Percutaneous calcaneal sliding osteotomy with the rising sun technique.

Background: Calcaneal slide osteotomies represent a well-established component in the surgical treatment of joint-preserving hind foot corrections. The percutaneous technique aims to minimize the surgical morbidity and maximize surgical efficiency. There is a consensus that percutaneous calcaneal sliding osteotomy (PCSO), using a low-speed and hightorque burr, is generally performed in four steps corresponding to the four quadrants of the cross-section of the calcaneal tuber.

How reliable is a simplified MSLT nap termination protocol?

Objective: According to current practical guidelines, naps of the Mean Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) must be terminated 15 min after sleep onset, which requires ad hoc scoring. For clinical convenience, some sleep clinics use a simplified protocol with fixed nap lengths of 20min. Its diagnostic accuracy remains unknown.

A Longitudinal Study on the Effects of Parasocial Relationships and Breakups With Characters of a Health-Related TV Show on Self-Efficacy and Exercise Behavior: The Case of The Biggest Loser.

Overweight is one of the major health-related challenges in industrialized countries and mostly preventable through a healthy diet and regular engagement in physical activity. Health communication practitioners and researchers, therefore, started using the media's persuasive potential by creating entertainment-education (E-E) programs that promote healthy nutrition and exercise. By observing the characters in E-E programs, audience members can learn vicariously and eventually develop personal bonds with them.

Feeling pressured by health prevention campaigns as a motivational force: Examining the role of visual and verbal mode design features.

This research examines the influence of address style (direct, no address) and narrative voice (first-person, third-person) on the feeling of being pressured by a public service announcement about work stress in two sequential studies. The results of a choice-based conjoint analysis show that persuasive messages designed with a first-person narrative voice and direct address tend to pressure recipients. Results of a between-subjects online experiment suggest that this feeling increases subjects' behavioral intentions to prevent stress when people interact parasocially with the displayed character.

The influence of valence shifts in fear appeals on message processing and behavioral intentions: A moderated mediation model.

Newer approaches in health communication research indicate that understanding the flow of emotional experiences during exposure to fear appeals can clarify their persuasive effects. In a laboratory experiment, the impact of valence shifts during exposure to fear appeals on determinants of health-relevant behaviors were examined. Continuous response measurement allowed gathering real-time data about participants' experiences of valence shifts during exposure.

Derivatization and rapid GC-MS screening of chlorides relevant to the Chemical Weapons Convention in organic liquid samples.

A simple derivatization technique was developed for the analysis of seven Schedule 3 chemicals and one Schedule 2 chemical listed in the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Phosgene, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorus trichloride, phosphorus pentachloride, thionyl chloride, sulfur monochloride and sulfur dichloride (Schedule 3) as well as arsenic trichloride (Schedule 2) were derivatized using 1-propanol in 40% pyridine solution for analysis with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Derivatization temperature and concentration of the derivatization solution were optimized for maximum derivatization recovery.

Transcriptional effects of androstenedione and 17α-hydroxyprogesterone in zebrafish embryos.

Steroid hormones in the aquatic environment may pose a risk to fish health. Here we evaluated effects of two different class steroids that frequently occur in the aquatic environment, the androgen androstenedione (A4) and the progestin 17α-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP4). Zebrafish embryos were exposed to four concentrations of A4 and the positive control testosterone and to 17-OHP4, and transcriptional changes were determined at 96 h post fertilization (hpf) and 120 hpf.

Reproductive and transcriptional effects of the antiandrogenic progestin chlormadinone acetate in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Chlormadinone acetate (CMA) is a frequently used progestin with antiandrogenic activity in humans. Residues may enter the aquatic environment but potential adverse effects in fish are unknown. While our previous work focused on effects of CMA in vitro and in zebrafish eleuthero-embryos, the present study reports on reproductive and transcriptional effects in adult female and male zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Effects of antiandrogenic progestins, chlormadinone and cyproterone acetate, and the estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and their mixtures: Transactivation with human and rainbowfish hormone receptors and transcriptional effects in zebrafish (Danio rerio) eleuthero-embryos.

