Background Bisphosphonates increase the callus size and strength in animal fracture studies. In a human non-randomized pilot study of high tibial osteotomies in knee osteoarthritis, using the hemicallotasis (HCO) technique, bisphosphonates shortened the healing time by 12 days. In the present randomized study, we wanted to determine whether a single infusion of zoledronic acid reduces the time to

Abstract A reliable and simple-to-use algorithm was developed for the energy-calibration of double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSSDs). It works by enforcing mutual consistency of p-side and n-side information for every detected event. The procedure does not rely on a dedicated data set for calibration and is robust enough to work fully automated without human supervision. The method was develo

Background: Survival rates following a diagnosis of cancer vary between countries. The International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP), a collaboration between six countries with primary care led health services, was set up in 2009 to investigate the causes of these differences. Module 3 of this collaboration hypothesised that an association exists between the readiness of primary care physic

The Brunflo fossil meteorite was found in the 1950s in mid-Ordovician marine limestone in the Garde quarry in Jamtland. It originates from strata that are about 5 million years younger than similar limestone that more recently has yielded >50 fossil meteorites in the Thorsberg quarry at Kinnekulle, 600 km to the south. Based primarily on the low TiO2 content (about 1.8 wt%) of its relict chromite

Planning for future needs has traditionally been considered to be restricted to human cognition. Although recent studies on great ape and corvid cognition challenge this belief, the phylogenesis of human planning remains largely unknown. The complex skill for future planning has not yet been satisfactorily established in any other extant primate species than our own. In humans, planning for future

We theoretically investigate the transport properties of cold bosonic atoms in a quasi-one-dimensional (1D) triple-well potential that consists of two large outer wells, which act as microscopic source and drain reservoirs, and a small inner well, which represents a quantum-dot-like scattering region. Bias and gate 'voltages' introduce a time-dependent tilt of the triple-well configuration, and ar

Chemotherapy of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is based on taxane formulations worldwide. Only 30-50 % of patients respond to this therapy and the exact cellular mechanisms of taxane resistance in PC cells are not fully elucidated. There is convincing evidence that androgen receptor (AR) is affected by exposure to these compounds. The studies presented in this doctoral thesis identify

This dissertation addresses the topic of descriptions in conversation: a relatively unexplored area of investigation apart from a small number of studies within the field of conversation analysis (Mondada 1998, 1999). However, whereas previous studies focus on the description as a social activity, enhancing the conversational facet, the present work has as a premise to put emphasis on the descript

Aims. - Elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study explored the association between BMI changes in the first 18 months of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and the risk of long-term CVD mortality. Methods. - A total of 8486 patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and no previous history of CVD or cancer we

Advanced telecommunication applications are often based on a multi-tier architecture, with application servers and database servers. With a rapidly increasing development of cloud computing and data centers, characterizations of the dynamics for database servers during changing workloads will be a key factor for analysis and performance improvements in these applications. We propose a multi-step a

This paper investigates the design of Variable Message Signs (VMS) as a way-finding aid for road tunnel emergency evacuations. The use of the Theory of Affordances is suggested to provide recommendations on the design of VMS. A preliminary evaluation of 11 selected VMS systems was performed and 6 of them were further evaluated using an affordance-based within subject stated-preference questionnair

Popular Abstract in Swedish Parkinsons sjukdom är en av våra mest förekommande neurologiska sjukdomar som drabbar den åldrande befolkningen. I åldersgruppen 50-60 år drabbas ca 1 procent av sjukdomen, som karakteriseras av de motoriska symptomen stelhet, långsamma rörelser och skakningar. Symptomen beror på en gradvis förlust av nervceller i en djup del av hjärnan vid namn substantia nigra (den svL-DOPA pharmacotherapy in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with adverse effects occurring after a few years of treatment. Among these, dyskinesia (abnormal involuntary movements) is particularly common and potentially disabling. The causes behind dyskinesia are not completely understood, but intense research has identified a number of neuronal alterations associated with L-DOPA-induced dyski

Popular Abstract in Swedish Bröstcancer är den typ av cancer som drabbar flest kvinnor i Sverige. Årligen diagnostiseras drygt 7000 kvinnor med bröstcancer och ungefär 1400 dör av sin sjukdom. För att minska bröstcancerdödligheten rekommenderar Socialstyrelsen mammografiscreening där kvinnor över 40 år bjuds in för regelbundna kontroller. Dessa kontroller utförs med digital mammografi som innebär Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer affecting women in the western countries. Today x-ray digital mammography (DM) of the breast is commonly used for early detection of breast cancer. However, the sensitivity of mammography is limited, mainly due to the fact that a 3D volume is projected down to a 2D image. This problem can be partially solved by a tomographic technique. Breast tomosyn

This study investigates the sensitivity of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) model performance to the selection of one-dimensional secondary settling tanks (1-D SST) models with first-order and second-order mathematical structures. We performed a global sensitivity analysis (GSA) on the benchmark simulation model No. 2 with the input uncertainty associated to the biokinetic parameters in the activ

Male-female differences may significantly impact stroke prevention and treatment in men and women, however underlying mechanisms for sexual dimorphism in stroke are not understood. We previously found in males that cerebral ischemia upregulates contractile receptors in cerebral arteries, which is associated with lower blood flow. The present study investigates if cerebral arteries from men and wom

In this work, the syntheses, structure, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and the catalytic use in the oxidative transformations of cyclohexene of covalently grafted Fe(III)-complexes formed with various or various combinations of C-protected amino acid (l-histidine, l-tyrosine, l-cysteine and l-cystine) ligands are presented. The structural features of the surface complexes were studied by XAN

This paper tests the expectation hypothesis by using the volatility index VIX and the futures written on that index. Because the VIX index is negatively correlated with the S&P 500 index returns the VIX futures price should contain a negative risk premium, which we do confirm in this study. When the futures price is not adjusted with the risk premium, the expectation hypothesis is rejected at

We have carried out muon spin relaxation (mu SR), neutron diffraction, and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) investigations on polycrystalline samples of Ce(Ru1-xFex)(2)Al-10 (x = 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8, and 1) to investigate the nature of the ground state (magnetic ordered versus paramagnetic) and the origin of the spin-gap formation as evident from the bulk measurements in the end members. Our zero-f