Background: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an important staging tool for the management of melanoma. A multicentre study was done to validate previous findings that the timing of lymphoscintigraphy influences the accuracy of SLNB and patient outcomes, particularly survival. Methods: Data were reviewed on patients undergoing SLNB for melanoma at three centres in the UK and Sweden, examining t

Stable HCCI combustion requires a proper level of fuel reactivity. This study shows that adding ethanol as a renewable fraction to low octane gasoline decreases the reactivity of the gasoline, while adding 2-ethyl hexyl nitrate (2-EHN) can enhance the reactivity of the blend and counter the effect of ethanol.The experimental apparatus consisted of a modified CFR engine for HCCI combustion equipped

With advances in data acquisition and processing methods, spectral inversion of time domain (TD) induced polarization (IP) data is becoming more common. Geological interpretation of inverted spectral parameters, for instance Cole–Cole parameters, often relies on results from systematic laboratory measurements. These are most often carried out with frequency domain (FD) systems on sandstone samplesWith advances in data acquisition and processing methods, spectral inversion of time domain (TD) induced polarization (IP) data is becoming more common. Geological interpretation of inverted spectral parameters, for instance Cole–Cole parameters, often relies on results from systematic laboratory measurements. These are most often carried out with frequency domain (FD) systems on sandstone samples

Background: About 20% of patients with colorectal cancer have liver metastases at the time of diagnosis, and surgical resection offers a chance for cure. The aim of the present study was to compare outcomes for patients that underwent simultaneous resection to those that underwent a staged procedure with the bowel-first (classical) strategy by using information from two national registries in Swed

New generation sequencing (NGS) genetic testing is a powerful diagnostic tool and is increasingly used in the clinical workup of patients, especially in unusual presentations or where a positive family history suggests heritable disease. This review addresses the NGS technologies Targeted sequencing (TS), Whole exome sequencing (WES), Whole genome sequencing (WGS), and the use of gene panels or ge

Based on observations in vivo in guinea-pig and human airways, this review presents plasma exudation as non-sieved transmission of bulk plasma across an unperturbed mucosa that maintains its normal barrier functions. Several steps have led to the present understanding of plasma exudation as a non-injurious response to mucosal challenges. The implication of a swift appearance of all circulating mul

We show that the eccentricities, diameter, radius, and Wiener index of an undirected n-vertex graph with nonnegative edge lengths can be computed in time O(n·(k+⌈logn⌉k)·2klogn), where k is linear in the treewidth of the graph. For every ϵ> 0 , this bound is n1 + ϵexp O(k) , which matches a hardness result of Abboud et al. (in: Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discret

Objective: To evaluate progression of individual radiographic features 5 years following exercise therapy or arthroscopic partial meniscectomy as treatment for degenerative meniscal tear. Design: Randomized controlled trial including 140 adults, aged 35–60 years, with a magnetic resonance image verified degenerative meniscal tear, and 96% without definite radiographic knee osteoarthritis. Particip

A pulsed millimeter wave radar operating at a frame rate of 144 Hz is utilized to record 2160 scattering signatures of 12 generic hand gestures. Gesture recognition is achieved by machine learning, utilizing transfer learning on a pretrained convolutional neural network. This yields excellent classification results with a validation accuracy of 99.5%, based on a 60% training versus 40% validation

The rhizosphere priming effect (RPE), which occurs in the presence of growing plant roots, may either stimulate or reduce the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM). The carbon and nitrogen cycling in forest soils could be more rapid or slower due to the RPE, depending on the tree species and their growing conditions. Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) are two commer

The influence of the Sc cation substituent on the structural and luminescence properties of GAGG:Ce crystals was studied. Unit cell parameters and space groups were obtained using XRD analysis. The chemical compositions of the crystals were determined using SEM-EDX and TEM-EDX techniques. Structures were refined by the Rietveld method and the distribution of Al/Ga/Sc cations between octahedral and

Perennial grain crops are gaining increased attention from researchers as one possible solution to agriculture’s many sustainability challenges. In the Sub-Saharan African context, perennial varieties of crops such as sorghum, rice, and pigeon pea have potential to provide numerous benefits for smallholder farmers. The introduction and adoption of new crops and practices is however a complex proce

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether a prime-boost vaccination strategy, i.e., a dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and a dose of 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23), enhances antibody response compared to single PCV dose in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases treated with different immunosuppressive drugs and controls. METHODS: Patients receiving rituximab (n = 30), abatacept (n

The flat periwinkles, Littorina fabalis and L. obtusata, comprise two sister gastropod species that have an enormous potential to elucidate the mechanisms involved in ecological speciation in the marine realm. However, the molecular resources currently available for these species are still scarce. In order to circumvent this limitation, we used RNA-seq data to characterize the transcriptome of fou

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) product provided over 17 years of gridded precipitation datasets. However, the accuracy and spatial resolution of TMPA limits the applicability in hydrometeorological applications. We present a dataset that enhances the accuracy and spatial resolution of the TMPA monthly product (3B43). We resample the TMPA

Background: Sleep deprivation among adolescents is a major public health issue. Although previous studies have described their sleep habits and the consequences thereof, the voices of adolescents themselves are rarely heard. The aim of this study was to investigate adolescents’ experiences regarding what they perceived as facilitators and barriers for a good night’s sleep. Methods: A qualitative f

Objectives To assess the association between neonatal BCG vaccination and mortality between 28 days and 3 years of age among tuberculosis (TB)-exposed and TB-unexposed children. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Bandim Health Project runs an urban Health and Demographic Surveillance site in Guinea-Bissau with registration of mortality, vaccination status and TB cases. Participants Children

A simple Pickering emulsion route has been developed for the assembly of temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel particles into colloidal molecules comprising a small number of discrete microgel interaction sites on a central oil emulsion droplet. Here, the surface activity of the microgels serves to drive their assembly through adsorption to growing polydimethylsiloxa