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PubMed1999

Recall and validation of phobia origins as a function of a structured interview versus the Phobia Origins Questionnaire.

Memory for fear onset events was examined in 43 dog-fearful and 48 blood/injection-fearful participants. Half of each fear type was administered the Phobia Origins Questionnaire (POQ), and half the Phobia Origins Structured Interview (POSI). Written accounts of recalled onset experiences were sent to participants' parents for verification. More participants assessed by the POQ reported a phobia onset event (93%) than did those assessed by the POSI (54%). A majority in both methods recalled conditioning-like experiences. The POQ resulted in more reports of vicarious and informational onset reports than did the POSI. Parents confirmed more onset event reports obtained by the POSI (81%) than those obtained by the POQ, (50%). In addition, in 21% of cases where a child recalled an event, a parent reported an onset event that predated the one provided by the child. Results are discussed in terms of memory mechanisms operative in autobiographical memories.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

[The functional heterogeneity of the human caudate nucleus].

Combined clinical-neuropsychological investigation of 26 patients with vascular malformations of caudate nucleus (CN) was performed both before and after surgical removal of the malformation. Arterial-venous malformations were located in the head (12 cases) of CN, in its corpus (9 patients), in both head and corpus (5 individuals). Verification of the malformation's location was carried out according to data of computer tomography, angiography, as well as during the operation. It was revealed that postoperative syndromes were closely related in patients with both the side of CN's alteration and with the region of the damage. The clear perseverative syndrome was observed when left CN, and especially its head was damaged. When the corpus of the left CN was damaged perseverations were slighter. Meanwhile faint alienation of the word's meaning as well as the slight alterations of evaluation of rhythm's estimation were observed in such cases. Disorders of the perception were observed mainly when the right CN and especially its corpus was damaged.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Universal external RNA controls for microbial gene expression analysis using microarray and qRT-PCR.

Gene expression analysis provides significant insight to understand regulatory mechanisms of biology, yet acquisition and reproduction of quality data, as well as data confirmation and verification remain challenging due to a lack of proper quality controls across different assay platforms. We present a set of six universal external RNA quality controls for microbial mRNA expression analysis that can be applied to both DNA oligo microarray and real-time qRT-PCR including using SYBR Green and TaqMan probe-based chemistry. This set of controls was applied for Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5 microarray assays and qRT-PCR for yeast gene expression analysis. Highly fitted linear relationships between detected signal intensity and mRNA input were described. Valid mRNA detection range, from 10 to 7000 pg and from 100 fg to 1000 pg were defined for microarray and qRT-PCR assay, respectively. Quantitative estimation of mRNA abundance was tested using randomly selected yeast ORF including function unknown genes using the same source of samples by the two assay platforms. Estimates of mRNA abundance by the two methods were similar and highly correlated in an overlapping detection range from 10 to 1000 pg. The universal external RNA controls provide a means to compare microbial gene expression data derived from different experiments and different platforms for verification and confirmation. Such quality controls ensure reliability and reproducibility of gene expression data, and provide unbiased normalization reference for validation, quantification, and estimate of variation of gene expression experiments. Application of these controls also improves efficiency and facilitates high throughput applications of gene expression analysis using the qRT-PCR assay.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Serum levels of steroid and placental protein hormones in ectopic pregnancy.

UNLABELLED: The hormonal profiles of extra-uterine pregnancies (EP) were compared with the normal intra-uterine pregnancies (IUP), and threatened abortions (TA) of good outcome. In 45 cases of EP confirmed histologically, maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), pregnancy specific beta 1-glycoprotein (SP1), 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) were measured serially before treatment by enzyme immunoassays (EIA). The same hormones were also determined in the control groups, 26 with normal IUP and 24 with TA. All four hormone levels in EP were significantly lower (P less than 0.01-P less than 0.0001) than in normal pregnancies and threatened abortions of matched gestational age except the hCG and E2 in the fifth week of pregnancy. The mean values of E2 and P were found in the normal levels of luteal phase or slightly over them (8th-9th and 9th-10th weeks, respectively). No increase in the hormonal profiles of the above two steroids was noticed between 5 and 10 weeks' gestation in EP. IN CONCLUSION: (a) The significantly lower values of hCG and SP1 in EP were confirmed; (b) the serial and concurrent hormonal measurements assure the verification of EP and the differentiation from normal IUP and TA of good outcome; (c) the ectopic implantation of trophoblast critically reduces its vitability to hCG and SP1 synthesis and it can only partially compensate for the reduction of corpus luteum function.

