Retraining postural responses with exercises emphasizing speed poststroke.

Background: Postural responses are impaired after stroke, with reduced or delayed muscle activity in the paretic leg muscles.

Objective: The efficacy of exercises emphasizing speed of movement in modifying postural responses to perturbations that were not practiced was investigated.

Design: This was a dual cohort design.

Effects of fast functional exercise on muscle activity after stroke.

Background: In stroke rehabilitation, considerable emphasis is placed on improving muscle strength with less focus on the speed of movement. Muscle power (product of force and velocity) is essential for balance and mobility but velocity of movement is impaired after stroke.

Objective: The purpose of this efficacy study is to determine if a single session of fast functional movements can increase muscle activation and the speed of movement in participants with a subacute stroke.

Ulipristal acetate versus placebo for fibroid treatment before surgery.

Background: The efficacy and safety of oral ulipristal acetate for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids before surgery are uncertain.

Methods: We randomly assigned women with symptomatic fibroids, excessive uterine bleeding (a score of >100 on the pictorial blood-loss assessment chart [PBAC, an objective assessment of blood loss, in which monthly scores range from 0 to >500, with higher numbers indicating more bleeding]) and anemia (hemoglobin level of ≤10.2 g per deciliter) to receive treatment for up to 13 weeks with oral ulipristal acetate at a dose of 5 mg per day (96 women) or 10 mg per day (98 women) or to receive placebo (48 women).

Electrochromic and optical study of atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition MoO3-Cr2O3 films.

Electrochromism (EC) is a phenomenon in which materials are able to change their optical properties in a reversible and persistent way under the action of a voltage pulse. The studied MoO3-Cr2O3 films are obtained by atmospheric pressure CVD. Mixing MoO3 films with Cr2O3 is expected to enhance optical transparency and to modulate electrochromic properties of MoO3 films.

[Cliniko-laboratory indicators of efficiency fermento-substitution therapy of Gaucher disease in Ukraine].

The analysis of efficiency of treatment of 17 patients with Gaucher disease (GD) in Ukraine who had received fermento-substitution therapy for 2 years and more was conducted on the basis of clinical and laboratory monitoring data. Regular infusions of recombinant glucocerebroside reduced signs of hepatosplenomegaly and pancytopenia, reduced a bone pain and a bone crisis at the majority of patients with GD I type that led to considerable improvement of health state and improvement of patients life quality. Efficiency of treatment depended on regularity of drug administration, dosage and severity level of the disease at the start of the therapy.

[Personality self-actualization: an independent additional risk factor of myocardial infarction and unstable angina].

It is shown for the first time that changes of self-actualization (SA) in patients with CHD are the main risk factor of myocardial infarction (MI) and unstable angina (UA). The clinical course and prognosis of MI correlate with SA prior to the development of an acute coronary event. Isolated correlations exist between CHD risk factors and results of SA questionnaire studies.

The origins of neuromuscular fatigue post-stroke.

Fatigue post-stroke is a disabling and persistent symptom affecting many stroke survivors. Despite its high prevalence, the pathophysiology underlying this phenomenon remains obscure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the origins of neuromuscular fatigue post-stroke.

Control of fast squatting movements after stroke.

Objective: Little is known about how residual motor impairments after stroke affect the motor control of fast movements, particularly those that combine postural control and limb movement. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of stroke on the motor control of fast squatting movements.

Methods: Seventeen individuals with hemiparesis and seventeen age- and sex-matched controls performed fast squatting movements.

Intrinsic subtypes of gastric cancer, based on gene expression pattern, predict survival and respond differently to chemotherapy.

Background & Aims: Gastric cancer (GC) is a heterogeneous disease comprising multiple subtypes that have distinct biological properties and effects in patients. We sought to identify new, intrinsic subtypes of GC by gene expression analysis of a large panel of GC cell lines. We tested if these subtypes might be associated with differences in patient survival times and responses to various standard-of-care cytotoxic drugs.

Savinase proteolysis of insulin Langmuir monolayers studied by surface pressure and surface potential measurements accompanied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging.

The mechanism of the enzymatic action of Savinase on an insulin substrate organized in a monolayer at the air-water interface was studied. We followed two steps experimental approach classical surface pressure and surface potential measurements in combination with atomic force microscopy imaging. Utilizing the barostat surface balance, the hydrolysis kinetic was followed by measuring simultaneously the decrease in the surface area and the change of the surface potential versus time.

[Study of the neuroprotective action of hybrid structures based on fullerene C60].

The neuroprotective action of hybrid structures based on fullerene C60 with attached proline amino acid has been studied. Hybrid structures contained natural antioxidant carnosine or addends with one or two nitrate groups. It has been shown that all studied compounds had antioxidant activity and decreased the concentration of malondialdehyde in homogenates of the rat brain.

Hydrolysis of mixed monomolecular films of tricaprylin/dilauroylphosphatidylcholine by lipase and phospholipase A₂.

The purpose of this article was to describe the kinetics of the enzymatic action of one or more enzymes on mixture of substrates organized in 2D structures in order to mimic some situations existing in biological or industrial systems. Hydrolysis of the mixed monomolecular films of tricaprylin/dilauroylphosphatidylcholine (TC8/DiC12PC) by Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) and phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) was studied by measuring the decrease of the surface area and change of the surface potential at barostatic conditions. The decrease of the surface area detects the transition of the substrate into reaction products and their solubilization while the change of the surface potential detects the contribution of dipole moment of the molecules remaining at the interface during the hydrolysis.

