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OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to study the effects of isradipine, a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, on mother and fetus in the treatment of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: The investigation was performed as a two-group, parallel, double-blind multicenter study of isradipine versus placebo. Fifty-four women were randomized to treatment with isradipine slow-release capsules

A modification in Ross operation is described in which the free-standing pulmonary autograft root is suspended in a Dacron prosthetic vascular jacket with a view to prevent dilatation of the neo-aortic root. In a group of 13 patients operated consecutively using this technique, there was no significant increase in the diameters of the neo-aortic root after a mean 16-month follow-up. Aortic valve f

A method for evaluating a predictor-based alarm system is studied in this paper. The predictor is composed of a deterministic component reflecting external information and a statistically based component for the error between the measurements and the external predictor. The aim of the predictor study is twofold: it is a means of interpreting the connections between the alarm and the catastrophe, a

This paper presents several new results on techniques for solving systems of polynomial equations in computer vision. Gröbner basis techniques for equation solving have been applied successfully to several geometric computer vision problems. However, in many cases these methods are plagued by numerical problems. In this paper we derive a generalization of the Gröbner basis method for polynomial eq

Objective. To follow patients with fibromyalgia six and 24 months after they finished a six-month treatment programme. The programme comprised pool exercise therapy, adjusted to the patients' limitations, and education based on their health problems. Methods. Twenty-six patients were examined six and 24 months after the completion of the treatment programme with the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnai

Hyperlipidemia appears to play an integral role in loss of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in type 2 diabetes. This impairment can be simulated in vitro by chronic culture of 832/13 insulinoma cells with high concentrations of free fatty acids, or by study of lipid-laden islets from Zucker diabetic fatty rats. Here we show that impaired GSIS is not a simple result of saturation of lipi

High-throughput omics data often contain systematic biases introduced during various steps of sample processing and data generation. As the source of these biases is usually unknown, it is difficult to select an optimal normalization method for a given data set. To facilitate this process, we introduce the open-source tool "Normalyzer". It normalizes the data with 12 different normalization method

The EUROGIN 2008 Roadmap represents a continuing effort to provide updated information on primary and secondary prevention of cervical cancer. The report addresses several areas including the progress made toward global implementation of currently licensed human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, the possibilities and value of future-generation HPV vaccines. endpoints under consideration for evaluatio

The effects of acylation-stimulating protein (ASP) and insulin on free fatty acid (FFA) release from isolated human fat cells and the signal transduction pathways to induce these effects were studied. ASP and insulin inhibited basal and norepinephrine-induced FFA release by stimulating fractional FFA re-esterification (both to the same extent) and by inhibiting FFA produced during lipolysis (ASP t

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a mandibular advancement device (MAD) for the treatment of sleep apnea (SA) on plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and health-related qualify of life (HRQL) in patients with mild to moderate stable congestive heart failure (CHF). Seventeen male patients aged 68.4 +/- 5.5 with an apnea-hypop

Phosphorylation of oestrogen receptor alpha at serine 305 (ERalphaS305-P) induces tamoxifen resistance in experimental studies, but does not influence response to other endocrine agents, such as fulvestrant. We evaluated ERalphaS305-P using immunohistochemistry in 377 breast carcinomas from premenopausal participants of a randomized trial (n = 248) and patients with advanced disease (n = 129). Amo

Lipoblastomas are rare soft tissue tumors that occur primarily in young children. They typically contain variably differentiated adipocytes, primitive mesenchymal cells, myxoid matrix, and fibrous trabeculae. Abnormalities in chromosome 8, leading to rearrangements of the PLAG1 gene, were demonstrated recently in four lipoblastomas. In the present report, we determine the frequency of PLAG1 altera

Background: The beneficial effects of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitors are in part mediated through the inhibition of the degradation of the vasodilator bradykinin. The bradykinin effect is counteracted by cyclooxygenase-inhibitors. Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) do not affect bradykinin. Aims: To test the hypothesis that renal counteraction from a cyclooxygenase-inhibitor, dic

The valence character of O 1s -> Rydberg excited O-2 is investigated by means of participator Auger decay spectroscopy, performed at selected photon energies across the K-shell resonance region, and by means of partial ion yield x-ray absorption spectroscopy. For several of the excitation energies studied, the authors find substantial sigma(*)((4)Sigma(-)(u),(2)Sigma(-)(u)) valence character being

Matriptase is a type II transmembrane protease which is characterized by an N-terminal transmembrane and multiple extracellular domains, in addition to the conserved extracellular serine protease catalytic domain. The expression pattern of matriptase suggests that this protease may play broad roles in the biology of surface lining epithelial cells. In this study we report that alpha1-antitrypsin (

Radiative lifetimes of 16 odd levels belonging to the 4d(2)5p configuration of Zr II have been measured using a time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence technique with a single-step excitation process either from the ground state or from metastable levels belonging to the 4d(2)5s and 4d(3) configurations. For 12 levels, there were no previous results available. The new experimental results and the

We found that engagement of beta 2 integrins on human neutrophils increased the levels of GTP-bound Rap1 and Rap2. Also, the activation of Rap1 was blocked by PP1, SU6656, LY294002, GF109203X, or BAPTA-AM, which indicates that the downstream signaling events in Rap1 activation involve Src tyrosine kinases, phosphoinositide 3-kinase, protein kinase C, and release of calcium. Surprisingly, the beta

Antimicrobial peptides, such as LL-37, are found both in nonvertebrates and vertebrates, where they represent important components of innate immunity. Bacterial infections at epithelial surfaces are associated with substantial induction of LL-37 expression, which allows efficient lysis of the invading microbes. Peptide-mediated lysis results in the release of bacterial nucleic acids with potential

Macroporous monolithic hydrogels (cryogel monoliths; rods 12.5 mm x 7.1 mm diameter) are elastic, sponge-like materials with large (10-100 mu m), interconnected pores. Phenyl- and IMAC-(Me(II)-iminodiacetic acid)-cryogel monoliths were inserted into the open-ended wells of a standard 96-well plate, forming a system of 96 drainage-protected minicolumns, and were used in a parallel assay of hydropho