countries to illustrate the linkages between business strategy, firm motivation, and various financia

The pyrimidine catabolic pathway is of crucial importance in cancer patients because it is involved in degradation of several chemotherapeutic drugs, such as 5-fluorouracil; it also is important in plants, unicellular eukaryotes, and bacteria for the degradation of pyrimidine-based biocides/antibiotics. During the last decade we have developed a yeast species, Saccharomyces kluyveri, as a model an

The photodissociation of bromoiodomethane has been investigated by spin-orbit ab initio calculations. The experimentally observed A- and B-bands and the corresponding photoproducts were assigned by multistate second-order multiconfigurationol perturbation theory in conjunction with spin-orbit interaction through complete active space state interaction potential energy curves, vertical excitation e