BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the cost-effectiveness of varenicline with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) for smoking cessation in four European countries (Belgium, France, Sweden and the UK). METHODS: Markov simulations, using the Benefits of Smoking Cessation on Outcomes (BENESCO) model, were performed. We simulated the incidence of four smoking-related morbidit

We consider the problem of how to schedule t similar and independent tasks to be performed in a synchronous distributed system of p stations communicating via multiple-access channels. Stations are prone to crashes whose patterns of occurrence are specified by adversarial models. Work, defined as the number of the available processor steps, is the complexity measure. We consider only reliable algo

Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy of men in Western countries. Patients with advanced prostate cancer suffer from incurable bone metastases. Recent data indicate that interactions between prostate cancer cells, osteoblasts, osteoclasts and the bone matrix are essential in the formation of bone metastases. FGF-8 is widely overexpressed in prostate cancer. Recently, FGF-8 has been found

Based on a large number of new boreholes in northern Denmark, and on the existing data, a revised event-stratigraphy is presented for southwestern Scandinavia. Five significant Late Saalian to Late Weichselian glacial events, each separated by periods of interglacial or interstadial marine or glaciolacustrine conditions, are identified in northern Denmark. The first glacial event is attributed to

Lignin was extracted by ultrafiltration from kraft cooking liquors taken directly from a continuous digester. The temperature of the liquors was 145 degrees C (softwood) or 135 degrees C (hardwood), the total dry solids content was 18% and the pH 13-14. Methods for start-up, shut-down and cleaning of conventional UF equipment modified for this demanding application, were developed. The influence o

Aim: To study the effects of alcohol and coping intervention among University students who have parents with alcohol problems. Methods: A total of 82 university students (56 women and 22 men, average age 25) with at least one parent with alcohol problems were included. The students were randomly assigned to one of three programs: (i) alcohol intervention program, (ii) coping intervention program,

This paper discusses narratives of polar adventure tourism from a multidisciplinary perspective of play. Reviewing discussions on the motivation behind this subject, it examines two concurrent approaches in particular: risk and insight theories. Based on empirical evidence obtained from a winter trekking trip to an Artic tourism destination, the paper argues that these theories may be particular c

Public attention in Sweden has been drawn to three neighboring states that recently joined the European Union: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. At this historic moment, it seems instructive to look at how the rapidly reformed health sectors of these ex-Soviet republics are responding to the vision of reproductive health articulated in Cairo 10 years ago. Reproductive health and rights have improved

This article is the second part of research on amylose-lipid complexes, where the first article dealt with monoglycerides. Here, a variety of fatty acids with chain lengths between 3 and 22 carbons and with varying degree of unsaturation were studied regarding their ability to form amylose-lipid complexes. In the present paper it is intended to investigate the formation of different fatty acid- am

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a crucial role in physiological vasculogenesis and vascular permeability and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Our present study was undertaken to identify associations between three functional VEGF gene polymorphisms, linked with altered VEGF gene responsiveness, and pre-eclampsia. The study involved 42 pre-eclamptic and 73 h

Based on a case study of managers in a large, international knowledge-intensive company this article suggests a rethinking of leadership, taking the mundane, almost trivial, aspects of what managers/leaders actually do seriously. In the study, the managers interviewed emphasized the importance of listening and informal chatting. Managers listening to subordinates are assumed to have various positi

This paper describes the development of a novel modelling tool for evaluation of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) performance. An artificial neural network (ANN) is trained with a reduced amount of data generated by a validated cell model, and it is then capable of learning the generic functional relationship between inputs and outputs of the system. Once the network is trained, the ANN-driven simulat

Most models to predict biochemical recurrence (BCR) of prostate cancer use pretreatment serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), clinical stage and prostate biopsy Gleason grade. We investigated whether human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) and free prostate-specific antigen (fPSA) measured in pretreatment serum enhance prediction. We retrospectively measured total PSA (tPSA), fPSA and hK2 in preoperat

We present processing technology based on nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and wet etching for fabrication of GaInAs/InP three-terminal ballistic junction (TBJ) devices. To transfer sub-100 nm features into a high-mobility InP-based 2DEG material, we used SiO2/Si stamps made with electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching. After the NIL, the resist residues are removed in oxygen plasma follow

The deformation of round tensile bars subject to dynamic loading is studied numerically using two different plasticity theories: J(2)-flow theory and J(2)-deformation theory. Time development of neck localization is visualized and a comparison of the necking patterns obtained using the two different constitutive models is presented. The possibility of using J(2)-deformation theory as an alternativ

Intestinal lymphocytic epithelioganglionitis: a unique combination of inflammation in bowel dysmotility: a histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of 28 cases Visceral inflammatory neuropathies are enteric disorders underlying various forms of bowel dysmotility. The aim was to analyse the microscopic characteristics of a unique combination of intraepithelial lymphocytosis and myenteric

Perceptual consumer requirements are often disregarded in the product development process. The consequence of this is that products may become more attractive to the design practitioners than to the target consumers. This paper describes the development of a new internet based tool, VIPET (Visual Internet Product Emotion Tool), that can be used for global evaluation of visual product qualities by