Population ageing places pressure on pensions and health care services, creating an imperative to extend working lives. Alongside this, there has been increased political emphasis in Europe and elsewhere on the provision of care in the home. Many older people will increasingly be challenged by the responsibilities of caring for the sick, disabled and elderly, and participating in the labor market.

Diagnostic reference levels are the main and the most effective tools of optimization of the radiation protection of patients from medical exposure. Diagnostic reference levels should be established based on theresults of dedicated dose surveys, allowing evaluating typical patient dose distributions in a selected dose quantity for the selected X-ray examinations. The aim of the current study was t

Background: Botulinum toxin A (BTX-A) has been used to reduce spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP) for decades. The purpose of this study was to analyze to what extent BTX-A treatment was used to treat spasticity in a total population of children with CP. We investigated 1) the use of BTX-A in relation to age, sex, and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level, 2) the mos

The aim of this study was to evaluate adult patient doses in Russia in the context of patient protection. Effective doses from x-ray and nuclear medicine examinations were assessed using two approaches. The first was based on data collection performed by the authors in hospitals in St. Petersburg and other 17 Russian regions. The second approach was to assess mean doses through the collective dose

We examined tau haplotype frequencies in two different ethnical groups from the Basque Country (BC): Roma people and residents of European ancestry (general population). In addition, we analyzed the spatial distribution of tau haplotypes in Eurasian populations to explore the genetic affinities of the Romani groups living in Europe in a broader scope. The 17q21.31 genomic region was characterized

Purpose: To compare the performance of one-view digital breast tomosynthesis (1v-DBT) to that of three other protocols combining DBT and mammography (DM) for breast cancer detection. Materials and methods: Six radiologists, three experienced with 1v-DBT in screening, retrospectively reviewed 181 cases (76 malignant, 50 benign, 55 normal) in two sessions. First, they scored sequentially: 1v-DBT (me

Computed tomography (CT) is a widespread diagnostic modality that is commonly associated with relatively high patient doses. Hence, optimization of radiation protection of the patients from CT examinations is extremely important. An integrant part of radiation protection in medicine is a system of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs). The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of establish

Background: This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of indacaterol/glycopyrronium (IND/GLY) versus salmeterol/fluticasone (SFC) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with moderate to very severe airflow limitation and ≥1 exacerbation in the preceding year. Methods: A previously published and validated patient-level simulation model was adapted using clinical data from the FLA

The taxonomic position and evolution of the five Scandinavian montane species previously referred to the informal group Depilata of Hieracium are discussed. There is very little modern information about these species and as they have not been listed under any of the currently accepted sections of the genus they are at risk of being completely forgotten. They have always been considered as intermed

We present a novel approach to model the diffusion of a mutant in a geographical network. This is a key issue in the control of epidemics, since many diseases are transmitted by intermediate hosts that could be substituted with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) with a mutation that prevents them from spreading the pathogen. The main strength of our model lies in making analytically tractable t

Species integrity can be challenged, and even eroded, if closely related species can hybridize and produce fertile offspring of comparable fitness to that of parental species. The maintenance of newly diverged or closely related species therefore hinges on the establishment and effectiveness of pre- and/or post-zygotic reproductive barriers. Ecological selection, including predation, is often pres

The taxanes Docetaxel and Paclitaxel are two of the standard chemotherapies for patients with metastatic breast cancer. The functional effect of Docetaxel and Paclitaxel on human innate immune cells of the myeloid lineage is not well established, nor is the effects these agents have on differentiation of monocytes into macrophages and dendritic cells. Therefore, the aim with this project was to de

Although it is well known that Charlotte Brontë had pronounced political views and interests from childhood onwards, few academics have examined her preoccupation with politics, in the sense of public life and government affairs, at any length. Insofar as critics and scholars have considered her political opinions, they have found her Toryism hard to reconcile with the rebellious spirit in evidenc

In all manufacturing processes, it is important to determine the costs and their distribution between different sequential processing steps. A cost equation based directly on the losses during manufacturing, such as rejection rate, stops and waste of workpiece materials, also provides a valuable aid in giving priority to various development activities and investments. The present work concerns how

Pincer complexes attract considerable attention both as interesting objects for fundamental studies and efficient catalysts. This review describes a relatively new offshoot of the field - namely, the chemistry of iridium complexes with aliphatic PCsp3P non-innocent pincer ligands. High flexibility, often combined with possibility to activate internal C-H bonds, offers several new patterns of metal

This work focuses on the oxidation of tungsten in inert gas atmospheres containing oxygen and moisture. It is particularly relevant for the European Spallation Source where the tungsten target is cooled by purified helium gas and the 5 MW proton beam can raise the maximum target temperature beyond the threshold for oxidation. Tungsten discs were oxidized isothermally at 400° to 900 °C for 2 h in p

The gut microbiomes of birds and other animals are increasingly being studied in ecological and evolutionary contexts. Numerous studies on birds and reptiles have made inferences about gut microbiota using cloacal sampling; however, it is not known whether the bacterial community of the cloaca provides an accurate representation of the gut microbiome. We examined the accuracy with which cloacal sw

The aim of the current study is to establish conversion coefficients (CCs) from dose-area product to effective dose for barium meal (BM) fluoroscopic examinations. The study is based on data collected at a major University hospital in St-Petersburg, Russia. The structure of the BM examinations was evaluated and a computational model for effective dose estimation, using PCXMC 2.0 software, was deve

A dose survey of positron emission tomography (PET) examinations was performed in 12 regions of the Russian Federation, where the effective dose values were assessed for the various types of PET examinations. The comparison to similar published data show that the patient doses in Russia are higher than in other countries. Low-dose CT protocols and justification of multiphase CT protocols should be