European Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Abstract While skin and soft-tissue complication of varicella are well known, osteomyelitis secondary to varicella is rarely reported in the literature. We describe a case of 3-year-child with varicella associated with pandiaphysal... more

Abstract While skin and soft-tissue complication of varicella are well known, osteomyelitis secondary to varicella is rarely reported in the literature. We describe a case of 3-year-child with varicella associated with pandiaphysal osteomyelitis caused by streptococcus type A ...

OBJECTIVE: TSH receptor (TSHr) mediates the activating action of TSH on the thyroid gland resulting in the growth and proliferation of thyrocytes and thyroid hormone production. TSHr is a major autoantigen in…

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the prostate and to determine normative fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of healthy prostate with a 3-Tesla... more

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the prostate and to determine normative fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of healthy prostate with a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. Thirty volunteers with a mean age of 28 (25–35) years were scanned with a 3-Tesla MRI (Intera Achieva; Philips, The Netherlands) system using a six-channel phased array coil. Initially, T2-weighted turbo spin-echo (TSE) axial images of the prostate were obtained. In two subjects, a millimetric hypointense signal change was detected in the peripheral zones on T2-weighted TSE images. These two subjects were excluded from the study. DTI with single-shot echo-planar imaging (ssEPI) was performed in the remaining 28 subjects. ADC and FA values were measured using the manufacturer supplied software by positioning 9-pixel ROIs on each zone. Differences between parameters of the central and peripheral zones were assessed. Mean ADC value of the central (1.220 ± 0.271 × 10−3 mm2/s) was found to be significantly lower when compared with the peripheral gland (1.610 ± 0.347 × 10−3 mm2/s) (P < 0.01). Mean FA of the central gland was significantly higher (0.26), compared with the peripheral gland (0.16) (P < 0.01). This study shows the feasibility of prostate DTI with a 3-Tesla MR system and the normative FA and ADC values of peripheral and central zones of the normal prostate. The results are compatible with the microstructural organization of the gland.

We try here to illustrate the relevance of an evolutionary theory of urban systems for explaining their hierarchical properties. The largest cities became larger because they were successful in adopting many successive innovations. Larger... more

We try here to illustrate the relevance of an evolutionary theory of urban systems for explaining their hierarchical properties. The largest cities became larger because they were successful in adopting many successive innovations. Larger cities capture innovations in a ...

Physical activity is considered an important and determining factor for the cancer patient's physical well-being and quality of life. However, cancer treatment may disrupt the practice of physical activity, and the prevention of... more

Physical activity is considered an important and determining factor for the cancer patient's physical well-being and quality of life. However, cancer treatment may disrupt the practice of physical activity, and the prevention of sedentary lifestyles in cancer survivors is imperative. The current study aimed at investigating self-reported physical activity behaviour, exercise motivation and information in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Using a cross-sectional design, 451 patients (18-65 years) completed a questionnaire assessing pre-illness and present physical activity; motivation and information received. Patients reported a significant decline in physical activity from pre-illness to the time in active treatment (p<0.001). Amongst the respondents, 68% answered that they believed exercise to be beneficial; and 78% claimed not exercising as much as desired. Exercise barriers included fatigue (74%) and physical discomfort (45%). Present physical activity behaviour wa...

It is evident from the number of published scientific papers on Early Childhood Caries (ECC) that interest in this problem has grown in recent years. Many authors have been trying to devise a clear definition or classification for ECC.... more

It is evident from the number of published scientific papers on Early Childhood Caries (ECC) that interest in this problem has grown in recent years. Many authors have been trying to devise a clear definition or classification for ECC. The aim of this review was to inventory the prevalence of ECC and to seek a consensus regarding definition and diagnosis. Further attention was paid to the aetiological factors including the role of microrganisms. Finally, education, parenting and treatment procedures were discussed. For this review, epidemiological studies on caries prevalence in children aged between 0 and 36 months were compiled through a systematic approach using Medline. This clearly showed that ECC continues to be a serious public health problem and that there is a great variety of definitions and diagnoses used worldwide, reflected in the prevalence data. This review confirms the multicausal aetiology and the need for further research. The authors strongly support the recommend...

