To explore changes in performance in daily activities (self-care and mobility) 10 years after selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR).

Despite the popularity of the social investment approach, there remain ambiguities regarding how to design an effective social investment policy. We review evaluations of conditional cash transfers (CCTs) in Latin America in order to draw out lessons for how to improve the effectiveness of social investment. CCTs share many of the objectives of the social investment approach and are targeted at po

Background: 21-Hydroxylase autoantibodies (21OHAb) are markers of an adrenal autoimmune process that identifies individuals with autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD). Quality and inter-laboratory agreement of various 21OHAb tests are incompletely known. The objective of the study was to determine inter-laboratory concordance for 21OHAb determinations. Methods: Sixty-nine sera from 51 patients with A

Most of the traditional technicolor-based models are known to be in a strong tension with the electroweak precision tests. We show that this serious issue is naturally cured in strongly coupled sectors with chiral-symmetric vectorlike gauge interactions in the framework of the gauged linear sigma model. We discuss possible phenomenological implications of such a nonstandard chiral-symmetric techni

The process pp -> W (+/-) J/psi provides a powerful probe of the production mechanism of charmonium in hadronic collisions, and is also sensitive to multiple parton interactions in the colliding protons. Using the 2011 ATLAS dataset of 4.5 fb(-1) of root s= 7 TeV pp collisions at the LHC, the first observation is made of the production of W (+/-) + prompt J/psi events in hadronic collisions, using

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: There is limited information regarding outcome in patients not available for revascularisation. Our aim was to identify factors related to ulcer healing in diabetic patients with severe peripheral arterial disease who were not available for revascularisation. METHODS: Diabetic patients with a foot ulcer, consecutively presenting at a multidisciplinary foot centre with systoli

Data concerning the importance of family history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) for the risk of recurrent VTE are sparse. The aim of this nationwide study was to determine whether family history of VTE is a risk factor for recurrent hospitalization for unprovoked VTE (deep venous thrombosis of the lower extremities or pulmonary embolism).

Levodopa is the mainstay of Parkinson''s disease (PD) treatment, but is often eventually associated with disabling motor complications in patients with advanced PD. The inability of perorally administered levodopa to provide more physiologic continuous dopaminergic stimulation (CDS) is a leading hypothesis to explain these complications. To investigate the cumulative efficacy and safety, and re-ev

In order to survive and persist in an immunocompetent human host, Borrelia burgdorferi controls the human immune attack and blocks the damaging effects of the activated complement system. These Gram-negative spirochetes use CspA (CRASP-1) and four additional immune evasion proteins to bind combinations of human plasma regulators, including factor H, factor H-like protein 1 (FHL-1), complement fact

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is a green alternative method of extraction for neutral lipids in seeds compared to conventional methods utilizing organic solvents. In this work, a novel method where SFE is hyphenated with an evaporative light scattering detector is presented. The method was subsequently applied to determine lipid content in crushed linseed. The new method enables rapid quant

How various macromolecules are exchanged between cells and how they gain entry into recipient cells are fundamental questions in cell biology with important implications e.g. non-viral drug delivery, infectious disease, metabolic disorders, and cancer. The role of heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) as a cell-surface receptor of diverse macromolecular cargo has recently been manifested. Exosomes,

Resolving the genetic basis of complex diseases like rheumatoid arthritis will require knowledge of the corresponding diseases in experimental animals to enable translational functional studies. Mapping of quantitative trait loci in mouse models of arthritis, such as collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), using F-2 crosses has been successful, but can resolve loci only to large chromosomal regions. Usi

Context: Previous studies of the association between schizophrenia and cancer have produced conflicting results, probably because of the failure to control for confounding factors. Objective: To test if the possible association between schizophrenia and cancer is genetic by investigating the incidence of cancer in patients with schizophrenia and their relatives. Design: Retrospective cohort stud

Background: Little is known of the association between thyroid hormones in the central nervous system and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We determined thyroid hormone levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a well-defined homogeneous mono-center population. Methods: Fifty-nine consecutive patients under primary evaluation for cognitive impairment were recruited. The participants included patie

A study was undertaken to measure carbon dioxide degassing in a cascade column operating with both fresh (0‰) and saline water (35‰ NaCl) at 15 ◦C. The cascade column contained bio-block type packing material, was 1.7m long in each dimension, and was tested both with and without countercurrent air exchange. The CO2 concentration of the influent and effluent water was measured using submersible inf

Hearing screening has been proposed to promote help-seeking and rehabilitation in adults with hearing impairment. However, some longitudinal studies point to low help-seeking and subsequent rehabilitation after a failed hearing screening (positive screening result). Some barriers to help-seeking and rehabilitation could be intrinsic to the profiles and needs of people who have failed a hearing scr

To review and update the evidence on predictors of poor outcome (death, persistent vegetative state or severe neurological disability) in adult comatose survivors of cardiac arrest, either treated or not treated with controlled temperature, to identify knowledge gaps and to suggest a reliable prognostication strategy.