Diesel flame lift-off and stabilization in the presence of laser-ignition were numerically investigated with the method of Eulerian stochastic fields. The aim was to scrutinise the interaction between the lifted diesel flame and an ignition kernel upstream of the lifted flame. The numerical simulation was carried out in a constant-volume combustion vessel with n-heptane as fuel. The process was st

Thrombolysis is a common treatment for acute leg ischaemia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate different thrombolytic treatment strategies, and risk factors for complications.

New evidence and consensus has led to further revision of the McDonald Criteria for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The use of imaging for demonstration of dissemination of central nervous system lesions in space and time has been simplified, and in some circumstances dissemination in space and time can be established by a single scan. These revisions simplify the Criteria, preserve their diagnos

Studies of the role of dietary factors in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) development have been limited, and no specific dietary factors have been consistently associated with EOC risk.

The effect of lattice structure on the transport of energetic (MeV) electrons in solids irradiated by ultraintense laser pulses is investigated using various allotropes of carbon. We observe smooth electron transport in diamond, whereas beam filamentation is observed with less ordered forms of carbon. The highly ordered lattice structure of diamond is shown to result in a transient state of warm d

An increased risk for diabetes mellitus (DM) adds significantly to the burden of late complications in childhood cancer survivors. Complications of DM may be prevented by using appropriate screening. It is, therefore, important to better characterise the reported increased risk for DM in a large population-based setting.

A fundamental assumption of theories of the ecology and evolution of inducible defences is that protective responses to attacks by parasites or predators should not only have benefits, but also costs. The vertebrate immune system is by far the best studied example of an inducible defence, yet little is known about the costs of an immune response, especially in natural populations. To test: if an i

Background: Free and total human kallikrein 2 (hK2) might improve the discrimination between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Concentrations of hK2 are 100-fold lower than concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA); therefore, an hK2 assay must have a low detection limit and good specificity. Methods: PSA- and hK2-specific monoclonal antibodies were used in solid-phase, two

The accurate quantitative analysis of high resolution ultraviolet spectra of ultra-sharp-lined early-type, chemically peculiar stars, obtained with the Goddard High Resolution spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, has been made possible by the synergism between state-of-the-art astro-physics and state-of-the-art atomic spectroscopy. We illustrate this with several examples, including the dis

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex systemic autoimmune disease caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Genome scans in families with SLE point to multiple potential chromosomal regions that harbor SLE susceptibility genes, and association studies in different populations have suggested several susceptibility alleles for SLE. Increased production of type I interferon (IFN) an

The use of antibiotic prophylaxis is an accepted and widely practiced feature of modern surgery. The prevention and control of infection is a priority in healthcare worldwide, and the emergence of antibiotic resistance is a global phenomenon. Hence, rational use of antibiotics is essential. We discuss the guidelines published with regard to endourologic procedures and review the limited evidence c

The structures of films of SP-B and mixtures of SP-B and DPPC at the air/water interface have been studied by neutron reflectometry (NR) and Langmuir film balance methods. From the film balance studies we observe that at very high pressures the isotherms of pure DPPC and SP-B/DPPC mixtures very nearly overlay one another, suggesting that the SP-B is being excluded from the film. The use of multipl

In Hungary an unusually high rate of parasitism on the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus by the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has been maintained for at least the last one hundred years. We evaluated parasitism rate, antiparasite defence and genetic differentiation among Hungarian great reed warblers at three sites located 40-130 km from each other, where hosts suffered from a high (41-

Here we unravel the structural features of human IgM and IgA that govern their interaction with the human Fc alpha/mu receptor (hFc alpha/mu R). Ligand polymerization status was crucial for the interaction, because hFc alpha/mu R binding did not occur with monomeric Ab of either class. hFc alpha/mu R bound IgM with an affinity in the nanomolar range, whereas the affinity for dimeric IgA (dIgA) was

Purpose: To evaluate long-term patency and clinical efficacy of subintimal angioplasty (SAP) of occluded infrainguinal arteries 3 years post procedure. Methods: One hundred eighty-one patients (92 men; median age 79 years) underwent attempted SAP in 193 limbs with occluded infrainguinal arteries during the period 1999 to 2001. Nearly half (83, 46%) of the patients had diabetes. Most (172, 95%) had

We discuss four variants of the graph colouring problem, and present algorithms for solving them. The problems are k-COLOURABILITY, MAX IND k-COL, MAX VAL k-COL, and, finally, MAX k-COL, which is the unweighted case of the MAX k-CUT problem. The algorithms are based on the idea of partitioning the domain of the problems into disjoint subsets, and then considering all possible instances were the va