PIP: The first generation high-dose ( 80 mcg estrogen) oral contraceptives (OCs) were associated with an increased risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). So manufacturers removed the high-dose OCs and first replaced them with OCs with 50 mcg estrogen, resulting in a lower incidence of thromboembolic events (40 vs. 20/100,000 users). When they introduced an even lower dose OC (30 mcg estrogen), the

Pan-African high-grade metamorphism in the Proterozoic Damara orogen (Namibia) led to formation of garnet-bearing leucosomes in potassic meta-igneous gneisses producing a meta-igneous migmatite. In addition, the migmatite (gneiss (mesosome) plus leucosome) was intruded by small-scale leucogranitic melts with a high amount of accumulated biotite and garnet. U-Pb zircon ages obtained on the mesosome

BACKGROUND: In patients with atrial septal defect (ASD) the P-wave is prolonged as a marker of delayed atrial conduction which is associated with atrial fibrillation. The study aim was to analyse the impact of ASD closure in adults on P-wave duration and morphology by means of signal-averaged P-waves (PSA-ECG) and to investigate potential mechano-electrical interactions. METHODS: PSA-ECG was obtai

Objective To determine the effect of exercise training on survival in patients with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Design Collaborative meta-analysis. Inclusion criteria Randomised parallel group controlled trials of exercise training, for at least eight weeks with individual patient data on survival for at least three months. Studies reviewed Nine datasets, totalling

Three childhood acute monoblastic leukemias (AML M5) with granulocytic sarcomas (GSs) are described. All displayed 11q23/MLL abnormalities, t(9;11)(p22;q23) in two cases and t(11;17)(q23;q21) in one case, constituting around 20% of all 11q23-positive AML cytogenetically investigated in our department. Two of the patients had GS in multiple locations, and all three had abdominal GS. In two of them,

Background: It is well established that Libya is lagging behind its peers in biomedical research. The aim of this study is to analyse all the original biomedical publications affiliated with Libya from 1973 to 2007. Methods: PubMed and the Science Citation Index Expanded were searched for 'original research' biomedical studies affiliated with Libya. The generated data were hand searched and 329 'o

We have examined the pattern of striatal messenger RNA expression of over 8000 genes in a rat model of levodopa (L-DOPA)-induced dyskinesia and Parkinson disease (PD). 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rats were treated with L-DOPA or physiological saline for 22 days and repeatedly tested for antiakinetic response to L-DOPA and the development of abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs). In a compa

Although no consensus on the exact dosing schedule of prophylaxis in non-inhibitor haemophilia patients has been achieved, regular administration of factor VIII (FVIII) or factor IX (FIX) concentrates is currently accepted as the most effective treatment model in order to prevent sick days, hospital stays and the development of arthropathy in patients with severe haemophilia. The basis for prophyl

GaAs containing buried nanoscale tungsten particles has been characterized electrically. The particles were produced using a special aerosol process and were embedded in GaAs by epitaxial overgrowth. Two different particle sizes were investigated separately. When the particle concentration was increased, a conductance drop of about 500 times was observed. A simulation model, based on a random dist

We have investigated possible signaling pathways coupled to injury-induced ERK1/2 activation and the subsequent initiation of vascular rat smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation. Aortic smooth muscle cells were cultured to confluency and subjected to in vitro injury under serum-free conditions. In fluo-4-loaded cells, injury induced a rapid wave of intracellular Ca(2+) release that propaga

The interference between vascular plants and peat mosses with respect to nitrogen and phosphorus was studied in a fertilization experiment and with respect to competition for light in a removal experiment in poor fens with either soligenous or topogenous hydrology using Narthecium ossifragum (L.) Huds. and three species of Sphagnum sect. Sphagnum as targets. Adding fertilizer either on the moss su

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy and turbidity measurements were used to define experimental conditions (time, temperature and shearing) for dissolving high amylopectin potato starch (HAPP) granules. A simple, less time consuming and non-chemical method for preparing starch samples was established. Small-amplitude oscillation measurements were used to characterise the be

Activated fibroblasts are suggested to be involved in the deposition of extracellular matrix in the formation of peribronchial fibrosis in asthma. We report the novel finding of activated elongated fibroblasts accompanied by elevated numbers of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from 5 out of 12 patients with mild asthma (= 42%), whereas no fibroblasts were observed in the control subject

Coordinated transcription factor networks have emerged as the master regulatory mechanisms of stem cell pluripotency and differentiation. Many stem cell-specific transcription factors, including the pluripotency transcription factors, OCT4, NANOG, and SOX2 function in combinatorial complexes to regulate the expression of loci, which are involved in embryonic stem (ES) cell pluripotency and cellula

This paper presents a simple argument against definitions of the death of a human being in terms of death, or the cessation of functioning, of its brain: a human being is alive, and is capable of dying, before it acquires a brain. Although a more accurate definition is sketched, it is stressed that it should not be taken for granted that it is ethically urgent to work out such a definition. What m

Authentication codes that permit arbitration are codes that unconditionally protect against deceptions from the outsiders and additionally also protect against some forms of deceptions from the insiders. Simmons introduced this authentication model and he also showed a way of constructing such codes, called the Cartesian product construction. We present a general way of constructing such codes and

BACKGROUND: Most cardioplegic solutions have been developed using the classic Langendorf heart perfusion model, which only allows a short experimental follow-up. Our aim was to investigate hearts after prolonged storage by using a physiologic model including prolonged perfusion with normal, fresh blood. METHODS: Sixteen hearts from 60-kg pigs were preserved with dextran-enriched (dextran-40, 35 g/