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BACKGROUND: Toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) is widely used in the production of polyurethane foams and paints. As TDI causes respiratory disease in only a fraction of exposed workers, genetic factors may play a key role in disease susceptibility. Polymorphisms in TDI metabolising genes may affect elimination kinetics, resulting in differences in body retention, and in its turn differences in adverse e
Laparoscopic transcystic common bile duct (CBD) exploration is a safe single-stage procedure for CBD stone clearance. The aim of this report was to describe our experience of transcystic laser lithotripsy in patients with complex CBD stones.
To use the rs1229984 variant in the alcohol dehydrogenase 1B gene (ADH1B) as an instrument to investigate the causal role of alcohol in cardiovascular disease.
Longitudinal, population-based data on the occurrence, localization, and severity of bacterial infections over time in patients with alcoholic compared with nonalcoholic cirrhosis are limited.
High-quality video is being increasingly delivered over Internet Protocol networks, which means that network operators and service providers need methods to measure the quality of experience (QoE) of the video services. In this paper, we propose a method to speed up the development of no-reference bitstream objective metrics for estimating QoE. This method uses full-reference objective metrics, wh
Objective: Abnormal umbilical artery blood flow has been implicated in pregnancy complications and fetal demise. Its relation to histopathological changes in the placenta and to maternal or fetal thrombophilia is less well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between umbilical artery Doppler findings, placental histopathology, and maternal and fetal coagulation factor V L
Condylomas are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), but may in rare cases be "negative for HPV" by PCR. Metagenomic sequencing can be used for an unbiased assessment of the presence of virus. Ten swab sample pools, each containing four cases of "HPV-negative" condylomas, were subjected to metagenomic sequencing. One pool contained Molluscum contagiosum. Five pools contained HPV, of which three po
The prototypical antimicrobial peptide, melittin, is well-known for its ability to induce pores in zwitterionic model lipid membranes. However, the mechanism by which melittin accomplishes this is not fully understood. We have conducted all-atom and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations which suggest that melittin employs a highly cooperative mechanism for the induction of both small and l
A fundamental issue in speciation research is to evaluate phenotypic variation and the genomics driving the evolution of reproductive isolation between sister taxa. Above all, hybrid zones are excellent study systems for researchers to examine the association of genetic differentiation, phenotypic variation and the strength of selection. We investigated two contact zones in the marine gastropod Li
The purpose of this study is to present a new and improved method for translating the electrocardiographic changes of acute myocardial ischemia into a display which reflects the location and extent of the ischemic area and the associated culprit coronary artery. This method could be automated to present a graphic image of the ischemic area in a manner understandable by all levels of caregivers; fr
In this paper,the problem of enhancing the detection performance of detector for target in partially homogeneous background is addressed. ased on a general measurement model, a new constant false alarm rate (CFAR) adaptive matched detector (AMD) is proposed through a two-step design procedure. The detection performance of the AMD is theoretically analyzed. Then, the correctness of the analytical r
Estrogens contribute to the development and growth of the prostate and are implicated in prostate tumorigenesis. In their target tissues, estrogens mediate their effects via estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha (ESR1)) and beta (ER beta (ESR2)). Hyperplasia and decreased differentiation of epithelial cells in the prostate have been reported in ER beta knockout (BERKO) mice. Herein, we studied the eff
Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) with a fiber-optic contact probe is a cost-effective, rapid, and non-invasive optical method used to extract diagnosis information of tissue. By combining commercially available VIS- and NIR-spectrometers with various fiber-optic contact-probes, we have access to the full wavelength range from around 400 to 1600 nm. Using this flexible and portable spectrosco
'Amsterdam is standing on Norway' - this was a popular saying in the Dutch Republic of the seventeenth century. There was more than one inflection to the phrase. Amsterdam was, in the first instance, built atop a subterranean forest of Norwegian origin. But southern Norway was also a vital resource zone, subordinated to Amsterdam-based capital. This paper follows the movement of strategic commodit
Measurement of intracardiac kinetic energy (KE) provides new insights into cardiac hemodynamics and may improve assessment and understanding of heart failure. We therefore aimed to investigate left ventricular (LV) KE time curves in patients with heart failure and in controls.
Many key chemical and biochemical reactions, particularly in living cells, take place in confined space at the mesoscopic scale. Toward understanding of physicochemical nature of biomacromolecules confined in nanoscale space, in this work we have elucidated fluorescence effects of a light harvesting complex LH2 in nanoscale chemical environments. Mesoporous silicas (SBA-15 family) with different s
Over the last years an expanding family of small RNAs (i.e. microRNAs, siRNAs and piRNAs) was recognized as key players in diverse forms of gene silencing and chromatin organization. Effectors functions of these small RNAs are achieved through ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes containing at their center an Argonaute/Piwi protein. Although these proteins and their small RNA-associated machinery can
SO2 plays an important role in the atmospheric chemistry of the Earth, Venus, and Io. This paper presents photoabsorption cross sections of SO2 from 213 to 325 nm at 198 K, encompassing the (C) over tilde B-1(2) - (X) over tilde (1)A(1) and (B) over tilde B-1(1) - (X) over tilde (1)A(1) electronic bands. These measurements are part of a series of measurements over the 160 to 300 K temperature rang
There is overwhelming evidence that hypertension is an important risk factor for both macrovascular and microvascular complications in patients with diabetes, but the problem remains to identify appropriate goals for preventive therapies. A number of guidelines (the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2007, the Joint National Committee (JNC)-V
