PURPOSE: The rectoanal inhibitory reflex has been studied using various methods, e. g., anometry and electromyography. The aim of this study was to apply ultrasound for direct visualization of the rectoanal inhibitory reflex. METHOD: The rectoanal inhibitory reflex was induced in ten healthy females (age range, 21 - 55 years) by injection of small amounts of water (7, 12, and 20 ml), into the rect

PURPOSE: To compare the short-term efficacy of the Artelon trapeziometacarpal (TMC) implant with that of total trapeziectomy and abductor pollicis longus (APL) tendon suspension interposition arthroplasty in TMC osteoarthritis. METHODS: A single-center matched cohort study was designed. The Artelon cohort comprised 13 consecutive patients (10 women, 3 men; mean age, 54 years) operated on with Arte

A certified reference material (CRM) for radionuclides in fish sample IAEA-414 (mixed fish from the Irish Sea and North Seas) is described and the results of the certification process are presented. Nine radionuclides (K-40, Cs-137, Th-232, U-234, U-235, U-238, Pu-238, Pu239+240 and Am-241) were certified for this material. Information on massic activities with 95% confidence intervals is given fo

It was recently shown in self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations that a harmonically trapped dilute gas of fermionic atoms with a repulsive two-body interaction exhibits a pronounced super-shell structure: the shell fillings due to the spherical harmonic trapping potential are modulated by a beat mode. This changes the 'magic numbers' occurring between the beat nodes by half a period. The length

Although quality of life has been in the focus of attention for over a decade there are few studies available investigating, how the old and the oldest old experience their quality of life or what quality of life actually means for them? To illuminate this, eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with six women and five men (80+) living in their home. An interpretative hermeneutic phenomenologic

Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder presenting with chorea, dementia, and extensive striatal neuronal death. The mechanism through which the widely expressed mutant HD gene mediates a slowly progressing striatal neurotoxicity is unknown. Glutamate receptor-mediated excitotoxicity has been hypothesized to contribute to the pathogenesis of HD. Here we show that trans

Matrilin-3 is a recently identified member of the superfamily of proteins containing von Willebrand factor A-like domains and is able to form hetero-oligomers with matrilin-1 (cartilage matrix protein) via a C-terminal coiled-coil domain. Full-length matrilin-3 and a fragment lacking the assembly domain were expressed in 293-EBNA cells, purified, and subjected to biochemical characterization. Reco

Theoretical and experimental results for the 2s(2) S-1(0)-2s2p P-3(1) intercombination line in beryllium-like ions are reviewed and revised, and some new data are presented. The uncertainty in the resulting transition rate is estimated, by using convergence of systematic calculations, accuracy of energy properties and theoretical tests, and is used to evaluate the accuracy of present and other cal

Between 1978 and 2001, 22 patients were diagnosed with occupation-related allergic contact dermatitis from isocyanates and/or polyurethanes in our clinic . 13 had a positive reaction to the isocyanates, of whom 10 also reacted to diaminodiphenylmethane (MDA), which is used in the production or processing of isocyanates and polyurethanes; 9 reacted only to MDA. The object of the present study was t

A model was developed to describe the droplet formation mechanism in membrane emulsification from the point of view of Gibbs free energy with the help of the Surface Evolver, which is an interactive finite element program for the study of interfaces shaped by Surface tension. A program to test the model was written and run which allows the user to track the droplet shape as it grows, to identify t

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine which leads in the standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) are the best for detecting acute coronary syndrome (ACS) among chest pain patients in the emergency department. Methods: Neural network classifiers were used to determine the predictive capability of individual leads and combinations of leads from 862 ECCs from chest pain

The study extends a previous investigation on the use of oral decongestants during pregnancy with another 1 000 women (1 017 infants) who reported the use of such drugs in early pregnancy and 1 125 women (1 145 infants) who had such drugs prescribed later in pregnancy. The results on the beneficial delivery outcome after late use of the drugs with a reduced rate of preterm birth and low birth weig

Abstract in UndeterminedA new family of stream ciphers, Grain, is proposed. Two variants, a 80-bit and a 128-bit variant are specified, denoted Grain and Grain-128 respectively. The designs target hardware environments where gate count, power consumption and memory are very limited. Both variants are based on two shift registers and a nonlinear output function. The ciphers also have the additional

Genomics — the sequencing of the human genome and the identification of the genetic mechanisms of development and disease — is driving a restructuring of the global pharmaceutical industry. Many policy initiatives in biomedicine are based on the assumption that strength in genomics research will be translated into economic success, that is, that investments in genomics will be a way to catch up in

BACKGROUND: Tau protein and the 42-amino acid form of beta-amyloid (Abeta42) measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been proposed as potential biochemical diagnostic markers for Alzheimer disease. For the introduction of these assays in clinical practice, adequate reference values are of importance. METHODS: CSF samples were obtained from 231 neurologically and psychiatrically healthy individu

Abstract in UndeterminedAll types of organizations are under increasing pressure to integrate green considerations in their purchasing practices. A number of tools aimed for the practitioners have been developed in response to their new challenges. However, the application of such tools among private firms is not well known, and one important question is how well the tools correspond with practiti

Gradient-echo pulse sequences with velocity-encoding gradients of 22.5-25 mT/m, were used for brain-motion and CSF-flow studies. To reduce motion artifacts, a phase-correction technique based on navigator echoes was evaluated. Three patients with right-sided parietal tumours were investigated; one astrocytoma grade III-IV, one astrocytoma grade I-II and one benign meningioma. In healthy volunteers

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase mediates several actions of insulin including its antilipolytic effect. This effect is elicited by the insulin-stimulated serine phosphorylation and activation of cGMP-inhibited phosphodiesterase (PDE3B). In human adipocytes, we found that insulin differentially stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity; the lipid kinase activity was associated with IRS-1, whe