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Introduction. Rho kinases (ROKs) cause calcium-independent modulation of smooth muscle contraction. A significant role for the RhoA/ROK pathway in mediating the contraction of the penile erectile tissue has been suggested. Moreover, it has been postulated that ROK activity might represent a key factor in the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction. Up until today, little is known on the significan
BACKGROUND: Degradation of extracellular matrix proteins, such as fibrin, is pivotal to tumor invasion. Inhibition of the interaction between urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) and its receptor (u-PAR), and hence pro-u-PA activation, is an attractive approach to anti-invasive cancer therapy. A number of inhibitors exist for the human system, but because of species specificity none of these are
Objective: The European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) is used to identify patients at high risk for aortic valve replacement (AVR) in whom alternative procedures, such as trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), may be appropriate. The aim of the present study was to calibrate and validate the EuroSCORE for different cardiac surgery procedures to improve patient
ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumour of childhood. Several genomic imbalances correlate to prognosis in NB, with structural rearrangements, including gene amplification, in a near-diploid setting typically signifying high-risk tumours and numerical changes in a near-triploid setting signifying low-risk tumours. Little is known about the temporal seq
Abstract not available
BACKGROUND:: Patients with chronic heart failure (HF) and their partners face many challenges associated with heart disease. High social support in a close relationship has been found to improve survival in patients with HF. However, caring for a patient with HF may have negative effects on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of the partner responsible for the care. The main focus in health
Grounded in social exchange theory (SET) this paper presents research on non-collaborative behaviour among accommodation businesses within their spatial context. The study adopts semi-structured interviews of 14 co-located accommodation businesses in Christchurch, New Zealand. The findings reveal three categories of non-collaborative factors that influence business behaviour, namely (1) resource-b
This paper investigates the evolution of inequality in China (1978–2015) through the lens of a dynamic spatial general equilibrium model with migration and capital formation. Due to an urban-rural income gap there is domestic migration from the rural to the urban areas which tends to reduce inequality. The resulting increase in urban house prices can, however, constitute an endogenous barrier to f
In this paper, we linear quadratic team decision problems, where a team of agents minimizes a convex quadratic cost function over T time steps subject to possibly distinct linear measurements of the state of nature. We assume that the state of nature is a Gaussian random variable and that the agents do not know the cost function nor the linear functions mapping the state of nature to their measure
System level synthesis is a promising approach that formulates structured optimal controller synthesis problems as convex problems. This work solves the distributed linear-quadratic regulator problem under communication constraints directly in infinite-dimensional space, without the finite-impulse response relaxation common in related work. Our method can also be used to construct optimal distribu
The Kelly framework is the natural multi-period extension of the one-period mean-variance model of Markowitz in the sense that the efficient frontier is characterized by trading strategies having maximal instantaneous Sharpe ratio. We show that Kelly traders naturally trade in such a way as to induce an equilibrium for the instantaneous covariance matrix. This equilibrium, arising from trading alo
Judicial dialogue, as enabled through preliminary reference, is a fundamental component of the EU judicial system. It allows the national courts to ask the Court of Justice (ECJ) questions of interpretation and validity of EU acts, thereby helping secure the coherence of EU law, as well as it safeguards judicial protection, especially for individual applicants who otherwise enjoy limited access to
Epithelial cells play an important role in maintaining the intestinal mucosa barrier, a barrier that is impaired in several inflammatory conditions. The mechanisms behind this impairment are not known, but it can be presumed that structural alterations of the epithelial cells are involved. In support of this notion, we here show the inflammatory mediator leukotriene D4 (LTD4) triggered first a rap
Recently we have investigated the formation of novel thick, solid, mesostructured films of polymer/surfactant mixtures which form spontaneously at the air-solution interface. Here we report studies of the effect of adding a series of sparingly soluble species to the precursor solution, to alter the mesostructure of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide/polyethylenimine films and to investigate the incorp
A 61-year-old male patient presented with rest pain and ulceration in his left leg 1 week after a hybrid procedure with bilateral external iliac stenting, common femoral artery thromboendarterectomy, and left-sided femoral popliteal bypass with an in situ saphenous vein. The bypass had been stented intraoperatively but had again become occluded directly after surgery. In the present report, we dem
The overall aim of this article is to contribute to a research-based understanding of the increasing invisibility of web search engines in society and to discussions about the potential impact of this invisibility. It examines how search engine use and online search activities are represented in national and regional reports on internet habits and experience published by public foundations and pol
Objective: To study whether a revision of CTG guidelines and educational program influenced the perceived need for intervention by residents in obstetrics and gynecology. A secondary aim was to study the sensitivity and specificity of the classification pathological after classification by residents using two different guidelines in identifying neonates with acidemia. Study design: Cardiotocograms
There has not been a satisfying numerical validation of the theory of effective waves in random particulate materials. Validation has been challenging because the theoretical methods for effective waves have been limited to random particulate media in infinite slabs or half-spaces, which require a very large number of particles to perform accurate numerical simulations. This paper offers a solutio
