Reliability of different Doppler ultrasound quantification methods and devices in the assessment of therapeutic response in arthritis.

Objective: To evaluate the metric qualities of power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS) for different quantification methods and devices in the assessment of arthritis during anti-inflammatory treatment.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with active arthritis and first-time treatment with the TNF-alpha inhibitor adalimumab underwent sequential clinical, laboratory and US examination at baseline, weeks 2, 6 and 12. 2D and 3D PDUS was performed by two independent investigators.

[Practicability of the mobile one-finger scanner Cross Match MV5 in fingerprinting of corpses: are mobile fingerprinting scanners suitable for use in mass disasters?].

Dactyloscopy is a special field in the police records department and a suitable means for identifying unknown dead persons as well as solving crimes by taking fingerprints from living persons. Apart from the conventional methods of dactyloscopy, mobile and more compact instruments are to facilitate taking prints of fingertips and palms also at the scene of mass disasters. In the presented study, living persons and corpses were examined to find out the possible uses and limits of mobile one-finger scanners.

Structure and properties of urea-crosslinked star poly[(ethylene oxide)-ran-(propylene oxide)] hydrogels.

Isocyanate-terminated six armed star shaped macromers with a statistical copolymer backbone consisting of 80% EO and 20% PO have previously demonstrated excellent protein and cell repellence as nano-layered surfaces. In this study, various macromers are mixed with water and provide a spectrum of materials that range from particles to uniform hydrogels. Due to hydrophobic end groups, 3 kDa molecular weight macromers result in micro and nano-particles, while 18 kDa macromers completely dissolve and consequently uniform, transparent, high water content hydrogels are formed.

Utilization of kura clover-reed canarygrass silage versus alfalfa silage by lactating dairy cows.

The mixture of kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) and reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.

Preterm spontaneous uterine rupture in a non-labouring grand multipara: a case report.

Background: Uterine rupture can be a catastrophic obstetrical emergency. Many risk factors for uterine rupture have been identified, as well as a wide range of clinical presentations. In this case report, we describe the occurrence of fetal death and uterine rupture in a non-labouring, preterm patient.

Ethanol-induced malfunction of neutrophils respiratory burst on patients suffering from alcohol dependence.

Background: Polymorphonuclear, neutrophil granulocytes (PMN) play a major role in the control of infections, and people who abuse alcohol are susceptible to infections. Resistance against infections ensues intracellularly following initial phagocytosis of microorganisms with the oxygen-dependent respiratory burst, the key enzyme of which is the respiratory burst oxidase, whereby oxygen radicals are produced for microbial destruction. To date there is insufficient information available in connection with the process of impaired defence against infection in patients suffering from alcohol dependence.

In vivo determination of the time and location of mucoadhesive drug delivery systems disintegration in the gastrointestinal tract.

Objective: The objective of this study was to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect the time when and the location at which orally delivered mucoadhesive drugs are released.

Materials And Methods: Drug delivery systems comprising tablets or capsules containing a mucoadhesive polymer were designed to deliver the polymer to the intestine in dry powder form. Dry Gd-DTPA [diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid gadolinium(III) dihydrogen salt hydrate] powder was added to the mucoadhesive polymer, resulting in a susceptibility artifact that allows tracking of the application forms before their disintegration and that gives a strong positive signal on disintegration.

Ki67 staining index and neuroendocrine differentiation aggravate adverse prognostic parameters in prostate cancer and are characterized by negligible inter-observer variability.

Introduction: This study aims to clarify whether neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) and/or proliferation activity assessed by means of Ki67 staining index (Ki67SI) might aggravate other established adverse prognostic parameters commonly used for predicting outcome in surgically treated prostate cancer, and to assess inter-observer variability in assigning NED and Ki67 SI.

Material And Methods: A total of 528 patients surgically treated due to prostate cancer were evaluated in this study. Relevant data were retrospectively obtained by chart review.

