702 research outputs found
ELECTRONIC EXCITATION OF K ATOMS IN COLLISIONS WITH DIATOMIC MOLECULES: THRESHOLDS AND ENERGY DEPENDENCE FROM 1-5 eV
Retrospektive Bestimmung der elektromagnetischen Exposition durch analoge Rundfunksender im Rahmen von KiSS
Im Rahmen einer epidemiologischen Fall-Kontroll-Studie zur Untersuchung eines möglichen Zusammenhangs zwischen der Häufigkeit kindlicher Leukämien und elektromagnetischer Strahlung (,,KiSS" &ndash; <b>Ki</b>ndliche Leukämien und Expositionen in der Umgebung von hochfrequenten <b>S</b>ende<b>s</b>tationen) soll die Exposition durch leistungsstarke analoge Rundfunksender retrospektiv (Zeitraum 1982&ndash;2003) quantifiziert werden. Die zu betrachtenden Sendernetze für AM-Hörfunk, FM-Hörfunk und analoges Fernsehen unterscheiden sich nicht nur hinsichtlich der Modulationsart und der von den Einzelsendern abgestrahlten Leistung, sondern auch in der Netzkonfiguration und den je nach Wellenbereich verschiedenen Strahlungseigenschaften der Sendeantennen. Damit sind bei diesen drei Rundfunkdiensten sowohl die absolute Größe als auch die räumliche Struktur der hervorgerufenen Exposition verschieden. Es wird dargelegt, wie die für die Prognose der Rundfunkversorgung verwendeten Rechenverfahren zur Modellierung der Feldstärke für die Modellierung der Exposition herangezogen und durch Kontrollmessungen validiert werden und wie trotz Wahrung der Vertraulichkeit der dabei unabdingbar zu verwendenden Senderbetriebsdaten eine unerwünschte Beeinflussung der Studienergebnisse durch die Senderbetreiber ausgeschlossen wird
Correlation of Clinical Neuromusculoskeletal and Central Somatosensory Performance: Variability in Controls and Patients With Severe and Mild Focal Hand Dystonia
Focal hand dystonia (FHd) is a recalcitrant,
disabling movement disorder, characterized by
involuntary co-contractions of agonists and
antagonists, that can develop in patients who
overuse or misuse their hands. The aim of this
study was to document clinical neuromusculoskeletal
performance and somatosensory
responses (magnetoencephalography) in healthy
controls and in FHd subjects with mild versus
severe hand dystonia. The performance of
healthy subjects (n = 17) was significantly better
than that of FHd subjects (n = 17) on all clinical
parameters. Those with mild dystonia (n = 10)
demonstrated better musculoskeletal skills,
task-specific motor performance, and sensory
discrimination, but the performance of sensory
and fine motor tasks was slower than that of
patients with severe dystonia. In terms of
somatosensory evoked field responses (SEFs),
FHd subjects demonstrated a significant
difference in the location of the hand
representation on the x and y axes, lower
amplitude of SEFs integrated across latency,
and a higher ratio of mean SEF amplitude to
latency than the controls. Bilaterally,. those with
FHd (mild and severe) lacked progressive
sequencing of the digits from inferior to
superior. On the affected digits, subjects with
severe dystonia had a significantly higher ratio
of SEF amplitude to latency and a significantly
smaller mean volume of the cortical hand
representation than those with mild dystonia.
Severity of dystonia positively correlated with
the ratio of SEF mean amplitude to latency
(0.9029 affected, 0.8477 unaffected; p<0.01).
The results of the present study strengthen the
evidence that patients with FHd demonstrate
signs of somatosensory degradation of the hand
that correlates with clinical sensorimotor
dysfunction, with characteristics of the dedifferentiation
varying by the severity of hand
dystonia. If these findings represent aberrant
learning, then effective rehabilitation must
incorporate the principles of neuroplasticity.
Training must be individualized to each patient
to rebalance the sensorimotor feedback loop
and to restore normal fine motor control
Treatment of developmental dyslexia: A review
Remarkably few research articles on the treatment of developmental dyslexia were published during the last 25 years. Some treatment research arose from the temporal processing theory, some from the phonological deficit hypothesis and some more from the balance model of learning to read and dyslexia. Within the framework of that model, this article reviews the aetiology of dyslexia sub-types, the neuropsychological rationale for treatment, the treatment techniques and the outcomes of treatment research. The possible mechanisms underlying the effects of treatment are discussed. © 2005 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved
Axonal Dynamics of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurons in Somatosensory Cortex
Electrophysiology-delivery of fluorescent viral vectors-and two-photon microscopy were used to demonstrate the rapidity of axonal restructuring of both excitatory and inhibitory neurons in rodent cortical layer II/III following alterations in sensory experience
COL4A3 is degraded in allergic asthma and degradation predicts response to anti-IgE therapy.
