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The monotremes, the duck-billed platypus and the echidnas, are characterized by a number of unique morphological characteristics, which have led to the common belief that they represent the living survivors of an ancestral stock of mammals. Analysis of new data from the complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes of a second monotreme, the spiny anteater. and another marsupial, the wombat. yielded clear s

A significant percentage of young children present cardiac murmurs. However, only one percent of them are caused by a congenital heart defect; others are physiological. Auscultation of the heart is still the primary diagnostic tool for judging the type of cardiac murmur. An automated system for an initial recording and analysis of the cardiac sounds could enable the primary care physicians to make

Carvedilol, an antihypertensive drug with activity on adrenoceptors as well as on calcium channel activity, has recently been introduced. In the present study we investigated whether carvedilol interacts with the cytotoxicity induced by irradiation in vitro as well as in vivo. A daily injection of carvedilol in clinically relevant concentrations (3 mg/kg subcutaneously), 4 days before and 3 days a

Background The Medical School of Lund University, Sweden, has introduced an early patient contact course, including training in communication and examination skills. The course runs parallel with theoretical subjects during the students' first two-and-a-half years. General practitioner (GP) participation is gradually increasing, and in the last half-year of the course GPs in all health centres in

Numerous studies of the processes of visual word recognition in the left and right cerebral hemispheres have attempted to control for confounding differences in the retinal placement (and hence visual acuity) of the beginnings of words by re-orientating normally-horizontal words vertically. However, despite the popularity of this approach, little is known about the precise effects that vertically

Objective: High fractions of inspired oxygen (FIO2) used in acute lung injury (ALI) may promote resorption atelectasis. The impact of derecruitment related to high FIO2 in ALI is debated. We evaluated derecruitment with 100% vs. 60% FIO2 at two levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP). Patients: Fourteen consecutive patients with ALI were studied. Interventions: Recruited volume at two PE

Patients with osteoarthritis undergoing knee replacement have been reported to have an overall reduced mortality compared with that of the general population. This has been attributed to the selection of healthier patients for surgery. However, previous studies have had a maximum follow-up time of ten years. We have used information from the Swedish Knee Arthroplasty Register to study the mortalit

Some insulin-dependent diabetic (IDDM) patients develop severe forms of retinopathy. Putative risk factors such as hypertension, poor metabolic control, nephropathy and growth hormone levels do not fully explain the progress of retinopathy in these patients. It has been discussed whether there is a genetic marker, since some diabetic patients without any known predisposing risk factors develop sev

BACKGROUND: Persistent organochlorine pollutants ( POP), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE), are widely found in the environment and considered potential endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDC). Their impact on male fertility is still unknown. METHODS: To explore the hypothesis that POP is associated with altered sperm chromatin integrity, a cross-

This paper describes a general picture of efforts to provide women with equal opportunity both on a national political level, and within academia. A report of recent activities within the newly formed National Division for Women in Physics within the Swedish Physical Society is also given

The intraobserver reproducibility of ultrasonic volume blood flow measurements in the human fetus was evaluated in this study. A new approach, simultaneous measurement of the vessel diameter and the flow velocity with a pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound synchronized with a real-time ultrasound phase-locked echo-tracking system, was used to estimate volume blood flow (VBF) in the fetal descending aort

Different types of optical light guides were constructed and tested to enable convenient multiple angle of incidence ellipsometry, on solid and liquid interfaces in liquid solutions. Two light guides are needed on an ellipsometer, one to guide the incoming light and one to guide the light that is reflected at the test surface, and therefore one light guide was mounted on the laser arm and one on t

Fungal laccases are remarkable green catalysts that have a broad substrate specificity and many potential applications in bioremediation, lignocellulose processing, organic synthesis, and more. However, most of these transformations must be carried out at high concentrations of organic cosolvents in which laccases undergo unfolding, thereby losing their activity. We have tailored a thermostable la

A recently developed multiple fibre system for treating malignant tumours with interstitial photodynamic therapy was used in studies on rats with colon adenocarcinoma inoculated into the muscles of the hind legs. The animals were intraperitonially administrated delta -aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which is metabolised to protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in the tissue. The treatment system consists of a laser

The original immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) suggested that testosterone has a handicapping effect in males by both promoting the development of sexual signals and suppressing immune function. A modified version, the stress-linked ICHH, has recently proposed that testosterone is immunosuppressive indirectly by increasing production of corticosterone. To test both the original and stres

Background: To show results of a prespecified pooled analysis of the studies SPORTIF III (open-label) and SPORTIF V (double-blind), to assess the homogeneity of the results and to explore subgroup analyses and adverse events. Methods and Results: 7,329 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and 1 additional stroke risk factor were randomized to warfarin (international normalized ratio 2.0-3.0) or