The incidence during the last decades of acute appendicitis and the number of appendicectomies in the elderly, 60 years of age and older were studied. In addition, the incidence of the disease and of appendicectomy and the preoperative findings were studied in a well defined population during the twelve year period from 1969 to 1980. The results showed that there was no increase in the sex- and ag

The first step of the adaptive immune response involves the interaction of T cells that express T-cell receptors (TCRs) with peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complexes expressed by antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Exactly how this leads to activation of the TCR and to downstream signaling is uncertain, however. Recent findings suggest that one of the key events is the exclusion of the large

The future of nations and nationalism appears to many to be more uncertain than ever in view of the growing interdependence of the planet. The question of whether globalization heralds the end of nationalism cannot be answered properly without distinguishing between nation and state. In the case of the state, the question is whether states can preserve their sovereignty intact in an age when polit

The influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the expression of plant nutrient transporters was studied using a relative, quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain-reaction (RQRT-PCR) technique. Reverse-transcribed 18S rRNA was used to standardize the treatments. The technique had high reproducibility and reflected trends in gene expression as observed by Northern blotting. Usin

Two rapid and simple in planta transformation methods have been developed for the model legume Medicago truncatula. The first approach is based on a method developed for transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana and involves infiltration of flowering plants with a suspension of Agrobacterium. The second method involves infiltration of young seedlings with Agrobacterium. In both cases a proportion of

Upon ischaemic stroke, brain-resident and peripheral immune cells accumulate in the central nervous system (CNS). Interestingly, these cells express pattern specific to neurotransmitter receptors and, therefore, seem to be susceptible to neurotransmitter stimulation, potentially modulating their properties and functions. One of the principal neurotransmitters in the CNS, dopamine, is involved in t

The high negative exploration rate in patients with suspected acute appendicitis is the main compelling reason to improve the accuracy in managing patients with acute abdominal pain. In this article, data from a prospective study on a group of patients undergoing acute appendectomy were used to devise a scoring system for the purpose of differentiating between the patients with an acute appendicit

The relationship of acute appendicitis occurring previous to cancer in colon and rectum was studied in the consecutive records of 561 patients, of 40 years of age and older, operated upon with an appendectomy because of acute appendicitis. Sixteen (2.9%) of these patients were readmitted within three years because of a carcinoma in colon or rectum. The incidence of carcinoma in the colon and rectu

Introduction: Cardiac syncope heralds significantly higher mortality compared with syncope due to noncardiac causes or unknown etiology, commonly considered a benign event. A few epidemiologic studies have examined the outcome of noncardiac/unexplained syncope comparing individuals with and without syncope, but with controversial results. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to clari

Ling Hon Lam encourages us to think of emotions in terms of space; when we sympathize with a character in a play or feel something for another person, that emotion takes place, for it moves us outside ourselves. In Chinese this relation between space and emotion is described by the term qingjing; a scenery of feeling or in Ling’s translation an “emotion-realm”.

Background: The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) was founded in 2012 to propose consensus-based measurement tools and documentation for different conditions and populations.This article describes how the ICHOM Older Person Working Group followed a consensus-driven modified Delphi technique to develop multiple global outcome measures in older persons. The standard se

The costs and consequences of donepezil versus placebo treatment in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) were evaluated as part of a 1-year prospective, double-blind, randomized, multinational clinical trial. Patients received either donepezil (n = 142; 5 mg/day for 28 days followed by 10 mg/day according to the clinician's judgement) or placebo (n = 144). Unit costs were assess

An ultrasonic technique to avoid errors in the diagnoses of acute testicular torsion is described. The presence or absence of intratesticular arterial pulsation was recorded and analysed. The technique may reduce diagnostic failures and the number of scrotal explorations of nontorquered testis.

The use of wood as construction material in multi-story buildings increased in Europe during the last decades. Wood buildings are more sensitive to dynamic loading compared to conventional concrete buildings, especially in terms of vibroacoustic comfort. Furthermore, it is more difficult to predict the accurate response due to dynamic loading for wood buildings. This is due to factors such as a co