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

The technique of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has spread worldwide since its first demonstration 25 years ago. The equipment used today is very diverse and dedicated accelerators as well as old "nuclear physics machines" can be found in the nearly 50 AMS laboratories today. The most widely spread application of AMS is for radiocarbon dating. However, AMS with C-14 as well as with other long

The effects of input data uncertainty on the critical loads and exceedance estimates for Swedish forest soils was assessed using Monte Carlo simulations of the PROFILE model. The study focuses on the effects of data uncertainty on the 5%-ile critical load at 150 × 150 km resolution and the 95%-ile exceedance at 150 × 150 km and 50 × 50 km resolution. The results indicate that data uncertainty limi

Although glycogen storage disease type 0 (GSD0) is included in the differential diagnosis of ketotic hypoglycemia, it usually is not considered in the evaluation of glucosuria or hyperglycemia. We describe two children with GSD0, confirmed by mutation analysis, who had glucosuria and hyperglycemia. Because of the variable presentation of this disorder and previous dependence on liver biopsy to con

A new breath alcohol (ethanol) analyzer has been developed, which allows free exhalation, standardizes measured exhaled alcohol concentration to fully saturated water vapor at a body temperature of 37 degrees C (43.95 mg/L) and includes a built-in self-calibration system. We evaluated the performance of this instrument by comparing standardized alcohol concentration in freely expired breath (BrAC)

Trans-generational transfer of non-genetic, maternal resources such as hormones can have a substantial influence on offspring phenotype in many vertebrate species. In birds, maternal androgens enhance both growth and competitive behaviour, but also suppress the immune system. It has been hypothesised that high levels of egg androgens could also influence the prooxidant-antioxidant balance through

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy and infrared absorption measurements to study the Ga sublattice defects in epitaxial Ga1-xMnxAs with Mn content varying from 0% to 5%. We show that the Ga vacancy concentration decreases and As antisite concentration increases with increasing Mn content. This is in agreement with thermodynamical considerations for the electronic part of the formation

Aims: We investigated whether polymorph isms in candidate genes involved in lipid metabolism and type 2 diabetes are related to liver I, at content. Methods: Liver fat content was measured using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1-MRS) in 302 Finns, in whom single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4). acliponectin receptors 1 and 2 (ADIP

Polyproline type II stretches are somewhat rare on proteins. The backbone of this secondary structural element folds to a triangular form instead of the normal alpha -helix with 3.6 residues per turn. It is a very challenging task to try to detect them computationally from protein sequence. Here, we have studied the preprocessing phase in particular, which is important for any machine learning met

Linear models reach their limitations in applications with nonlinearities in the data. In this paper new empirical evidence is provided on the relative Euro inflation forecasting performance of linear and non-linear models. The well established and widely used univariate ARIMA and multivariate VAR models are used as linear forecasting models whereas neural networks (NN) are used as non-linear fore

Observations of active-layer thickness from nine sites with up to 29 years of gridded measurements located in the Tornetrask region, northernmost Sweden, were examined in relation to climatic trends. Mean annual air temperatures in this area have warmed and recently rose above 0 degrees C. Active layers at all sites have become thicker, at rates ranging from 0.7 to 1.3 cm per year. This trend has

Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed in 51 patients with sarcoidosis and in 21 healthy nonsmokers. The concentration of fibronectin was significantly higher (p less than 0.001) in lavage fluid from sarcoid patients (median 267 micrograms.l-1) than in that of controls (46 micrograms.l-1). Furthermore, a significantly higher concentration of fibronectin was found in patients with active disease than

The behavior of poly-gamma-methyl-L-glutamate (pMeE) at the air-water interface has been studied with the surface film balance technique. In addition, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of pMeE deposited on mica and quartz have been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and circular and linear dichroism (CD and LD) spectroscopy. Depending on the spreading solvent, pMeE displays strikingly different c

In an experimental clinical study, 25 implants of pure titanium were inserted into the proximal tibia of 11 volunteer patients, four with rheumatoid arthritis and seven with osteoarthritis. The implants were removed from five weeks to 24 months later and detailed histological analysis was performed. The implants generally healed with direct bone-metal contact, showing so-called osseointegration. O

The effect of adaptation time on the concentration and pattern of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) formed in the hindgut of rats given resistant starch (RS) in the form of raw potato starch (RPS) or high-amylose maize starch (HAS) was evaluated. Each starchy material was tested in diets containing 100 g indigestible carbohydrates/kg DM, and fed for 13, 28 and 42 d. At the end of each period, the con