PURPOSE: To determine whether long-term treatment with the anti-epileptic drug vigabatrin causes damage to rabbit retina.METHODS: Five rabbits were treated continuously with a daily dose of vigabatrin solution per orally during a period of 1-8 months. Two rabbits receiving water were used as controls. Repeated full-field electroretinograms (every two weeks) were assessed during this period. Vigaba

The proposed Differential Difference Comparator (DDC) provides easy linear voltage summing/subtraction and comparison functions via current operation. The speed of this unconventional comparator drastically improved since there is no feedback loop and coupling capacitors needed to maintain the linearity. The linear input range is also enlarged by the common mode compression. The principle, design

Malacoplakia is a granulomatous disease with a histiocytic infiltrate containing calcified structures called Michaelis-Gutmann bodies. These structures are considered to represent an abnormal response to infection involving defective lysosomes and abnormal microbubular assembly. The disease most frequently involves urinary and genital tracts, but has also been described from most other organs. Her

The importance of different sources of gases in a vacuum system is discussed and the definitions of different flow regimes are presented. The conductance is given for a few different, typical geometries in an accelerator vacuum system. The theory is applied to the vacuum system of the Lund electrostatic tandem accelerator and a pressure profile through the accelerator is calculated. The quality of

By comparison of the cDNA-derived amino acid sequences and the cell type-specific patterns of synthesis we have identified desmocollin Dsc2 as the most widespread, perhaps ubiquitous desmocollin subtype. Using Northern blot analyses and ribonuclease protection assays we have found an approximately 5.6 kb mRNA encoding Dsc2 in all the diverse human tissues, tumors and cell lines examined that are k

Laminin–integrin interactions can in some settings activate the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) but the control mechanisms are poorly understood. Herein, we studied ERK activation in response to two laminins isoforms (-1 and -10/11) in two epithelial cell lines. Both cell lines expressed {beta}1-containing integrins and dystroglycan but lacked integrin {alpha}6{beta}4. Antibody pertu

In this work, the effect of composition, particle size and particle size ratio on the tensile properties of well-characterized hard/soft latex blends was investigated. Four blends of hard/soft latices, with varying particle sizes (either small or large), and volume fractions of 100/0, 80/20, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60, 20/80 and 0/100 were studied. The stress at break increased and the strain at break de

We wanted to illustrate the right-to-left impulse propagation routes during sinus in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF), as alterations in conduction patterns have been linked to the pathogenesis of PAF, and as no large patient materials have been published. Patients underwent 3-D electroanatomical contact mapping prior to catheter ablation. The site of the earliest left atrial (LA

In recent years, nanostructure technology involving Ill-V semiconductors have made significant progress in areas such as optoelectronics and spintronics. A number of new materials and nanostructures have been invented, most of them being of a very dilute character or extremely small. Because of these properties, their structural characterization on an atomic scale is of profound importance. One im

Oxalate (C(2)O(4)(2-)) acts synergistically on the dissolution of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) in the presence of siderophores that are secreted by plants and microorganisms to sequester iron. We report here the first in situ molecular-scale observations of synergistic ligand-promoted dissolution processes. We show that there are conditions under which oxalate promotes goethite dissolution, but dissolve

The optical properties of crystalline lenses were studied in eleven species of coral reef fish from the Red Sea in Eilat, Israel. Three species each of diurnal planktivores, nocturnal planktivores and diurnal herbivores constituted three groups of animals with little within-group variability. In addition we studied two predators, which differed with respect to body size, prey preference, hunting m

Enterohepatic Helicobacter species have been associated with chronic infections of the hepatobiliary tract and lower bowel in naturally and experimentally infected mice, Helicobacter-infected animals should thus not be used in studies of diseases associated with chronic inflammation. Helicobacter species induce inflammation and modulate host immune responses, thus emphasizing the need to diagnose

This paper reports the development of a fuel cell consisting of a vanadium flow battery in which the vanadium ions are reduced by sugar (from a carbohydrate) to oxidation state +3 on one side of a membrane, and are oxidized to state +5 on the other side by oxygen. The theoretical upper limit to the conversion efficiency of the energy in sugar by this method under standard conditions is 54%. We hav

KinMutBase (http://www.uta.fi/imt/bioinfo/KinMutBase/) is a registry of mutations in human protein kinases related to-disorders. Kinases are essential cellular signaling molecules, in which mutations can lead to diseases, including immunodeficiencies, cancers and endocrine disorders, The first release of KinMutBase contained information for protein tyrosine kinases. The current release includes al

The nucleotide sequence of the complete mitochondrial genome of the donkey, Equus asinus, was determined. The length of the molecule is 16,670 bp. The length, however, is not absolute due to pronounced heteroplasmy caused by variable numbers of two types of repetitive motifs in the control region. The sequence of the repeats is (a) 5'-CACACCCA and (b) 5'-TGCGCGCA, respectively. The order of (a) an