Experiments by Bazant and Pfeiffer on concrete and mortar seem to indicate that crack growth does not necessarily take place under Mode I conditions. In order to investigate the influence of the material, experiments were carried out in PMMA with similar geometry to that used by Bazant and Pfeiffer and a numerical simulation was made assuming Mode I crack growth. The experimental results for PMMA

OBJECTIVE: Vascular inflammation is a key feature of both micro- and macrovascular complications in diabetes. Several lines of evidence have implicated the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha as an important mediator of inflammation in diabetes. In the present study we evaluated the role of TNF alpha in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes on vascular inflammation in C57BL/6 wild-type and

The share of North African immigrants in Europe is growing continuously. In this review, we aimed to systematically analyse and describe the literature on weight status and physical activity in North African adults, both in their home country and after immigration to Europe. Existing data on North African residents and on North African immigrants in Europe were analysed by a systematic search on P

The time course of changes in the electrocardiogram as a result of myocardial ischemia induced during prolonged coronary angioplasty has been studied. We have analyzed the electrocardiogram evolution during the occlusion in terms of the Ischemic Changes Sensor, which is a parameter that describes the capacity of different indexes to detect induced changes. Traditional indexes at specific time loca

Background: Low plasma glutamine concentration is an independent prognostic factor for an unfavourable outcome in the intensive care unit (ICU). Intravenous (i.v.) supplementation with glutamine is reported to improve outcome. In a multi-centric, double-blinded, controlled, randomised, pragmatic clinical trial of i.v. glutamine supplementation for ICU patients, we investigated outcomes regarding s

Using a recently developed high-resolution noninvasive ultrasonic method, we recently demonstrated that the intima-media complex of the common carotid artery show a bidirectional multiphasic longitudinal displacement of the same magnitude as the diameter change during the cardiac cycle. The longitudinal movement of the adventitial region was smaller, thus, we identified shear strain and, thus, she

This study investigates summer high temperature extremes (HTEs) in southeast China and their linkage with the El Nino-Southem Oscillation (ENSO) and atmospheric circulations in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). An interdecadal change in HTEs associated with the abrupt shift of the ENSO monsoon climate in the late 1980s is demonstrated. Before this interdecadal shift, the interannual variabilit

PURPOSE:This study aimed to: (i) present and characterize a phantom setup for validation of four-dimensional (4D) flow using particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF); (ii) validate 4D flow velocity measurements using PIV; and (iii) validate 4D flow vortex ring volume (VV) using PLIF.METHODS:A pulsatile pump and a tank with a 25-mm nozzle were constructed. PIV

Summary: We prove a weak factorization result for the predual of the space $Q_p$ on the unit disc, that is, we show that functions in this space can be written as sums of products of functions in given weighted Dirichlet and Bergman spaces with the usual control on the norms.

Abstract OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the influence of age on survival and risk of subsequent fracture in men with hip fracture, applying a residual lifetime perspective. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study with 22-year follow-up. SETTING: Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Men aged 60 and older (N=226) with an index hip fracture during 1984/85. MEASUREMENTS: Twenty-two-year sur

The tripeptide glutathione is a prominent intracellular constituent that provides protection against genotoxic and carcinogenic electrophiles and is also a component of several biological signal substances. Glutathione conjugates, free glutathione, and glutathione disulfide contain charged amino acid residues, which contribute to solubility in aqueous media.However , the amphipathic nature of glut

Objective:Human leukocyte antigen DQ (HLA-DQ) genetic factors and islet autoantibodies are strongly associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and are currently used to predict T1D. This study examined whether islet autoantibodies in the cord blood of newborns to nondiabetic mothers were associated with the (T1D) high-risk genotype HLA-DQ2/8, gestational infections or both.Study Design:Cord blood sampl

Investigations of host preferences in haematophagous insects, including Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), are critical in order to assess transmission routes of vector-borne diseases. In this study, we collected and morphologically identified 164 blood-engorged Culicoides females caught in both light traps and permanent 12-m high suction traps during 2008-2010 in Sweden. Molecul

PURPOSE: To present a modification of the Zenith TX2 thoracic stent-graft that allows staged proximal deployment to improve apposition to the aortic wall. TECHNIQUE: Three standard Zenith TX2 thoracic stent-grafts and 3 modified versions were deployed in a glass model of the aortic arch. Deployment sequences were analyzed. In a patient with a 6-cm thoracic aortic aneurysm after a type B dissection