BACKGROUND Heterogeneity in patients with low back pain (LBP) is well recognised and different approaches to subgrouping have been proposed. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) is a statistical technique that is increasingly being used to identify subgroups based on patient characteristics. However, as LBP is a complex multi-domain condition, the optimal approach when using LCA is unknown. Therefore, t...

Purpose The purposes of this commentary are to further an on-going debate concerning the appropriate form of land use baseline for attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) and to respond to a number of arguments advanced by Soimakallio (Int J Life Cycle Assess 20:1364–1375, 2016). The commentary also seeks to clarify the conceptual nature of attributional LCA. Methods The overarching approach ...

PURPOSE The study evaluated-theoretically and experimentally-the longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) and through-focus energy efficiency (TF-EE) of diffractive-refractive bifocal intraocular lenses (2f-IOLs). METHODS Four aspheric 2f-IOLs (Tecnis +4.00 diopter [D] ZMA00, +2.75 D ZKB00, and AcrySof +4.0 D SN6AD3, +2.5 D SV25T0) of same base power 30 D, but different design, additional (add...

Several researchers have studied the longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) of eyes implanted with an intraocular lens (IOL). We investigated the LCA of eyes implanted with yellow-colored IOLs from three different manufacturers: Alcon Inc., HOYA Corp., and AMO Inc. The number of subjects was 11, 16, and 16, respectively. The LCA of eyes implanted with SN60WF and SN60AT (Alcon Inc.), and with X...

The peptidoglycan-recognition protein LCa (PGRP-LCa) is a transmembrane receptor required for activation of the Drosophila immune deficiency pathway by monomeric Gram-negative peptidoglycan. We have determined the crystal structure of the ectodomain of PGRP-LCa at 2.5-A resolution and found two unique helical insertions in the LCa ectodomain that disrupt an otherwise L-shaped peptidoglycan-dock...

1alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)], a vitamin D receptor (VDR) ligand, regulates calcium homeostasis and also exhibits noncalcemic actions on immunity and cell differentiation. In addition to disorders of bone and calcium metabolism, VDR ligands are potential therapeutic agents in the treatment of immune disorders, microbial infections, and malignancies. Hypercalcemia, the major ...

The Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized procedure generally used, in Italy, in industrial engineering to evaluate the economic-environmental efficiency of production processes. LCA is aimed at optimizing the design, with special emphasis on environmental sustainability. Also in the construction sector, LCA has recently gained a fundamental role as a quantitative measurement tool able ...

abstract today, due to the rapid growth of population, development of the construction industry is a necessity. all around the world, new subjects such as sustainable development, environmental pollution, conservation of resources, and reduction of co2 emission have become the most important research topics among the scientific societies. in recent years, especially after 1997, new tools were i...