Abortion, Threatened↗
PubMed1993

Online repositioning during treatment of the prostate: a study of potential limits and gains.

PURPOSE: With on-line portal imaging devices and image registration tools, the verification of radiation field position prior to each treatment becomes technically feasible. In this paper, we analyze the impact of pre-treatment verification and field position adjustment on target coverage and normal tissue sparing. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Port films were compared with corresponding simulation films to determine the magnitude of setup variations in patients treated for prostate cancer. From these data, an analytic function was determined between geometric coverage of the target and field margin size. A paradigm for on-line patient repositioning was employed to generate a new relationship between margin and target coverage. Margins were selected for the situations of normal treatment and on-line repositioning to ensure target coverage. Dose-volume histograms were generated for a typical prostate treatment using these margins. RESULTS: On-line repositioning, when setup errors exceed 1 cm, results in a 6 mm reduction in margin, suggesting that 10% of the volume of bladder and rectum may be spared of high dose. CONCLUSION: The use of on-line imaging and image registration to guide adjustment of patient setup may lead to a reduction in the volume of normal tissues irradiated, and possibly improve the probability of complication-free survival in future treatments.

Computer Simulation↗
PubMed1999

Interactions of hydrated IIa and IIb group metal cations with thioguanine-cytosine DNA base pair: Ab initio and density functional theory investigation of polarization effects, differences among cations, and flexibility of the cation hydration shell.

The structures and energies of the thioguanine-cytosine Watson-Crick (thioGC WC) base pair interacting with hydrated IIa (Mg2+, Ca2+, Ba2+) and IIb group (Zn2+, Cd2+, Hg2+) cations have been studied using ab initio techniques. Furthermore, complexes between guanine and thioguanine with hydrated cations have been characterized assuming various structures of the hydration shells. The complexes of the thioGC WC base pair with hydrated cations have similar properties as the previously studied GC WC base pair. There is substantial polarization stabilization of the base pairing due to cation binding which amounts to 7 - 11 kcal/mol. Soft Cd2+ and Hg2+ cations have a uniquely strong interaction with the thiogroup and induce substantial nonplanarity of the pairing. The thiogroup tends to reduce the number of water molecules in the first hydration shell of the cation. All complexes were optimized within the Hartree-Fock (HF) approximation while their energetics has been evaluated using the second-order Moller-Plesset perturbational method (MP2). All interaction energy evaluations and a substantial portion of the optimizations of the hydrated cation-(thio)guanine complexes have been repeated using Becke-3LYP Density Functional Theory method. All three approximations used (HF, Becke-3LYP, and MP2) give qualitatively the same results for the present cationic complexes. The results demonstrate specific differences among the cations and provide a set of reference structures and energies for verification and/or parametrization of empirical potentials and other theoretical methods.

Barium↗
PubMed2002

Frequency dependence of speckle in continuous-wave ultrasound with implications for blood perfusion measurements.

Speckle in continuous wave (CW) Doppler has previously been found to cause large variations in detected Doppler power in blood perfusion measurements, where a large number of blood vessels are present in the sample volume. This artifact can be suppressed by using a number of simultaneously transmitted frequencies and averaging the detected signals. To optimize the strategy, statistical properties of speckle in CW ultrasound need to be known. This paper presents analysis of the frequency separation necessary to obtain independent values of the received power for CW ultrasound using a simplified mathematical model for insonation of a static, lossless, statistically homogeneous, weakly scattering medium. Specifically, the autocovariance function for received power is derived, which functionally is the square of the (deterministic) autocorrelation function of the effective sample volumes produced by the transducer pair for varying frequencies, at least if a delta correlated medium is assumed. A marginal broadening of the modeled autocovariance functions is expected for insonation of blood. The theory is applicable to any transducer aperture, but has been experimentally verified here with 5-MHz, 6.35-mm circular transducers using an agar phantom containing small, randomly dispersed glass particles. A similar experimental verification of a transducer used in multiple-frequency blood perfusion measurements shows that the model proposed in this paper is plausible for explaining the decorrelation between different channels in such a measurement.

Artifacts↗
PubMed2006

A universal algorithm for genome-wide in silicio identification of biologically significant gene promoter putative cis-regulatory-elements; identification of new elements for reactive oxygen species and sucrose signaling in Arabidopsis.

