The genetic cause of late-onset focal and segmental dystonia remains unknown in most individuals. Recently, mutations in Thanatos-associated protein domain containing, apoptosis associated protein 1 (THAP1) have been described in DYT6 dystonia and associated with some cases of familial and sporadic late-onset dystonia in Caucasians. We are not aware of any previous descriptions of familial dystoni

A modified local error model is developed for numerical integration of ODEs with invariants. The basic idea is to use a commutativity relationship that holds for implicit state-space form methods. A new implicit state-space form predictor is developed from which error estimates can be obtained by predictor-corrector difference: This technique is demonstrated through the preliminary examples in thi

The article investigates the notion of transport biofuels, their possible advantages and disadvantages in comparison to traditional fossil fuels, and sustainability requirements that need be stated to their quality and production methods from a legal perspective. The research results indicate that the understanding of what makes the quality and production of transport biofuels sustainable is still

Structural equation modeling on questionnaire data showed that prejudice toward different target groups can be represented in terms of a general prejudice factor. Distinction of classical and modern prejudice only increased model fit marginally. In two separate samples (paper and pencil vs. Internet) several structural models of the relationship between key individual difference variables and prej

Objective: We examined the effect of GH substitution on adipose tissue derived hormones and cytokines and sought to identify predictors for changes in body composition during therapy. Long-standing adult-onset GH deficiency (AO-GHD) is associated with increased body fat mass (FM) which, through production of hormones and inflammatory cytokines from adipose tissue, may contribute to different manif

In spite of its immune privileged state, xenotransplantation within the CNS is associated with rapid graft destruction in immunocompetent hosts. Efforts to enhance graft survival have mostly focused on host immune response, whereas relatively little attention has been paid to donor tissue characteristics. In the present paper, we explore long-term survival of xenogeneic full-thickness neuroretinal

The absorption spectrum of alpha -pinene gas, a biogenic volatile organic compound, was directly measured with a pulsed mid-infrared laser. The maximum absorption wavelength was found to be similar to3.42 mum, and an absorption cross section of 4.8 x 10(-23) m(2) molec(-1) was obtained. A simple theoretical calculation with the measured spectral data showed that several hundreds of parts in 10(12)

In this letter, the TM020 mode of a rectangular patch antenna is modified by partially loading a mu-negative (MNG) or double-negative (DNG) metamaterial block. With proper constitutive parameters and filling ratio, the electric fields at two radiating edges of the patch can be out of phase, and a broadside radiation pattern is achieved. A novel dual-band rectangular patch antenna loaded with a pai

Our aim was to determine the risk of endometrial cancer associated with long-term use of combined hormone therapy (HT) and low-potency estrogens. In this prospective population-based cohort, 40,000 women aged 25-64 years, without prior cancer or hysterectomy, were included. The women answered 2 questionnaires at a 10-year interval regarding HT use and personal details. Women were followed up for a

Abstract Background: Cord artery protein S-100 levels at birth are potential markers of brain damage after asphyxia. Our aim was to investigate if S-100 levels were elevated in neonates with indirect signs of asphyxia during birth. S-100 levels in cord blood were studied in relation to cardiotocography (CTG) and fetal electrocardiography (FECG) changes during birth and to acidemia in umbilical blo

We report measurements of high-order harmonic spectra obtained with a 800-nm 150-fs loser pulse with a time-varying degree of ellipticity. The modulation of the polarization in time is achieved by using birefringent optics and self-phase modulation in a glass plate. We can create one or two temporal gates of a few femtoseconds width, during which the polarization is linear and harmonic emission is

Experimental stroke and excitotoxic brain lesion to the striatum or cortex increase the proliferation of cells residing within the ventricular wall and cause subsequent migration of newborn neuroblasts into the lesioned brain parenchyma. In this study, we clarify the different events of neurogenesis following striatal or cortical excitotoxic brain lesions in adult rats. Newborn cells were labeled

Systematic studies of the temporal coherence properties of high-order harmonic radiation are presented. These complement our previous investigations [Bellini et at, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 297 (1998)], where we showed the separation of the far-field pattern of high-order harmonics into two distinct spatial regions with different coherence times. Here we show how the coherence time of the inner and ou

Background: Colour differences in photographs can be enhanced using a digital image-processing technique called LYYN. Objective: To investigate colour changes in the histamine wheal after skin prick tests (SPTs). Methods: Histamine SPTs were performed on the forearm of six medical students, and the reactions of the skin were photographed every 2 min for 30 min. Colour differences in the photograph

Probiotics have been hypothesized to affect immunologic responses to environmental exposures by supporting healthy gut microbiota and could therefore theoretically be used to prevent the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM)-associated islet autoimmunity.

This longitudinal study used a multi-disciplinary approach and examined the relationship between psychosocial and health characteristics and the pattern of informal and formal support for non-institutionalized very old people. The data were derived from a single cohort of 80-year-old people living in Lund, Sweden who were followed over a 3-year period. In order to account for potential sample bias

BACKGROUND Although evidence suggests that some occupations may be a risk factor for small-for-gestational age (SGA) birth, associations between a wide range of maternal and paternal occupations and risk of SGA births remain unclear. Our objective was to analyze the risk of SGA births by parental occupation, including the entire Swedish population of mothers (>/=20 years) and fathers. METHODS We l