The International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists is improving anaesthesia patient care through a voluntary Anesthesia Program Approval Process (APAP) for schools and programmes. It is the result of a coordinated effort by anaesthesia leaders from many nations to implement a voluntary quality improvement system for education. These leaders firmly believe that meeting international education stand

At the turn of the nineteenth century, most men wore suits. One easily gets the impression that all these men look more or less identical; the suits seem to resemble uniforms. Furthermore, compared to the women’s clothing of the period, the suit seems restrained and even drab in its shape and colour. The dissertation takes up this point and examines the claim that all men look alike in a suit. The

We used the Aerosol Dynamics gas- and particle-phase chemistry model for laboratory CHAMber studies (ADCHAM) to simulate the contribution of BVOC plant emissions to the observed new particle formation during photooxidation experiments performed in the Julich Plant-Atmosphere Chamber and to evaluate how well smog chamber experiments can mimic the atmospheric conditions during new particle formation

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of persons with poststroke shoulder pain 4 months after onset of the stroke in whom long-lasting shoulder pain develops and to assess the extent to which age, side of paresis at stroke onset, pain frequency and pain intensity, passive shoulder range of motion, resistance to passive movements, motor function, and subluxation at 4 months after stroke predict s

In Landspitali University Hospital, magnetic resonance imaging is used non-selectively in addition to mammogram and ultrasound in the preoperative assessment of breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to assess invasive tumor size on imaging, compare with pathological size and evaluate the impact of magnetic resonance imaging on the type of surgery performed.

Specially tailored polyelectrolytes are becoming important as energy-related materials. Here we explore a synthetic strategy to prepare fully aromatic polymers containing single phenylene rings in the backbone functionalized with four sulfonic acid groups. Thioether bridges of semifluorinated poly(arylene thioether)s were oxidized to sulfone bridges, followed by substitution of all fluorines by Na

This paper develops a welfare theoretic foundation for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) when survival is not affected. With this foundation, all costs and their corresponding utility-terms should be included. A key question, though, is whether these utility-terms are consistent with quality-adjusted life year (QALY) (utility) theory or not. The results show that health care costs and changes in t

The fast development of new organic sensitizers leads to the need for a better understanding of the complexity and significance of their adsorption processes on TiO2 surfaces. We have investigated a prototype of the triphenylamine-cyanoacrylic acid (donor-acceptor) on rutile TiO2 (110) surface with special attention on the monolayer region. This molecule belongs to the type of dye, some of which s

Anaemia is a chief determinant of global ill health, contributing to cognitive impairment, growth retardation and impaired physical capacity. To understand further the genetic factors influencing red blood cells, we carried out a genome-wide association study of haemoglobin concentration and related parameters in up to 135,367 individuals. Here we identify 75 independent genetic loci associated wi

[K+(2,2,2-crypt)] Ge-2(9)2- containing the deltahedral Zintl anion Ge-9(2-) has been isolated from a solution of K4Ge9 in ethylenediamine in the presence of 2,2,2-crypt, intended as an intermediate in mixed-cluster synthesis. The subsequent crystallographic characterisation shows the closo-Ge-9(2-) cluster unit to be tricapped trigonal-prismatic with a symmetry very close to D-3h. Each Ge-9(2-) un

This study addressed the contribution of ADAMTS13 deficiency to complement activation in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Renal tissue and blood samples were available from 12 TTP patients. C3 and C5b-9 deposition were demonstrated in the renal cortex of two TTP patients, by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, respectively. C3 was also demonstrated in the glomeruli of Shiga toxi

Anti-C1q has been associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis in previous studies. We studied anti-C1q specificity for SLE (vs rheumatic disease controls) and the association with SLE manifestations in an international multicenter study.

The positive association between social capital and general health outcomes has been extensively researched over the past decade; however, studies investigating social capital and psychological health show less consistent results. Despite this, policy-makers worldwide still employ elements of social capital to promote and improve psychological health. This United Kingdom study investigates the ass

The impacts of climate change are likely to exacerbate many problems that coastal areas already face. In this study, we used multinomial logistic regression to examine human perception of climate change based on a cross-sectional survey of 1253 individuals in coastal regions of Tanzania. This was complemented with time series analysis of 50-year meteorological data. The results indicate that self-

We explored signs of retinal dysfunction over time in diabetic subjects before or early in the course of retinopathy. Patients with no, mild, or moderate retinopathy were consecutively recruited and underwent standard automated perimetry, visual acuity measurement, and fundus photography. These examinations and measurements of HbA1c and blood pressure were repeated for up to 5 years from baseline.

Generating global protein expression profiles, including also membrane proteins, will be crucial for our understanding of biological processes in health and disease. In this study, we have expanded our antibody microarray technology platform and designed the first human recombinant antibody microarray for membrane proteins targeting crude cell lysates and tissue extracts. We have optimized all key

Electron beams and betatron X-ray radiation generated by laser wakefield acceleration in long plasma targets are studied. The targets consist of hydrogen filled dielectric capillary tubes of diameter 150 to 200 microns and length 6 to 20 mm. Electron beams are observed for peak laser intensities as low as 5x10(17) W/cm(2). It is found that the capillary collects energy outside the main peak of the

We study the problem of estimating the fundamental frequencies of a signal containing multiple harmonically related sinusoidal components using a novel block sparse signal representation. An efficient algorithm for solving the resulting optimization problem is devised exploiting a novel variable step-size alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). The resulting algorithm has guaranteed co