Systemic vasculitis associated with autoantibodies to neutrophil cytoplasmic antigens (ANCA) is the most frequent cause of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Renal failure at presentation carries an increased risk for ESRD and death despite immunosuppressive therapy. This study investigated whether the addition of plasma exchange was more effective than intravenous methylprednisolone in the a

These final results on e(+) e(-) W+ W- production cross-section measurements at LEP2 use data collected by the DELPHI detector at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV. Measurements of total cross-sections, W angular differential distributions and decay branching fractions, and the value of the CKM element |V-cs| are compared to the expectations of the Standard Model. These results supersede all v

It is widely accepted that the bioavaiiability, toxicity, and mobility of trace metals are highly dependent on complexation reactions with functional groups in natural organic matter (NOM). In this study, the coordination chemistry of Cd in NOM was investigated by extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. Soil organic matter (SOM) from different types of organic soils and dissolved or

We recently demonstrated that the LKB1 tumour suppressor kinase, in complex with the pseudokinase STRAD and the scaffolding protein MO25, phosphorylates and activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). A total of 12 human kinases (NUAK1, NUAK2, BRSK1, BRSK2, QIK, QSK, SIK, MARK1, MARK2, MARK3, MARK4 and MELK) are related to AMPK. Here we demonstrate that LKB1 can phosphorylate the T-loop of all

Fractures of the femoral neck, that is, "cervical hip fractures" constitute 53% of all fractures of the proximal femur (hip fractures) according to the Swedish National Hip Fracture Register linked to SAHFE (Standardised Audit of Hip Fractures in Europe). The most reproducible classification system divides cervical hip fractures into undisplaced (33%) and displaced (67%). Hip fractures are common

Companies belonging to the same industrial branch are subject to similar economical influences. Hence, the time series of their stocks can show similar trends implying a correlation. Financial correlation matrices measure the unsystematic correlations between time series of stocks. Such information is important for risk management. It has been found by Laloux et al that the correlation matrices ar

We present results of ideal epitaxial nucleation and growth of III-V semiconductor nanowires on silicon substrates. This addresses the long-time challenge of integrating high performance III-V semiconductors with mainstream Si technology. Efficient room-temperature generation of light on silicon is demonstrated by the incorporation of double heterostructure segments in such nanowires. We expect th

Objective The aim of this study was to quantify the global burden of osteoporotic fracture worldwide. Methods The incidence of hip fractures was identified by systematic review and the incidence of osteoporotic fractures was imputed from the incidence of hip fractures in different regions of the world. Excess mortality and disability weights used age- and sex-specific data from Sweden to calculate

The aim of this double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study was to investigate possible improvement in physical performance at an ambient temperature of -15 degrees C by an inhaled dose of 50 micrograms salmeterol in 8 highly trained nonasthmatic cross-country skiers. FEV1 was measured before, during and after the treadmill exercise protocol, which consisted of a warm-up run, runs of 10 min

Aims To describe atrial fibrillation (AF) management in member countries of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and to verify cardiology practices against guidelines. Methods and results Among 182 hospitals in 35 countries, 5333 ambulant and hospitalized AF patients were enrolled, in 2003 and 2004. AF was primary or secondary diagnosis, and was confirmed on ECG in the preceding 12 months. Cli

Background: To evaluate and describe the cone function in the normal and lesioned rabbit retina using the multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG). Methods: Twelve animals underwent a two-port vitrectomy with subsequent retinectomy in one eye. The area of removed retina was located in the nasal part of the visual streak, and measured approximately 1-2 disc diameters. Both eyes were investigated with m

Ring species, which consist of two reproductively isolated forms connected by a chain of intergrading populations, have often been described as examples of speciation despite gene flow between populations, but this has never been demonstrated. We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to study gene flow in greenish warblers (Phylloscopus trochiloides). These genetic markers sho

Background - Although effective coverage of challenging coronary lesions has warranted the use of overlapping drug-eluting stents, the histopathological response to stent overlap is unknown. Methods and Results - The arterial reaction to overlapping Cypher or Taxus drug-eluting stents was examined in rabbits with bare metal stents, BxVelocity or Express, serving as controls. Single iliac artery ba

A search for pair-produced doubly charged Higgs bosons has been performed using the data collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209 GeV. No excess is observed in the data with respect to the Standard Model background. A lower limit for the mass of 97.3 GeV/c(2) at the 95% confidence level has been set for doubly charged Higgs bosons in left-right symmetr

Objective To describe the gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasound findings of metastatic tumors in the ovary according to the origin of the primary tumor. Methods Information was retrieved retrospectively from 67 patients who had undergone preoperative transvaginal gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasound examination and who were found subsequently to have metastatic tumors in their ovaries. In all

Patterns of polyploid evolution in the taxonomically controversial Dactylorhiza incarnata/maculata groups were inferred genetically by analyzing 399 individuals from 177 localities for (1) four polymorphic plastid regions yielding aggregate haplotypes and (2) nuclear ribosomal ITS allele frequencies. Concordance between patterns observed in distributions of plastid haplotypes and ITS alleles rende

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) is known to have a higher risk of revision than tricompartmental arthroplasty (TKA), while UKA implants are generally less expensive than TKA implants. We estimated the costs of implants and hospital stay of both procedures and related the cost difference at primary operation to the difference in number of revisions to be expected. We compared 15,437 primar

A detailed analysis is presented of the diffractive deep-inelastic scattering process ep -> eXY, where Y is a proton or a low mass proton excitation carrying a fraction 1 - x(IP) > 0.95 of the incident proton longitudinal momentum and the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex satisfies |t| < 1 GeV2. Using data taken by the H1 experiment, the cross section is measured for photon virtu