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Although multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to progressive disability and decreased life expectancy, little is known about patients' own evaluation of their illness and factors associated with poor health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL). We, therefore, assessed Hr-QoL and its determinants in MSA. The following scales were applied to 115 patients in the European
Nitrous oxide and isoflurane have different effects on absolute cerebral blood flow (CBF) and regional distribution of CBF in humans. In this study we examined the effects of isoflurane in combination with nitrous oxide on CBF. We studied 10 patients (two groups of five patients, ASA I) anaesthetized with 50% nitrous oxide and either 0.5 or 1.0 MAC of isoflurane during normocapnia (PaCO2 5.7 kPa)
The presented "spot-on-a-chip" technology enables easy enrichment of samples in the low nanomolar (1-5 nM) range and provides a fast and reliable automated sample preparation method for performing matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis with high sensitivity and throughput. Through microdispensing, which allows accurate deposition of 60-
Multiple and variable tyrosine sulfation in extracellular class II leucine-rich repeat proteins/proteoglycans were characterized by mass spectrometry. The sulfogroup on tyrosine is labile and is released from peptides under normal mass spectrometric conditions. Thus, special approaches must be considered in order to identify this modification. By using a combination of mass spectrometry studies op
In a within-subject design we investigated the levels-of-processing (LOP) effect using visual material in a behavioral and a corresponding PET study. In the behavioral study we characterize a generalized LOP effect, using pleasantness and graphical quality judgments in the encoding situation, with two types of visual material, figurative and nonfigurative line drawings. In the PET study we investi
Intracellular Ca2+ was determined with the fura-2 technique during electrically induced contractions in the rabbit rectococcygeus smooth muscle at 22 degreesC. The muscles were electrically activated to give short, reproducible contractions. Intracellular [Ca2+] increased during activation; the increase in [Ca2+] preceded force development by approximately 2 s. After cessation of stimulation Ca2+
Mycorrhizal symbiosis involves reciprocal transfer of carbon and nutrients between shoots on the one hand and roots colonized by symbolic fungi on the other. Mycorrhizas may improve the mineral nutrient acquisition rates, but simultaneously increase the belowground demand for carbon. Mycorrhizal plants will have a selective advantage over non-mycorrhizal ones if they are more cost-efficient in ter
Concentrations of ara-CTP in leukemic cells isolated from CSF and of ara-C in lumbar CSF were measured following intraventricular ara-C administration in two girls with refractory meningeal leukemia. CSF samples were collected with a permanent intrathecal-lumbar catheter. In contrast to the comparatively short retention of ara-C in the CSF (t1/2 1.8 to 2.9 hours), there was a high accumulation and
The extension theory for semibounded symmetric operators is generalized by including operators acting in a triplet of Hilbert spaces. We concentrate our attention on the case where the minimal operator is essentially self-adjoint in the basic Hilbert space and construct a family of its self-adjoint extensions inside the triplet. All such extensions can be described by certain boundary conditions,
Economists have debated the issue of state intervention in the economic process in capitalist economies intensively for decades. Often, however, without considering the effects of state intervention on entrepreneurship. In this paper we undertake a critical analysis of the institutionalist theory of state intervention developed by Ha-Joon Chang. He identifies two key roles for the state in facilit
Mutations within the DNA mismatch repair gene, "postmeiotic segregation increased 2" (PMS2), have been associated with a predisposition to hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC; Lynch syndrome). The presence of a large family of highly homologous PMS2 pseudogenes has made previous attempts to sequence PMS2 very difficult. Here, we describe a novel method that utilizes long-range PCR as
Background: Black and white pain drawings were introduced as a proposed means to identify patients, presenting with low back pain, who demonstrated functional overlay upon neurological testing. The use of color may enhance the usefulness of such pain drawings, but has not been described for adult patients. Aims: To retrospectively explore the use of colored pain drawings in patients with neck, low
In vitro, pancreatic triglyceride lipase requires colipase to restore activity in the presence of inhibitors, like bile acids. Presumably, colipase performs the same function in vivo, but little data supports that notion. Other studies suggest that colipase or its proform, procolipase, may have additional functions in appetite regulation or in fat digestion during the newborn period when pancreati
OBJECTIVE: The acute-phase inflammatory response is closely correlated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis, but the pathophysiologic role of its specific components is largely unknown. We investigated the genetic control of the acute-phase protein response in pristane-induced arthritis (PIA), which is a chronic erosive arthritis model in rats. METHODS: Plasma levels of the acute-phase pro
Mid-Ordovician fossil meteorites found in the Thorsberg quarry, southern Sweden, are believed to have been deposited during a period of enhanced meteorite flux following the fragmentation of the L chondrite parent body. During diagenesis, the fossil meteorites were largely replaced by a secondary mineral assemblage. However, primary chromite grains have been preserved. High-precision oxygen isotop
OBJECTIVE: The concentration of serum total sialic acid (S-TSA) is one recently investigated risk marker for cardiovascular mortality and atherosclerosis. Since the mortality from coronary heart disease is higher in the United States than in Japan, one could expect the S-TSA to be higher among Caucasian US citizens than among Japanese citizens, a hypothesis that is tested in this study. DESIGN: Cr
The notion of 'fluency' is most often associated with spoken-language phenomena such as stuttering. The present article investigates the relevance of considering fluency in writing. The basic argument for raising this question is empirical - it follows from a focus on difficulties in written and spoken language as manifestations of different problems which should be investigated separately on the
The bacterial spore, the hardiest known life form, can survive in a metabolically dormant state for many years and can withstand high temperatures, radiation, and toxic chemicals. The molecular basis of spore dormancy and resistance is not understood, but the physical state of water in the different spore compartments is thought to play a key role. To characterize this water in situ, we recorded t
