AIMS: Studies indicate a poorer quality of life (QoL) for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients than for the general population. However, studies comparing the QoL of ICD patients with that of patients with other implantable cardiac devices are scarce. We hypothesized that ICD patients had a poorer QoL than pacemaker patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: All ICD patients living in Iceland

We report on the feasibility and process parameters of nanoimprint lithography to fabricate low refractive index passive optical devices. Diffraction gratings printed in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) exhibit a sharp dispersion with a full width at half maximum of about 20 nm. Waveguides were printed in polystyrene (PS) on silicon oxide and had losses between 8-20 dB cm(-1) at wavelengths between 6

The stress field in a finite, edge cracked specimen under load is computed using algorithms based on two slightly different integral equations of the second kind. These integral equations are obtained through left regularizations of a first kind integral equation. In numerical experiments it is demonstrated that the stress field can be accurately computed. Highly accurate stress intensity factors

A novel process modeling tool to facilitate the study of how various process changes in the paper dryer section affect the mill-wide energy system has been developed. A model library with steady-state block models describing paper dryers, heat recovery equipment, and auxiliary systems on component level have been developed using the software Extend. Process models are then created from these block

The coadsorption of Cu(II) and glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, abbreviated to PMG) at the water-goethite interface was studied by means of batch adsorption experiments, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The system was investigated over the pH range 3-9 and at total concentratio

With the elimination of Haemophilus influenzae type b through vaccination, it has been suggested that other types of H. influenzae strains might acquire virulence traits and emerge as important pathogens. The gene sequence IS1016 has been associated with an increased capacity to cause severe infections. It is usually present in encapsulated strains but is sometimes harbored by nontypeable H. influ

An electron storage ring acts as an approximate point source in the far-infrared spectral region with a much greater intensity than provided by conventional black body radiators. Far-infrared synchrotron radiation is therefore suitable for high-resolution spectroscopic measurements of low-frequency vibrations for metastable molecules such as the intermolecular vibrational modes of hydrogen-bonded

The present study is included in a project with the aim to develop attractants from food odors for trapping female moths. Males and mated, but not unmated, females of Ephestia cautella and Plodia interpunctella were attracted by odors of three different chocolate products in flight tunnel experiments. Chocolate containing nut or rum elicited upwind flight and landing responses. Extracts of the cho

Smoking has recently been recognised as causally associated with the development of gastric cancer (GC). However, evidence on the effect by sex, duration and intensity of smoking, anatomic subsite and cessation of smoking is limited. Our objective was to assess the relation between tobacco use and GC incidence in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We studied d

This paper presents an ongoing study of children with chronic ITP in Sweden that addresses four specific questions: is there a subgroup of children with chronic ITP that have impaired platelet function? Do children in this subgroup have antibodies directed against surface glycoproteins that are crucial for platelet function? Can desmopressin improve the impaired platelet function in this subgroup?

To what extent does television interfere with and complicate diplomatic signaling via other channels? Conversely, to what extent can world leaders and diplomats use television to their advantage? Exploring these questions, this article focuses on the combination of communication speed and excitable public opinion, on the one hand, and the metaphorical and symbolic aspects of the medium, on the oth

The demand for highly purified plasmids in gene therapy and plasmid-based vaccines requires large-scale production of pharmaceutical-grade plasmid. Large-scale purification of plasmid DNA from bacterial cell culture normally includes one or several chromatographic steps. Prechromatographic steps include precipitation with solvents, salts, and polymers combined with enzymatic degradation of nucleic

The alkaliphilic bacterium, Bacillus halodurans S7, produces an alkaline active xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8), which differs from many other xylanases in being operationally stable under alkaline conditions as well as at elevated temperature. Compared to non-alkaline active xylanases, this enzyme has a high percent composition of acidic amino acids which results in high ratio of negatively to positively c