These experiments tested the hypothesis that short-term endurance exercise training would rapidly improve (within 5 days) the diaphragm oxidative/antioxidant capacity and protect the diaphragm against contraction-induced oxidative stress.... more

These experiments tested the hypothesis that short-term endurance exercise training would rapidly improve (within 5 days) the diaphragm oxidative/antioxidant capacity and protect the diaphragm against contraction-induced oxidative stress. To test this postulate, male Sprague-Dawley rats (6 weeks old) ran on a motorized treadmill for 5 consecutive days (40-60 min x day(-1)) at approximately 65% maximal oxygen uptake. Costal diaphragm strips were excised from both sedentary control (CON, n=14) and trained (TR, n=13) animals 24 h after the last exercise session, for measurement of in vitro contraction properties and selected biochemical parameters of oxidative/antioxidant capacity. Training did not alter diaphragm force-frequency characteristics over a full range of submaximal and maximal stimulation frequencies (P > 0.05). In contrast, training improved diaphragm resistance to fatigue as contraction forces were better-maintained by the diaphragms of the TR animals during a submaxim...

Xenopus liver contains a protein inhibitor of glucokinase that, in contrast to the mammalian regulatory protein of glucokinase, is insensitive to fructose 6-phosphate and fructose 1-phosphate [Vandercammen A. & Van Schaftingen, E. (1993)... more

Xenopus liver contains a protein inhibitor of glucokinase that, in contrast to the mammalian regulatory protein of glucokinase, is insensitive to fructose 6-phosphate and fructose 1-phosphate [Vandercammen A. & Van Schaftingen, E. (1993) Biochem. J. 294, 551-556]. The purpose of this work was to compare the primary structure and other properties of this Xenopus protein with those of its rat liver counterpart. A Xenopus laevis liver cDNA library was screened using the cDNA encoding the rat liver regulatory protein as a probe. The cloned cDNA was 2534 bp long and encoded a 619-amino-acid protein with a molecular mass of 68695 Da and 57% identity with the rat liver regulatory protein. This identity was only about 30% in an internal region (amino acids 349-381) and in the 70 carboxy terminal-residues. The Xenopus cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant regulatory protein was purified to near homogeneity and found to have the same size, reactivity to antibodies and eff...

The aim of this study was to compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of two different light sources under different thermal cycle frequencies. Ninety human premolar teeth were divided into six groups, in which three groups consisted of... more

The aim of this study was to compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of two different light sources under different thermal cycle frequencies. Ninety human premolar teeth were divided into six groups, in which three groups consisted of halogen groups - Group I was cured with halogen without thermocycle, Group II cured with halogen with 500 thermocycles, and Group III cured with halogen with 10,000 thermocycles. The other three groups consisted of Plasma arc (PAC) group - Group IV was cured with PAC without thermocycle, Group V cured with PAC thermocycled 500 cycles, and Group VI cured with PAC thermocycled 10,000 cycles. Two way ANOVA was used to compare the SBS between the groups, and chi square-test was used to compare the bond failure of ARI scores among the groups. A significant difference was found for curing lights (P<.001) and thermocycling (P<.01). However, there was no interaction between light curing and thermocycling (P=.177). The halogen groups demonstrated higher me...

Dendritic cells (DC), considered as immunological sentinels of the organism since they are antigen presenting cells, create the link between innate and adaptive immunity. DC include myeloid dendritic cells (MDC) and plasmacytoid dendritic... more

Dendritic cells (DC), considered as immunological sentinels of the organism since they are antigen presenting cells, create the link between innate and adaptive immunity. DC include myeloid dendritic cells (MDC) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDC). The presence of PDC, cells capable of producing large quantities of interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) in response to pathogenic agents or danger signals, seems to be closely related to pathological conditions. PDC have been observed in inflammatory immunoallergic dermatological disorders, in malignant cutaneous tumours and in cutaneous lesions of infectious origin. They seem to play a crucial role in the initiation of the pathological processes of autoimmune diseases such as lupus or psoriasis. Their function within a tumour context is not as well known and is controversial. They could have a tolerogenic role towards tumour cells in the absence of an activator but they also have the capacity to become activated in response to Toll-like rece...

Palliative care aims at improving the patient’s quality of life. The assessment of this quality of life (QoL) is crucial for the evaluation of palliative care outcome. Many patients require hospital admissions for symptom control during... more

Palliative care aims at improving the patient’s quality of life. The assessment of this quality of life (QoL) is crucial for the evaluation of palliative care outcome. Many patients require hospital admissions for symptom control during their cancer journey and most of them die in hospitals, although they would like to stay at home until the end of their lives. In 1986, the European Organization for Research and Treatment (EORTC) initiated a research programme to develop an integrated, modular approach for evaluating the quality of life of patients participating in international clinical trials. This questionnaire measures cancer patients’ physical, psychological and social functions and was used in a wide range of clinical cancer trials with large numbers of research groups and also in various other non-trial studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties, especially the reliability, validity and applicability of the EORTC QLQ-C30 in a German sample of t...