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This thesis concerns the analysis of anthropogenic substances of the compound class known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Sample preparation perspectives for the analysis of POPs in the environmental matrices water, soils and sediments are presented. This thesis features reasonably cheap and uncomplicated methodology capable of fast screening of POPs. It displays how quantitative extract

The complex interplay by tunneling and scattering in quantum cascade lasers is analyzed with nonequilibrium Green's functions. Data for a recently proposed simple structure based on only two wells per period is presented. This simple structure allows to visualize the relevance of the tunneling resonance very clearly. It is argued that a QCL design needs at least three levels per period, thus furth

A model for simulating the drug release from a swelling and dissolving polymer tablet is presented and verified to data. The model is based on a mechanistic approach, and it can therefore be employed to study the sensitivity of true physical constants, for instance the drug diffusion coefficient or the drug solubility. The model generates the drug and polymer release profiles and the front positio

Implementation of guidelines for coronary heart disease prevention is less optimal in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to investigate if specific knowledge (patients' knowledge about their own coronary heart disease risk factors) would correlate to their adherence as measured by self-reported lifestyle changes, reaching defined treatment goals and adhering to treatment with prescribed

In several twin studies the relative contribution of genetic factors for personality traits has amounted to figures between 40 and 60%. In the present study we investigated to which degree polymorphisms in the 5-HTT and AP-2 beta genes are implicated in the neural processes involved in the formation of Temperament and Character traits, as estimated by Cloninger's TCI. Considering the background of

During formation of polymorphonuclear neutrophils, proteins are synthesized for storage in granules. Whereas sorting of proteins into distinct subtypes of cytoplasmic granules may reflect the coordinated expression of the proteins contained in them, still the mechanism(s) for the retrieval of proteins from the constitutive secretion is unknown. To investigate the mechanisms of retrieval, nonmyeloi

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether factor V Leiden and the prothrombin 20210A gene mutation are risk factors for osteonecrosis of the femoral head in different etiologic groups of osteonecrosis in adults and whether patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head have a higher frequency of thromboembolic events compared with the general population. We investigated

Background: Serum IgA antibodies against tissue transglutaminase (tTG) are reliable markers for celiac disease (CD), still the diagnostic performance of anti-tTG immunoassays can be improved. A novel ELISA, using fibronectin (FN) as tTG binding protein, was evaluated for the detection of anti-tTG antibodies in CD. Methods: Sera from 173 children with untreated CD and 97 controls were analyzed for

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 21 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) participating in a 5-year treatment study with the choline esterase inhibitor tacrin were retrospectively analyzed for the contents of beta-amyloid (Abeta42), total tau (T-tau) and phosphorylated tau (P-tau). A significant positive correlation between the level of P-tau and the number of sympto

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of a new, once-daily extended-release (ER) formulation of tolterodine in treating overactive bladder in older (greater than or equal to65) and younger (<65) patients. DESIGN: A 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING: An international study conducted at 167 medical centers. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand fifteen pa

In this first clinical trial liposome-encapsulated iodixanol, CT particles (CTP) were studied. The aims of the present trial were to assess the efficacy of CTP in CT and to determine the safety of different doses of CTP. A total of 47 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the present study. The CTP was administered at doses 10, 30, 70 and 100 mg encapsulated I/kg bw. Efficacy was assessed using sing

Critical load calculations in the Czech part of 'the Black Triangle' show exceedance of critical load in 75% of the forest area. A comparison with forest damage data shows an insignificant tendency toward more forest damage in areas with high exceedance. We conclude that high exceedance of critical load is a probable contributing factor to forest damage in the area.

A method for the determination of electron density using a narrow beam attenuation geometry is described. The method does not require that the elemental composition of the phantom materials is known. The Hounsfield numbers for the phantom materials used were determined using five different CT scanners. A relationship between Hounsfield number and electron density can thus be established, which is

Currently in Europe as well as in the United States, an increasing proportion of very old people remain living in their homes despite declines in physical and mental health. Together with the fact that the population of very old people is rapidly increasing (Mathers, Sadana, Salamon, Murray, Lopez, 2001; United Nations Development Programme, 2001), this poses new challenges to societal planning an

A model for a special configuration in triaxial odd-odd nuclei is constructed which exhibits degenerate chiral bands with a sizable rotation, a manifestation of dynamical spontaneous symmetry breaking. A quantum number obtained from the invariance of the model Hamiltonian, which characterizes observable states, is given and selection rules for electromagnetic transition probabilities in chiral ban

In the present paper, an optimization of the draw-in of an automotive sheet metal part has been carried out using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Space Mapping technique. The optimization adjusts the drawbead restraining force in the model such that the draw-in in the FE model corresponds to the draw-in in the physical process. The conclusion of this study is that Space Mapping is a very ef