Sensory modulation of fasciculation discharge frequency.

Introduction: Fasciculations are a marker for the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and reflect increased lower motor neuron (LMN) excitability.

Methods: We investigated modulation of fasciculation frequency in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of the right hand following peripheral sensory nerve electrical stimulation, and vibration over the muscle-tendon region (50 and 100 Hz), in patients with ALS, spinal muscular atrophy, and benign fasciculation syndrome. FDI muscles of ALS patients were classified by the presence or absence of neurogenic changes on needle electromyography.

Religious Affiliation Modulates Weekly Cycles of Cropland Burning in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Vegetation burning is a common land management practice in Africa, where fire is used for hunting, livestock husbandry, pest control, food gathering, cropland fertilization, and wildfire prevention. Given such strong anthropogenic control of fire, we tested the hypotheses that fire activity displays weekly cycles, and that the week day with the fewest fires depends on regionally predominant religious affiliation. We also analyzed the effect of land use (anthrome) on weekly fire cycle significance.

Sensitivity of MUP parameters in detecting change in early ALS.

Objectives: We aimed to identify the most appropriate MUP parameter to evaluate reinnervation in very early ALS.

Methods: We studied tibialis anterior (TA), initially of normal strength with normal MUP analysis parameters, in 15 patients with ALS of recent onset. They were studied at the initial diagnostic assessment, and then 3 and 6 months later.

Motor unit firing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other upper and lower motor neurone disorders.

Objective: Motor unit recruitment order and firing rate was investigated in healthy subjects, and in small numbers of patients 50years ago. We aimed to investigate firing rate in different disorders, testing the same target muscle with normal strength, to evaluate possible application in diagnosing upper motor neuron (UMN) lesion.

Methods: We studied motor unit firing in the tibialis anterior muscle in six groups of subjects; normal subjects (n=45), patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (n=36), primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) (n=21), progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) (n=14), various upper motor neurone lesions (n=16) and polyneuropathy (n=42).

Nonparametric Bayesian estimation of the three-way receiver operating characteristic surface.

We describe a nonparametric Bayesian approach for estimating the three-way ROC surface based on mixtures of finite Polya trees (MFPT) priors. Mixtures of finite Polya trees are robust models that can handle nonstandard features in the data. We address the difficulties in modeling continuous diagnostic data with skewness, multimodality, or other nonstandard features, and how parametric approaches can lead to misleading results in such cases.

Influence of soil fertility on dye flavonoids production in weld (Reseda luteola L.) accessions from Portugal.

A HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) methodology was developed to allow the simultaneous identification and quantification of Reseda luteola L. (weld) dye flavonoids, luteolin, apigenin, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, apigenin 7-O-glucoside, luteolin 3',7-O-diglucoside and luteolin 4'-O-glucoside. The method was validated with excellent results in linearity, sensibility, accuracy and precision.

Serial changes in oxidized low-density lipoprotein associated with culprit vessel in ST-elevation myocardial infarction--a promising marker?

The aim of the present study was to investigate variations in oxidized LDL (oxLDL) at the onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and over the recovery period, exploring their relationship with coronary disease severity. A follow-up of 50 AMI patients was evaluated against 25 healthy volunteers (reference group). The AMI patients were evaluated at three time points: at admission before the administration of IIb/IIIa inhibitors and angioplasty, and two and 40 days after intervention.

Predicting respiratory insufficiency in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: the role of phrenic nerve studies.

Objective: Respiratory function tests are used to detect early signs of hypoventilation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, there are few studies of the predictive value of these tests in detecting hypoventilation.

Methods: We included 199 ALS patients.

Motor responses evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation in the ulnar innervation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: the effect of upper and lower motor neuron lesion.

We studied the upper (UMN) and lower motor neuron (LMN) innervations of 159 hands from 81 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Eleven patients with various chronic LMN disorders causing weakness in the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle served as LMN controls. Thirty healthy subjects served as normal controls.