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Background Genome-wide association studies have identified >1000 genetic variants cross-sectionally associated with blood pressure variation and prevalent hypertension. These discoveries might aid the early identification of subpopulations at risk of developing hypertension or provide targets for drug development, amongst other applications. The aim of the present study was to analyze the associat

The presented work describes a computational method for carrying out a detailed and thorough examination of the flash temperature rise (i.e. the local’instantaneous’ temperature increase on a contact interface, due to frictional effects) present on the tooth flanks of a polymer gear pair, composed of a combination of POM and PA66 thermoplastics, during a given meshing cycle. The method involves a

The pharmaceutical approach to skin disease has been hugely successful, but despite effective drugs being available and used, there are still vast numbers of people who continue to have some level of persisting skin disease and continue to experience quality of life (QoL) impairment. So the question that needs to be answered, while we await further advances in our drug-based armamentarium, is how

Platelets are the primary cellular mediators of hemostasis and this function firmly acquaints them with a variety of inflammatory processes. For example, platelets can act as circulating sentinels by expressing Toll-like receptors (TLR) that bind pathogens and this allows platelets to effectively kill them or present them to cells of the immune system. Furthermore, activated platelets secrete and

Solar energy simulations are used to quantify the potential of the passive use (daylight, solar gains) and the active use (photovoltaics and solar thermal) of solar energy. The simulations can be performed at different scales e.g. buildings, neighbourhoods and cities, with different requirements on the data. For example, for the neighbourhood simulations we need simplified building geometries that

Purpose: The purpose of this document is threefold: (a) review the uses of the terms “vocal fatigue,” “vocal effort,” “vocal load,” and “vocal loading” (as found in the literature) in order to track the occurrence and the related evolution of research; (b) present a “linguistically modeled” definition of the same from the review of literature on the terms; and (c) propose conceptualized definition

The University of Vermont College of Medicine and the Vermont Lung Center, in collaboration with the NHLBI, Alpha-1 Foundation, American Thoracic Society, European Respiratory Society, International Society for Cell Therapy, and the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, convened a workshop, "Stem Cells and Cell Therapies in Lung Biology and Lung Diseases, " held July 29 to August 1, 2013 at the Universit

Context: Lynch syndrome (LS) is a cancer-predisposing syndrome caused by germline mutations in genes involved in DNA mismatch repair (MMR). Patients are at high risk for several types of cancer, but pituitary tumors have not previously been reported.Case: A 51-year-old man with LS (MSH2 mutation) and a history of colon carcinoma presented with severe Cushing disease and a locally aggressive pituit

Multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory was employed in order to describe the ground and excited states of negatively charged fullerenes C60 and fullerene dimers C120. The calculations were performed for all possible spin states. The obtained results can be used to understand the electronic structure of fullerides.

BACKGROUND: It is still not clear whether anastomotic leakage after anterior resection for rectal cancer affects long-term functional outcome. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate how anastomotic leakage following anterior resection for rectal cancer influences defecatory, urinary, and sexual function. DESIGN: In this retrospective population-based cohort study, patients were identified through

The β-catenin/Wnt signaling pathway plays an important role in all stages of T cell development. Nemo-like kinase (NLK) is an evolutionary conserved serine/threonine kinase and a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway. NLK can directly phosphorylate histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), as well as T cell factor/lymphoid enhancer-binding factor (TCF/LEF), causing subsequent repression of target g

Imaging the spray formation region of atomizing sprays is particularly challenging due to the presence of a variety of irregular liquid structures such as ligaments, liquid blobs, droplets, liquid sheets and a possible liquid core. The number and concentration of those liquid bodies dictate the presence of liquid/air interfaces, which are responsible to undesired scattering effects. The resulting

Although the use of location-based data (location coupled with semantic information) within Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and from Earth Observation (e.g. satellite) sources has been long established for decision makers, this has only recently been reflected in the construction sector with a more recent move from Computer Aided Design (CAD) to Building Information Modelling. BIM has opene

This paper describes the assessment of the cost efficiency of risk mitigation measures for terrorist attacks with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for an iconic bridge structure. The assessment is performed with a decision theoretical framework building upon very recent advances in the framework of the COST Action TU1402 on Quantifying the Value of Structural Heath Monitoring. The decision scen

The fatigue deterioration modeling for welded steel structures subjected to high cycle fatigue is presented in the current document. The aim of this paper is to formulate approaches based on actual research results for the phases fatigue crack initiation, fatigue propagation and fatigue failure. The physical characteristics of the approaches are discussed in combination with the associated uncerta

A reliability-based approach to inspection planning for welded steel structures subjected to high cycle fatigue is presented in the current document. Inspections are an effective means to control the progress of fatigue deterioration and the presented approach allows to determine the minimum required inspection effort so that the considered structure complies with the given risk acceptance criteri

LukGH (LukAB) is a potent leukocidin of Staphylococcus aureus that lyses human phagocytic cells and is thought to contribute to immune evasion. Unlike the other bi-component leukocidins of S. aureus, LukGH forms a heterodimer before binding to its receptor, CD11b expressed on professional phagocytic cells, and displays significant sequence variation. We employed a high diversity human IgG1 library

Magnesium metal and its alloys are lightweight and environment-friendly with tunable complex of structural and functional properties. However, significant gaps in understanding and assessing the degradation of these materials still remain, largely due to the limitations of existing experimental methods. Our novel laboratory-scale instrument combining isothermal calorimetry with pressure measuremen

Optical properties of soot have been investigated with and without potassium chloride (KCl) salt added to the soot formation process in a premixed ethylene/air flame. A strong decrease in optical absorption efficiency of the soot was observed with increasing amounts of KCl added to the fuel based on the method of fluence curve analysis using laser-induced incandescence (LII). To understand the rea

BACKGROUND: Low anterior resection syndrome is common after sphincter-sparing surgery, but it is unclear to what extent anastomotic leakage after anterior resection contributes to this condition. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the long-term effect of anastomotic leakage on the occurrence of major low anterior resection syndrome. DESIGN: This is a retrospective observational cohort s