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Aims: To compare the diagnostic usefulness of tuning fork, monofilament, biothesiometer and skin biopsies in peripheral neuropathy in individuals with varying glucose metabolism. Methods: Normoglycaemic, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) individuals were recruited. Nerve conduction studies (NCS) and thermal threshold tests were performed. Vibrotactile sense was tested wit
This study discusses how to compute and forecast long-term stock return volatilities, typically with a five-year horizon or longer, using credit derivatives, and how such volatilities can be used in different areas ranging from the valuation of employee stock options and other long-term derivatives to the construction of market-based fear gauges in selected countries or market segments. In the emp
Phosphodiesterase (PDE) isoenzymes have been shown to play a role in the control of human male genital tissues. There are hints from basic research and clinical studies that PDE5 inhibitors may have the ability to retard the male ejaculatory response. While the expression of PDE isoenzymes in the human seminal vesicles (SVs) has been described, the distribution of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (A
The influence of irradiated spot size on laser energy coupling to electrons, and subsequently to protons, in the interaction of intense laser pulses with foil targets is investigated experimentally. Proton acceleration is characterized for laser intensities ranging from 2 x 10(18) - 6 x 10(20) W/cm(2), by (1) variation of the laser energy for a fixed irradiated spot size, and (2) by variation of t
The use of a cryogel in a combined application as a solid support for automated synthesis of a peptide ligand followed by affinity chromatography of a target protein is evaluated. The advantage, of synthesizing the ligand directly on the cryogel, is the circumvention of the standard process of synthesizing a peptide on a solid support, followed by cleavage, purification, analysis, and finally immo
Autoantibodies (A) against Neuropeptide Y (NPY), was reported in 9% newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at rs16139 (T1128C) within the NPY-gene identified an amino acid substitution from leucine (L) to proline (P) (L7P) associated with both glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes. We aimed to determine: (i) the influence of autoantibodies to leucine
A two-component Bose-Einstein condensate confined in an axially symmetric potential with two local minima, resembling two concentric annular traps, is investigated. The system shows a number of phase transitions that result from the competition between phase coexistence and radial-azimuthal phase separation. The ground-state phase diagram, as well as the rotational properties, including the (meta)
In this work we analyse a nonlinear, second-order difference equation on an unbounded interval. We present new conditions under which the problem admits a unique solution that is of a particular linear asymptotic form. The results concern the general behaviour of solutions to the initial-value problem, as well as solutions with a given asymptote. Our methods involve establishing suitable complete
Purpose - Level of Development (LOD) is a key parameter for describing digital content in a Building Information Modelling (BIM) context. It is seen as an important vehicle for specifying information exchange throughout a facilities lifecycle. However, hitherto there has been little research examining how, beyond the theoretical concept, LOD can be being applied and smartly utilised in practice. T
More than half a million minimum-bias events of LHC collision data were collected by the ATLAS experiment in December 2009 at centre-of-mass energies of 0.9 TeV and 2.36 TeV. This paper reports on studies of the initial performance of the ATLAS detector from these data. Comparisons between data and Monte Carlo predictions are shown for distributions of several track- and calorimeter-based quantiti
The tightly controlled network of cell cycle genes consists of a core of cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) that are activated by periodically expressed cyclins. The activity of the cyclin-CDK complexes is regulated by cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKIs) and multiple signal transduction routes that converge on the cell cycle. Neuroblastoma are pediatric tumors that belong to the group of small
Since 1992 semi-continuous in-situ observations of greenhouse gas concentrations have been performed at the tall tower of Cabauw (4.927 degrees E, 51.971 degrees N, -0.7 ma.s.l.). Through 1992 up to now, the measurement system has been gradually extended and improved in precision, starting with CO2 and CH4 concentrations from 200 ma.g.l. in 1992 to vertical gradients at 4 levels of the gases CO2,
Do genetic variations in the testosterone pathway genes modify the effect of treatment on the levels of testosterone and LH in long-term testicular cancer (TC) survivors (TCSs)?
Background and Objectives Immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 plays an important role in the adaptive immune response. Kgp, a lysine-specific cysteine protease from Porphyromonas gingivalis, specifically hydrolyses IgG1 heavy chains. The purpose of this study was to examine whether cleavage of IgG1 occurs in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in vivo, and whether there is any association with the presence of Porp
Evidence has been obtained for the existence of the long predicted 16+ spin-gap isomer in 96Cd. The decay of the isomer was identified and studied following the use of an 850 MeV/u beam of 124Xe impinging on a Be target and the fragment recoil separator at the GSI Laboratory. Gamma decays from the fragments were detected using the RISING gamma ray array, in its stopped beam configuration, plus a s
AimLasers and non-coherent intense pulse light sources (IPLS) are based on the principle of selective photothermolysis and can be used for the treatment of many vascular skin lesions. A variety of lasers has been developed for the treatment of congenital and acquired vascular lesions which incorporate these concepts into their design. Although laser and light sources are very popular due to their
The main function of Erythropoietin (EPO) and its receptor (EPOR) is the stimulation of erythropoiesis. Recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) is therefore used to treat anemia in cancer patients. However, clinical trials have indicated that rhEPO treatment might promote tumor progression and has a negative effect on patient survival. In addition, EPOR expression has been detected in several cancer forms.
