Incidence of primary malignancies other than breast cancer among women treated with radiation therapy for benign breast disease

In addition to left ventricular pump failure and low cardiac output, structural and metabolic alterations of skeletal muscle are thought to contribute to exercise intolerance seen in patients with CHF. Studies using cardiac myocytes have implicated nitric oxide elaborated by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) as a potential agent associated with the genesis of dilated cardiomyopathy. The present study was designed to locate iNOS in the working skeletal muscle of patients with congestive heart failure. Specific antibodies were used to detect iNOS by immunohistochemistry in skeletal muscle biopsies (m. vastus lateralis) of 37 patients with left ventricular pump failure and 8 normal controls. The expression was restricted to skeletal muscle myocytes and was increased five- to ninefold in patients with chronic heart failure. There was no statistically significant difference in iNOS expression between patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and those with ischemic cardiomyopathy. The finding of a locally increased expression of iNOS and the experimental evidence that NO attenuates the contractile performance of the skeletal muscle suggest that the expression of iNOS may be responsible for the exercise intolerance seen in patients with chronic heart failure.     

Evaluation of on-line flue gas measurements by MISiCFET and metal-oxide sensors in boilers

Metal insulator silicon carbide field-effect transistor sensors, metal-oxide sensors, and a linear Lambda sensor in an electronic nose was used to measure on-line in hot flue gases from a boiler. Flue gas from a 100-MW pellets-fuelled boiler has been used to feed the experimental setup. Several reference instruments, which measure the flue gases in parallel to the sensor array, are connected to the electronic nose. Data was collected during six weeks and then evaluated. Using principal component analysis as the data evaluation method, different operating modes for the boiler have been identified in the data set. The different modes could be described in terms of high or low O/sub 2/ and CO concentration. Furthermore, we have shown that it seems possible to use a sensor array to determine the operating mode of the boiler and, by partial least-squares models, measure the CO concentration when the boiler operates in its optimum mode.     

An integrated model of residential and employment location in a metropolitan region

The purpose of this paper is to improve the tools available for analyzing and evaluating land-use and transport policies in a regional planning context. A normative residential location submodel is combined with a predictive submodel for the location of employment. The demand side of the residential location submodel is formulated as a nested multinomial logit model of the joint choice of residential location and transportation mode. The cost of commuting is assumed to be a major determinant of locational choice. The employment location submodel is based on the assumption that accessibility to the labor force is the strategic location factor. Two versions of the submodels are proposed corresponding to a post- and pre-distribution modal split in the familiar four-step transport model. Policy tests of a newly proposed, large-scale traffic investment program in the Stockholm region are reported.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 30th European Congress, Istanbul, August 1990.     

A Reduced-Basis Element Method

Reduced basis methods are particularly attractive to use in order to diminish the number of degrees of freedom associated with the approximation of a set of partial differential equations. The main idea is to construct ad hoc basis functions with a large information content. In this note, we propose to develop and analyze reduced basis methods for simulating hierarchical flow systems, which is of relevance for studying flows in a network of pipes, an example being a set of arteries or veins. We propose to decompose the geometry into generic parts (e.g., pipes and bifurcations), and to contruct a reduced basis for these generic parts by considering representative geometric snapshots. The global system is constructed by gluing the individual basis solutions together via Lagrange multipliers.     

On testing factorial invariance: A reply to J.C.F. de Winter

Since its publication, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) has been used for comparing subgroups of respondents on the constructs formed through factor analyzing the questionnaire items. However, not enough attention has been paid to ascertaining that the instrument actually measures the same constructs in the same way in all respondent groups. I recently published an article (Mattsson, 2012) that aimed to do this for the Finnish 28-item version of the DBQ using the stage-wise factorial invariance approach in the Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) context. de Winter (2013) commented on the publication, arguing that the results were artifacts due to measurement error that too many factors were extracted and that too strict criteria for invariance were applied. In this contribution, I reply to each criticism and suggest methodological approaches for ensuring the measurement invariance of self-report instruments such as the DBQ.     

Breast cancer screening with tomosynthesis--initial experiences

Experiences gained so far using tomosynthesis for breast cancer screening will be reported. A short summary of results from preparatory studies will also be presented. The sensitivity and specificity of breast tomosynthesis (BT) will be compared with conventional two-dimensional digital mammography (DM) for breast cancer screening in a population-based study. Over 2000 women have been examined so far with BT and DM. The BT reading is significantly more time-consuming than the DM reading. Preparatory studies have shown that BT has a higher diagnostic precision and higher accuracy of size measurements and stage determination than DM. There is potential to use lower compression force with BT compared with DM, without decreasing the diagnostic accuracy. BT might play an important role in clinical as well as screening mammography. A large-scale population-based study to investigate BT as a screening modality is underway.     

Promoting Bacillus cereus spore germination for subsequent inactivation by mild heat treatment

Sublethal heat treatment may activate dormant spores and thereby potentiate the conversion of spores to vegetative cells. As the germinated spore is known to possess lower heat resistance than its dormant counterpart, it has been postulated that double heat treatment, i.e., spore heat activation followed by germination and then by heat inactivation, can be used to control spores in foods. Production of refrigerated processed foods of extended durability often includes more than one heat treatment of the food components. This work simulates conventional heat treatment procedures and evaluates double heat treatment as a method to improve spore control in model food matrixes of meat broth and cream sauce. Bacillus cereus NVH 1230-88 spores were supplemented in food model matrixes and heat activated at 70°C and then heat inactivated at 80 or 90°C. The samples were held at 29 to 30°C for 1 h between primary and secondary heat treatments, to allow spore germination. Nutrients naturally present in the food matrixes, e.g., amino acids and inosine, could act as germinants that induce germination. The levels of germinants could be too low to produce effective germination within 1 h. Following primary heat treatment, some samples were therefore supplemented with a combination of L-alanine and inosine, a germinant mixture known to be effective for B. cereus spores. In both matrixes, a combination of double heat treatment (heat activation, germination, and inactivation) and addition of germinants gave a reduction in spore counts equivalent to or greater than that obtained with a single heat treatment for 12 min at 90°C. Addition of germinants was essential to induce effective germination in cream sauce during 1 h at 29 to 30°C, and germinants were therefore a crucial supplement to obtain an effect of double heat treatment in this matrix. These data will be valuable when setting up temperature-time-germinant combinations for an optimized spore reduction in mild-heat-treated foods.     

Comparing mixing and displacement ventilation in classrooms: pupils' perception and health

Several studies have found that indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is often poor and may affect the health of the pupils. Building ventilation is a means to reduce pollutants indoors, but different designs should be evaluated for their effectiveness in different environments. In a field experiment performed at four classrooms in one school building, air was supplied either in the mixing or in the displacement mode, and we collected information on exposures, pupils' perception of IAQ and climate, and health symptoms and performed clinical examinations. The room temperature, relative humidity, concentration of CO?, and cat allergen were measured at the breathing height and were similar during each ventilation mode. The children perceived IAQ were similar in the two ventilation regimes, and there were few differences in symptom reports or clinical parameters. However, the pupils reported more eye symptoms during displacement ventilation. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Both mixing and displacement ventilation may be appropriate in school classrooms as long as the overall design, ventilation rates, and maintenance of systems are satisfactory.