[Dirofilariasis in the Moscow Region, a low disease transmission risk area].

The spread of canine and human dirofilariasis was first studied in the Moscow Region, a low disease transmission risk area. D.repens infestation was found to have a tendency to increase in Moscow residents with the imported cases being predominant.

[Monitoring delagil (chloroquine) efficacy against imported Plasmodium vivax strains].

The efficiency of P. vivax malaria treatment with delagil (chloroquine) was evaluated in 122 patients, including 82 cases in Moscow and the Moscow region. The origin of the cases was malaria endemic areas in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Region, South America, and Transcaucasia.

Arc/Arg3.1 mRNA expression reveals a subcellular trace of prior sound exposure in adult primary auditory cortex.

Acquiring the behavioral significance of sound has repeatedly been shown to correlate with long term changes in response properties of neurons in the adult primary auditory cortex. However, the molecular and cellular basis for such changes is still poorly understood. To address this, we have begun examining the auditory cortical expression of an activity-dependent effector immediate early gene (IEG) with documented roles in synaptic plasticity and memory consolidation in the hippocampus: Arc/Arg3.

G1/S transcription and the DNA synthesis checkpoint: common regulatory mechanisms.

When DNA replication is challenged, cells activate a DNA-synthesis checkpoint blocking cell cycle progression until they are able to overcome the replication defects. In fission yeast, Cds1 is the effector kinase of this checkpoint, inhibiting M phase entry through inactivation of the phosphatase Cdc25, stabilizing stalled replication forks to prevent deleterious DNA structures and triggering transcriptional activation of S-phase genes. The MBF complex controls the transcription of genes required for the S phase and Yox1, a homeodomain-containing protein, binds and represses MBF-dependent transcription at the end of S phase in a cell cycle-regulated manner.

Minimal alterations in T-type calcium channel gating markedly modify physiological firing dynamics.

T-type calcium channel isoforms expressed in heterologous systems demonstrate marked differences in the biophysical properties of the resulting calcium currents. Such heterogeneity in gating behaviour not only reflects structural differences but is also observed following the regulation of channel activity by a number of ligands. However, the physiological impact of these differences in gating parameters of the T channels has never been evaluated in situ where the unique interplay between T-type calcium and other intrinsic currents is conserved, and T channel activation can be triggered by synaptic stimulation.

Giant rotating magnetocaloric effect in the region of spin-reorientation transition in the NdCo₅ single crystal.

We have investigated the anisotropy of the magnetocaloric effect in a NdCo₅ single crystal in a wide range of temperatures, including the spin-reorientation temperature region. In the field μ(0)H =1.3 T in the spin-reorientation region 250-310 K, we discovered a giant rotating magnetocaloric effect of ~ 1.

Nonischemic central retinal vein occlusion in an adolescent patient with ulcerative colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can present with extraintestinal manifestations occasionally involving the eye. Retinal vein occlusions are rarely seen and have never been reported in the pediatric population though vascular thrombosis can be associated with IBD. Here, we present a case of what we believe is the youngest reported patient with nonischemic central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).

Yox1 links MBF-dependent transcription to completion of DNA synthesis.

When DNA replication is challenged cells activate a DNA synthesis checkpoint, blocking cell cycle progression until they are able to overcome the replication defects. In fission yeast, Cds1 is the effector kinase of this checkpoint, inhibiting M-phase entry, stabilizing stalled replication forks and triggering transcriptional activation of S-phase genes. The molecular basis of this last effect is largely unknown.

Changes in kinematics and trunk electromyography during a 2000 m race simulation in elite female rowers.

Achieving excellence in rowing requires optimization of technique to maximize efficiency and force production. Investigation of the kinematics of the trunk, upper and lower extremity, together with muscle activity of the trunk, provides an insight into the motor control strategies utilized over a typical race. Nine elite female rowers performed a 2000 m race simulation.

Changes in the estimated time course of the motoneuron afterhyperpolarization induced by tendon vibration.

Group Ia afferents are activated vigorously with high-frequency tendon vibration and provide excitatory input to the agonist muscle and inhibitory input to the antagonist muscle group via inhibitory interneurons. The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether the afterhyperpolarization (AHP) time course in humans is altered in response to tendon vibration. The AHP time course is estimated using the interval death rate (IDR) analysis, a transform of the motor unit action potential train.

Cortical control of Hering-Breuer reflexes in anesthetized rats.

It had been hypothesized that the regions of prefrontal cortex which are involved in respiratory control can modulate Hering-Breuer reflexes evoked by vagal input from pulmonary stretch receptors. In the present study, experiments were performed on urethane anesthetized spontaneously breathing Wistar rats. The expiratory-promoting reflex was evaluated from changes in expiratory time immediately after airway occlusion at the end of inspiration.

Fingerprint-like Analysis of "Nanoantibody" Selection by Phage Display Using Two Helper Phage Variants.

This paper discusses the selection of mini-antibody (nanoantibody, nanobody® or single domain antibody) sequences of desired specificity by phage display-based method using a generated library of antigen-binding domains of special heavy-chain only antibodies (single-stranded antibodies) of immunized camel. A comprehensive comparison of the efficiency of parallel selection procedures was performed by using the traditional (M13KO7) and modified (with N-terminal deletion in the surface gIII protein) helper phages. These two methods are partly complementary, and by using them in parallel one can significantly improve the selection efficiency.