An emerging number of diseases and therapeutic approaches with defined involvement of the complement system justify a need for specific markers reflecting activation of particular effector arms of the complement cascade. Measurement of such soluble markers in circulation is a challenge since the specificity of antibodies must be limited to activated complement fragments but not predominant and ubi

PURPOSE: To describe a heretofore unreported complication involving the Zenith Low Profile (LP) stent-graft. CASE REPORT: Two men, aged 75 and 67 years, respectively, underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm repair with a Zenith LP device. At 4 and 3 years, respectively, computed tomography angiography revealed separation of the proximal fixation stent from the stent-graft. In the first patient, ther

The visual systems of many animals feature energetically costly specializations to enable them to function in dim light. It is often unclear, however, how large the behavioural benefit of these specializations is, because a direct comparison in a behaviourally relevant task between closely related day- and night-active species is not usually possible. Here we compared the orientation performance o

The 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) is an abbreviated version of the SF-36, one of the most widely used patient-reported health outcome rating scales. Similar to the SF-36, it yields summary scores of physical and mental health (PCS and MCS, respectively). However, SF-36 derived PCS and MCS scores have not been found valid in neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Here w

ABSTRACT. Preterm newborn infants have a high morbidity rate. The most frequently affected organs where free gas is involved are the lungs and intestines. In respiratory distress syndrome, both hyperexpanded and atelectatic (collapsed) areas occur, and in necrotizing enterocolitis, intramural gas may appear in the intestine. Today, these conditions are diagnosed with x-ray radiography. A bed-side,

Scholarly discourses on energy security have developed in response to initially separate policy agendas such as supply of fuels for armies and transportation, uninterrupted provision of electricity, and ensuring market and investment effectiveness. As a result three distinct perspectives on energy security have emerged: the `sovereignty' perspective with its roots in political science; the `robust

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between barriers in the outdoor environment and perceived quality of life (QoL) in old age and to assess whether fear of moving outdoors and unmet physical activity need contribute to this association. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Community and research center. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred eighty-nine, community-dwelling people aged 75 to 81 took part in f

Multi-method geophysical investigations, accompanied by microclimatic measurements and vegetation mapping, were performed at an undercooled scree slope near Schladming (Austria) in the eastern Alps in order to detect, map and monitor mountain permafrost. The study site, at an elevation of 990m asl, is one of the lowest-lying examples of a cold, undercooled scree slope in the Alps. Geophysical meas

The importance of lake ecosystems for waterfowl remains a topic of debate. In order to assess how temporal variations in lake features, specifically shifts between alternative stable states, may interact with the waterfowl fauna, we performed a long-term (22 years) study of the shallow Lake Krankesjon, southern Sweden. Lower total numbers of waterfowl occurred during periods with low macrophyte co

BackgroundClinical guidelines on central venous catheterisation were introduced by the Swedish Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine in 2011. The purpose of this study was to investigate current national practice and assess to what extent these guidelines influence clinical routines in Swedish operating wards and intensive care units. MethodsAn invitation to participate in an onli

In systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related interstitial lung disease (ILD), elevated eosinophil counts in bronchoalveolar lavage are associated with a worse outcome. We hypothesized that eosinophils may be activated in the peripheral circulation, thereby increasing their recruitment to affected tissues and contributing to inflammation and fibrosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the blood eosi

Background: Exposure to inhaled endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides, LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria commonly found in indoor environments and assessed in secondary tobacco smoke, has been associated with airway inflammation and asthma exacerbation. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALf) from patients with interstitial lung diseases (sarcoidosis, lung fibrosis, smoking-related ILD, eosinophilic disord

The paper presents the results of comparative study of performance of cutting tools made of ceramic-bound, binderless cBN, and wBN-cBN tool materials. The tool performance was assessed by tool wear-resistance, values of cutting forces, parameters of machined surface quality, and the state of sub-surface layer generated in continuous turning of hardened cold work tool steel. The tests were carried

BACKGROUND Tasquinimod (ABR-215050) is an orally active quinoline-3-carboxamide analog that has completed phase II clinical trial in patients with castration resistant prostate cancer, showing promising inhibiting effects on the occurrence of metastasis and delayed disease progression. Its mechanism of action is not fully elucidated, but previous studies show anti-angiogenic effects and strong int

While shell growth engineering to the atomic scale is important for tailoring semiconductor nanowires with superior properties, a precise knowledge of-the surface structure and morphology at different stages of this type of overgrowth has been lacking. We present a systematic scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study of homoepitaxial Shell growth of twinned superlattices in zinc blende InAs nanowi

In this paper, we study the problem of drawing a given planar graph such that vertices are at pre-specified points and the entire drawing is inside a given polygon. We give a method that shows that for an $n$-vertex graph and a $k$-sided polygon, $\Theta(kn^2)$ bends are always sufficient. We also give an example of a graph where $\Theta(kn^2)$ bends is necessary for such a drawing.

IMPORTANCE Peer deviance (PD) strongly predicts externalizing psychopathologic conditions but has not been previously assessable in population cohorts. We sought to develop such an index of PD and to clarify its effects on risk of drug abuse (DA). OBJECTIVES To examine how strongly PD increases the risk of DA and whether this community-level liability indicator interacts with key DA risk factors a

Geographic variation in phenotypes plays a key role in fundamental evolutionary processes such as local adaptation, population differentiation and speciation, but the selective forces behind it are rarely known. We found support for the hypothesis that geographic variation in plumage traits of the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca is explained by character displacement with the collared flycatche