Prenatal Repair and Physical Functioning Among Children With Myelomeningocele: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), a randomized clinical trial of prenatal vs standard postnatal repair for myelomeningocele, found that prenatal repair reduced hydrocephalus and hindbrain herniation and improved motor function in children aged 12 to 30 months. The Management of Myelomeningocele Study Follow-up (MOMS2) was conducted in children at ages 5 to 10 years. The primary (neurocognitive) outcome has already been reported.

Age-based normative data for a computerized dynamic posturography system that uses a virtual visual surround environment.

Background: Computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) is the gold standard to differentiate between sensory, motor, and central adaptive impairments to postural control.

Objective: To obtain normative values in healthy adults age 20-69 for a CDP system that uses a full-field dynamic visual surround. This is in contrast to the mechanically movable visual surround used in traditional CDP systems.

Effects of support surface and optic flow on step-like movements in pre-crawling and crawling infants.

Step-like movements were examined in pre-crawling (n=9) and crawling (n=9) 6-13 month-old infants in the air and on a surface in response to a static pattern or optic flows that moved toward or away from the infant. Infants completed six 60-s trials. A significant interaction between locomotor status and support condition revealed that pre-crawling infants made more step-like movements in the air than on a rigid surface.

Do Physical Therapy Interventions Affect Urinary Incontinence and Quality of Life in People with Multiple Sclerosis?: An Evidence-Based Review.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) presents with many debilitating symptoms, including urinary incontinence (UI), that physical therapy (PT) may address; UI is widely prevalent, but PT management of symptoms lacks consensus. A meta-analysis of long-term nonsurgical and nonpharmaceutical treatment options may supply this deficiency. We analyzed the current evidence for effectiveness of PT to decrease UI and improve quality of life (QOL) in people with MS.

Reliability of the Function in Sitting Test (FIST).

The function in sitting test (FIST) is a newly developed, performance-based measure examining deficits in seated postural control. The FIST has been shown to be internally consistent and valid in persons with neurological dysfunction but intra- and interrater reliability and test-retest reliability have not been previously described. Seven patients with chronic neurologic dysfunction were tested and videotaped performing the FIST on two consecutive days.

The role of locomotion in psychological development.

The psychological revolution that follows the onset of independent locomotion in the latter half of the infant's first year provides one of the best illustrations of the intimate connection between action and psychological processes. In this paper, we document some of the dramatic changes in perception-action coupling, spatial cognition, memory, and social and emotional development that follow the acquisition of independent locomotion. We highlight the range of converging research operations that have been used to examine the relation between locomotor experience and psychological development, and we describe recent attempts to uncover the processes that underlie this relation.

Natural Sesquiterpene Lactones Induce Oxidative Stress in Leishmania mexicana.

Leishmaniasis is a worldwide parasitic disease, caused by monoflagellate parasites of the genus Leishmania. In the search for more effective agents against these parasites, the identification of molecular targets has been attempted to ensure the efficiency of drugs and to avoid collateral damages on the host's cells. In this work, we have investigated some of the mechanisms of action of a group of natural sesquiterpene lactones that are effective against Leishmania mexicana mexicana promastigotes.

Physical therapist-established intensive care unit early mobilization program: quality improvement project for critical care at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.

Background: Long-term weakness and disability are common after an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Usual care in the ICU prevents most patients from receiving preventative early mobilization.

Objective: The study objective was to describe a quality improvement project established by a physical therapist at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center from 2009 to 2011.

Effect of compressive force on unbinding specific protein-ligand complexes with force spectroscopy.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used extensively for the investigation of noncovalent molecular association. Although the technique is used to derive various types of information, in almost all instances the frequency of complex formation, the magnitude of rupture forces, and the shape of the force-distance curve are used to determine the behavior of the system. We have used AFM to consider the effect of contact force on the unbinding profiles of lactose-galectin-3, as well as the control pairs lactose-KDPG aldolase, and mannose-galectin-3, where the interacting species show negligible solution-phase affinity.

Co-occurrence patterns along a regional aridity gradient of the subtropical Andes do not support stress gradient hypotheses.

The stress gradient hypothesis posits that facilitation and stress are positively correlated. The hump-shaped hypothesis, on the contrary, proposes that facilitation is greater at intermediate stress levels. The relationship between facilitation and environmental stress is commonly studied at small spatial scales and/or considering few species; thus, the implications of facilitation at a community level remain poorly understood.

Carbon nanotube-nanocup hybrid structures for high power supercapacitor applications.

Here, we design and develop high-power electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) using carbon-based three dimensional (3-D) hybrid nanostructured electrodes. 3-D hybrid nanostructured electrodes consisting of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on highly porous carbon nanocups (CNCs) were synthesized by a combination of anodization and chemical vapor deposition techniques. A 3-D electrode-based supercapacitor showed enhanced areal capacitance by accommodating more charges in a given footprint area than that of a conventional CNC-based device.

Expression and activation of ephexin is altered after spinal cord injury.

Failure of axon regeneration after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is attributable in part to the presence of inhibitory molecular interactions. Recent evidence demonstrates that activation of Eph signaling pathways leads to modulation of growth cone dynamics and repulsion through the activation of ephexin, a novel guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF). However, little is known about the expression and modulation of Eph molecular targets in the injured spinal cord.

Incidence and prognosis of different types of functional renal failure in cirrhotic patients with ascites.

