BACKGROUND: Personalized oncology requires molecular analysis of tumor cells. Several studies have demonstrated that cytological material is suitable for DNA analysis, but to the authors' knowledge there are no systematic studies comparing how the yield and quality of extracted DNA is affected by the various techniques used for the preparation of cytological material. METHODS: DNA yield and qualit

Sedimentation of a suspension of small particles dispersed in a viscous fluid can be described by a scalar, nonlinear conservation law, whose flux function usually has one inflection point. The identification of the flux function is of theoretical interest and practical importance for plant-scale simulators of continuous sedimentation. For a real suspension, the Kynch test and the Diehl test, whic

In this paper I critically investigate an unorthodox attempt to metaphysically explain in virtue of what there are states of affairs. This is a suggestion according to which states of affairs exist thanks to, rather than, as is the common view, in spite of, the infinite regress their metaphysical explanation seems to engender. I argue that, no matter in which form it is defended, or in which theor

Objectives: The aim was to investigate the effects of an intervention that applies a palliative care approach in residential care upon nurse assistants' level of strain, job satisfaction, and view of leadership. Method: A quasi-experimental, pretest and posttest design was used. Study circles with workshops involving nurse assistants (n = 75) and their superiors (n = 9) focusing on emotional and e

Balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure indicated for treatment of painful vertebral compression fractures. During BKP, cannulae are placed percutaneously into the vertebral body, allowing insertion of inflatable balloons. Inflating the balloons partially restores vertebral body height, compacts the bone and creates a cavity for placement of bone cement after balloon r

Bjursten, Henrik, Per Ederoth, Engilbert Sigurdsson, Magnus Gottfredsson, Ingvar Syk, Orri Einarsson, and Tomas Gudbjartsson. S100B profiles and cognitive function at high altitude. High Alt. Med. Biol. 11:31-38, 2010.-Exposure to high altitude can lead to acute mountain sickness (AMS) and high altitude cerebral edema (HACE). In this study we investigated the effect of high altitude on neurocognit

The properties of micro-porous ceramics are studied in the present work using a tunable diode-laser-based setup. The relative optical porosity is retrieved by using gas in scattering media absorption spectroscopy (GASMAS) - which yields the path length travelled by photons through the gas-filled pores - and frequency domain photon migration (FDPM) - which evaluates the mean optical path length (MO

The aim of this paper is to reconceptualise ‘building type’ in order to better account for its general role in society and everyday life. The paper merges the concept of building type with actor-network theory and object-oriented philosophy in order to develop the concept of ‘territorial sorts’ as a way of widening building-type research and making it more useful for investigating how building typ

One-way endobronchial valves (EBVs) have been shown to relieve symptoms of emphysema, particularly in patients without collateral ventilation (CV) between the target and adjacent lobes. In this study, we investigated the ability of the bronchoscopic Chartis (TM) Pulmonary Assessment System to predict treatment response by determining the presence of CV. 80 EBV patients underwent a pre-treatment Ch

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified many SNPs underlying variations in plasma-lipid levels. We explore whether additional loci associated with plasma-lipid phenotypes, such as high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TGs), can be identified by a dense gene-centric approach. Our meta-ana

Patient-centered research addresses the research agenda of patients and captures aspects of health and functioning that they consider important. Yet, those who live with a disease or condition have limited influence when it comes to setting the research agenda, and we know little about how they experience being participants in research studies. Furthermore, knowledge is limited concerning factors

Survival after childhood cancer has improved substantially over recent decades. Although cancer in childhood is rare increasingly effective treatments have led to a growing number of long-term survivors. It is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 500,000 childhood cancer survivors in Europe. Such good survival prospects raise important questions relating to late effects of treatment for ca

From 1997 to 2005, an astonishing 5200 million USD was invested to reduce cocaine production in Colombia, the world's main cocaine producer. However, little is known about the effectiveness of policies targeting coca cultivation. This paper uses a survey-based experiment to evaluate the effects of the two main policies: eradication and alternative development programs. Our results support Becker's

Review essay of Vila-Matas novel Dublinesk

Lymphocytic infiltration of different exocrine and non-exocrine epithelia is the pathological hallmark of primary Sjögren's syndrome, whereas involvement of salivary and lachrymal glands with the clinical counterpart of dry eye and dry mouth are the predominant features of the disease, together with fatigue and musculoskeletal pain. In addition, systemic manifestations, like arthritis, skin vascul

Osteochondritis dissecans is a disorder in which fragments of articular cartilage and subchondral bone dislodge from the joint surface. We analyzed a five-generation family in which affected members had autosomal-dominant familial osteochondritis dissecans. A genome-wide linkage analysis identified aggrecan (ACAN) as a prime candidate gene for the disorder. Sequence analysis of ACAN revealed heter

Water and energy are inextricably linked, and as a consequence both have to be addressed together. This is called the water-energy nexus. When access to either is limited, it becomes obvious that it is necessary to consider their interdependence. Population growth, climate change, urbanization, increasing living standards and food consumption will require an integrated approach where food, water a

Small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXD), resonance Raman (RR) spectroscopy with 413 nm excitation, and non-resonance Raman technique with 785 nm excitation were used to probe the influence of entrapped cytochrome c (Cyt c) on the structure of hydrated phytantriol (Phyt) liquid-crystalline phases as well as conformational changes of heme group and secondary structure of the protein. SAXD measurements