Exploring the educational needs of patients with systemic vasculitis using the educational needs assessment tool.

Objectives: Knowledge and health literacy enable patients to monitor symptoms and disease impact. Educational needs have previously been explored in rheumatology, but scarcely for patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). The aim of the study was to assess the educational needs among patients with AAV using the educational needs assessment tool (ENAT).

Questioning the use of heart rate and dyspnea in the prescription of exercise in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Purpose: This study examined the heart rate and dyspnea responses during constant submaximal lower limb endurance exercise in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to determine the appropriateness of using target heart rate or dyspnea for the prescription of endurance exercise intensity.

Methods: The study participants were 15 men, ages 55 to 75 years, with stable moderate to severe COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 38.7 +/- 15.

Effects of fructose on D-[6-3H]-glucose uptake and sorbitol metabolism of bovine retina in vitro.

In order to study the influence of fructose on sorbitol formation, bovine retinal tissue was incubated with different concentrations of glucose and fructose, and supplemented with tracer amounts of D-[6-3H]-glucose. Combining high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with radioactivity determinations allowed detection of sorbitol and fructose derived from glucose in the incubation medium. In addition, the total amount of sorbitol was measured with a sensitive bioluminescence method.

Bioluminescence analysis of NAD(P)H and NAD(P)+ preventing mutual interference by selective nucleotide destruction and enhanced specific light emission.

Improved bioluminescence analysis of pyridine nucleotides has been designed based on the fact that the luminescence intensity expresses the velocity of the light formation. The bacterial luciferase system is, in principle, composed of two reactions with two different velocities, one for energy supply by the oxidation of NAD(P)H and the other for the subsequent light generation. The rate setting can be arranged such that an emission maximum is produced 30 to 40 s after mixing the sample with the light-yielding solution, hence providing for a convenient analytical performance.