The interest in economic evaluation of alternative strategies for haemophilia treatment has increased through the years. Few studies have actually been undertaken, however, and most of them have been simple cost-minimization or cost-effectiveness analyses. From the perspective of the binational project 'Treatment strategies for severe haemophilia - prophylaxis vs. on-demand', the present paper dis

Wall temperature as well as the temperature distribution within or close-by the boundary layer of an electrically heated axisymmetric jet impinging on a flat plate were monitored to deduce wall-normal temperature gradients. The radial surface temperature profile of the plate was determined by coating it with thermographic phosphors (TPs), materials whose phosphorescence decay time is dependent on

BACKGROUND: This study focused on how cognitive ability, personality traits, self-rated psychiatric symptoms, and social functioning were related to the way in which patients with psychosis perceived supportive aspects of the ward atmosphere. METHODS: Patients at a psychiatric rehabilitation unit (PRU) in southern Sweden completed a ward atmosphere questionnaire (COPES), rated their psychiatric sy

Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) affects health and quality of life (QoL) and also has great impact on both healthcare costs and costs to society. Objectives The aim of the study was to analyse the cost-effectiveness of treatment with tacrolimus ointment vs. standard treatment in patients with moderate to severe AD. Methods A Markov simulation model was constructed capturing several key features

Reactions of [H2Os3(CO)10] with a series of diynes, RC2C2R' (1: R = Ph, R' = CH2OH; 2: R = Ph, R' = C(O)Ph; 3: R = R' = C(OH)Me2), have been studied. It was found that upon coordination to the triosmium cluster, the nucleophilic oxygens of the R' substituents of 1 and 2 take part in intramolecular cyclization reactions to give [HOs3(CO)10{-1:2-PhCH2(C=CH-C=CH-O)}] (5) and [HOs3(CO)10{-1:1-Ph(C=CH-

A consensus conference convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Societe Internationale d'Urologie (SIU) met to critically review reports of urinary diversion. The world literature on urinary diversion was identified through a Medline search. Evidence-based recommendations for urinary diversion were prepared with reference to a 4-point scale. Many level 3 and 4 citations, but very fe

To investigate the potential role of neutrophils in initiation of immune responses to mycobacteria, we have characterized the response of human neutrophils to infection with Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette Guerin, the BCG vaccine. BCG induced transcription and secretion of the chemokine CXCL8, by signalling through Toll-like receptors TLR2 and TLR4, in conjunction with the adaptor protein mye

In electromagnetic boundary value problems integral equations involving the free space Green function for the Helmholtz equation often occur. Using the method of moments to numerically solve such an equation a matrix equation is obtained. The entries of the matrix are given as multidimensional integrals which in general have to be calculated numerically. This paper presents an efficient method to

A simulation model of the adaptive optics of the German Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT), Observatorio del Teide, Tenerifes presented. The model uses modules from the integrated model of the Euro50 extremely large telescope, and includes submodels of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, a de-formable mirror, a tip-tilt mirror, high-voltage amplifier low-pass filters, a reconstructor and a controller. We

The Kernel Density Estimator (KDE) is a versatile nonparametric technique with very good theoretical properties. It is used to obtain "smoothed histograms," which allows several distributions to be presented and analyzed more easily on one graph, and direct combination into average distributions. The application of the KDE method as a visual aid for the analysis of distributions of muscle fiber ar

Eleven experimental investigations of diffusion in gels containing immobilized cells are reviewed. The experimental data, which quantitatively express the diffusion coefficient as a function of the cell concentration, are compared with a number of well-known equations developed for mass transfer in heterogeneous media. Based on this comparison, a procedure for the theoretical prediction of effecti

The plasma membrane defines the border of living cells and provides a barrier to extracellular components. Advances in molecular biology have resulted in the development of novel therapeutic strategies (e.g. gene therapy and cellular protein delivery) which rely on the entry of charged macromolecules into the intracellular compartment. Recent reports demonstrate an intriguing role for heparan sulf

Objective The suspect carcinogens, heterocyclic amines (HAAs), found in well-done meat require host-mediated metabolic activation before inducing DNA mutations. The role of SULT1A1 and of NAT2 on the activation of HAAs suggests that NAT2 rapid acetylator genotype and SULT1A1 allele variants can have an effect on HAA carcinogenicity. Methods Data were collected as part of a case-control study neste

The present study examined the emergence of structural remodeling in explanted neonatal rat retina. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated signs of glial and neuronal remodeling after I I days in vitro and included the activation of Muller cells, the formation of ectopic neuropil areas and sprouting of photoreceptor terminals. We also observed that cholinergic and GABA-ergic amacrine cells disp

Body mass index (BMI), the distribution of fat, birth weight, physical fitness, apolipoproteins (apo) A-I and B, total cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) were studied in 38 obese 10- to 11-year-olds in comparison to 52 age-matched controls. Obese children had higher concentration of apo B and a lower apo A-I:B ratio. Significant correlations were found between (a) ap

Haemoproteus spp., with circumnuclear gametocytes and tentatively belonging to Haemoproteus belopolskyi, are widespread and prevalent in warblers belonging to the Sylviidae, with numerous mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) lineages detected among them.We sampled the hemoproteids from 6 species of warblers adjacent to the Baltic Sea. Parasites were identified to species based on morphology of their