Synthetic progestins act as endocrine disrupters in fish but their risk to the environment is not sufficiently known. Here, we focused on an unexplored antiandrogenic progestin, chlormadinone acetate (CMA), and the antiandrogenic progestin cyproterone acetate (CPA). The aim was to evaluate whether their in vitro interaction with human and rainbowfish (Melanotaenia fluviatilis) sex hormone receptors is similar.

A Radical-Mediated Pathway for the Formation of [M + H](+) in Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization.

Active capillary plasma ionization is a highly efficient ambient ionization method. Its general principle of ion formation is closely related to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). The method is based on dielectric barrier discharge ionization (DBDI), and can be constructed in the form of a direct flow-through interface to a mass spectrometer.

Direct and Sensitive Detection of CWA Simulants by Active Capillary Plasma Ionization Coupled to a Handheld Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer.

An active capillary plasma ionization (ACI) source was coupled to a handheld mass spectrometer (Mini 10.5; Aston Labs, West Lafayette, IN, USA) and applied to the direct gas-phase detection and quantification of chemical warfare agent (CWA) related chemicals. Complementing the discontinuous atmospheric pressure interface (DAPI) of the Mini 10.

Direct quantification of chemical warfare agents and related compounds at low ppt levels: comparing active capillary dielectric barrier discharge plasma ionization and secondary electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

A novel active capillary dielectric barrier discharge plasma ionization (DBDI) technique for mass spectrometry is applied to the direct detection of 13 chemical warfare related compounds, including sarin, and compared to secondary electrospray ionization (SESI) in terms of selectivity and sensitivity. The investigated compounds include an intact chemical warfare agent and structurally related molecules, hydrolysis products and/or precursors of highly toxic nerve agents (G-series, V-series, and "new" nerve agents), and blistering and incapacitating warfare agents. Well-defined analyte gas phase concentrations were generated by a pressure-assisted nanospray with consecutive thermal evaporation and dilution.

Loss of heterozygosity 1p36 and 19q13 is a prognostic factor for overall survival in patients with diffuse WHO grade 2 gliomas treated without chemotherapy.

Purpose: This study was conducted to elucidate the impact of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for chromosomes 1p36 and 19q13 on the overall survival of patients with diffusely infiltrating WHO grade 2 gliomas treated without chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: We assessed the LOH status of tumors from patients harboring WHO grade 2 gliomas diagnosed between 1991 and 2000. Patients were either followed after initial biopsy or treated by surgery and/or radiation therapy (RT).

The impact of tumour volume and surgery on the outcome of adults with supratentorial WHO grade II astrocytomas and oligoastrocytomas.

Background: The study was performed to elucidate the impact of tumour volume and surgical resection on the long-term outcome of patients with supratentorial, diffuse, World Health Organization (WHO) grade II astrocytomas and oligo-astrocytomas.

Method: After analysing 79 adult patients consecutively diagnosed between 1991 and 2000, we selected a group of 42 patients treated by surgery without adjuvant therapy. The tumour volume was defined as the whole region of T2-hyperintensity and measured interactively on pre- and postoperative and follow-up Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) using a dedicated imaging software.

Cyclodextrins: a potential tool for studying the role of glycerolipids in photosynthetic membranes.

A novel cyclodextrin derivative, i.e., permethylated-alpha-cyclodextrin (PM-alpha-CD), was used for removing glycerolipids from spinach thylakoid membranes and investigating their role in photosynthetic activities.

Three distinct lipid kinase activities are present in spinach chloroplast envelope membranes: phosphatidylinositol phosphorylation is sensitive to wortmannin and not dependent on chloroplast ATP.

Chloroplast envelope membranes display properties that are important in lipid synthesis, regulation of metabolites, and protein transport, as well as in signal transduction. The recent discovery showing that phosphorylation of lipids occurs in envelope membranes provides a new approach for understanding the role of chloroplast lipids in these processes. The present investigation shows that three major lipid kinase activities are at least present in envelope membranes.

Do glycerolipids display lateral heterogeneity in the thylakoid membrane?

