Rationale, aims and objectives The aim of this study was to compare acute hospital utilization and costs for patients with refractory angina pectoris undergoing spinal cord stimulation (SCS) versus enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP). Method Seventy-three persons were included in this register study. The acute hospital utilization and costs for SCS and EECP were followed over a period from 1

Because of the inexact nature of visual classification schemes and the resulting uncertainties of specifying raw material origins, geochemical methods applicable for sourcing Scandinavian flint have been sought. The authors have shown that EDXRF analysis yields geochemical data sufficiently precise and accurate to discriminate among many different varieties of archaeologically significant flint. H

Study Type - Diagnostic (exploratory cohort) Level of Evidence 2b OBJECTIVES: To assess variation of total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA), free PSA (fPSA), percent fPSA, human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) and intact PSA measured three times within 2 weeks. Knowledge of the variation in an individual's PSA level is important for clinical decision-making. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Study participants w

Background: Tumour hypoxia is a common characteristic of many solid human tumours, and is associated with a poor prognosis in various types of cancer. Metabolic changes occur when cells are exposed to low oxygen pressure; however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying malignant transformation and/or progression caused by hypoxia. Materials and Methods: We monitored global gene expression

Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia show deficiencies of basic neurophysiological sorting mechanisms. This study further investigated this issue, focusing on the two phenomena laterality of coding and auditory forward masking. A specific audiometric method for use in psychiatry was the measuring set up to register brain stem audiograms (ABRs). A sample of 49 schizophrenic patients was compare

This paper introduces a new replenishment policy for inventory control in a two-level distribution system consisting of one central warehouse and an arbitrary number of nonidentical retailers. The new policy is designed to control the replenishment process at the central warehouse, using centralized information regarding the inventory positions and demand processes of all installations in the syst

OBJECTIVES: Testicular germ-cell cancer (TGCC) patients are at risk of developing hypogonadism but no risk factors have yet been defined. METHODS: Blood was collected from 143 TGCC patients (after orchidectomy, prior to further therapy (T0) and 6, 12, 24, 36 and 60 months (T6, T12, T24, T36 and T60) after therapy). Biological hypogonadism (BH) was defined as: serum testosterone below 10 nmol/l and

A common requirement of statistical methods, critical to the interpretation of the data, is that the analyzed observations are independent. This is not always the case in experiments and clinical studies, a mistake which can be expected to lead to erroneous study results. The phenomenon is explained, its consequences described, and suggestions to avoid the problems presented.

Using an in-house developed ultrasonic method, we have shown that there is distinct longitudinal multiphasic displacement of the human common carotid artery (CCA) wall during the cardiac cycle. Different subjects showed markedly different patterns of displacement. At present, it is not known if the pattern of displacement in an individual is stable over time. Therefore, in this study, we measured

Objective: To follow up bone mineral density (BMD) 4 years after decreased BMD was diagnosed in adult individuals with teenage-onset anorexia nervosa (AN). Method: In a previous study BMD was assessed in 39 individuals (36 women, 3 men) 11 years after AN onset. Decreased BMD occurred in a minority. In the present study, a 4-year follow-up of individuals with decreased BMD, 11 AN women were reass

Background/Aims: Experimental studies have suggested that trypsinogen may enhance tumor progression and that the ratio between anionic trypsinogen and cationic trypsinogen (HAT/HCT) and between the sum of trypsinogens and pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) ((HAT + HCT)/PSTI) are disturbed in patients with pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate if pre-diagnostic leve

We have previously reported that COMP (cartilage oligomeric matrix protein) is prominent in cartilage but is also present in tendon and binds to collagens I and II with high affinity. Here we show that COMP influences the fibril formation of these collagens. Fibril formation in the presence of pentameric COMP was much faster, and the amount of collagen in fibrillar form was markedly increased. Mon

The pathogenesis of prostate cancer is unclear, although experimental evidence implicates androgens as playing an important role. Infertile men frequently suffer from some degree of hypogonadism and may hence be hypothesized to be at lower risk of developing prostate cancer than fertile men. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a case-control study nested within "the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study"

Although it is known that college students have a high alcohol consumption, less is known about the long-term drinking trajectories amongst college students and, in particular, students living in residence halls, known to be high-risk drinkers. Over four consecutive years, the drinking habits of 556 Swedish residence hall students were analyzed. The main instruments for measuring outcome were AUDI

More than 15 percent of children in Europe are overweight; another 5 percent are obese. The high prevalence of obesity emphasizes the necessity of developing evidence-based treatment programs that are useful in a clinical setting. Management of childhood obesity is commonly based on lifestyle interventions where nutrition, physical activity, and behavior modification are the main targets. To incor

New radiative lifetimes have been measured for the 5s (3)P(0,1,2)degrees and 5s (1)P(1)degrees levels of Ge I using a laser-produced plasma subject to selective laser excitation. A diffraction grating based emission spectrometer of moderately high resolution has been used to remeasure the branching ratios of the 4p-5s depopulating transitions. The oscillator strengths of astrophysical interest, wh