Cryoglobulinaemic vasculitis: classification and clinical and therapeutic aspects

Cryoglobulinaemia may cause cutaneous vasculitis and glomerulonephritis, potentially leading to end stage renal failure. An important proportion of cryoglobulinaemias are secondary to hepatitis C virus infection. Emerging antiviral treatment options offer a chance for causal therapy of these cases of cryoglobulinaemia. This review summarises the classification and clinical and therapeutic aspects of cryoglobulinaemic vasculitis and glomerulonephritis

Deep electron traps in organometallic vapor phase grown AlGaAs

Journal ArticleDeep electron traps have been studied by means of deep level transient spectrosocopy in type nominally undoped and interntionally te doped Al Ga As epitaxial layers which were grown by vapor phase epitaxy from organometallic compounds (OMVPE). Three main deep electron levels are present in undoped material: a trap with an activation energy of 0.8 v, which is also foundin GaAs grown by conventional VPE, and two levels specific to OMVPE with activation energies of 0.32 and 0.38 eV, respectively. The concentration of the 0.8 V level is found to be independent of the aluminum content x, supporting the assumption that it is not related to substitutional oxygen. The other levels however, exhibit a very strong dependence of concentration on the composition, varying by four orders of magnitude in the range of in Te-doped samples, a level with an activation energy of 0.23 V has been identified, which is thought to be related to an IR emission found in photoluminescence in OMVPE as well as in liquid phase epitaxial material

Effects of photoperiod extension on clock gene and neuropeptide RNA expression in the SCN of the Soay sheep

In mammals, changing daylength (photoperiod) is the main synchronizer of seasonal functions. The photoperiodic information is transmitted through the retino-hypothalamic tract to the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), site of the master circadian clock. To investigate effects of day length change on the sheep SCN, we used in-situ hybridization to assess the daily temporal organization of expression of circadian clock genes (Per1, Per2, Bmal1 and Fbxl21) and neuropeptides (Vip, Grp and Avp) in animals acclimated to a short photoperiod (SP; 8h of light) and at 3 or 15 days following transfer to a long photoperiod (LP3, LP15, respectively; 16h of light), achieved by an acute 8-h delay of lights off. We found that waveforms of SCN gene expression conformed to those previously seen in LP acclimated animals within 3 days of transfer to LP. Mean levels of expression for Per1-2 and Fbxl21 were nearly 2-fold higher in the LP15 than in the SP group. The expression of Vip was arrhythmic and unaffected by photoperiod, while, in contrast to rodents, Grp expression was not detectable within the sheep SCN. Expression of the circadian output gene Avp cycled robustly in all photoperiod groups with no detectable change in phasing. Overall these data suggest that synchronizing effects of light on SCN circadian organisation proceed similarly in ungulates and in rodents, despite differences in neuropeptide gene expression

Looking through Form to Substance: Are Montana Resort Condominiums Securities ?

Looking Through Form To Substance: Are Montana Resort Condominiums Securities

Objekte und Grenzen - die soziale Konstruktion von Grenzobjekten in der Intensivmedizin

