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It is demonstrated that textural parameters calculated from functional pulmonary CT data have the potential to provide a robust and objective quantitative characterisation of inhomogeneity in lung function and classification of lung diseases in routine clinical applications. Clear recommendations are made for optimum data preparation and textural parameter selection. A new set of platform-independ
Migration causes temporal and energetic constraints during plumage development, which can compromise feather structure and function. In turn, given the importance of a good quality of flight feathers in migratory movements, selection may have favoured the synthesis of feathers with better mechanical properties than expected from a feather production constrained by migration necessities. However, n
A bench scale aerobic submerged membrane bioreactor (ASMBR) was used to treat diluted palm oil mill effluent (POME). For further improving the effluent quality and reduction of bio-fouling, powdered activated carbon (PAC) and zeolite were used as bio-fouling reducers (BM). We compared the performances of ASMBR without BFR (called BFR0) with ASMBR using BFR, namely 2 g/L PAC (BFR1), 4 g/L PAC (BFR2
An influential interpretation of the strong growth performance in Western Europe in the 1950s and 1960s stresses the importance of wage restraint, trade unions holding back wages to increase investments. This article questions that interpretation, using a wage regression approach with eighty-five to ninety-six years of data on wages, inflation, unemployment, productivity, and other variables in De
The endwall heat transfer characteristics at the turn section in a two-pass square channel have been examined experimentally using a liquid crystal thermal imaging technique. The effects of periodic ribs on the endwall heat transfer are also discussed. Results indicate that the heat transfer at the turn section in the absence of ribs is dominated by the flow impingement. Close to the impingement r
No single aetiological factor has been proven to cause long-standing groin pain in athletes and no sole operative technique (either open or laparoscopic) has been shown to be the preferred method of repair. The aim of this systematic review was to determine whether there are any differences in the return to full sporting activity following laparoscopic repair of groin pain in athletes.
Human recognition of the actions of other humans is very efficient and is based on patterns of movements. Our theoretical starting point is that the dynamics of the joint movements is important to action categorization. On the basis of this theory, we present a novel action recognition system that employs a hierarchy of Self-Organizing Maps together with a custom supervised neural network that lea
One of the primary tenets of polyvagal theory dictates that parasympathetic influence on heart rate, often estimated by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), shifts rapidly in response to changing environmental demands. The current standard analytic approach of aggregating RSA estimates across time to arrive at one value fails to capture this dynamic property within individuals. By utilizing recent
Background: In several European countries, centralization of oesophagogastric cancer surgery has been realized and clinical audits initiated. The present study was designed to evaluate differences in resection rates, outcomes and annual hospital volumes between these countries, and to analyse the relationship between hospital volume and outcomes. Methods: National data were obtained from cancer re
Informed by recent sociological debates on pharmaceuticalisation, this article examines the evolution of the current EU legal proposal on prescription drug information to patients, as well as the surrounding controversies. In 2008 the European Commission proposed the relaxation of the existing rules governing drug information provision to patients by the pharmaceutical industry. Critics of the ind
In the present work, we study the bonding of 4-tert-butyl pyridine (4TBP) to the TiO2(110) surface using photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results show that at low coverage, 4TBP adsorbs preferentially on oxygen vacancies. The calculated adsorption energy at the vacancies is 120 kJ/mol larger than that oil the five-fold-coordinated Ti4+ sites lo
Objective: With an increasing prevalence of older and obese citizens, the problems of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) will escalate. Weight loss is recommended for obese KOA patients and in a majority of cases this leads to symptomatic relief. We hypothesized that pre-treatment structural status of the knee joint, assessed by radiographs, 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and knee-joint alignment,
We investigated motor-equivalent stabilization of task-related variables (TRV) at times of heel strike in eight healthy young men (23-30 years) who walked on a motorized treadmill at self-selected and prescribed speeds within the normal walking speed range. The TRV consisted of step parameters (step length and width) and the center of mass (CoM) position relative to the support (back and front fee
The effect of adding soy protein on the texture and colour of garri, a West African cassava food, is evaluated. Garri is mostly pre-gelatinized and agglomerate starch product. The challenge lies in maximizing the protein supplementation without changing the textural characteristics. Three different soybean flours were used for fortification: toasted soy flour (TSF), isolated soy protein (ISP) and
Females often base their mate selection on multiple male traits. Different cues may be weighted differently in mating decisions, and play different roles such as indicating species identity or condition. The ontogeny of preferences for each cue can differ, which may offer a proximate explanation for the differential female evaluation of multimodal traits of males. We investigated whether female pr
The identification of intestinal macrophages (mφs) and dendritic cells (DCs) is a matter of intense debate. Although CD103(+) mononuclear phagocytes (MPs) appear to be genuine DCs, the nature and origins of CD103(-) MPs remain controversial. We show here that intestinal CD103(-)CD11b(+) MPs can be separated clearly into DCs and mφs based on phenotype, gene profile, and kinetics. CD64(-)CD103(-)CD1
The preservative methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI) is a well-known sensitiser and present in the Swedish baseline series since the 1980s. The proportions of MCI/MI are 3:1. MI alone has been used as a preservative since less than 10 years. This study was conducted on behalf of the Swedish Contact Dermatitis Research Group to evaluate inclusion of MI in the Swedish baseline
We update the forcings for the PMIP3 experiments for the Last Millennium to include new assessments of historical land use changes and discuss new suggestions for calibrating solar activity proxies to total solar irradiance.
The province of Jamtland, central Sweden, records a well-preserved but very thin suite of the Lower-Middle Ordovician cool-water carbonates. In this study we present the first carbon isotope profile for these strata on the basis of whole-rock samples from the Brunflo 2 core. The studied succession is 41.55 m thick and includes, in ascending order, the Bjorkasholmen Formation, Latorp Limestone, Toy
The pre-oxidized crystalline (3 x 1)-O structure of InAs(100) has been recently found to significantly improve insulator/InAs junctions for devices, but the atomic structure and formation of this useful oxide layer are not well understood. We report high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of (3 x 1)-O on InAs(100) and InSb(100). The findings reveal that the atomic structure of (3 x 1)-
