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There is increasing awareness that the medications used to treat the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) contribute to the development of behavioral addictions, which have been clinically defined as impulsive compulsive behaviors (ICBs). These features include pathological gambling, compulsive sexual behavior, binge eating, compulsive shopping, excessive hobbyism or punding, and the excessi
We put forward an approach for the development of a nonlocal density functional by a direct modeling of the shape of exchange-correlation (xc) hole in inhomogeneous systems. The functional is aimed at giving an accurate xc energy and an accurate corresponding xc potential even in difficult near-degeneracy situations such as molecular bond breaking. In particular we demand that: (1) the xc hole pro
OBJECTIVES: Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is a common genetic cause of chronic liver disease. According to retrospective studies, up to 25% of those with homozygous ZZ (Glu 342 to Lys) AATD suffer from liver cirrhosis and/or liver cancer in late adulthood. We hypothesized that the plasma markers for liver fibrosis, necrosis, and apoptosis may identify AATD individuals at higher risk for liv
We present a comprehensive study of the application of photon time-of-flight spectroscopy (PTOFS) in the wavelength range 1050 1350 nm as a spectroscopic technique for the evaluation of the chemical composition and structural properties of pharmaceutical tablets. PTOFS is compared to transmission near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). In contrast to transmission NIRS, PTOFS is capable of directly and
The development of inhibitors is the most serious iatrogenic complication affecting patients with haemophilia. This complication is associated with impaired vital or functional prognosis, reduced quality of life and increased cost of treatment. The reasons why some patients develop antibodies to factor replacement and others do not remain unclear. It is however clear that inhibitor development res
Objectives: To characterize intraocular pressure (IOP) changes during 6 years of follow-up among patients with early, newly diagnosed glaucoma randomized to no initial treatment in the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (control group) and to evaluate factors associated with IOP changes in this group. Methods: Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial control patients, aged 50 to 80 years at baseline, were followe
Orthostatic hypotension has been linked with increased mortality and cardiovascular morbidity; however, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. The aim of the study was to assess markers of coagulability in patients with and without orthostatic hypotension who suffered transient loss of consciousness.
Regenerative cooling system at supercritical conditions can accommodate high heat fluxes effectively in aerospace applications. The potential of nanofluids as regenerative coolants at supercritical pressures was evaluated in this work. Experiments were carried out to study the heat transfer characteristics of Al2O3-kerosene nanofluids flowing upward in a vertical minitube at supercritical pressure
This paper investigates how classical measurement error and additive outliers (AO) influence tests for structural change based on F-statistics. We derive theoretically the impact of general additive disturbances in the regressors on the asymptotic distribution of these tests for structural change. The small sample properties in the case of classical measurement error and AO are investigated via Mo
The impact of climate and emissions changes on the deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) over Europe was studied using four offline regional chemistry transport models (CTMs) driven by the same global projection of future climate over the period 2000-2050. Anthropogenic emissions for the years 2005 and 2050 were used for simulations of both present and future periods in order to isolate the impact
Objectives: Apolipoproteins play important roles in the development of atherosclerosis but their involvement in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is poorly understood. The aim was to investigate whether apoA-I, apoB and apoM are independently associated with AAA. Design and methods: Plasma apoA-I, apoB and apoM were measured in 343 patients with AAA and in 214 elderly apparently
The present study investigates whether two types of word combinations (free combinations and collocations) differ in terms of processing by testing Howarth's Continuum Model based on word combination typologies from a phraseological tradition. A visual semantic judgment task was administered to advanced Swedish learners of English (n = 27) and native English-speaking controls (n = 38). Reaction ti
Application of mycorrhizal inoculum could be one way to increase the yield of rice plants, and reduce the application of fertilizer. We therefore studied arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the roots of wetland rice (Oryza sativa L.) collected at the seedling, tillering, heading and ripening stages in four paddy wetlands that had been under a high-input and intensively irrigated rice cultivation
Directional antennas have been used to solve interference and connectivity issues in wireless networks for some time. Many scenarios have been presented and often positive conclusions are drawn, i.e., showing the increase in capacity. However, to date the research has mainly focused on either antenna placement or transmission scheduling but not the two combined. Such consideration will become incr
Ultrasound imaging of the heart is a non-invasive method widely used for different applications. One of them is to measure the blood volume in the left ventricle at different stages of the heart cycle. This demands a proper segmentation of the left ventricle and a (semi-) automated method would decrease intra-variability as well as workload. This paper presents a semi-automated segmentation method t
Cutaneous leishmaniasis triggers a varied immune response depending on parasite and host factors, which in turn can be influenced by nutrients. The resistance to the infection is associated with the Th1 type of cytokine production. The Th1 type can be reduced as a consequence of zinc deficiency, which may increase the risk for chronicity of the infection. Using in vitro and ex vivo models, we stud
Background: Contact allergy to acrylates and methacrylates is not uncommon. The allergy is confirmed by patch-testing patients with commercial patch-test preparations. Objective: To investigate acrylate and methacrylate allergens used for patch testing in nine different dermatology departments from Europe, America, Asia, and Australia. Methods: The acrylate and methacrylate (methyl methacrylate, 2
