Electrical performance of a fully reconfigurable series-parallel photovoltaic module.

Reconfigurable photovoltaic modules are a promising approach to improve the energy yield of partially shaded systems. So far, the feasibility of this concept has been evaluated through simulations or simplified experiments. In this work, we analyse the outdoor performance of a full-scale prototype of a series-parallel photovoltaic module with six reconfigurable blocks.

Treatment of pain in fibromyalgia patients with testosterone gel: Pharmacokinetics and clinical response.

To test our hypothesis that testosterone deficiency plays an important role in chronic pain, a Phase I/II pilot study was initiated with 12 fibromyalgia patients to verify that a daily dose for 28days with transdermal testosterone gel would 1) significantly and safely increase mean serum testosterone concentrations from low baseline levels to mid/high-normal levels, and 2) effectively treat the pain and fatigue symptoms of fibromyalgia. Pharmacokinetic data confirmed that serum free testosterone concentrations were raised significantly above baseline levels, by assessment of maximum hormone concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC) parameters: free testosterone Cmax was significantly raised from a mean of 2.64pg/mL to 3.

New Hampshire House Bill 1719-FN. "An act defining human life as beginning at the moment of fertilization for the purposes of prenatal, pregnancy, and maternity services and programs".

Recently, the author was asked by the New Hampshire State Medical Society to testify before the State of New Hampshire's House Judiciary Committee, to address a bill that would establish the definition of when human life begins. Other states, such as South Dakota, recently passed a ban on abortion. Such legislation will severely limit a woman's ability to exercise her right to terminate her pregnancy.

Hormone therapies in women aged 40 and older: prevalence and correlates of use.

Context: The objective of this paper is to report the prevalence and correlates of both prescription and non-prescription hormone use.

Design/setting/sample: Cross-sectional baseline study from a prospective cohort of 30,448 women receiving mammography in New Hampshire.

Main Outcome Measures: Odds of prescription hormone and non-prescription hormone use.

True hermaphroditism presenting as bilateral gynecomastia in an adolescent phenotypic male.

Objective: To report a rare case of true hermaphroditism presenting in adolescence as bilateral gynecomastia in a phenotypic male.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Human immunodeficiency virus-specific and CD3-redirected cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity in the human female reproductive tract: lack of correlation between mucosa and peripheral blood.

CD8(+) T cell phenotype and function were assessed in the female reproductive tracts (FRTs) of 3 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients who had undergone hysterectomy. FRT cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) lytic activity from 1 patient (patient 872) was detected by using CD3-dependent redirected-lysis assay and HIV-specific assay, concomitant with the presence of CD8(+) cells. In contrast, samples from the 2 other HIV-positive patients (patients 1356 and 1364), who also were asymptomatic for HIV-associated illnesses, demonstrated no CTL activity in any solid tissue tested by either assay, despite activity by autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).

The relationship between trauma, PTSD, and medical utilization in three high risk medical populations.

Objective: Increased use of medical and psychiatric services has been reported as a correlate of exposure to trauma. Recent studies suggest that: 1) physical and sexual abuse traumas are particularly associated with increased utilization and 2) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a common sequela of abuse, mediates the relationship between trauma exposure andelevated utilization. The goal of this study was to explore the relationships between trauma, abuse, PTSD, and medical utilization in three medical help seeking groups reported to be at high risk for trauma exposure.

Has the impact of hormone replacement therapy on health-related quality of life been undervalued?

Previous economic evaluations of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have restricted positive effects to alleviation of postmenopausal symptoms and negative effects to drug side effects. We studied the association between HRT use and postmenopausal women's valuation of both health-related quality of life and potential treatment side effects. Postmenopausal women with either a documented first vertebral fracture within the past 5 years or no history of osteoporotic fractures were recruited from Olmsted County, Minnesota, and from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire to participate in a study to assess quality of life and women's attitudes toward osteoporosis prevention.

Vabra aspirator and pipelle endometrial suction curette. A comparison.

Objective: To compare the Pipelle suction curette with the Vabra aspirating catheter in terms of their ability to obtain a sufficient amount of tissue (> or = 1 mm2 of endometrium) in order to make a histologic diagnosis.

Study Design: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, crossover study at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which serves as the clinical staff of the Dartmouth Medical School.

Results: Agreement between the Pipelle and Vabra was high: 74 of 79 (93.

A bipolar radiofrequency catheter fails to occlude a feline uterine horn: A model for fallopian tube occlusion.

