Abstract not available

Automated classification of ECG patterns is facilitated by careful selection of waveform features. This paper presents a method for evaluating the properties of features that describe the shape of a QRS complex. By examining the distances in the feature space for a class of nearly similar complexes, shape transitions which are poorly described by the feature under investigation can be readily iden

Objective. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often have low iron stores or anaemia. There is controversy about whether iron should be supplemented orally or intravenously (i.v.). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether treatment with intravenous iron is superior to treatment with oral iron. The primary end-points were response and remaining anaemia at the end of treatment

Segmental defects of long bones are notoriously difficult to treat. This study evaluates eight cases in which the Masquelet technique of induced membranes was used. The primary purpose was to assess the results compared to other types of bone reconstruction and share our tips and tricks to improve the outcome.

Working memory, language, and reading comprehension are strongly associated in children with severe and profound hearing impairment treated by cochlear implants (CI). In this study we explore this relationship in sixteen Swedish children with CI. We found that over 60% of the children with CI performed at the level of their hearing peers in a reading comprehension test. Demographic factors were no

A prototype to a water-cooled applicator to be used in transurethral laser-induced thermotherapy of benign prostatic hyperplasia was developed. The flexible applicator was made of Teflon(TM) tubes except for the distal outer part which was made of glass, providing a transparent medium for laser radiation and enabling efficient cooling of the surrounding tissue. For heating, laser light from a Nd:Y

Stem CO2 efflux is known to vary seasonally and vertically along tree stems. However, annual tree- and stand-scale efflux estimates are commonly based on measurements made only a few times a year, during daytime and at breast height. In this study, the effect of these simplifying assumptions on annual efflux estimates and their influence on the estimates of the importance of stems in stand-scale c

This dissertation is an anthropological study of war and violence in the volatile eastern territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ethnographic focus is on one of the largest rebel groups currently operating in the Congo conflicts, the Hutu-dominated Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). These Hutu rebels arrived in the Congo in 1994, after the genocide in neighboring

During asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU), bacteria colonize the urinary tract for extended periods of time without causing symptoms of urinary tract infection. Previous studies indicate that many Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains that cause ABU have evolved from uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) by reductive evolution and loss of the ability to express functional virulence factors. For instance, the prot

OBJECTIVES: Essential hypertension is a complex condition whose cause involves the interaction of multiple genetic and environmental factors such as salt intake. Salt-inducible kinase 1 (SIK1) is a sucrose-nonfermenting-like kinase isoform that belongs to the AMPK (5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase) family. SIK1 activity is increased by high salt intake and plays an essential rol

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-HP) levels in contemporary Swedish vulcanization workers and in controls. These levels were used as an index substance for vulcanization fumes, as well as a biomarker for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The risk of symptoms and changed levels of immunologic markers were investigated in relation to the 1-HP level

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors for placental abruption and to determine if anamnestic variables such as inherited thrombosis or recurrent fetal loss might be used as a predictor for placental abruption. Methods: A retrospective case-control study at the University Hospital, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. One hundred and eighty women with placental ab