BACKGROUND: Asthma is a heterogeneous syndrome substantiating the urgent requirement for endotype-specific biomarkers. Dysbalance of fibrosis and fibrolysis in asthmatic lung tissue leads to reduced levels of the inflammation-protective collagen 4 (COL4A3). OBJECTIVE: To delineate the degradation of COL4A3 in allergic airway inflammation and evaluate the resultant product as a biomarker for anti-IgE therapy response. METHODS: The serological COL4A3 degradation marker C4Ma3 (Nordic Bioscience, Denmark) and serum cytokines were measured in the ALLIANCE cohort (paediatric cases/controls: n=134/n=35; adult cases/controls: n=149/n=31). Exacerbation of allergic airway disease in mice was induced by sensitising to ovalbumin (OVA), challenge with OVA aerosol and instillation of poly(cytidylic-inosinic). Fulacimstat (chymase inhibitor; Bayer) was used to determine the role of mast cell chymase in COL4A3 degradation. Patients with cystic fibrosis (n=14) and cystic fibrosis with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA; n=9) as well as patients with severe allergic uncontrolled asthma (n=19) were tested for COL4A3 degradation. Omalizumab (anti-IgE) treatment was assessed using the Asthma Control Test. RESULTS: Serum levels of C4Ma3 were increased in asthma in adults and children alike and linked to a more severe, exacerbating allergic asthma phenotype. In an experimental asthma mouse model, C4Ma3 was dependent on mast cell chymase. Serum C4Ma3 was significantly elevated in cystic fibrosis plus ABPA and at baseline predicted the success of the anti-IgE therapy in allergic, uncontrolled asthmatics (diagnostic OR 31.5). CONCLUSION: C4Ma3 levels depend on lung mast cell chymase and are increased in a severe, exacerbating allergic asthma phenotype. C4Ma3 may serve as a novel biomarker to predict anti-IgE therapy response
Back to the Future – In support of a renewed emphasis on generic agility training within sports-specific developmental pathways
Perhaps as a consequence of increased specialism in training and support, the focus on engendering and maintaining agility as a generic quality has diminished within many contemporary sports performance programmes. Reflecting this, we outline a rationale suggesting that such a decreased focus represents an oversight which may be detrimental to maximising the potential of performers. We present an evidence-based argument that both generic and specific elements of agility performance should be consistently emphasised within long-term performance-training programmes. We contend that prematurely early specialisation in athlete development models can diminish focus on generic movement skill development with a subsequent detriment in adult performance. Especially when this is coupled with poor primary physical education and limited movement experiences. More speculatively, we propose that generic agility can play a role in operationalising movement development through facilitating skill transfer: thereby enabling the learning of new skills, reduce incidence of injury and facilitating re-learning of old skills during rehabilitation and Return-to-Play processes
Cross-modal extinction in a boy with severely autistic behaviour and high verbal intelligence
Metabolic analysis of the interaction between plants and herbivores
Insect herbivores by necessity have to deal with a large arsenal of plant defence metabolites. The levels of defence compounds may be increased by insect damage. These induced plant responses may also affect the metabolism and performance of successive insect herbivores. As the chemical nature of induced responses is largely unknown, global metabolomic analyses are a valuable tool to gain more insight into the metabolites possibly involved in such interactions. This study analyzed the interaction between feral cabbage (Brassica oleracea) and small cabbage white caterpillars (Pieris rapae) and how previous attacks to the plant affect the caterpillar metabolism. Because plants may be induced by shoot and root herbivory, we compared shoot and root induction by treating the plants on either plant part with jasmonic acid. Extracts of the plants and the caterpillars were chemically analysed using Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography/Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLCT/MS). The study revealed that the levels of three structurally related coumaroylquinic acids were elevated in plants treated on the shoot. The levels of these compounds in plants and caterpillars were highly correlated: these compounds were defined as the ‘metabolic interface’. The role of these metabolites could only be discovered using simultaneous analysis of the plant and caterpillar metabolomes. We conclude that a metabolomics approach is useful in discovering unexpected bioactive compounds involved in ecological interactions between plants and their herbivores and higher trophic levels.
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