Short motifs of many cis-regulatory elements (CREs) can be found in the promoters of most Arabidopsis genes, and this raises the question of how their presence can confer specific regulation. We developed a universal algorithm to test the biological significance of CREs by first identifying every Arabidopsis gene with a CRE and then statistically correlating the presence or absence of the element with the gene expression profile on multiple DNA microarrays. This algorithm was successfully verified for previously characterized abscisic acid, ethylene, sucrose and drought responsive CREs in Arabidopsis, showing that the presence of these elements indeed correlates with treatment-specific gene induction. Later, we used standard motif sampling methods to identify 128 putative motifs induced by excess light, reactive oxygen species and sucrose. Our algorithm was able to filter 20 out of 128 novel CREs which significantly correlated with gene induction by either heat, reactive oxygen species and/or sucrose. The position, orientation and sequence specificity of CREs was tested in silicio by analyzing the expression of genes with naturally occurring sequence variations. In three novel CREs the forward orientation correlated with sucrose induction and the reverse orientation with sucrose suppression. The functionality of the predicted novel CREs was experimentally confirmed using Arabidopsis cell-suspension cultures transformed with short promoter fragments or artificial promoters fused with the GUS reporter gene. Our genome-wide analysis opens up new possibilities for in silicio verification of the biological significance of newly discovered CREs, and allows for subsequent selection of such CREs for experimental studies.

Abscisic Acid↗
PubMed2005

Endocrine manifestations of chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Endocrine abnormalities, including hypocalcemia, thyroid dysfunction, and short stature, are associated with chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome. This study was undertaken to examine the frequencies and clinical features of endocrine abnormalities in patients with 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome. METHODS: We analyzed 61 patients with 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome diagnosed based on the verification of microdeletion by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using a probe of the DiGeorge syndrome critical region (TUPLE1) at 22q11.2 and a control probe, ARSA at 22q13. Serum total calcium, phosphorus, and intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were measured, thyroid function test was performed, and serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels were also estimated. Height and weight of patients were compared with individual chronological ages. RESULTS: Hypocalcemia was found in 20 patients (32.8%), and overt hypoparathyroidism in 8 (13.1%). Two patients (3.3%) showed autoimmune thyroid diseases, 1 each with Graves' disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis. Ten patients (16.4%) were below the third percentile in height, but the serum IGF-1 level was normal in 9 out of these 10 patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that patients with chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletion syndrome present with variable endocrine manifestations and variable clinical phenotypes. In addition to FISH analysis, careful endocrine evaluations are required in patients with this microdeletion syndrome, particularly for those with hypoparathyroidism or thyroid dysfunction.

Body Height↗
PubMed2003

Coherent reflectance in a system of random Mie scatterers and its relation to the effective-medium approach.

We consider the coherent reflection and transmission of electromagnetic waves from a slab of a dilute system of randomly located, polarizable, spherical particles. We focus our attention on the case where the size of the spheres is comparable to the wavelength of the incident radiation. First, using wave-scattering and Mie theories, we derive expressions for the coherent fields that are transmitted and reflected by a very thin slab. Then we find the effective-current distribution that would act as a source of these fields. We conclude that if the effective currents were induced in an effective medium, this medium must possess, besides an effective electric permittivity, also an effective magnetic permeability. We find that both of these optical coefficients become functions of the angle of incidence and the polarization of the incident wave. Then we calculate the reflection coefficient of a half-space by considering a semi-infinite pile of thin slabs and compare the result with Fresnel relations. Numerical results are presented for the optical coefficients as well as for the half-space reflectance as a function of several parameters. The reflectance is compared with that obtained without considering the magnetic response. Finally, we discuss the relevance and the physics behind our results and indicate as well the measurements that could be performed to obtain an experimental verification of our theory.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Efficacy of inhaled nitric oxide in children with ARDS.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Data concerning inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) on pediatric ARDS is rare. We investigated the effects of iNO on pediatric ARDS in order to examine the ability to predict a response to iNO, the optimal concentration of iNO, the effects of < or = 1 ppm nitric oxide (NO), and the effect of iNO on PaCO2. SETTING: ICU at Kumamoto (Japan) University Hospital. PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: Seven children with ARDS. The initial responses to 16 ppm NO and the dose-response effects of 0.13 to 16 ppm NO were assessed. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Sixteen ppm of iNO improved oxygenation in all seven children. The use of iNO significantly increased the ratio of arterial oxygen tension to the fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FIO2). A correlation between the NO-induced increase in PaO2/FIO2 and the baseline PaO2/FIO2 was observed (r=0.93, p<0.01). Dose-response tests showed that the optimal concentration of iNO was < or = 4 ppm, improvements in PaO2/FIO2 could be observed with concentrations of < or = 1 ppm NO, and iNO induced a slight decrease in PaCO2. CONCLUSIONS: In children with ARDS, iNO frequently improves oxygenation and induces a slight decrease in PaCO2, with the baseline PaO2/FIO2 functioning as a predictor of all NO response. Improvements of PaO2 and PaCO2 were observed with concentrations of iNO of < or = 1 ppm, a level in which the risk of a toxic reaction in children is minimal. Effects on outcome need verification in larger controlled trials.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed2005

