RDW is a new and easily available risk marker for adverse cardiovascular outcomes and we agree that this may encourage a wider use in clinical practice. As pointed out by Balta et al [2], the underlying causal links are unclear. The causal links could hypothetically involve some of the factors mentioned by Balta et al [2], but also properties of the red cells per se. This article is protected by c

Stars ascending the red giant branch develop an inversion in mean molecular weight (mu) owing to the burning of He-3 in the region immediately above their hydrogen-burning shells. This inversion may drive thermohaline mixing and thereby be responsible for the extra mixing which is observationally indicated on the red giant branch. In this paper, we investigate the physical influences that determin

We report measured quantized conductance and quasi-ballistic transport in selectively regrown In0.85Ga0.15As nanowires. Very low parasitic resistances obtained by regrowth techniques allow us to probe the near-intrinsic electrical properties, and we observe several quantized conductance steps at 10 K. We extract a mean free path of 180 +/- 40 nm and an effective electron mobility of 3300 +/- 300 c

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are of profound importance in food production and infection medicine. LAB do not rely on heme (protoheme IX) for growth and are unable to synthesize this cofactor but are generally able to assemble a small repertoire of heme-containing proteins if heme is provided from an exogenous source. These features are in contrast to other bacteria, which synthesize their heme or d

Feedforward control from measurable disturbances can significantly improve the performance in control loops. However, tuning rules for such controllers are scarce. In this paper design rules for how to choose optimal low-order feedforward controller parameter are presented. The parameters are chosen so that the integrated squared error, when the system is subject to a step disturbance, is minimize

To explore changes in performance in daily activities (self-care and mobility) 10 years after selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR).

Most of the traditional technicolor-based models are known to be in a strong tension with the electroweak precision tests. We show that this serious issue is naturally cured in strongly coupled sectors with chiral-symmetric vectorlike gauge interactions in the framework of the gauged linear sigma model. We discuss possible phenomenological implications of such a nonstandard chiral-symmetric techni

Levodopa is the mainstay of Parkinson''s disease (PD) treatment, but is often eventually associated with disabling motor complications in patients with advanced PD. The inability of perorally administered levodopa to provide more physiologic continuous dopaminergic stimulation (CDS) is a leading hypothesis to explain these complications. To investigate the cumulative efficacy and safety, and re-ev

Background: 21-Hydroxylase autoantibodies (21OHAb) are markers of an adrenal autoimmune process that identifies individuals with autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD). Quality and inter-laboratory agreement of various 21OHAb tests are incompletely known. The objective of the study was to determine inter-laboratory concordance for 21OHAb determinations. Methods: Sixty-nine sera from 51 patients with A

The process pp -> W (+/-) J/psi provides a powerful probe of the production mechanism of charmonium in hadronic collisions, and is also sensitive to multiple parton interactions in the colliding protons. Using the 2011 ATLAS dataset of 4.5 fb(-1) of root s= 7 TeV pp collisions at the LHC, the first observation is made of the production of W (+/-) + prompt J/psi events in hadronic collisions, using

OBJECTIVE/BACKGROUND: There is limited information regarding outcome in patients not available for revascularisation. Our aim was to identify factors related to ulcer healing in diabetic patients with severe peripheral arterial disease who were not available for revascularisation. METHODS: Diabetic patients with a foot ulcer, consecutively presenting at a multidisciplinary foot centre with systoli

Data concerning the importance of family history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) for the risk of recurrent VTE are sparse. The aim of this nationwide study was to determine whether family history of VTE is a risk factor for recurrent hospitalization for unprovoked VTE (deep venous thrombosis of the lower extremities or pulmonary embolism).

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between plasma apoM concentration and HDL apoA-I and apoA-II kinetics in 60 overweight-obese, insulin resistant men. Methods: Plasma apoM concentration was determined using a sandwich ELISA with two monoclonal antibodies (CV < 5%). The kinetics of HDL apoA-I and apoA-II were measured using intravenous administration of D-3-leucine, g

The tendency of bacteria to assemble at oil-water interfaces can be utilized to create microbial recognition sites on the surface of polymer beads. In this work, two different groups of bacteria were first treated with acryloyl-functionalized chitosan and then used to stabilize an oil-in-water emulsion composed of cross-linking monomers that were dispersed in aqueous buffer. Polymerization of the

1. Self-medication is an ability to consume or otherwise contact biologically active organic compounds specifically for the purpose of helping to clear a (parasitic) infection or reduce its symptoms. Consumption of these compounds may either take place before the infection is contracted (prophylactic consumption) or after the infection is contracted (therapeutic consumption). 2. An important insig