The relationship between the relative humidity and the moisture content of a material for relative humidity levels close to 100% can be studied using the pressure plate technique. However, this method is designed for desorption experiments and modifications are necessary in order to perform absorption experiments. This paper presents a method to condition samples to a uniform moisture content by a

The Symphony study assessed whether mycophenolate mofetil (MMF)-based regimens containing reduced doses of adjunct immunosuppressants could reduce toxicity while maintaining efficacy. Here, we examined the impact of acute rejection and associated risk factors. The incidence of biopsy-proven acute rejection in the low-dose tacrolimus group was approximately half that of the standard-dose cyclospori

The tribological conditions at the contact between the cutting tool and the chip are of great importance when analyzing the machining process. By knowing the contact conditions on the rake face of the cutting tool the wear on the clearance and rake face may be predicted in terms of size and type of wear. A certain value of the surface stresses is often thought of as leading to a higher wear rate o

High tibial osteotomy (HTO) and unicompartmental arthroplasty (UKA) are reconstructive surgeries advocated for younger patients. In case of failure or progression of osteoarthritis, they can both be converted to a total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumor forms among women and many women succumb to their disease. Thus, new anticancer agents that can efficiently improve patient survival are of the utmost importance. In this study, the effects of the polyamine analogues N (1),N (11)-bis(ethyl)norspermine (BENSpm) and N (1)-cyclo-propylmethyl-N (11)-ethylnorspermine (CPENSpm) and the synthesized

Background/Aims: The aim of the study is to search for associations between Antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) and polymorphisms in the genes of four key molecules possibly involved in different pathogenic pathways; complement C3, CTLA-4, Fcγ-RIIa and IL1-Ra. Patients and Methods: Patients with AAV (n=105) subgrouped as microscopic polyangiitis or granulomatosis w

The development of physiologic monitors has contributed to the decline in morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing anaesthesia. Diverse factors (physiologic, technical, historical and medico-legal) create challenges for monitor alarm designers. Indeed, a growing body of literature suggests that alarms function sub-optimally in supporting the human operator. Despite existing technology that c

This paper gives new demonstrations of Reynolds' transport theorems for moving regions in Euclidean space. For moving volume regions the proof is based on differential forms and Stokes' formula. Moving curves and surface regions are defined and the intrinsic normal time derivative is introduced. The corresponding surface transport theorem is derived using the partition of unity and the surface div

A robust and general solver for Laplace’s equation on the interior of a simply connected domain in the plane is described and tested. The solver handles general piecewise smooth domains and Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary conditions. It is based on an integral equation formulation of the problem. Difficulties due to changes in boundary conditions and corners, cusps, or other examples of non

As part of multidisciplinary surveys of three Behavioural Phenotype Conditions (BPCs); Möbius sequence (Möbius), CHARGE syndrome (CHARGE) and oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum (OAV), autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) was diagnosed in 45%, 68% and 42% of the individuals, respectively. Diagnostic difficulties due to additional dysfunctions such as mental retardation (MR), impaired vision, reduced he

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) emitted from vegetation are important for the formation of secondary pollutants such as ozone and secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in the atmosphere. Therefore, BVOC emission are an important input for air quality models. To model these emissions with high spatial resolution, the accuracy of the underlying vegetation inventory is crucial. We present a BVO

Intercellular and covalently bound lipids within the stratum corneum (SC), the outermost layer of the epidermis, are the primary barrier to cutaneous water loss (CWL) in birds. We compared CWL and intercellular SC lipid composition in 20 species of birds from desert and mesic environments. Furthermore, we compared covalently bound lipids with CWL and intercellular lipids in the lark family (Alaudi

Fluorescence super-resolution microscopy showed correlated fluctuations of photoluminescence intensity and spatial localization of individual perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3) nanocrystals of size ∼200 × 30 × 30 nm(3). The photoluminescence blinking amplitude caused by a single quencher was a hundred thousand times larger than that of a typical dye molecule at the same excitation power density. The quencher

Few consistent etiological factors have been identified for primary brain tumors. Inverse associations to asthma and low levels of varicella-zoster virus, immunoglobulin (Ig) levels in prevalent cases have indicted a role for the immune system in the development of glioma. Because samples from prevalent cases of glioma could be influenced by treatments such as steroids and chemotherapy, we investi

Vernakalant is a novel, relatively atrial-selective antiarrhythmic agent for conversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) to sinus rhythm. This study examined the safety and efficacy of vernakalant in converting atrial flutter (AFL) to sinus rhythm. This was a phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Adults with AFL received either a 10 min infusion of 3.0 mg/kg vernakalant (n 39)

We present the results of palaeomagnetic and Ar-40/Ar-39 studies of the Proterozoic mafic dykes in the Norrkoping and Falun areas of the southern Sweden. The primary remanence of two 939 +/- 3 Ma dykes is supported by the rigorous baked contact test. The remanence direction of two other dykes, one of which was previously U-Pb dated at 946 +/- 1 Ma is close to the reverse direction of 939 Ma dykes.