The lateral heterogeneity of lipids in the thylakoid membrane has been questioned for over 20 yrs. It is generally believed that glycerolipids are asymmetrically distributed within the plane of the membrane. In the present investigation, we isolated several thylakoid membrane domains by using sonication followed by separation in an aqueous dextran-polyethylene glycol two-phase system.

Lipid phosphorylation in chloroplast envelopes. Evidence for galactolipid CTP-dependent kinase activities.

Lipid phosphorylation takes place within the chloroplast envelope. In addition to phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylinositol phosphate, and their corresponding lyso-derivatives, we found that two novel lipids underwent phosphorylation in envelopes, particularly in the presence of carrier-free [gamma-(32)P]ATP. These two lipids incorporated radioactive phosphate in chloroplasts in the presence of [gamma-(32)P]ATP or [(32)P]P(i) and light.

The topology of phosphatidylglycerol populations is essential for sustaining photosynthetic electron flow activities in thylakoid membranes.

The transmembrane distribution of phosphatidylglycerol (PG) was determined in rightside-out (RO) and inside-out vesicles (IO) obtained by fragmentation of spinach thylakoids in a Yeda press, followed by partition in an aqueous dextran-polyethyleneglycol two-phase system. Using the phospholipase A(2) from porcine pancreas to digest selectively PG molecules in the outer monolayer (exposed to the incubation medium) of the membrane, we found the molar outside/inside distribution to be 70/30+/-5 in RO and 40/60+/-3 in IO. The transmembrane distribution of PG in IO was the opposite of that in intact thylakoids (molar ratio 58/42+/-3).

Screening for urinary methadone by capillary electrophoretic immunoassays and confirmation by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry.

This paper characterizes competitive binding, electrokinetic capillary-based immunoassays for urinary methadone using reagents which were commercialized for a fluorescence polarization immunoassay. After incubation of 25 microL urine with the reactants, a small aliquot of the mixture is applied onto a fused-silica capillary and the unbound fluorescein-labeled methadone tracer is monitored by capillary electrophoresis with on-column laser-induced fluorescence detection. Configurations in presence and absence of micelles were investigated, found to be capable of recognizing urinary methadone concentrations > or = 10 ng/mL, and shown to be suitable for rapid methadone screening of patient urines.

Evidence for lipid kinase activities in spinach chloroplast envelope membranes.

Three spinach chloroplast envelope membrane preparations (i.e. whole, outer and inner membranes) were incubated in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP.

Adjuvant chemotherapy in operable breast cancer: cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil versus chlorambucil, methotrexate, and fluorouracil--11-year results of Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research trial SAKK 27/82.

Purpose: To compare two adjuvant combination chemotherapies, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) and chlorambucil, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (LMF), for patients who had undergone potentially curative surgery for unilateral breast cancer, in terms of relapse, survival, and toxicity.

Patients And Methods: Selection criteria was as follows: stage pT1-3a, N+ or N-, M0, less than 72 years of age. Eligible patients were randomized to receive either CMF (cyclophosphamide 100 mg/m2 orally on days 1 to 14, methotrexate 40 mg/m2 intravenously (I.

Phosphatidylglycerol molecular species of photosynthetic membranes analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography: theoretical considerations.

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography technique was developed to separate, identify, and quantify individual phosphatidylglycerol (PG) molecular species in thylakoid membranes isolated from higher plant leaves. PG was first separated by thin-layer chromatography; then the dinitrobenzoyl derivatives of diacylglycerols produced after phospholipase C hydrolysis of PG were separated by a C18 reversed-phase column and detected at 254 nm. A linear response of the detector was observed in the range of 0.

Cyclodextrins: a new tool for the controlled lipid depletion of thylakoid membranes.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) have been used in controlled lipid depletion of thylakoid membranes avoiding the use of either detergents or lipolytic enzymes. Spinach thylakoid membranes were first treated with different CDs under various conditions. After removal of the CDs by washing, the amounts of mono-- and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG and DGDG), sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), protein, pigment and plastoquinone remaining in the membranes were determined.