We developed a retrograde transvaginal-transcervical-transuterine sterilization technique capable of causing occlusive fibrosis and stricture in the human fallopian tube. The procedure is required to induce a lesion at the intramural-isthmic portion of the tube at sufficient depth to damage epithelium underlying the submucosa and inner muscular layer, without acute damage to the outer muscular layer and serosal surface. Nineteen nulliparous purpose-bred cats were induced and maintained in an anestrus state with testosterone cypionate 5 mg/kg intramuscularly and a 6-18-hour light-dark cycle.

A comparison of clomiphene citrate and human menopausal gonadotropin for use in conjunction with intrauterine insemination.

Objective: To compare the outcome of superovulation using clomiphene citrate (CC) versus hMG in conjunction with IUI.

Design: Sequentially assigned, observational study. Couples initially were assigned to receive either CC or hMG for three cycles.

Virilization during pregnancy with spontaneous resolution postpartum: a case report and review of the English literature.

The incidence of gestational hyperandrogenism secondary to ovarian pathology is low. However, when the condition does exist, diagnosis should be made with minimally invasive modalities. It is important to provide appropriate medical/surgical intervention without disturbing the pregnancy iatrogenically or causing unnecessary maternal morbidity.

Antisperm antibodies in women: variability in antibody levels in serum, mucus, and peritoneal fluid.

Objective: To look for patterns of antisperm antibody expression in women by exploring the levels of antisperm antibodies in different body fluids. This was achieved by studying sequential serum samples from individual patients and by comparing the levels of antisperm antibodies in serum from a number of patients with the levels of antisperm antibodies in cervical mucus or peritoneal fluid (PF).

Design: Prospective studies were performed on sequential serum samples within a menstrual cycle.

A 10-year prospective study of women with a history of recurrent fetal losses fails to identify Listeria monocytogenes in the genital tract.

An attempt was made to isolate L. monocytogenes from the cervix and endometrium of patients who presented to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's Reproductive Counseling Unit with a history of two or more fetal losses. Endometrial tissue and endocervical swabs were cultured in a prospective fashion for the presence of L.

Alveolar and peritoneal macrophages bear three distinct classes of Fc receptors for IgG.

The FcR for IgG on the plasma membrane of cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system mediate a number of different biologic responses such as phagocytosis, pinocytosis, superoxide generation, and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity. In the interest of understanding the pathophysiology of these processes we have begun to characterize the FcR for IgG on two readily available sources of macrophages--the lung and the peritoneum--using antireceptor mAb. We find that all three of the distinct classes of FcR for IgG which have been described in man are present on both pulmonary and peritoneal macrophages.

Comparison of the direct radiolabeled antiglobulin assay and the direct immunobead binding test for detection of sperm-associated antibodies.

Thirty-seven semen samples were assayed for sperm-associated IgG and IgA using the immunobead test. Portions of these sperm samples were sent for testing with a direct radiolabeled antiglobulin assay and the testing results were compared. If the results of the immunobead test when only tail-tip bead binding was noted are regarded as negative, there was close correlation between the two assay methodologies.

Glucocorticoid effects on the production and actions of immune cytokines.

The immunosuppressive actions of glucocorticoids form the basis for their use in treatment of autoimmune diseases and prevention of allograft rejection. However, the mechanisms responsible for glucocorticoid-induced immunosuppression are still poorly understood. It is now clear that glucocorticoids do not inhibit all aspects of the immune response and, in some cases, may enhance certain functions of immune effector cells.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the use of methylprednisolone in infertile men with sperm-associated immunoglobulins.

Forty-three men with antibody-mediated infertility identified by measuring sperm-associated immunoglobulin with a direct radiolabeled antiglobulin assay were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled protocol to judge the efficacy of corticosteroids in this condition. In the active drug group, men were given 96 mg methylprednisolone in three divided doses for 7 days followed by a 2-day tapering of the drug. The control group was given placebo in the same manner.

Serum progesterone, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, human chorionic gonadotropin, and prolactin in early pregnancy and a case of spontaneous abortion.

Sequential serum samples were obtained from each of seven healthy volunteers whose dates of conception were carefully monitored, with the use of artificial insemination techniques. Progesterone, 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, beta-hCG, and prolactin were measured by radioimmunoassay, utilizing specific antibodies. Of the seven initial volunteers, six women delivered viable, healthy infants.

Probable parasellar meningioma in a pregnant woman.

An intracranial meningioma was diagnosed in a 28-year-old woman during the second trimester of her fifth pregnancy. Similar cases in the literature are reviewed and the experience at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital with intracranial neoplasms occurring in pregnant woman during the 10-year period from January 1965 to January 1976 is reported. The management of the reported patient and the pathophysiology of meningiomas are discussed.