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Industrial energy systems involve many components where fluid flow, heat and mass transfer are the important transport processes. For design and development as well as investigation of innovative ideas, computational methods are of vital importance. Since the early pioneering works (by, e.g., the Spalding group) in the 1960s and 1970s, the development has been tremendous and nowadays CFD (computat
Aim: The aim of this pilot study was to explore the Fear of Birth Scale in a mixed sample of women of childbearing age, by investigating the levels of childbirth fear and the content of women's thoughts when completing the scale. Methods: A cross-sectional mixed method study of 179 women who completed a short questionnaire and a think aloud interview. Results: The mean score of the Fear of Birth S
In order to obtain a higher thermal efficiency, the inlet temperature of gas turbines is gradually increased. However, this increases the thermal load on the first stage vane endwall surface. Therefore, an advanced cooling technique must be implemented for the endwall cooling to ensure that the gas turbine operates safely. In the current study, effects of swirling coolant flow from the upstream sl
Background: Heparin-binding protein (HBP) is a neutrophil-derived protein advocated as a biomarker in sepsis. We evaluated plasma HBP as a predictor of post-injury sepsis in trauma patients. Methods: Ninety-seven trauma patients were studied during the first week of intensive care. Injury-related data were collected and clinical parameters registered daily. Plasma HBP was sampled on day 1, 3 and 5
Recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the most challenging complications encountered in the management of patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD). The commonest cause is angiodysplasia, but often no cause is identified due to the difficulty in making the diagnosis. The optimal treatment to prevent recurrences remains unknown. We performed a retrospective study of VWD patients with occul
We introduce a new multi-region model for simultaneous segmentation of the left and right ventricles, myocardium and the left ventricular papillary muscles in MRI. The model enforces geometric constraints such as inclusion and exclusion between the regions, which makes it possible to correctly segment different regions even though the intensity distributions are identical. We efficiently optimize
Environmental exposure to cadmium (Cd) is known to induce oxidative stress, a state of imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability to detoxify them, in adults. However, data are lacking on potential effects in early-life. We evaluated urinary concentrations of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), a recognized marker of oxidative DNA damage, in relati
Background: Chronic depression is a particularly disabling mood disorder and treatment outcomes are poor with either psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy alone. There is growing evidence that an integrative treatment approach may be optimal. A novel multi-modal, multi-disciplinary treatment program, Re-ChORD, was developed at the University of British Columbia and evaluated in this pilot study. Method
Background: Apolipoprotein J (ApoJ) is a component of plasma high-density lipoproteins. Previous studies have shown progressive recovery of ApoJ sialic acid content with increased duration of alcohol abstinence. Therefore, the sialic acid index of plasma apolipoprotein J (SIJ) seems to be a promising alcohol biomarker. Phosphatidylethanol (PEth) is a direct ethanol metabolite and has recently attr
Background and purpose — Fast-track care programs in elective total hip and knee replacement (THR/TKR) have been introduced in several countries during the last decade resulting in a significant reduction of hospital stay without any rise in readmissions or early adverse events (AE). We evaluated the risk of readmissions and AE within 30 and 90 days after surgery when a fast-track program was intr
Bladder denervation and bladder outlet obstruction are urological conditions that cause bladder growth. Transcriptomic surveys in outlet obstruction have identified differentially expressed genes, but similar studies following denervation have not been done. This was addressed using a rat model in which the pelvic ganglia were cryo-ablated followed by bladder microarray analyses. At 10 days follow
Because of the rarity of neuroblastoma and poor survival until the 1990s, information on late effects in neuroblastoma survivors is sparse. We comprehensively reviewed the long-term risk for somatic disease in neuroblastoma survivors. We identified 721 5-year survivors of neuroblastoma in Nordic population-based cancer registries and identified late effects in national hospital registries covering
Pericardial adhesions after cardiac operations are a widely known phenomenon. They may severely complicate reoperations, making reentry hazardous, increasing bleeding, and prolonging the operation time. The anatomic orientation and visibility of both bypass grafts and coronary arteries are also impaired. With the aim of minimizing pericardial adhesions after cardiac operations, we studied the cour
The very young Wabar craters formed by impact of an iron meteorite and are known to the scientific community since 1933. We describe field observations made during a visit to the Wabar impact site, provide analytical data on the material collected, and combine these data with poorly known information discovered during the recovery of the largest meteorites. During our visit in March 2008, only two
Background: There have been reports both supporting and refuting an inverse relationship between hip fracture and hip osteoarthritis (OA). We explore this relationship using a case-control study design. Methods: Exclusion criteria were previous hip fracture (same side or contralateral side), age younger than 60 years, foreign nationality, pathological fracture, rheumatoid arthritis and cases were
Plant size is a major predictor of ecological functioning. We tested the hypothesis that feeding damage to plants increases with plant size, as the conspicuousness of large plants makes resource finding and colonisation easier. Further, large plants can be attractive to herbivores, as they offer greater amounts and ranges of resources and niches, but direct evidence from experiments testing size e
Traditional gold mining, using metallic mercury (Hg-0) to form gold amalgam, followed by burning to remove the Hg-0, is widely used in South America, Africa and Asia. The gold is sold to merchants who burn it again to eliminate remaining Hg-0. In Ecuador, 200 gold miners, 37 gold merchants and 72 referents were studied. The median Hg concentrations in urine (U-Hg) were 3.3 (range 0.23-170), 37 (3.
Studies on fetal lung/brain circulation by means of power Doppler technique have suggested a marked reduction in lung perfusion in high-risk pregnancies as a sign of circulation redistribution. The ratio between lung/brain perfusion might therefore give a new method to predict fetal circulation centralization. Objective: The aim of the present study was to obtain fetal lung and cerebral artery rat
Several organic cations, such as guanidino compounds and polyamines, have been found to accumulate in plasma of patients with kidney failure due to inadequate renal clearance. Here, we studied the interaction of cationic uremic toxins with renal organic cation transport in a conditionally immortalized human proximal tubule epithelial cell line (ciPTEC). Transporter activity was measured and valida
Background Chronic congestive heart failure is a complex condition that leads to dysfunction in the peripheral microcirculation. We have previously shown that vascular reactivity is reduced with increasing age. In this study, we examined a group of very old patients with severe chronic heart failure to test the hypothesis that vascular function is further compromised by a combination of heart fail