[Postmortem dismemberment/mutilation--medicolegal and criminalistic evaluation of the autopsies performed by the Institute of Legal Medicine at the Hanover Medical School].

Among all the autopsies performed by the Institute of Legal Medicine at the Hanover Medical School between 1978 and 1998. 16 cases of postmortem dismemberment/mutilation were evaluable under criminalistic and medicolegal aspects. In the present study, particular attention was paid to the psychosocial circumstances of the perpetrator's and victim's lives and also to the classification of the different types of postmortem dismemberment/mutilation illustrated by case reports.

Effects of supplementation and stage of lactation on performance of grazing dairy ewes.

The majority of dairy sheep in the world are fed pasture and supplemental grain during lactation; however, no trials have reported the effects of supplementation of dairy ewes grazing improved pastures in North America. In trial 1, 56 three-year-old grazing dairy ewes in early [21 +/- 10 d in milk (DIM)] or late (136 +/- 9 DIM) lactation were fed 0 or 0.82 kg of dry matter/d per ewe of supplement (16.

Evaluation of latent tuberculosis infection in patients with inflammatory arthropathies before treatment with TNF-alpha blocking drugs using a novel flow-cytometric interferon-gamma release assay.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of the conventional skin test and a novel flow cytometric whole blood assay in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients with rheumatological diseases evaluated for treatment with TNF-alpha-blocking agents.

Methods: Prospective study of 97 consecutively enrolled patients, who were assessed for the presence of LTBI through clinical history, Mendel-Mantoux skin testing and chest X-ray. In addition, T-cell reactivity towards tuberculin (PPD, purified protein derivative) and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific proteins ESAT-6 and CFP-10 was determined ex vivo using a flow cytometric whole blood assay.

Systemic inactivation of Hs6st1 in mice is associated with late postnatal mortality without major defects in organogenesis.

Heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans modulate the biological activity of a number of growth factors in development, homeostasis, and cancer. Specific modifications of HS chains by HS biosynthetic enzymes have been implicated in growth factor signaling in multiple aspects of organogenesis. Although the role of HS 6-O-sulfotransferases has been described in processes such as trachea formation in Drosophila and vasculogenesis in zebrafish, little is known about how HS 6-O-sulfotransferases (Hs6st1-3 in mice) influence mouse development.

Adiposity and age are statistically related to enhanced RASSF1A tumor suppressor gene promoter methylation in normal autopsy kidney tissue.

Age, adiposity, and smoking are risk factors for the development of renal cell carcinoma. Hypermethylation of the RAS association domain family 1A gene (RASSF1A) promoter belongs to the most frequently detected epigenetic alterations in human cancers including renal cell carcinoma. RASSF1A is functionally involved in cell cycle control in normal cells and depletion promotes a number of cellular changes increasing the risk for neoplastic growth.

Infants' visual and auditory communication when a partner is or is not visually attending.

In the current study we investigated infants' communication in the visual and auditory modalities as a function of the recipient's visual attention. We elicited pointing at interesting events from thirty-two 12-month olds and thirty-two 18-month olds in two conditions: when the recipient either was or was not visually attending to them before and during the point. The main result was that infants initiated more pointing when the recipient's visual attention was on them than when it was not.

Quantification of the synovial perfusion in rheumatoid arthritis using Doppler ultrasonography.

In the past decade, Power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS) has been established as a new imaging modality for the evaluation of synovial perfusion in the inflamed joints of patients with rheumatic diseases. Various studies have been dealing with the problem of a reproducible quantification method in PDUS as this still appears to be one of the main disadvantages in comparison with magnetic resonance imaging and also with contrast-enhanced ultrasound technique. The main studies addressing this problem are presented and compared to the recently described three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasound by outlining the advantages and the remaining difficulties in quantifying synovial vascularity with PDUS.

Expression of messenger ribonucleic acid encoding for phosphodiesterase isoenzymes in human female genital tissues.

