Photocatalytic methane decomposition over vertically aligned transparent TiO2 nanotube arrays.

We report here on a study of vertically aligned TiO(2) nanotube arrays grown by the one-step anodic oxidation technique and their photocatalytic performance for methane decomposition. Quantitative activity data as a function of film thickness is obtained.

Investigation of respiration induced intra- and inter-fractional tumour motion using a standard Cone Beam CT.

Background: To investigate whether a standard Cone beam CT (CBCT) scan can be used to determined the intra- and inter-fractional tumour motion for lung tumours that have infiltrated the mediastinum.

Material And Methods: This study includes 23 patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The intra-fractional tumour motion was analysed for each patient on a 4D-CT scan as well as on three 4D-CBCT (fraction 3, 10 and 20).

Psychological and behavioural predictors of pain management outcomes in patients with cancer.

To better understand the phenomenon of patient-related barriers to cancer pain management and address them more effectively in interventional studies, a theoretical model related to psychological aspects of pain experience and pain-related behaviours was elaborated. The aim of the study was to analyse the impact of patient-related barriers on cancer pain management outcomes following this model. Thirty-three patients responded to the Brief Pain Inventory Pain scale, the Danish Barriers Questionnaire II (DBQ-II), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS), the Danish version of Patient Perceived Involvement in Care Scale measuring the quality of patient-physician pain communication, and the Danish version of Medication Adherence Report Scale (DMARS-4).

Auditing patient registration in the Swedish quality register for acute coronary syndrome.

Aims: The present study aims to quantify non-participation in the RIKS-HIA register during 2005 and to compare acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients registered and not registered in RIKS-HIA, in relation to sociodemographic factors, prevalent disease, and 7-day and 30-day survival.

Methods: We linked information on sociodemographic characteristics, treatments, morbidity, and mortality from the LOMAS (Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis in Scania) database with the RIKS-HIA register. The study population consisted of individuals younger than 85 years living in Scania by 31 December 2004 who had one or more AMI during 2005 (n = 2968).

Phase III trial comparing vinflunine with docetaxel in second-line advanced non-small-cell lung cancer previously treated with platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Purpose: To compare vinflunine (VFL) to docetaxel in patients with stage IIIB/IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have experienced treatment failure with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Randomized, multicenter, phase III study, 551 patients received either vinflunine 320 mg/m(2) or docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) every 21 days until disease progression or serious toxicity. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS).

CFD calculations of gas leak dispersion and subsequent gas explosions: validation against ignited impinging hydrogen jet experiments.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools are increasingly employed for quantifying incident consequences in quantitative risk analysis (QRA) calculations in the process industry. However, these tools must be validated against representative experimental data, involving combined release and ignition scenarios, in order to have a real predictive capability. Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK) has recently carried out experiments involving vertically upwards hydrogen releases with different release rates and velocities impinging on a plate in two different geometrical configurations.

PVC: a broader perspective.

A look at the wider applications of poly(vinyl chloride) and how the industry is committed to achieving a more sustainable future.

Numerical modelling of the V-J combinations of the T cell receptor TRA/TRD locus.

T-Cell antigen Receptor (TR) repertoire is generated through rearrangements of V and J genes encoding alpha and beta chains. The quantification and frequency for every V-J combination during ontogeny and development of the immune system remain to be precisely established. We have addressed this issue by building a model able to account for Valpha-Jalpha gene rearrangements during thymus development of mice.

Note: Anodic bonding with cooling of heat-sensitive areas.

Anodic bonding of silicon to glass always involves heating the glass and device to high temperatures so that cations become mobile in the electric field. We present a simple way of bonding thin silicon samples to borosilicate glass by means of heating from the glass side while locally cooling heat-sensitive areas from the silicon side. Despite the high thermal conductivity of silicon, this method allows a strong anodic bond to form just millimeters away from areas essentially at room temperature.

Isolation, characterization and heterologous expression of a novel chitosanase from Janthinobacterium sp. strain 4239.

Background: Chitosanases (EC 3.2.1.

Socioeconomic position and secondary preventive therapy after an AMI.

Purpose: To investigate the association between socioeconomic position and use of lipid-lowering drugs and ACE-inhibitors after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) when simultaneously considering participation in the national quality register RIKS-HIA (Register of Information and Knowledge about Swedish Heart Intensive care Admissions), age, sex and previous hospitalizations of the patients.