Bodies and their parts.

How do we think about the space of bodies? Several accounts of mental representations of bodies were addressed in body part verification tasks. An imagery account predicts shorter times to larger parts (e.g., back < hand). A part distinctiveness account predicts shorter times to more discontinuous parts (e.g., arm < chest). Apart significance account predicts shorter times to parts that are perceptually distinct and functionally important (e.g., head < back). Because distinctiveness and significance are correlated, the latter two accounts are difficult to distinguish. Both name-body and body-body comparisons were investigated in four experiments. In all, larger parts were verified more slowly than smaller ones, eliminating the imagery/size account. Despite the correlation between distinctiveness and significance, the data suggest that when comparisons are perceptual (body-body), part distinctiveness is the best predictor, and when explicit or implicit naming is involved, part significance is the best predictor. Naming seems to activate the functional aspects of bodies.

Female↗
PubMed1996

Attentional focusing with quantifiers in production and comprehension.

There is a very large number of quantifiers in English, so many that it seems impossible that the only information that they convey is about amounts. Building on the earlier work of Moxey and Sanford (1987), we report three experiments showing that positive and negative quantifiers focus on different subsets of the logical possibilities that quantifiers allow semantically. Experiments 1 and 2 feature a continuation task with quantifiers that span a full range of denotations (from near 0% to near 100%) and show that the effect is not restricted to quantifiers denoting small amounts. This enables a distinction to be made between generalization and complement set focus proper. The focus effects extend to comprehension, as shown by a self-paced reading study (Experiment 3). It is noted that the focus effects obtained are compatible with findings from earlier work by Just and Carpenter (1971), which used a verification paradigm, and in fact these effects constitute a direct test of inferences Just and Carpenter made about mechanisms of encoding negative quantifiers. A related but different explanation is put forward to explain the present data. The experiments show a quantifier function beyond the simple denotation of amount.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Immunochemical characteristics of the population structure of antibody-producing cells in experimental influenza].

The authors presented the results of population study of specific IgG-antibody-forming cells (AFC) in the pool of mice splenocytes performed in the time-course of simulated influenza with the help of experimental mathematical approach which permitted making a detailed observation of the functional structure of the population and analysing the changes in the spectrum of the AFC subpopulations in the time-course of viral disease. Mathematical simulation of the main stage of immunopointed identification of AFC on +nitrocellulose filters (NCF) permitted the verification of the ratio between the characteristic features of the spots on the NCF and the number and affinity of cell-secreting IgG antibodies. New data are obtained on the formation of the population of +virus-specific IgG-AFC which are featured by discreteness of the AFC +affinity ++ spectrum, cyclic changes in their activity and shifts in the stages of the AFC subpopulation activity. The authors substantiated the necessity to revise the existing theoretical models of the formation of humoral immune response to viral infections.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Determination of the composition of the concretions in patients with nephrolithiasis by metabolic indices].

The authors considered an important problem of in vivo verification of urolith composition as specifying the choice of drug treatment and prevention of urolithiasis. 84 nephrolithiasis patients were allocated to 4 groups according to their concrement compositions (after spontaneous or surgical removal): 23 patients with urate calculus, 19 with oxalate, 20 with phosphate and 22 with oxalate-phosphate concrements. Polarizing microscopy, x-ray structural analysis and infrared spectrophotometry were employed for verification of calculi composition. Biochemical assay was used for the assessment of serum and circadian excretion of calcium, phosphates, sodium, potassium, uric acid, oxalates and uroacidimetric values. The findings were subjected to discriminant computed analysis which resulted in 6 linear computable functions defining 4 selective groups with regard to biochemical blood and urine data. The aforementioned functions were used in diagnostic routine for the in vivo assessment of calculous composition in 26 controls. In 61.5 per cent of the patients the diagnosis was confirmed, in 34.6 per cent it was verified, and only in 3.9 per cent the diagnosis turned to be erroneous.

Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted↗
PubMed1990

The in vitro activation of cyclophosphamide in the Hydra Developmental Toxicology Assay.

The proteratogen cyclophosphamide (CP) was tested in the Hydra Assay in the presence and absence of an in vitro metabolic activation package (MAP) consisting of rat hepatic microsomes (0.06 nmol P450/ml), 500 microM NADPH, and 25 microM MgCl. This metabolic system was developed through a series of interrelated biochemical and biological assays to provide maximum cytochrome P450 mixed-function monooxygenase (MFO) metabolic capacity while controlling the inherent toxicity of the hepatic preparation and the attendant cofactors. Bioactivation of CP was confirmed under standard hydra assay conditions of pH 7.0 and 20 degrees C and compared with activation at 37 degrees C. Estimation of total metabolic capacity and verification of activation were made through the appearance of alkylating metabolites both in the absence and in the presence of hydra. Chemical exposure was maintained throughout the 92 +/- 2 hr assay with periodic renewal of media (and additives) at 4, 20, 28, 42, and 66 hr of incubation. Inclusion of bioactivation increased the toxicity of CP by two orders of magnitude. The minimal affective concentration in the adult and developmental portions of the assay was decreased from 4000 to 20 micrograms CP/ml and from 1000 to 4 micrograms CP/ml, respectively. By limiting the inherent toxicity of the MFO package, it was possible to avoid pulse-type exposures and ensure that all ontogenic stages were exposed to active metabolites. The addition of metabolic activation capacity to an in vitro assay, while not essential, markedly enhances its utility and breadth of application in developmental toxicity safety evaluations.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Unilateral intracarotid amobarbital procedure for language lateralization.

PURPOSE: The determination of language dominance as part of the presurgical workup of patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsies has experienced fundamental changes. With the introduction of noninvasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the number of patients receiving intracarotid amobarbital procedures (IAPs) for assessment of language dominance has decreased considerably. However, recent studies show that because of methodologic limitations of fMRI, IAP remains an important tool for language lateralization. The current study examines whether unilateral instead of bilateral IAP is an adequate way to apply IAP with reduced invasiveness. METHODS: We retrospectively examine the predictive value of unilateral IAP for the results of bilateral IAP based on a sample of 75 patients with various types of language dominance. Target parameters are the prediction of the language-dominant hemisphere and the identification of patients with atypical language dominance. For language assessment based on unilateral IAP, we introduce the measure hemispheric language capacity (HLC). RESULTS: Unilateral IAP performed on the side of intended surgery quantifies language capacity contralateral to the intended surgery. It detects atypical (bilateral or right) language dominance in the majority of patients. Experience with a separate series of 107 patients requiring presurgical language lateralization shows that in >80%, bilateral IAPs are redundant. CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral IAP is principally sufficient for language lateralization in the presurgical evaluation of patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsies. Necessity of bilateral IAP is restricted to few indications (e.g., callosotomy). In times of noninvasive language lateralization, we propose unilateral IAP as the method of choice for the verification of doubtful (bilateral) fMRI activation patterns.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

[Scoring systems in the intensive care unit].

Scoring systems represent classification systems or point systems which have been designed for making quantitative statements regarding the severity of a disease, its prognosis, and its course. Furthermore, scores may serve the purposes of assessing therapies, of quality control and of quality assurance, and of an economic evaluation of intensive care. Like all measuring methods, scores are susceptible to failures and systematic mistakes. The clinical user should be well aware of these limitations. Generally, one would recommend only using scores which have been rigorously tested for their reliability, validity, and practicability. These include, but are not limited to, the updated versions of the APACHE, the SAPS, and the MPM. Although great strides have been made concerning development, verification, and clinical applicability, scores still exhibit a level of uncertainty which precludes their use in individual patients. Frequently, it may be of benefit to combine the more general scores with one or several organ dysfunction scores to determine the extent of functional impairment of specific organs. If, however, well-trained medical personnel apply tried and tested scoring systems, intensive care units will definitely gain a lot from it.

APACHE↗