Postoperative peritoneal carcinomatosis together with adhesion formation are considered as two major clinical complications after resection of malignant abdominal tumors, jeopardizing the beneficial effect of the curative surgery. Biobarrier is a novel anti-adhesive barrier fulfilling the criteria for a good adhesion preventive agent, possessing biochemical properties that may enable it to functio

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.

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

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

This paper presents an insight into the emerging concept of master data management (MDM) and highlights issues that both academics and business managers should consider to better understand the meaning of this ‘hot topic’. This critical reflection paper is forward-looking and uses the concept of the knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) process to present an abstracted view of the potential steps

Many persons with late effects of polio experience new or increased impairments, which can lead to walking limitations in daily life. No study has comprehensively analyzed how various self-reported impairments are associated with different aspects of self-reported walking limitations.

Neighbourhood deprivation has been implicated in lung cancer but no study has simultaneously analysed the potential effect of neighbourhood deprivation on both lung cancer incidence and mortality, after adjusting for individual-level socioeconomic factors, and comorbidities. The aim of the present study was to analyse whether there is an association between neighbourhood deprivation and incidence

The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of falls in a general older population, especially among the most elderly, and the risk markers associated with falls.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the different types of instruments of innovation policy, to examine how governments and public agencies in different countries and different times have used these instruments differently, to explore the political nature of instrument choice and design (and associated issues), and to elaborate a set of criteria for the selection and design of the instrument

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

Genetic colour polymorphisms are widespread across animals and often subjected to complex selection regimes. Traditionally, colour morphs were used as simple visual markers to measure allele frequency changes in nature, selection, population divergence and speciation. With advances in sequencing technology and analysis methods, several model systems are emerging where the molecular targets of sele

Sexual communication in the Lepidoptera typically involves a female-produced sex pheromone that attracts males of the same species. The most common type of moth sex pheromone comprises individual or blends of fatty acyl derivatives that are synthesized by a specific enzymatic pathway in the female’s pheromone gland, often including a desaturation step. This reaction is catalyzed by fatty acyl desa

Background: IgE-mediated allergy is associated with immunoglobulin heavy constant G chain (Fcγ) (GM) genes (IGHG) on chromosome 14q32.3. Investigation of the alternative GM allotypes of γ3, γ1 and γ2 chains has disclosed new structural and functional IgG subclasses and B-cell variants, with possible effects on childhood asthma. Objective: To investigate different IGHG (GM) gene complexes in a

Observed 20th century changes ill the length of the growing season (GS) across the Northern Hemisphere have been linked to increasing temperatures, associated with global warming. Past studies of GS changes in China have largely been based on phenological observations and satellite data, and little attention has been paid to changes in starting and ending dates of GS. Here we examine changes in th

High red cell distribution width (RDW) is a strong prognostic factor in patients with cardiovascular disease. We investigated the association between RDW and incidence of acute coronary events (CEs) and fatal outcome in subjects who subsequently experienced a first CE.

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