Background & Aims: Hepatorenal syndrome is a well-characterized type of terminal renal failure that occurs in patients with cirrhosis with ascites. Information about other types of functional renal failure in these patients is scarce. We assessed the incidence and prognosis of different types of functional renal failure in cirrhotic patients with ascites and investigated prognostic factors for these disorders.

Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy of DNA-Based Reversible Polymer Bridges: Surface Robustness and Homogeneity.

Single-molecule force spectroscopy, as implemented in an atomic force microscope, provides a rarely-used method by which to monitor dynamic processes that occur near surfaces. Here, a methodology is presented and characterized that facilitates the study of polymer bridging across nanometer-sized gaps. The model system employed is that of DNA-based reversible polymers, and an automated procedure is introduced that allows the AFM tip-surface contact point to be automatically determined, and the distance d between opposing surfaces to be actively controlled.

Minimizing pulling geometry errors in atomic force microscope single molecule force spectroscopy.

In atomic force microscopy-based single molecule force spectroscopy (AFM-SMFS), it is assumed that the pulling angle is negligible and that the force applied to the molecule is equivalent to the force measured by the instrument. Recent studies, however, have indicated that the pulling geometry errors can drastically alter the measured force-extension relationship of molecules. Here we describe a software-based alignment method that repositions the cantilever such that it is located directly above the molecule's substrate attachment site.

Study of some physicochemical and functional properties of quinoa (chenopodium quinoa willd) protein isolates.

The amino acid composition and the physicochemical and functional properties of quinoa protein isolates were evaluated. Protein isolates were prepared from quinoa seed by alkaline solubilization (at pH 9, called Q9, and at pH 11, called Q11) followed by isoelectric precipitation and spray drying. Q9 and Q11 had high levels of essential amino acids, with high levels of lysine.

Time and distance dependence of reversible polymer bridging followed by single-molecule force spectroscopy.

Polymer bridging between surfaces plays an important role in a range of fundamental processes in the material and life sciences. Bridges formed by main-chain reversible polymers differ from their covalent analogs in that they can dynamically adjust their size and shape in response to external stimuli and have the potential to reform following bond scission. In this work, the time and distance dependence of main-chain reversible polymer bridge formation are studied using an atomic force microscope.

SELF-THINNING AND SIZE INEQUALITY DYNAMICS IN A CLONAL SEAWEED (SARGASSUM LAPAZEANUM, PHAEOPHYCEAE)(1).

Fronds of clonal seaweeds with extensive holdfasts relative to frond size are known not to self-thin during growth, even in crowded stands. We tested whether frond self-thinning would occur for such a seaweed since these traits are more similar to those of unitary seaweeds, which do self-thin in crowded conditions. We used Sargassum lapazeanum Setch.

Cerebral venous congestion as indication for thrombolytic treatment.

Purpose: To carry out a retrospective analysis of patients with acute dural sinus thrombosis, and the role of cerebral venous congestion in patient management.

Methods: Twenty-five patients were identified with the clinical and imaging diagnosis of acute dural sinus thrombosis. The imaging diagnosis was by magnetic resonance (MR) and/or computed tomography (CT) venography.

Pulling geometry-induced errors in single molecule force spectroscopy measurements.

In AFM-based single molecule force spectroscopy, it is tacitly assumed that the pulling direction coincides with the end-to-end vector of the molecule fragment being stretched. By systematically varying the position of the attachment point on the substrate relative to the AFM tip, we investigate empirically and theoretically the effect of the pulling geometry on force-extension characteristics of double-stranded DNA. We find that increasing the pulling angle can significantly lower the force of the characteristic overstretching transition and increase the width of the plateau feature beyond the canonical 70%.

Natural history of patients hospitalized for management of cirrhotic ascites.

Background & Aims: Since the International Ascites Club published the diagnostic criteria of refractory ascites (RA) and hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), there have been few studies assessing the natural history of ascites. The aims of this study were to define the natural history of cirrhotic ascites and to identify prognostic factors for dilutional hyponatremia (DH), RA, HRS, and survival.

Methods: Two hundred sixty-three consecutive cirrhotic patients were followed for 40.

Update on brow and forehead lifting.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to provide the latest findings in the constantly changing field of brow and forehead lifting. Significant articles published in the last 24 months are reviewed and discussed based on the personal experience of the senior author (F.P.

Probability of liver cancer and survival in HCV-related or alcoholic-decompensated cirrhosis. A study of 377 patients.

Background: Although chronic alcohol intake and chronic hepatitis C may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), few data are available about survival and probability of developing HCC in decompensated cirrhosis of both aetiologies.

Methods: This study identified factors related with probability of developing HCC and survival in a cohort of 377 consecutive patients with decompensated HCV-related cirrhosis (200 cases) or alcoholic cirrhosis (177 cases) without known HCC, hospitalized for their first hepatic decompensation, as well as to evaluate differences between both aetiologies. Patients were followed for a mean period of 39 +/- 2 months.

Natural history of decompensated hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. A study of 200 patients.

Background/aims: Since few data are available concerning the clinical course of decompensated hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis, the aim of the present study was to define the natural long-term course after the first hepatic decompensation.

Methods: Cohort of 200 consecutive patients with HCV-related cirrhosis, and without known hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), hospitalized for the first hepatic decompensation.

Results: Ascites was the most frequent first decompensation (48%), followed by portal hypertensive gastrointestinal bleeding (PHGB) (32.