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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome of patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus at 6 months and 5 years after shunt Surgery. METHODS: Seventy-five patients (mean age, 72.5 +/- 9 yr), with normal pressure hydrocephalus symptoms were included. Fifty-four patients with positive lumbar infusion and/or cerebrospinal fluid tap tests received a cerebrospinal fluid shunt, whereas 21 patients w
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited blinding disease for which there is no treatment available. It is characterized by a progressive and neurodegenerative loss of photoreceptors but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Excessive activation of the enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) has recently been shown to be involved in several neuropathologies. To investigate the possib
Animal migration is a widespread phenomenon that has evolved repeatedly in a diverse set of taxa. To cope with migration, individuals express a large variety of specialized behavioural adaptations, that rely on efficient sensory systems for extraction of relevant external information. Many behaviours are visually guided, such as foraging and predator avoidance, and most migratory animals possess e
Background: Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been suggested as the most promising biomarker of acute kidney injury. However, there are no reliable data on analytical sensitivity and reference limits of urinary NGAL (uNGAL) assay in pediatric age. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the analytical sensitivity and the reference range of uNGAL measured in urine specimens
Complexes of oppositely charged polymers and surfactants (OCPS) in water come in many varieties, including liquid-crystalline materials, soluble complexes, structured nanoparticles, and water-insoluble surface layers. The range of available structures and properties increases even further with the addition of other amphiphilic substances that may enter, or even dissolve, the complexes, depending o
For a number of applications, gluten protein polymer structures are of the highest importance in determining end-use properties. The present article focuses on gluten protein structures in the wheat grain, genotype- and environment-related changes, protein structures in various applications, and their impact on quality. Protein structures in mature wheat grain or flour are strongly related to end-
Background: The evidence about nitrosamines and heme iron intake and cancer risk is limited, despite the biologic plausibility of the hypothesis that these factors might increase cancer risk. We investigated the association between dietary nitrosamines and heme iron and the risk of prostate cancer among participants of European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Methods: D
Environmental change may affect predator-prey interactions in lakes through deterioration of visual conditions affecting foraging success of visually oriented predators. Environmental change in lakes includes an increase in humic matter causing browner water and reduced visibility, affecting the behavioural performance of both piscivores and prey. We studied diurnal patterns of prey selection in p
Iron deficiency is a common cause of morbidity and can arise as a consequence or complication from many diseases. The use of intravenous iron has increased significantly in the last decade, but concerns remain about indications and administration. Modern intravenous iron preparations can facilitate rapid iron repletion in one or two doses, both for absolute iron deficiency and, in the presence of
Introduction Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic, autoimmune connective tissue disease associated with high morbidity and mortality, especially in diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc). Currently, there are several treatments available in early dcSSc that aim to change the disease course, including immunosuppressive agents and autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). HSCT has been ado
A dyadic algorithm for diagonalizing an arbitrary positive definite band matrix, referred to as a band Gramian, is obtained to efficiently orthogonalize the B-splines. The algorithm can be also used as a fast inversion method for a band Gramian characterized by remarkable sparsity of the diagonalizing matrix. There are two versions of the algorithm: the first one is more efficient and is applicabl
Estimating crop evapotranspiration (ETa) is an important requirement for a rational assessment and management of water resources. The various remote sensing products allow the determination of crops’ biophysical variables integrated in the evaluation of ETa by using surface energy balance (SEB) models. This study compares ETa estimated by the simplified surface energy balance index (S-SEBI) using
Avian blood parasites have been intensively studied using morphological methods with limited information on their host specificity and species taxonomic status. Now the analysis of gene sequences, especially the mitochondrial cytochrome b (mt-cytb) gene of the avian haemosporidian species of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus, Fallisia and Leucocytozoon, offers a new tool to review the parasite specificity
BACKGROUND: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction may be caused by either pressure or volume overload. RV function is conventionally assessed with echocardiography using tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), RV fractional area change (RVFAC), tricuspid lateral annular systolic velocity (S') and RV index of myocardial performance (RIMP). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether
Obesity is a major health problem, and although caloric restriction and exercise are successful strategies to lose adipose tissue in obese individuals, a simultaneous decrease in skeletal muscle mass, negatively effects metabolism and muscle function. To deeper understand molecular events occurring in muscle during weight-loss, we measured the expressional change in human skeletal muscle following
China's rapid growth in electricity demand intensifies the twin challenges of water conservation and carbon reduction in a system where production and consumption are spatially mismatched. We develop a novel evaluation framework to quantify how electricity generation and interprovincial transmission redistribute “virtual” water and carbon. The method integrates national water/carbon footprints by
Aims/hypothesis: An intronic variant (rs10830963) in MTNR1B (encoding the melatonin receptor type 2 [MT2]) has been shown to strongly associate with impaired glucose regulation and elevated type 2 diabetes prevalence. However, MTNR1B missense variants have shown conflicting results on type 2 diabetes. Thus, we aimed to gain further insights into the impact of MTNR1B coding variants on type 2 diabe
Objectives: Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is associated with a poor prognosis and a lack of specific treatment options. The dysregulation of activin A (ActA) has been reported in various malignancies. Herein, we investigated the diagnostic and prognostic significance of ActA in LUSC. Materials and methods: ActA concentrations were measured using ELISA in plasma samples of 128 LUSC patients (
