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Recently, natural d-glucose was suggested as a potential biodegradable contrast agent. The feasibility of using d-glucose for dynamic perfusion imaging was explored to detect malignant brain tumors based on blood brain barrier breakdown.

Physical exercise is a cornerstone in the management of many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, dementia, and stroke. However, much of its beneficial effects on improving motor functions and cognition as well as decreasing neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are not yet well understood. The obvious limitations of studying the protective mechanisms behind exercise, for ex

American standard ASTM F2732 estimates the lowest environmental temperature for thermal comfort for cold weather protective clothing. International standard ISO 11079 serves the same purpose but expresses cold stress in terms of required clothing insulation for a given cold climate. The objective of this study was to validate and compare the temperature ratings using human subject tests at two lev

Objective: Synovitis is thought to be a secondary phenomenon in the osteoarthritis (OA) process and the menisci might be triggers of localized synovitis. The aim was to assess the cross-sectional associations of posterior horn meniscal damage with perimeniscal synovitis, and with synovitis posterior to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) using contrast enhanced (CE) MRI. Design: The Multicenter

Most bacteria with a rod-shape morphology contain an actin-like cytoskeleton consisting of MreB polymers which form helical spirals underneath the cytoplasmic membrane to direct peptidoglycan synthesis for elongation of the cell wall. In contrast MreB of Streptomyces coelicolor is not required for vegetative growth, but has a role in sporulation. Beside MreB, S. coelicolor encodes two further MreB

We find problems with Vaesen's treatment of the primatological research, in particular his analysis of foresight, function representation, and social intelligence. We argue that his criticism of research on foresight in great apes is misguided. His claim that primates do not attach functions to particular objects is also problematic. Finally, his analysis of theory of mind neglects many distinctio

Background: Adipose tissue is a source of inflammatory cytokines which may influence insulin action. Aim: To evaluate exercise effects on plasma (p)-levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and interleukin (IL)-6 in Peruvian Amerindian women. Material and Methods: After five years of observation during which p-glucose deteriorated and weight increased, 44 Peruvian Amerindian women aged 20-59 y

Charge transport and recombination in nanostructured semiconductors are poorly understood key processes in dye-sensitized solar cells. We have employed time-resolved spectroscopies in the terahertz and visible spectral regions supplemented with Monte Carlo simulations to obtain unique information on these processes. Our results show that charge transport in the active solar cell material can be ve

Congenital muscular dystrophy with laminin α2 chain-deficiency (MDC1A) is one of the most severe forms of muscular disease and is characterized by severe muscle weakness and delayed motor milestones. The genetic basis of MDC1A is well-known, yet the secondary mechanisms ultimately leading to muscle degeneration and subsequent connective tissue infiltration are not fully understood. In order to obt

It has been suggested that mitochondrial dysfunction and DNA damage are involved in lymphomagenesis. Increased copy number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) as a compensatory mechanism of mitochondrial dysfunction previously has been associated with B-cell lymphomas, in particular chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However, current evidence is limited and based on a relatively small number of cases. U

Understanding the drivers of speciation is critical to interpreting patterns of biodiversity. The identification of the genetic changes underlying adaptation and reproductive isolation is necessary to link barriers to gene flow to the causal origins of divergence. Here, we present a novel approach to the genetics of speciation, which should complement the commonly used approaches of quantitative t

A detailed three-dimensional regional chemical transport model (Particulate Matter Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions, PMCAMx) was applied over Europe, focusing on the formation and chemical transformation of organic matter. Three periods representative of different seasons were simulated, corresponding to intensive field campaigns. An extensive set of AMS measurements was used to eva

The hidden Markov model (HMM) has been widely used in regime classification and turning point detection for econometric series after the decisive paper by Hamilton (Econometrica 57(2):357–384, 1989). The present paper will show that when using HMM to detect the turning point in cyclical series, the accuracy of the detection will be influenced when the data are exposed to high volatilities or combi

Intramolecular motions of proteins are critical for biological function. Transient structural fluctuations underlie a wide range of processes, including enzyme catalysis, ligand binding to buried sites, and generic protein motions, such as 180 degrees rotation of aromatic side chains in the protein interior, but remain poorly understood. Understanding the dynamics and molecular nature of concerted

Congenital muscular dystrophy caused by laminin α2 chain deficiency (also known as MDC1A) is a severe and incapacitating disease, characterized by massive muscle wasting. The ubiquitin-proteasome system plays a major role in muscle wasting and we recently demonstrated that increased proteasomal activity is a feature of MDC1A. The autophagy-lysosome pathway is the other major system involved in deg

The production cross sections of top-quark pairs in association with massive vector bosons have been measured using data from pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012 at the LHC. Final states with two, three or four leptons are considered. A fit to the data considering the t (t) over barW and t (t) o

Power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) may provide insight into the mental state of the animal held in restricted specific experimental conditions. Determining inter-beat-interval (IBI) variations is one way to measure changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in horses. An imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system can indicate pain or stress, f

The production of e(+)e(-) pairs for m(e+e-) < 0.3 GeV/c(2) and 1< p(T) < 5 GeV/c is measured in p + p and Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. An enhanced yield above hadronic sources is observed. Treating the excess as photon internal conversions, the invariant yield of direct photons is deduced. In central Au + Au collisions, the excess of the direct photon yield over p + p is exponentia

Introduction: Complement activation is involved in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS). Autoantibodies to complement inhibitor factor H (FH), particularly in association with deletions of the gene coding for FH-related protein 1 (CFHR1), are associated with aHUS. Methods: Autoantibodies against FH, factor I (FI) and C4b-bindin

Insights into oceanographic environmental conditions such as paleoproductivity, deep-water temperatures, salinity, ice volumes, and nutrient cycling have all been obtained from geochemical analyses of biomineralized carbonate of marine organisms. However, we cannot fully understand geochemical proxy incorporation and the fidelity of such in species until we better understand fundamental aspects of