Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease encountered throughout Europe. A task force for the EULAR Standing Committee for Clinical Trials met in 1998 to determine the methodological and logistical approach required for the development of evidence based guidelines for treatment of knee OA. The guidelines were restricted to cover all currently available treatments for knee OA

We study the distribution of bulk superconductivity in presence of an applied magnetic field, supposed to be a step function, modeled by the Ginzburg-Landau theory. Our results are valid for the minimizers of the twodimensional Ginzburg-Landau functional with a large Ginzburg-Landau parameter and with an applied magnetic field of intensity comparable with the Ginzburg-Landau parameter.

A good heat transfer performance with moderate pressure drop penalty, as well as a high mixing effect contributes to the increase of a solar receiver thermal efficiency. In this study, delta-winglet vortex generators (DWVGs), and the combination of DWVGs and obstacles are numerically studied to reveal the effects on a solar receiver heat exchanger and the heat transfer, friction factor and mixing.

Pancreatic cancer has a dismal prognosis and there is an increasing and unmet need to identify better diagnostic and therapeutic targets in order to ameliorate the course of the disease. HMGB1, a nuclear DNA-binding protein that acts as a transcription factor, is currently in the limelight. HMGB1 exhibits a dual role in pancreatic cancer; when intracellular, it acts as an anti-tumor protein stabil

This paper presents ongoing research on using non-uniform rational b-splines(NURBS) based isogeometric analysis for form finding of efficient shapes for shells. The form finding is made using dynamic relaxation together with NURBS based membrane elements. The method is employed directly to design geometry, without the need for any further discretization. The method is implemented in two plug-ins f

Background The contribution of modifiable risk factors to the increasing global and regional burden of stroke is unclear, but knowledge about this contribution is crucial for informing stroke prevention strategies. We used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013) to estimate the population-attributable fraction (PAF) of stroke-related disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) asso

Recent studies have shown that a large proportion of patients classified as essential thrombocythemia (ET) actually have early primary prefibrotic myelofibrosis (prePMF), which implies an inferior prognosis as compared to patients being diagnosed with so-called genuine or true ET. According to theWorld Health Organization (WHO) 2008 classification, bone marrow histology is a major component in the

Aqueous tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, TBAH(aq), has been found to dissolve cellulose and to be a potential solvent for chemical processing or fiber spinning. In this paper, we have investigated the dissolution state of cellulose in 40 wt % TBAH(aq) solvent, and present an extensive study of rheology, combined with static light and small-angle X-ray scattering, to correlate cellulose aggregation wi

In this paper the characteristics of the primary breakup of a liquid jet is analyzed numerically. We applied the Volumes of Fluids (VOF) approach utilizing the Direction Averaged Curvature (DAC) model, to estimate the interface curvature, and the Direction Averaged Normal (DAN) model, to propagate the interface. While being used for the first time to predict liquid atomization, this methodology sh

This study aims to give an overview over different reaction-to-fire prediction models developed over the last decades by finding similarities and differences between models, as well as identifying their robustness in scaling. The models have been divided into four categories - empirical, thermal, polynomial and comprehensive - depending on how pyrolysis is modelled. Empirical models extrapolate be

This work has been made as a thesis for a BSc degree in Fire Protection Engineering at Lund University. The work has been supported and funded by ESS AB, European Spallation Source, in Lund. ESS AB is a publicly held company, owned by Sweden and Denmark as host countries. These host countries, together with at least 17 other European countries, will build and establish a multidisciplinary research

The characteristics of smoke are highly dependent on the materials undergoing thermal decomposition and the environment in which this decomposition takes place. With the rising complexity in dedicated fire simulation tools, there is a need for increased information on the composition and properties of smoke in order to develop/validate and extend the fire safety engineering community's smoke and v

Objective: To further our understanding of the pathogenesis of chondromalacia of the patella (CM), we have studied the release into knee joint fluid and serum, obtained from patients with CM, of molecules associated with the metabolism of joint cartilage matrix and synovium. Methods: Interleukin-1 α (IL-1α), interleukin-1 β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), stromelysin-1 (MMP-3), interstitial collage

We report the incidence of total hip replacements performed in Iceland between 1982 and 1996. During this period, 3403 hip arthroplasties were done. The annual number of procedures increased from 94 hips in 1982 to 323 hips in 1996. Annual rates of total hip replacements due to primary osteoarthrosis per 105 inhabitants were 68 in 1982-1986, 90 in 1987-1991, and 114 in 1992-1996. In the years 1992

In China, the strategic use of personal relationships is pervasive in transactions with government authorities as well as in inter-firm relations. Explanations as to when and why firms rely on guanxi emphasize a close link between organizational resources, environment and corporate strategic choices. Our study shifts attention to the importance of CEO preferences, specifically risk aversion, and s

Objective: To update evidence for available therapies in the treatment of hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) and to examine whether research evidence has changed from 31 January 2006 to 31 January 2009. Methods: A systematic literature search was undertaken using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, Science Citation Index and the Cochrane Library. The quality of studies was assessed. Effect sizes (ESs) an