"Warum sollte sich die Soziologie für materielle Gegenstände interessieren? Weil man die Konflikte um Dinge in einem evokativen Sinn benutzen kann: Sie offenbaren die sozialen Strukturen der Situationen, in denen diese Konflikte stattfinden. Der Beitrag schlägt vor, das Konzept der 'sozialen Welten' und 'Arenen' von Anselm Strauss für die Untersuchung von 'Grenzobjekten' in der Intensivmedizin einzusetzen. Der Ort, innerhalb dessen die Interaktionen in einer Organisation stattfinden, wird als eine 'Arena' untersucht. Die Arena ist eine Situation, zu der alle Ressourcen gezählt werden müssen, die interaktiv mobilisiert werden können. Dinge sind in diesen Interaktionen natürlich ebenfalls, ihre Widerstände und Hartnäckigkeiten sind strukturelle Momente dieser Situationen. Eine Schüsselfrage dieses Ansatzes ist demnach, welche Chancen die Dinge in einer Arena für die Akteure in dieser Arena darstellen. Mit Dingen kann man - um an das Thema dieser Tage zu erinnern -integrieren ebenso wie differenzieren. Die Bedeutung aller situativen Ereignisse in einer Arena entstammt ihrer Einbettung in Diskurse, die Strauss 'soziale Welten' nennt. Die sozialen Welten, die an einer Arena teilnehmen, teilen sehr wichtige Überzeugungen, befinden sich also in einer gemeinsamen historischen und symbolischen Welt, doch sie haben auch konfligierende Perspektiven und konkurrieren um Ressourcen. Diese Situation macht nun das Konzept der Grenzobjekte nach Star und Griesemer attraktiv. Damit ist ein analytisches Konzept für solche Objekte gemeint, in denen sich die Interessen verschiedener sozialer Welten überschneiden. Grenzobjekte werden sozial konstruiert, aber je verschieden nach den Perspektiven der einzelnen sozialen Welten. Die Konstruktion solcher Grenzobjekte ist ein Schlüsselprozess für die Erhaltung der Kohärenz von Arenen, die von starken Konflikten konkurrierender sozialer Welten geprägt sind. Grenzobjekte haben demnach keinen festen ihnen anhaftenden Sinn, da sie auch ganz verschiedenen Erwartungen dienen müssen." (Autorenreferat

Polyphenols from Cocoa and Vascular Health—A Critical Review

Cocoa is a rich source of dietary polyphenols. In vitro as well as cell culture data indicate that cocoa polyphenols may exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-atherogenic activity. Several molecular targets (e.g., nuclear factor kappa B, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, angiotensin converting enzyme) have been recently identified which may partly explain potential beneficial cardiovascular effects of cocoa polyphenols. However cocoa polyphenol concentrations, as used in many cell culture studies, are not physiologically achievable. Bioavailability studies indicate that plasma concentrations of cocoa polyphenols following dietary intake are low and in the nanomolar range. Human studies regarding the effect of cocoa polyphenols on vascular health are often underpowered and lack a rigorous study design. If dietary cocoa polyphenol intake is due to chocolate its high energy content needs to be taken into account. In order to determine potential health benefits of cocoa polyphenols large scale, long term, randomized, placebo controlled studies, (ideally with a cross-over design) as well as prospective studies are warranted

Oklahoma State--A Guide for New Students� A Factor Analysis of Perceived Usefulness by Two Major Target Audiences

As a state-supported institution Oklahoma State University has an obligation to furnish to those students anticipating graduation from state high schools information about the university which will be of assistance in deciding whether to continue their education and, further, whether Oklahoma State offers what they perceive to be their needs for higher education. There are, of course, many channels of communication through which students may receive the information, but primary among these is the printed material issued by the institution. Catalogs and course description booklets have long been sources of information for students inquiring about a university and its programs. In addition to these, Oklahoma State also issues a booklet entitled Oklahoma State--A Guide for New Students, designed to contain only information of immediate usefulness to entering freshman students. A pertinent question arises when a selection of information items is made, i.e., have the right items been selected, and do they provide the information desired and needed by the target audience? Thus, our study.Mass Communicatio

DISCOMAP: A System to Support Distributed Cognition in Inquiring Organizations

Inquiring systems theory (Churchman, 1971), cognitive mapping (Lee, et al., 1992) and hermeneutics (Boland, et al., 1994) have provided the basis for systems to support organizational learning, distributed cognition, and knowledge management. Boland, et al. (1994) describe three entities in such systems and six principles for their design. Richardson (2005) argues that communication is neglected element in these systems and integrates Habermas’s (1984, 1985) theory of communicative action, specifically discursive action, to develop revised design principles. This paper describes DISCOMAP, a system that instantiates and tests the revised design principles using discussion forums and The Planners Laboratory©, a new software package that provides advanced modeling, graphical and network capabilities to provide shareable models with engaging visual interfaces for decision makers