Energy-based surgical devices (EBD) combining cutting and coagulation are increasingly used in thyroid surgery. However, there is a lack of information about potential benefits and risk of complications outside controlled trials. The aims of this national multicenter register study were to describe the use of EDB, their potential effect on complication rates, and on operation time.

In anaerobic digestion (AD), the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) can be beneficial or harmful to the overall process, depending on the concentration of accumulated acids. Therefore, the accurate determination of the SCFA concentration in both fresh and stored sludge hydrolysates is important. To select a suitable method for monitoring SCFAs during the AD of sewage sludge, the accurac

Holistic theories of meaning have, at least since Dummett’s Frege: The Philosophy of language, been assumed to be problematic from the perspective of the incremental nature of natural language learning. In this essay I argue that the general relationship between holism and language learning is in fact the opposite of that claimed by Dummett. It is only given a particular form of language learning,

1. Variation and control of nutritional input is an important selective force in the evolution of mutualistic interactions and may significantly affect coevolutionary modifications in partner species. 2. The attine fungus-growing ants are a tribe of more than 230 described species (12 genera) that use a variety of different substrates to manure the symbiotic fungus they cultivate inside the nest.

A measurement of the cross section for the production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV is presented. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The cross section is measured as a function of photon pseudorapidity eta(gamma) and transverse energy E-T(gamma) in the kinematic range

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the major atherogenic lipoprotein and the primary target of lipid-lowering therapy for treating ischemic cardiovascular disease. Apolipoprotein B (apoB), an important structural component of LDL, plays a key role in cholesterol transport and removal in vascular wall. On the other hand, under pathological process, apoB interacts with the arterial wall to initiate th

Tourist attractions emerge in stakeholder negotiation processes, where a critical issue is how different notions of meaning and value are argued and expressed. This article investigates this process of meaning production in practice through four examples of tourist attraction developments in Southern Sweden. Instances where tourist attractiveness is defined by stakeholders are analyzed by showing

Directed assembly of biocompatible materials benefits from modular building blocks in which structural organization is independent of introduced functional modifications. For soft materials, such modifications have been limited. Here, long DNA is successfully functionalized with dense decoration by peptides. Following introduction of alkyne-modified nucleotides into kilobasepair DNA, measurements

Disentangling the relative importance and potential interactions of selection and genetic drift in driving phenotypic divergence of species is a classical research topic in population genetics and evolutionary biology. Here, we evaluate the role of stochastic and selective forces on population divergence of a colour polymorphism in seven damselfly species of the genus Ischnura, with a particular f

P>This prospective Phase II study is the first to assess the feasibility and efficacy of maintenance 5-azacytidine for older patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia and MDS-acute myeloid leukaemia syndromes in complete remission (CR) after induction chemotherapy. Sixty patients were enrolled and treated by standard induction chemotherapy. Patients t

Land degradation, as a threat to smallholders in the tropics, attracts less attention than other global challenges. In addition, gaps between scientific understandings of land degradation and international policy regimes are problematic. We identify the three most significant debates including their different policy implications: desertification in the Sahel, nutrient depletion in Africa, and rura

The typical form of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is associated with enterohemorrhagic ESCHERICHIA COLI (EHEC) infection. The disease process is initiated and perpetuated by interactions between the pathogen or its virulence factors and host cells, as well as the host response. During EHEC-associated HUS, alterations occurring at the intestinal mucosal barrier and in the circulation, as well as

Mate preferences can vary in the direction of the preference, as well as the strength of the preference, and both direction and strength of preference are known to be plastic in many species. Preferences might have a learned component, and current and past social context may influence an individual's choosiness. In the damselfly species Calopteryx splendens, females increase the strength of their

The aim of our study was to investigate the dynamics of cortical thinning around well fixed cemented Muller straight stems without osteolysis at different time periods during long term follow-up. We investigated patients operated on for osteoarthritis with a cemented Muller straight stem, all with more than 15 years follow-up and no radiological signs of osteolysis. Cortical thinning in 20 THA hip

Key points Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 28 (CCL28) is a novel growth factor for human hematopoietic stem- and progenitor cells.CCL28 supports the in vitro and in vivo functional integrity of cultured primitive hematopoietic cells.

OBJECTIVES: Allogeneic blood transfusion and reoperation for postoperative bleeding after the coronary artery bypass grafting have a negative impact on the patient outcome. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of reduced doses of heparin and protamine on the patient outcome, using a heparin-coated mini-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) system. METHODS: Sixty patients undergoing elective first-ti

Necessary and sufficient conditions for simplicity of a general skew group ring A?(sigma)G are not known. In this article, we show that a skew group ring A?(sigma)G, of an abelian group G, is simple if and only if its centre is a field and A is G-simple. As an application, we show that a transformation group (X, G), where X is a compact Hausdorff space acted upon by an abelian group G, is minimal

The pathogenesis of inhibitory antibodies has been the focus of major scientific interest over the last decades and several studies on underlying immune mechanisms and risk factors for formation of these antibodies have been performed with the aim of improving the ability to both predict and prevent their appearance. It seems clear that the decisive factors for the immune response to the deficient