Background The purpose of these studies was to compare efficacy and toxicity of docetaxel alone with the combination of gemcitabine and docetaxel for treatment of metastatic esophageal carcinoma. Patients and methods These studies enrolled patients with histopathologically verified squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of the esophagus or cardia. Between March 1997 and June 1999, 52 patients w

In sensitized subjects with allergic rhinitis (AR) or asthma, allergen exposure provokes symptoms. Among non-asthmatics with AR, an association between allergen sensitization, pollen season and lower airway inflammation has been demonstrated. Our aims were to compare AR and asthma with regard to patterns of allergen sensitization, the degree of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and levels of exhale

OBJECTIVES: To test prospectively the diagnostic performance of two logistic regression models for calculation of individual risk of malignancy in adnexal tumors (the 'Tailor model' and the 'Timmerman model'), and to compare them to that of 'pattern recognition' (subjective evaluation of the gray-scale ultrasound image and color Doppler ultrasound examination). DESIGN: Consecutive women with a pel

In this note, we study the extension of the class of linear time invariant plants that may be transformed into SPR systems introducing an observer. It is shown that for open loop stable systems a cascaded observer achieves the result. For open loop unstable systems an observer-based feedback is required to succeed. In general any stabilizable and observable system may be transformed into an SPR sy

The first stories about Kluskap, the culture hero of the Mi’kmaq in eastern Canada, were written down at the end of the 19th century. The romantic epoch and the environmental failures of industrialism had generated a growing interest for the “Indian”, who seemed to inherit the continent’s authentic “poetry of the Volk” and harbour deep wisdom about nature. The first written literature about Kluska

This article argues against lesbophobia in Swedish feminist politics and theory and opens up a perspective for feminist solidarity.

Sulfate adsorption was implemented in the dynamic, multi-layer soil chemistry model SAFE. The process is modeled by an isotherm in which sulfate adsorption is considered to be fully reversible and dependent on sulfate concentration as well as pH in soil solution. The isotherm was parameterized by a site-specific series of simple batch experiments at different pH (3.8–5.0) and sulfate concentration

The E-GIS project partnership comprised 10 partners (universities, organisations and private bodies) from 6 European countries; Bulgaria, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden. The E-GIS project was initiated in order to: • Establish competent nettworks between universities and private bodies for cooperation on an European level within the GIS area – both for this project and fo

Thin layer chromatography (TLC) using staining reagents is a superior method for analyzing organic compounds without chromophores. It is fast, versatile and sometimes the only viable method. We have investigated quantitative TLC using staining reagents, in combination with modem image analysis software. Our results show that it is possible to get reliable measurements, suitable for high-throughput

Intact and permeabilized yeast cells were tested as the biorecognition elements for amperometric assay of formaldehyde (FA). For this aim, the mutant G 105 (gcr1 catX) of the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha with a high activity of AOX was chosen. Different approaches were used for monitoring FA-dependent cell response including analysis of their oxygen consumption rate by the use of a Cl

Oncologic or traumatic head and neck defects with missing mandible, facial skin, and oral mucosa are especially well suited to reconstruction with a composite tissue unit, based on the subscapular-thoracodorsal vessels, that carries any combination of skin, bone, and muscle to restore vascularized skeletal structures, oral lining, and skin cover. The subscapular-thoracodorsal vascular pedicles sup

Objectives: To assess the risk of lymphoproliferative disease or other malignancy (standardised incidence ratios (SIRs)), in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome according to the American-European Consensus Criteria (AECC), compared with patients with sicca syndrome (non-AECC) and the background population. To identify predictors of malignancy and describe lymphoma types and survival probabili

OBJECTIVE: To investigate socioeconomic differences in intermittent and daily smoking, and to assess the association between social participation and these two smoking behaviours.DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/MEASUREMENTS: A population of 11 837 individuals interviewed in 1992-94, aged 45-64 years, was investigated in this cross sectional study. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to a

Rapidly developing viral resistance to licensed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease inhibitors is an increasing problem in the treatment of HIV-infected individuals and AIDS patients. A rational design of more effective protease inhibitors and discovery of potential biological substrates for the HIV-1 protease require accurate models for protease cleavage specificity. In this stud