Objectives: The use of inhibitors of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) has been suggested to treat symptoms of female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Nonetheless, there has been a relatively low success rate of PDE5 inhibitors in FSD in comparison with male erectile dysfunction. The elevated expression of PDE5 in the human penile erectile tissue is considered the reason for the high clinical efficacy of PDE5 inhibitors in the pharmacotherapy of male erectile dysfunction.

Correct dosage of Fog2 and Gata4 transcription factors is critical for fetal testis development in mice.

Previous reports suggested that humans and mice differ in their sensitivity to the genetic dosage of transcription factors that play a role in early testicular development. This difference implies that testis determination might be somewhat different in these two species. We report that the Fog2 and Gata4 transcription factors are haploinsufficient for testis determination in mice.

Correlation of in vitro and in vivo models for the oral absorption of peptide drugs.

The aim of this study was to evaluate two in vitro models, Caco-2 monolayer and rat intestinal mucosa, regarding their linear correlation with in vivo bioavailability data of therapeutic peptide drugs after oral administration in rat and human. Furthermore the impact of molecular mass (Mm) of the according peptides on their permeability was evaluated. Transport experiments with commercially available water soluble peptide drugs were conducted using Caco-2 cell monolayer grown on transwell filter membranes and with freshly excised rat intestinal mucosa mounted in Using type chambers.

Thiomers: forms, functions and applications to nanomedicine.

Thiolated polymers or designated thiomers are gained by immobilization of sulhydryl-bearing ligands on the polymeric backbone of well established polymers, such as chitosan and poly(acrylates). This functionalization leads to significantly improved properties compared with the corresponding unmodified polymers. Mucoadhesive properties are strongly improved by the formation of disulfide bonds between thiol groups of the thiomer and cysteine-rich glycoproteins of the mucus gel layer.

[Evaluation of blood and breath alcohol measurement in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma during procedures in intubated patients with percutaneous ethanol instillation].

The accuracy of breath alcohol measurements in intubated patients with assisted ventilation was evaluated. The breath alcohol concentration was measured in 24 patients undergoing percutaneous alcohol injection therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with Alcotest 7410 med, from Dräger, Germany. The blood ethanol concentrations (BACs) were determined in each blood serum applying the German forensic criteria standard, namely, two alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and two gas chromatography (GC) measurements.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-Akt-kinase-dependent phosphorylation of p21(Waf1/Cip1) as a novel mechanism of neuroprotection by glucocorticoids.

The role of glucocorticoids in the regulation of apoptosis remains incongruous. Here, we demonstrate that corticosterone protects neurons from apoptosis by a mechanism involving the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(Waf1/Cip1). In primary cortical neurons, corticosterone leads to a dose- and Akt-kinase-dependent upregulation with enhanced phosphorylation and cytoplasmic appearance of p21(Waf1/Cip1) at Thr 145.

Anatomy of the sural nerve in a computer-assisted model: implications for surgical minimal-invasive Achilles tendon repair.

Background: Sural nerve injuries are an evident risk especially of minimal-invasive surgical Achilles tendon repair. However, detailed anatomical studies focusing on the relationship of the sural nerve with the Achilles tendon at various levels are scarce, even pending in two planes.

Aim: To determine the position and course of the sural nerve in relation to the Achilles tendon in two planes after trans-section and computer-assisted determination.

Thiolated polymers: evaluation of the influence of the amount of covalently attached L-cysteine to poly(acrylic acid).

It was the aim of this study to investigate the influence of the amount of thiol groups being covalently attached to poly(acrylic acid) 450 kDa on its properties. Five different PAA(450)-L-cysteine conjugates (PAA(450)-Cys) were synthesized bearing 53.0 (PAA I), 113.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage treated with clipping: long-term effects on employment, relationships, personality, and mood.

Objective: Only one-third of patients regain functional independence after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Despite this recovery, many of these patients experience psychosocial problems. We assessed the long-term effects of SAH on employment, relationships, personality, and mood.