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Purpose: To describe a technique that facilitates the safe introduction of aortic stent-grafts through diseased iliac arteries. Technique: The technique involves relining and dilating ("paving and cracking") stenosed iliac arteries with covered stents prior to the introduction of the main aortic stent-graft. It has been successfully used to introduce aortic stent-grafts in patients where other tra

Genetic diversity in eight populations of Sphagnum capillfolium from different Bulgarian mountains was investigated by means of isozyme electrophoresis. High levels of allelic diversity were found (H-s = 0.119), comparable to earlier estimates for northern European populations (H-s = 0.116). Strong differentiation among populations and a low number of widespread genotypes suggest a high degree of

Objective. To compare choice of actions and justifying reasons among the general public, GPs and oncologists. Design. A postal questionnaire using four vignettes: a healthy patient reluctant to quit smoking and one demanding an X-ray, a pulmonary cancer patient reluctant to quit smoking and one demanding immunotherapy. Subjects. A random sample of the general public (n=1000), GPs (n=200), and onco

Areas of slow conduction and conduction block are important prerequisites for re-entry known to underlie atrial fibrillation (AF). Experimental and clinical data show that AF is associated with global lowering of atrial propagation velocity and the presence of defects in the interatrial conduction routes. The increasing data from anatomical studies demonstrate the possible prerequisites for conduc

Urbanisation leads to increased thermal stress in hot-humid climates due to increased surface and air temperatures and reduced wind speed. We examined the influence of urban morphology and sea breeze on the microclimate of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Air and surface temperatures, humidity and wind speed were measured at 1 rural and 5 urban sites during the warmest season. The urban sites differed in their

Summary Objective Patients with suspicion of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are difficult to diagnose and they represent a very heterogeneous group. Some require immediate treatment while others, with only minor disorders, may be sent home. Detecting ACS patients using a machine learning approach would be advantageous in many situations. Methods and materials Artificial neural network (ANN) ensem

Objective: Body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the risk could be very different for individuals with the same body mass. The present study explored whether regional fat distribution, as measured by waist-hip ratio (WHR), could modify the impact of BMI on the risk of CVD in men and women. Design: Prospective population-based study.

Large-scale studies are essential to assess the emission patterns and spatial distribution of organohalogenated pollutants (OHPs) in the environment. Bird eggs have several advantages compared to other environmental media which have previously been used to map the distribution of OHPs. In this study, large-scale geographical variation in the occurrence of OHPs, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (P

The receptor Tyro3 together with Axl and Mer form the Axl/Tyro3 family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Members of this family play essential roles in spermatogenesis, immunoregulation, and phagocytosis. Gas6, the product of growth arrest-specific gene, activates the kinase activity of all three receptors. Here, we report the first biochemical and structural characterization of a member of this famil

The ultrastructure of embryonic chick cartilage proteoglycan core protein was investigated by electron microscopy of specimens prepared by low angle shadowing. The molecular images demonstrated a morphological substructural arrangement of three globular and two linear regions within each core protein. The internal globular region (G2) was separated from two terminally located globular regions (G1

The influence of the solvent on the morphology and performance of polymer solar cells is investigated ill devices based on blends of the polyfluorene copolymer, poly(2,7-(9,9-dioctyl-fluorene)-alt-5,5-(4',7'-di-2-thienyl-2',1',3'-ben zothiadiazole)), and [6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester. The blends are spin-coated from chloroform or from chloroform mixed with small amounts of xylene, to

The dogroses (Rosa Sect. Caninae) are characterized by a unique meiosis - the canina meiosis - that results in restricted recombination. In the present study, we investigate population differentiation and morphometric diversity within six taxa, of Nordic dogroses, with the help of automated image analysis of leaflet shape and manually-measured reproductive characters. The total morphometric divers

A localized dehydration zone, Sondrum stone quarry, Halmstad, SW Sweden, consists of a central, 1 m wide granitic pegmatoid dyke, on either side of which extends a 2.5-3 m wide dehydration zone (650-700 degrees C; 800 MPa; orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-biotite-amphibole-garnet) overprinting a local migmatized granitic gneiss (amphibole-biotite-garnet). Whole-rock chemistry indicates that dehydration

For extremely large telescopes, there is strong need for thin deformable mirrors in the 3-4 m class. So far, feasibility of such mirrors has not been demonstrated. Extrapolation from existing techniques suggests that the mirrors could be highly expensive. We give a progress report on a study of an approach for construction of large deformable mirrors with a moderate cost. We have developed low-cos

The aim was to describe what parents and staff think about child health care, to identify agreements and disagreements. A qualitative study was made with semi-structured interviews based on a phenomenographic approach. Sixty parents, 14 nurses and six doctors from southern Sweden were interviewed. Parents and staff emphasized two tasks as being of particular importance: support and check-ups. Ther

Based on their position in relation to major ocean currents, palaeoclimatic archives in the Faroe Islands are expected to be sensitive recorders of variations in North Atlantic circulation. The multiproxy analysis ( magnetic susceptibility, total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, biogenic silica, grains > 255 mu m) of a lacustrine record with both winter and summer climate indicators illustrates the v

BACKGROUND: Questions have been asked about whether the process of obtaining informed consent from parents to clinical trials on neonates leads to valid consent. We undertook a study in nine European countries to assess this issue and to seek any practical improvements. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of 200 babies who had been asked for consent to neonatal trials a

A growing body of research suggests that a strong and vigilant board can have a significant influence on the value-creating potential of medium-size companies by favouring change and innovation in strategic decision-making. Yet how best to conceptualize this relationship remains controversial in scholarly circles. The mainstream approach has been to argue for a direct relationship between board de