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Background: This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of proton beam therapy (PBT) compared to conventional radiotherapy (CRT) for treating patients with brain tumors in Sweden. Methods: Data from a longitudinal non-randomized study performed between 2015 and 2020 was used, and included adult patients with brain tumors, followed during treatment and through a one-year follow-up. Clinical and demo
AIM: The study aimed to assess the haemodynamic effects of fludrocortisone and midodrine, alone or combined, in patients with recurrent syncope and/or symptoms due to hypotension and ≥ 1 daytime systolic blood pressure (SBP) drop < 90 mmHg or ≥ 2 daytime SBP drops < 100 mmHg recorded by 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM1).METHOD: A total of 53 patients (mean age, 40.9 ± 18.5 years, 3
States of the art performed in technology of haptic interfaces, action-vision and action - audition cooperation in mediated computerized systems, showed that, despite the huge development and boiling in such domains, we are confronted now to some critical
Regulation of C4b-binding protein (C4BP) isoforms during acute phase and its relationship to the plasma concentration of free protein S was elucidated. An assay for beta chain containing C4BP (C4BP beta+) was developed and the concentrations of total C4BP, C4BP beta+, total, free, and bound protein S were measured in patients with acute-phase response. Even though total C4BP was increased to 162%
When facing decisions involving trade-offs between smaller, sooner and larger, delayed rewards, people tend to discount the value of future rewards. There are substantial individual differences in this tendency toward temporal discounting, however. One neurocognitive system that may underlie these individual differences is episodic memory, given the overlap in the neural circuitry involved in imag
Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that has been shown to be associated with allergic comorbidities. However, studies examining comorbidities in patients with AD are incomplete, which may contribute to suboptimal care. Objectives: The objective was to compare the risk of developing different allergic and nonallergic comorbidities among adult patients with AD
Background: Although rare, allergic reactions to metal implants represent a diagnostic challenge in view of missing guidelines. Objectives: To develop an European expert consensus on characteristics of metal allergy reactions and the utility of various diagnostic tools in suspected metal implant allergy. Methods: A nominal group technique (NGT) was applied to develop consensus statements. Initiall
Testing of autonomous driving systems (ADS) is a crucial, yet complex task that requires different approaches to ensure the safety and reliability of the system in various driving scenarios. Currently, there is a lack of understanding of the industry practices for testing such systems, and also the related challenges. To this end, we conduct a secondary analysis of our previous exploratory study,
This paper takes inspiration from the field of bio-mimicry to suggest what a plant biosecurity system might look like if it was modelled on the human immune system. We suggest structural and institutional changes to current biosecurity systems that would facilitate adaptive preparation and response policies, focusing particularly on the Australian plant biosecurity system. By improving information
Of the many ways hydrogen can be produced, this chapter focuses on biological hydrogen production 12 by thermophilic bacteria and archaea in dark fermentations. The thermophiles are held as promising candidates 13 for a cost-effective fermentation process, because of their relatively high yields and broad substrate palette. Yet 14 many challenges remain to be faced, including improving productivit
Sperm DNA damage is a useful biomarker for male infertility diagnosis and prediction of assisted reproduction outcomes. It is associated with reduced fertilization rates, embryo quality and pregnancy rates, and higher rates of spontaneous miscarriage and childhood diseases. This review provides a synopsis of the most recent studies from each of the authors, all of whom have major track records in
A prospective clinical cohort study was established to investigate the humoral immune response in middle ear fluids (MEF) and serum against bacterial surface proteins in children suffering from recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM) and chronic otitis media with effusion (COME), using Luminex xMAP technology. The association between the humoral immune response and the presence of Moraxella catarrhali
This thesis concerns the development of negation in the Italian L2 of a group of Swedish adults who live in Italy and acquire the language by formal and spontaneous learning. Various negative expressions and the verbal system were studied in a longitudinal analysis of a corpus with 29 recordings of seven subjects. The recordings consist mainly of spontaneous dialogue. While the development of the
Many solid tumors exhibit characteristic gene fusions, which are reflected by balanced translocations at the cytogenetic level. These changes might be useful diagnostic and prognostic tools. In Wilms tumor (WT, nephroblastoma) no fusions genes or recurrent balanced translocations have been described thus far. To screen for cryptic balanced translocations, we have analyzed 17 renal neoplasms, histo
Question To what extent do historical and present-day management regimes and landscape characteristics affect the functional structure of semi-natural grassland communities? Location Semi-natural grasslands, the Baltic island of Öland, Sweden. Methods We assessed community functional structure within 475 (50 cm × 50 cm) semi-natural grassland vegetation plots using two indices: community-weighte
The European Association of Urology non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) guidelines recommend that all low- and intermediate-risk patients receive a single immediate instillation of chemotherapy after transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB), but its use remains controversial.
Background: The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by the persistent presence of auto-antibodies against β(2) -Glycoprotein I (β(2) -GPI). β(2) -GPI can exist in two conformations. In plasma it is a circular protein, whereas it adopts a fish-hook shape after binding to phospholipids. Only the latter conformation is recognized by patient antibodies. β(2) -GPI has been shown to interac
Rhes is a small GTP-binding protein prominently localized in the striatum. Previous findings obtained in cell culture systems demonstrated an involvement of Rhes in cAMP/PKA signalling pathway, at a level proximal to the activation of heterotrimeric G-protein complex. However, its role in the striatum has been, so far, only supposed. Here we studied the involvement of Rhes in dopaminergic signalli