Methods: Population-based prospective cohort study included all 1346 AMI patients cared in the county of Scania, Sweden during 2006 of whom 1061 were register at the RIKS-HIA. Treatment with lipid-lowering and ACE-inhibiting therapy in relation to income was investigated with Cox and logistic regression modelling.

Highly sensitive silicon microreactor for catalyst testing.

A novel microfabricated chemical reactor for highly sensitive measurements of catalytic activity and surface kinetics is presented. The reactor is fabricated in a silicon chip and is intended for gas-phase reactions at pressures ranging from 0.1 to 5.

The Danish Barriers Questionnaire-II: preliminary validation in cancer pain patients.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Barriers Questionnaire-II (DBQ-II).

Methods: The validated Norwegian version of the DBQ-II was translated into Danish. Cancer patients for the study were recruited from specialized pain management facilities.

The occurrence of hyponatremia in SCLC and the influence on prognosis: a retrospective study of 453 patients treated in a single institution in a 10-year period.

Hyponatremia is often seen in SCLC, and is thought to be caused by the paraneoplastic syndrome SIADH. Variable results of the prognostic significance of low P-sodium (P-Na) have been reported. This study was performed to investigate the prognostic value of hyponatremia in SCLC.

Accurate microfour-point probe sheet resistance measurements on small samples.

We show that accurate sheet resistance measurements on small samples may be performed using microfour-point probes without applying correction factors. Using dual configuration measurements, the sheet resistance may be extracted with high accuracy when the microfour-point probes are in proximity of a mirror plane on small samples with dimensions of a few times the probe pitch. We calculate theoretically the size of the "sweet spot," where sufficiently accurate sheet resistances result and show that even for very small samples it is feasible to do correction free extraction of the sheet resistance with sufficient accuracy.

[Coarctation of the aorta: 40-year follow-up after surgical repair--secondary publication].

Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) was previously considered cured after surgical repair. Among 229 patients operated for CoA in Aarhus between 1965 and 1985, 14 died at surgery and 35 died during 20-40 years of follow-up, mainly due to cardiovascular disease. The mortality among CoA patients was 4.

The Danish version of the questionnaire on pain communication: preliminary validation in cancer patients.

Background: The modified version of the patients' Perceived Involvement in Care Scale (M-PICS) is a tool designed to assess cancer patients' perceptions of patient-health care provider pain communication process. The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the shortened Danish version of the M-PICS (SDM-PICS).

Methods: The validated English version of the M-PICS was translated into Danish following the repeated back-translation procedure.

Correlation of effective dispersive and polar surface energies in heterogeneous self-assembled monolayer coatings.

We show, theoretically, that the measured effective dispersive and polar surface energies of a heterogeneous surface are correlated; the correlation, however, differs whether a Cassie or an Israelachvili and Gee model is assumed. Fluorocarbon self-assembled monolayers with varying coverage were grown on oxidized (100) silicon surfaces in a vapor phase process using five different precursors. Experimentally, effective surface energy components of the fluorocarbon self-assembled monolayers were determined from measured contact angles using the Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble method.

The Danish version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale: preliminary validation in cancer pain patients.

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of the Danish version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale (DMARS-4) adapted to measure adherence to analgesic regimen among cancer patients.

Methods: The validated English version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale was translated into Danish following the repeated back-translation procedure. Cancer patients for the study were recruited from specialized pain management facilities.

Quark-hadron duality in neutron (3He) spin structure.

We present experimental results of the first high-precision test of quark-hadron duality in the spin-structure function g_{1} of the neutron and 3He using a polarized 3He target in the four-momentum-transfer-squared range from 0.7 to 4.0 (GeV/c);{2}.

New developments in PVC.

Some hospitals in Europe still recommend medical devices that are not made from poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) mainly because of environmental concerns. Yet, a brand new life cycle analysis that compares a medical device made from PVC with two devices made from alternative plastic materials shows that deselection of PVC is not advisable. This article reports on the latest scientific opinion on the possible risks related to the use of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in medical devices and addresses some of the conclusions of the life cycle analysis.

Set-up errors in patients undergoing image guided radiation treatment. Relationship to body mass index and weight loss.

Background: The purpose of this study was to quantify the set-up errors of patient positioning during IGRT and to correlate set-up errors to patient-specific factors such as weight, height, BMI, and weight loss.

Patients And Methods: Thirty four consecutively treated head-and-neck cancer patients (H&N) and 20 lung cancer patients were investigated. Patients were positioned using customized immobilization devices consisting of vacuum cushions and thermoplastic shells.