ObjectiveTo investigate the anatomical cure rate and complications related to collagen-coated mesh for cystocele, compared with a conventional anterior colporrhaphy. DesignA randomised controlled study. SettingSix departments of obstetrics and gynaecology in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. PopulationWomen aged 55years or older, referred for surgery with a prolapse of the anterior vaginal wal

The context of structural monitoring of concrete dams as part of hydropower assets management is described. A tool that fits well into this context is the control of the uplift pressure of concrete dams. A monitoring technique suitable for this purpose was developed based on an automated water-level measurement technique using time-domain reflectometry and standard air-dielectric coaxial cable sen

Alcohol consumption contributes to many negative health consequences and is a risk factor for death. Some previous studies however suggest a J-shaped relationship between the level of alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality. These findings have in part been suggested to be due to confounders. The aim of our study was to analyze the relationship between self-reported alcohol intake and all-caus

Global urbanization creates opportunities and challenges for humanwell-being and transition towards sustainability. Urban areas are human-environment systems that depend fundamentally on ecosystems, and thus require an understanding of the management of urban ecosystem services to ensure sustainable urban planning. The purpose of this study is to provid easy stematic review of urban ecosystem sser

Background: Radiographers' ability and competence is a matter of vital importance for patients. Nursing care is an integral part of the radiographer's work. The demand for high competence in clinical activities has increased in diagnostic radiology and has had an impact on the development of the profession. Aim: The aim was to describe the radiographer's areas of professional competence in relatio

Our aim was to analyze retinal structure in young patients with Best disease with reference to future gene therapy. This was a retrospective observational spectral domain optical coherence tomography study of four patients aged 10 years or less with Best disease. Findings ranged from subtle thickening at the level of the retinal pigment epithelium-photoreceptor interdigitation line, to subretinal

Reasons are facts, i.e., they are constituted by facts. This “reason quo fact” claim is much endorsed in recent literature. This paper addresses some issues that arise when we apply this idea to the distinction between agent-neutral and agent-relative normative reasons. I shall mainly consider two views of the nature of facts. Given a popular view, which conceives of facts as abstract entities, th

Epigenetic variation has been linked to several human diseases. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a major cause of vision loss in subjects with diabetes. However, studies examining the association between PDR and the genome-wide DNA methylation pattern are lacking. Our aim was to identify epigenetic modifications that associate with and predict PDR in subjects with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

The deletion-contraction algorithm is perhaps the most popular method for computing a host of fundamental graph invariants such as the chromatic, flow, and reliability polynomials in graph theory, the Jones polynomial of an alternating link in knot theory, and the partition functions of the models of Ising, Potts, and Fortuin-Kasteleyn in statistical physics. Prior to this work, deletion-contracti

This paper presents a joint experimental and large eddy simulation (LES) study of lean premixed low swirl stabilized methane/air flames at different Reynolds numbers (Re similar to 20,000-100,000). The aims are to investigate the sensitivity of the structures and dynamics of low swirl flames to the inflow boundary conditions and to evaluate the capability of an LES flamelet model in predicting the

BACKGROUND: It is widely accepted that DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and their misrepair in stem cells are critical events in the multistage origination-of various leukemias and tumors, including gliomas. OBJECTIVES: We studied whether microwaves from mobile telephones of the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and the Universal Global Telecommunications System (UMTS) induce DSBs or aff

Background The perception of surgery as expensive and complex might be a barrier to its widespread acceptance in global health efforts. We did a systematic review and analysis of cost-effectiveness studies that assess surgical interventions in low-income and middle-income countries to help quantify the potential value of surgery. Methods We searched Medline for all relevant articles published betw

This paper presents an existence and stability theory for gravity-capillary solitary waves on the surface of a body of water of infinite depth. Exploiting a classical variational principle, we prove the existence of a minimiser of the wave energy epsilon subject to the constraint I = root 2 mu, where I is the wave momentum and 0 < mu

Density functional theory calculations and high-resolution core-level spectroscopy are used to explore the remarkable observation of decreased Ag 3d binding energy upon silver oxidation. The shift in Ag 3d binding energy is investigated at different degrees of oxidation and compared to results for Pd 3d, which exhibits a normal shift. Analysis of initial-state effects and valence electronic struct

The complete surgical removal of disease is a desirable outcome particularly in oncology. Unfortunately much disease is microscopic and difficult to detect causing a liability to recurrence and worsened overall prognosis with attendant costs in terms of morbidity and mortality. It is hoped that by advances in optical diagnostic technology we could better define our surgical margin and so increase

Formyl (HCO) has since long been recognized as a common intermediate species and a potential local indicator of the major heat release in hydrocarbon combustion. Consequently, the detection of HCO is desirable especially in turbulent flames of practical relevance. However, due to the low concentration and low fluorescence quantum yield, single-shot based detection of HCO with planar laser-induced