OBJECTIVES: To analyse 80-kVp 16-MDCT in patients with clinically suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) and diminished renal function after a reduction in dose of contrast medium (CM) from 200 to 150 mg I/kg. METHODS: Fifty patients with suspected PE and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) less than 50 mL/min underwent 80-kVp 16-MDCT with 150 mg I/kg. Mean density/image noise (1 standard deviation) was m

At the interface between two regions, for example the air–liquid interface of a lipid solution, there can arise non-equilibrium situations. The water chemical potential corresponding to the ambient RH will, in general, not match the water chemical potential of the solution, and the gradients in chemical potential cause diffusional flows. If the bulk water chemical potential is close to a phase tra

We report on the discovery of a generic piezoelectric field in strained core-shell compound semiconductor nanowires. We present the lattice-mismatch induced strain in epitaxial core-shell nanowires and show that it gives, very generally, rise to an internal piezoelectric field along the axis of the nanowire. This field results predominantly from atomic displacements in polar bonds and microscopic

The purpose of this paper is to provide a research outlook on the concept of decentralized freight intelligence, i.e. autonomous freight making localized routing decisions. A review of research literature on decentralized intelligence in freight transport serves as the foundation of the analysis. The analysis reveals a scarcity of scientific evidence to suggest a successful introduction of decentr

Disperse dyes are common sensitizers, but are not currently included in the European baseline series.

Using a large, new database of contractual provisions governing the allocation of cash flow rights in venture capital (VC) financings, we investigate how contract design is related to VC abilities to monitor and provide value-added services to the entrepreneur. We find that more experienced VCs, who have superior abilities and more frequently join the boards of their portfolio companies, obtain we

Background. Knowledge of sensitization and elicitation thresholds and the time-dose relationship for elicitation of contact dermatitis is important in order to provide safe products for consumers. Objective. Since previous studies performed with eugenol had showed negative results in a repeat open application study (ROAT) study, we wanted to perform a ROAT with higher concentration (maximum allowe

ABSTRACT Reports of three cases in which patients' pain was previously inadequately treated prior to referral and how it was addressed in a pain clinic are presented. The impact of polypharmacy on medication adherence, fear of opioids among patients and staff, and of stoicism in pain patients is discussed.

Chebyshev polynomial techniques for solution of singular integral equations leading to square root singularities at the ends of the interval of integration are studied. It is shown that the results are less accurate when a singularity, albeit a weak one, appears between the interval ends. Typical examples are problems involving kinked cracks. Some attempts to improve the accuracy are discussed.

BACKGROUND:: The risk for congenital malformations is increased in infants born after in vitro fertilization (IVF). Some specific malformations appear to be more affected than others. METHODS:: The presence of congenital malformations in 15,570 infants born after IVF with an embryo transfer between April 1, 2001, and the end of 2006 were compared with all infants born in Sweden during 2001 to 2007

We study the intensity dependence of ionization and fragmentation of buckminsterfullerene (C-60) in strong laser fields. Our data provide strong evidence that at intensities less than or similar to 10(14) W/cm(2) these processes occur predominantly via multiphoton excitation of the 20 eV plasmon resonance of C-60 At least two plasmons have to be created to initiate fragmentation or multiple ioniza

High hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of the most common malignancies in children. It is characterized by gain of chromosomes, typically +X, +4, +6, +10, +14, +17, +18, and +21,+21; little is known about additional genetic aberrations. Approximately 20% of the patients relapse; therefore it is clinically important to identify risk-stratifying markers. We used SNP array analys

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is widely expressed throughout the CNS and exerts a number of important physiological functions as well as playing a role in pathological conditions such as obesity, anxiety, epilepsy, chronic pain and neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, we highlight some of the recent advances in our understanding of NPY biology and how this may help explain not only its role in heal

The IFCC Working Group for the Standardisation of Cystatin C (WG-SCC), in collaboration with the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM), announces the availability of the new certified reference material ERM-DA471/IFCC. The material was characterised using a pure protein primary reference preparation (PRP) as calibrant. The PRP was prepared from recombinant cystatin C, and its c

To study tissue factor (TF) in acute pancreatitis and evaluate the role of TF as a predictive marker of severity.

The objective of this study was to investigate the possible association between mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A cohort from the Department of Rheumatology, Lund University Hospital, Sweden, consisting of 166 unrelated SLE patients was investigated as well as 190 unrelated healthy blood donors. Mean age at SLE diagnosis was 39 years (range 10-83) and mean f

Purpose: We aimed to compare the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) in different Stratus optical coherence tomography (OCT) images in glaucoma eyes with RNFL thickness values within normal limits. Methods: We studied the Stratus OCT high-resolution standard protocol for assessment of peripapillary RNFL thickness. The four glaucoma eyes presented (with reproducible visual field defects, mean deviatio