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From a universal design perspective, products should attract both people with disabilities and other persons. Design of chairs has decisive importance for activity and independence of users with physical disabilities. In an experimental study aiming at an easy chair with universal design qualities, six able-bodied young adults were asked to position a wide range of photo-represented chairs, includ

The purpose of this work is the investigation of some constitutive and configurational aspects of phenomenological model formulations for a class of materials with history-dependent gradient microstructure. The assumption that the behavior of a material point is affected by history-dependent processes in a finite neighbor of this point yields an extended continuum characterized by non-simple mater

BACKGROUND: We report the surgical treatment of a consecutive series of scan negative patients with the intention of unilateral parathyroid exploration with the aid of intraoperative quick PTH (qPTH).MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 35 consecutive sestamibi scan negative patients (27 women, eight men) with sporadic pHPT subjected to first time surgery. Median age was 70 years and median p

The purpose of this contribution is to present a survey of the recent developments in constructing composite science and technology (S&T) indicators on a national level as well as new evidence of the variability of such S&T indicators which opens the gateway to "country-tuning". It has become standard practice to combine several indicators for science, technology, and innovation to form co

The purpose of this qualitative 2-year follow-up study was to obtain a deeper understanding of motivation for change towards an active and independent life in patients with prolonged musculoskeletal disorders and to explore and identify personal resources that might influence such improvements. Data collection and analysis were performed according to the qualitative case study design. An initial c

Although pharmacological treatments can help alleviate mood symptoms in youth with paediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), residual symptoms still commonly persist. In many cases, these symptoms seriously affect the social and psychological development of children and adolescents suffering from PBD. Complementary interventions, such as psychosocial and psychoeducational treatments, can help children an

Effective utilization of the spatial domain enhances the capacity of a mobile radio network. A common technique is to use sector antennas, where the sectors are formed by weighting the outputs from the antenna elements. This results in spatial domain selectivity, which significantly improves the signal-to-(noise and interference) ratio in the received signals. However, the operation of the sector

Italian Primary Care System has been modelled after the NHS in UK and was established in 1978. In 2000 Italy's healthcare system was regarded, by a World Health Organization's ranking, as the 2nd best in the world after France;since then, the performance has constantly decreased mainly because ofthe austerity policy. This austerity policy is notjustified by the Official OECD figures which show tha

The purpose of this work is to develop and implement a simple and robust preservation technology that can enhance food and economic security and thereby improve the lives of people in developing countries. The technique under development is termed “solar assisted pervaporation (SAP)”. It is a sustainable technology whereby fruit juices or purées are concentrated using reusable pouches made of “bre

Summary: This study examines the impact of smoking and smoking cessation on fracture risk in 75-year-old women followed for 10 years. Smoking increased fracture risk, especially for vertebral fractures. Smoking cessation decreased the risk for vertebral fractures but not for other fracture types. Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of smoking and smoking cessation on fra

Background: With a yearly incidence of 56 per 100,000 inhabitants, colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies in the Western world, representing the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Within three years after the diagnosis of CRC, 29% of patients will have developed liver metastases. Liver resection is a possibly curative treatment, and several preoperative strate

Emergency decision makers face a challenge taking rapid and high-risk decisions during an emergency situation, especially when the emergency is cross-border and requires multi-agency cooperation. The emergency decision makers use emergency management (EM) system and sometimes decision support systems (DSS) when responding to a crisis. To date the emergency decision makers have not had access to a

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, although the mortality rates have decreased in the last decades. Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and treatment resistance is a significant clinical problem in spite of the overall high survival rates. Improved screening programs, novel surgical techniques, and adjuvant treatments have contributed to the improved survival,

Although the importance of New Institutional Economics and the institutional approach for understanding pre-industrial economic development and the early growth of markets are widely accepted, it has proven to be difficult to assess more directly the effects of institutions on the functioning of markets. This paper uses empirical research on the rise of markets in late medieval Holland to illumina

A promising approach for addressing sustainability problems is to recognize the unique conditions of a particular place, such as problem features and solution capabilities, and adopt and adapt solutions developed at other places around the world. Therefore, research and teaching in international networks becomes critical, as it allows for accelerating learning by sharing problem understandings, su

This chapter describes the basic principles inside the VEG extension to the ForSAFE model system. It allows changes in ground vegetation to be calculated, an important part of biodiversity. In the VEG model, the basis for modelling ground vegetation dynamics is a competition strength model based on soil chemistry promoting and retarding factors, nutrients, water and light. The strength is used in