BACKGROUND: A calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-free immunosuppressive regimen has been demonstrated to improve renal function early after heart transplantation, but long-term outcome of such a strategy has not been well described. METHODS: In the randomized SCHEDULE trial, de novo heart transplant recipients received (1) everolimus with reduced-exposure CNI (cyclosporine) followed by CNI withdrawal at

The near equi-atomic intermetallic Ni Ti alloy Nitinol is used for medical implants, notably in self-expanding stent grafts and heart valve frames, which are subjected to several hundred million load cycles in service. Increasing the testing frequency to the ultrasonic range would drastically shorten the testing times and make the very-high cycle regime experimentally accessible. Such tests are, h

Given an undirected graph and two pairs of vertices (si, ti) for i ϵ{ 1, 2} we show that there is a polynomial time Monte Carlo algorithm that finds disjoint paths of smallest total length joining si and ti for i ϵ{1, 2}, respectively, or concludes that there most likely are no such paths at all. Our algorithm applies to both the vertex- and edge-disjoint versions of the problem. Our algorithm is

Sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) in large multinational corporations is increasingly perceived as a key driver for competitive advantage and corporate sustainability. While the SBMI literature acknowledges that corporations require dynamic capabilities to innovate their business model for sustainability, the role of organization design to nurture dynamic capabilities for this purpose h

Background: Growing evidence suggests a role of occupation in the emergence and manifestation of dementia. Occupations are often defined by complexity level, although working environments and activities differ in several other important ways. We aimed to capture the multi-faceted nature of occupation through its measurement as a qualitative (instead of a quantitative) variable and explored its rel

Introduction: Secundum atrial septal defect is one of the most common congenital heart defects. Previous paediatric studies have mainly addressed echocardiographic and few clinical factors among children associated with adverse events. The aim of this study was to identify neonatal and other clinical risk factors associated with adverse events up to one year after closure of atrial septal defect.

Objectives: To explore availability, prices and affordability of essential medicines for diabetes and hypertension treatment in private pharmacies in three provinces of Zambia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 99 pharmacies across three Zambian provinces. Methods were based on a standardized methodology by the World Health Organization and Health Action International. Availabilit

BACKGROUND: We examined interactive effects of sex, diagnosis, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid beta/phosphorylated tau ratio (Aβ/P-tau) on verbal memory and hippocampal volumes. METHODS: We assessed 682 participants (350 women) from BioFINDER (250 cognitively normal [CN]; and 432 symptomatic: 186 subjective cognitive decline [SCD], 246 mild cognitive impairment [MCI]). General linear models

For a long time the attention given to the hip fracture patient group was minor and without any certain consideration to their frailty. To improve the care for these patients Skane University Hospital in Lund has during the past 19 years worked actively with developing the care. This paper aims to describe what impact the care process development has had on functional outcome and mortality, as wel

Background: Nasal continuous positive airway pressure support (nCPAP) is the standard of care for prematurely born infants at risk of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (nRDS). However, nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) may be an alternative to nCPAP in babies requiring surfactant, and in conjunction with surfactant nebulization, it could theoretically reduce the need fo

As the competition between destinations grows, the need to stand out and offer memorable and unique experiences also grows. Culinary experiences and activities with elements of “the local” are a growing niche, which mirrors the trend of knowing where the food originates, and that it has been grown, produced, and transported in an ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable way. To be able as

Background: The incidence and short- and long-term outcomes of coronary artery perforation (CAP) are not well described. Methods and Results: We analyzed the characteristics and the short- and long-term outcomes of CAP among 243,149 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) from 2005 until 2017 in the national Swedish registry. We identified 1,008 cases of CAP with an incidence

For many applications with multivariate data, random-field models capturing departures from Gaussianity within realizations are appropriate. For this reason, we formulate a new class of multivariate non-Gaussian models based on systems of stochastic partial differential equations with additive type G noise whose marginal covariance functions are of Matérn type. We consider four increasingly flexib

Chronic sun-damaged (CSD) melanoma represents 10%-20% of cutaneous melanomas and is characterized by infrequent BRAF V600E mutations and high mutational load. However, the order of genetic events or the extent of intra-tumor heterogeneity (ITH) in CSDhigh melanoma is still unknown. Ultra-deep targeted sequencing of 40 cancer-associated genes was performed in 72 in situ or invasive CMM, including 2

Prospective observational studies have shown previously that study participants have lower morbidity and mortality than non-participants. The aim of the current study was to determine whether participants in a prospective cohort study on melanoma have a different incidence and mortality of melanoma compared with non-participants and the background population. Information was collected from Swedish

Single-shot absorption measurements have been performed using the multi-keV x rays generated by a laser-wakefield accelerator. A 200 TW laser was used to drive a laser-wakefield accelerator in a mode which produced broadband electron beams with a maximum energy above 1 GeV and a broad divergence of ≈15 mrad FWHM. Betatron oscillations of these electrons generated 1.2±0.2×106 photons/eV in the 5 ke

Cell reprogramming concepts have been classically developed in the fields of developmental and stem cell biology and are currently being explored for regenerative medicine, given its potential to generate desired cell types for replacement therapy. Cell fate can be experimentally reversed or modified by enforced expression of lineage specific transcription factors leading to pluripotency or attain

This article explores the lived experience of informal caregivers in cancer care, focusing on the perceived burden and needs of individuals seeking support from an informal group for next of kin. A total of 28 individuals who were closely related to a patient with cancer participated in focus group interviews. Three themes were identified: setting aside one’s own needs, assuming the role of projec

Complement is a key first line innate host defense system in the blood of vertebrates. Upon activation, this powerful defense mechanism can elicit inflammatory responses, lyse non-self-cells, or mark them for opsonophagocytic removal. Blood-feeding arthropods thus require the ability to block host complement activation in the bloodmeal to prevent undesired cell or tissue damage during feeding. The