Half-sandwich titanium(IV) complexes with Kläui's tripod ligand.

Treatment of [Ti(O-i-Pr)(2)Cl(2)] with NaL(OEt) (L(OEt)(-) = [CpCo[P(O)(OEt)(2)](3)](-), Cp = eta(5)-C(5)H(5)) afforded [L(OEt)Ti(O-i-Pr)(2)Cl] that reacted with HCl in ether to give [L(OEt)TiCl(3)] (1). The average Ti-O and Ti-Cl distances in 1 are 1.975 and 2.

Interaction of a soliton with a localized gain in a fiber Bragg grating.

A model of a lossy nonlinear fiber grating with a "hot spot," which combines a local gain and an attractive perturbation of the refractive index, is introduced. A family of exact solutions for pinned solitons is found in the absence of loss and gain. In the presence of the loss and localized gain, an instability threshold of the zero solution is found.

Hemodilutional anemia is associated with increased cerebral neuronal nitric oxide synthase gene expression.

Severe hemodilutional anemia may reduce cerebral oxygen delivery, resulting in cerebral tissue hypoxia. Increased nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression has been identified following cerebral hypoxia and may contribute to the compensatory increase in cerebral blood flow (CBF) observed after hypoxia and anemia. However, changes in cerebral NOS gene expression have not been reported after acute anemia.

American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Patch Testing and Allergic Dermatologic Disease Survey: use of patch testing and effect of education on confidence, attitude, and usage.

Background: The patch test is an important tool for the diagnosis of contact dermatitis. In the past few years, allergists have shown increased interest in the diagnosis of contact dermatitis and the use of patch testing.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine (1) the frequency of usage of the patch test among allergists, (2) the factors that affect the decision to patch test, and (3) the need for training the allergist to perform patch testing.

Reirradiation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma with intracavitary mold brachytherapy: an effective means of local salvage.

Purpose: To assess the role of intracavitary mold brachytherapy in salvaging local failure of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods And Materials: The outcomes of 118 consecutive NPC patients with local failure treated with mold brachytherapy between 1989 and 1996 were retrospectively reviewed. Eleven patients received additional external radiotherapy.

Mitotically stable association of polycomb group proteins eed and enx1 with the inactive x chromosome in trophoblast stem cells.

X inactivation in female mammals is one of the best studied examples of heritable gene silencing and provides an important model for studying maintenance of patterns of gene expression during differentiation and development. The process is initiated by a cis-acting RNA, the X inactive specific transcript (Xist). Xist RNA is thought to recruit silencing complexes to the inactive X, which then serve to establish and maintain the inactive state in all subsequent cell divisions.

Pulmonary embolism presenting as disseminated intravascular coagulation.

We report an unusual case of disseminated intravascular coagulation. Occult pulmonary embolism is a recognised cause of disseminated intravascular coagulation. Unexplained shock should prompt the physician to search for a thrombotic cause such as pulmonary thromboembolism.

Laparoscopic salpingectomy for women with hydrosalpinges enhances the success of IVF: a Cochrane review.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether surgical intervention is effective for women with tubal disease who are due to undergo treatment with IVF.

Methods: A systematic review employing the principles of the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group was undertaken. Three randomized controlled trials were included, the population of women in all three studies having hydrosalpinges.

Colchicine-induced myopathy and neuropathy.

Myopathy and neuropathy that have been induced by colchicine have been described only occasionally, although colchicine is a widely used drug. We describe a case of colchicine-induced myopathy and neuropathy in an 84-year-old woman who had renal impairment. Results from a muscle biopsy showed characteristic vacuolar myopathy and autophagic vacuoles.

Surgical treatment for tubal disease in women due to undergo in vitro fertilisation.

Background: Tubal disease, and particularly hydrosalpinx, has a detrimental effect on the outcome of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). It has been less clear whether surgical intervention for tubal disease prior to IVF is effective in improving the likelihood of successful outcome. Most data are retrospective or poorly controlled.

Green tea catechins partially protect DNA from (.)OH radical-induced strand breaks and base damage through fast chemical repair of DNA radicals.

The catechins, (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) are believed to be active constituents of green tea accounting for the reported chemoprevention of certain cancers. The molecular mechanisms by which the measured low concentrations (ca. micromolar) of catechins in humans can reduce the incidence of carcinogenesis is not clear.

Circadian variation of stroke onset in Hong Kong Chinese: a hospital-based study.

Circadian variation of onset of transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or stroke during four 6-hourly periods starting from midnight was studied in Hong Kong Chinese patients admitted to a regional hospital between October 1996 and July 1999. The onset was classifiable into one of the 6-hourly periods in 832 of 905 patients; patients with unclassifiable onset were more likely to have lacunar infarct and less likely to have intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). There was a significant circadian variation of onset in all strokes and TIA, TIA alone, ischaemic stroke (IS), ICH and different IS subtypes.

The impact of molecular biology on clinical neurology.

Advances in molecular biology have increased our understanding of both inherited and sporadic forms of neurological disease. In this review, the impact of these advances is discussed in relation to specific neurological conditions. These include the hereditary neuropathies and ataxias, Huntington's disease, and the muscular dystrophies, as well as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and motor neuron disease.

Depression in institutionalised older people with impaired vision.

Objectives: For depression in institutionalised elders with visual impairment, there is a lack of information in the literature. A panel study was performed: (1) to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms, and (2) to investigate the risk factors of depression.

Method: Residents of a nursing home for the aged blind were recruited.

The Holmes-Adie plus syndrome.

A clinical syndrome of tonic pupil associated with tendon areflexia was first described by Holmes and Adie; autonomic neuropathy and peripheral neuropathy can be associated. The postulated mechanism of areflexia in Holmes-Adie syndrome is a synaptic disorder of the spinal reflex pathways. We report a case of a Holmes-Adie syndrome variant with hitherto unreported cranial neuropathy.

Reduction in free-radical-induced DNA strand breaks and base damage through fast chemical repair by flavonoids.

This paper provides evidence that dietary flavonoids can repair a range of oxidative radical damages on DNA, and thus give protection against radical-induced strand breaks and base alterations. We have irradiated dilute aqueous solutions of plasmid DNA in the absence and presence of flavonoids (F) in a "constant *OH radical scavenging environment", k of 1.5 x 10(7) s(-1) by decreasing the concentration of TRIS buffer in relation to the concentration of added flavonoids.

Cost of epilepsy in Hong Kong: experience from a regional hospital.

To study the economic implications of epilepsy in Hong Kong, a cost-of-illness study was performed on a retrospective cohort of medically treated patients from a regional hospital. A societal perspective was examined. Utilization data from 1992 to 1996 were reviewed to obtain the direct costs.