Effects of hemodialysis on circulating adrenomedullin concentrations in patients with end-stage renal disease

To characterize the determinants of circulating levels of adrenomedullin (AM), the plasma levels of this peptide were measured in 58 patients with end-stage renal disease on hemodialysis, Predialysis plasma levels of AM were more than twice as high in patients on hemodialysis as compared to controls. In hemodialysis patients with heart failure (NYHA classes II-IV) or hypertensive HD patients plasma levels of AM were significantly higher than in patients with end-stage renal disease only. Plasma levels of AM were clot altered immediately by hemodialysis but decreased significantly 14-20 h after hemodialysis, AM plasma levels before hemodialysis and 14-20 h after hemodialysis were correlated with the corresponding mean arterial pressure

Возможность использования высокочастотного CuBr-лазера для создания скоростного лазерного монитора

Представлены оценки максимальных температур источников как внешней, так и собственной засветки, при которых будут иметь место искажения изображений, формируемых посредствам активных оптических систем. Показана возможность использования высокочастотного CuBr-лазера в качестве усилителя яркости лазерного монитора

The winner's curse: Conditional reasoning and belief formation

In explaining the winner's curse, recent approaches have focused on one of two cognitive processes: conditional reasoning and belief formation. We provide the first joint experimental analysis of the role of these two obstacles. First, we observe that overbidding decreases significantly between a simple common-value auction and a transformed version of this auction that does not require conditional reasoning. Second, assistance in belief formation leads to comparable behavioral changes in both games. The two effects are of similar magnitude and amplify each other when jointly present. We conclude that the combination and the interaction of the two cognitive processes in auctions lead to relatively low strategic sophistication compared to other domains. The study's focus on games' objective cognitive challenges is potentially useful for improving predictions across games and complements the common focus on behavioral models and their explanatory power

Pressure signal transmission of five commercially available oesophageal balloon catheters

Buscher H, Valta P, Sydow M, Thies K-C, Burchardi H. Pressure signal transmission of five commercially available oesophageal balloon catheters. Intensive Care Medicine. 2000;26(4):462-465.Objective: Five commercially available oesophageal balloon catheters (OBCs) were tested to evaluate the accuracy in transmitting fast-changing pressure signals which can be observed, for example, during phrenic nerve stimulation.¶Setting: Research laboratory of a university hospital.¶Method: The OBCs tested varied in length (900–1390 mm) and inner diameter (0.9–1.5 mm) as well as in balloon material [latex or polyvinyl-chloride (PVC)]. A 180-cm tube served as a control. A sudden pressure drop was generated by the explosion of a pressurized latex balloon. The time between the pressure drop and 75, 50, 25 and 10 % of the maximal pressure was measured.¶Results: The time intervals required to transduce a pressure drop of 90 % varied between the different OBCs from 85 to 476 ms(control 32 ms). Transmission time was lower in OBCs with a larger inner diameter. Shortening the OBCs resulted in a further decrease in transmission time.¶Conclusion: The type of OBC used has an impact on signal processing. An OBCs with a short transmission time should be chosen, especially if fast pressure changes are to be evaluated such as during phrenic nerve stimulation