Delivering aphasia therapy via telecommunication may provide a means to deliver intensive therapy in a cost-effective way. Teletherapy, remotely-administered (language) treatment, may support the ...repetitive drill practices that people with chronic aphasia need to perform when learning to compensate for their lasting language difficulties. The use of teletherapy may allow speech and language pathologists (SLPs) to focus in-person sessions more strongly on the generalisation of therapy effects to daily life. This single subject study is an investigation whether a teletherapy application called e-REST meets the criteria of accessibility, user-friendliness, as well as effectiveness. e-REST, the teletherapy version of the Dutch and adapted Reduced Syntax Therapy, teaches chronically aphasic speakers of Dutch who experience difficulties in sentence production to convey their messages in a kind of telegraphic style. The results obtained suggest that it is reasonable to conduct a larger study into the user-friendliness, accessibility, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of e-REST.
Recent studies have demonstrated an association between a 192 bp polymorphism of the IGF-I gene and total IGF-I serum levels, birth weight, body height and the risk of developing diabetes and ...cardiovascular diseases later on in life. This IGF-I gene polymorphism in the promoter region of the IGF-I gene may directly influence the expression of IGF-I. In the present study we evaluated the role of this polymorphism in the age-related decline in serum IGF-I levels.
All subjects were participants of the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study of diseases in the elderly. We studied a total group of 346 subjects, who comprised two subgroups: a randomly selected population-based sample of 196 subjects, and a group of 150 subjects selected on IGF-I genotype. In the total group of 346 individuals the relationship between this 192 bp polymorphism and the age-related decline in circulating total IGF-I levels was studied.
Homozygous carriers of the 192 bp allele demonstrated significant decline in serum IGF-I with age (r=-0.29, P=0.002). This decline is similar to that seen in the general population. An age-related decline in serum total IGF-I was not observed in heterozygotes (r=-0.06, P=0.48) and non-carriers (r = -0.12, P=0.32). Interestingly, the relationship between age and serum IGF-binding protein-3 levels showed the same pattern.
We observed only in homozygous carriers of the 192 bp alleles of the IGF-I gene an age-related decline in circulating total IGF-I levels, but not in heterozygotes and non-carriers of the 192 bp allele. We hypothesize that this IGF-I gene polymorphism directly or indirectly influences GH-mediated regulation of IGF-I secretion.
Sibling interaction effects are suggested by a difference in phenotypic variance between monozygotic (MZ) twins and dizygotic (DZ) twins, and a pattern of twin correlations that is inconsistent with ...additive genetic influences. Notably, negative sibling interaction will result in MZ correlations which are more than twice as high as DZ correlations, a pattern also seen in the presence of genetic dominance. Negative sibling interaction effects have been reported in most genetic studies on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related phenotypes, while the presence of genetic dominance is not always considered in these studies. In the present paper the statistical power to detect both negative sibling interaction effects and genetic dominance is explored. Power calculations are presented for univariate models including sources of variation due to additive genetic influences, unique environmental influences, dominant genetic influences and a negative sibling interaction (i.e., contrast effect) between phenotypes of twins. Parameter values for heritability and contrast effects are chosen in accordance with published behavior genetic studies on ADHD and associated phenotypes. Results show that when both genetic dominance and contrast effects are truly present and using a classical twin design, genetic dominance is more likely to go undetected than the contrast effect. Failure to detect the presence of genetic dominance consequently gives rise to slightly biased estimates of additive genetic effects, unique environmental effects, and the contrast effect. Contrast effects are more easily detected in the absence of genetic dominance. If the significance of the contrast effect is evaluated while also including genetic dominance, small contrast effects are likely to go undetected, resulting in a relatively large bias in estimates of the other parameters. Alternative genetic designs, such as adding pairs of unrelated siblings reared together to a classical twin design, or adding non-twin siblings to twin pairs, greatly enhances the statistical power to detect contrast effects as well as the power to distinguish between genetic dominance and contrast effects.
•Quadriceps specific force is reduced in patients with IBM.•Weakness of individual muscle fibers contributes to in vivo reduced specific force.•Muscle fiber weakness is caused by decreased ...actin-myosin cross-bridges during activation.•Myosin loss is a cause of decreased actin-myosin cross-bridging in IBM.•Therapeutic strategies augmenting muscle fiber strength may offer benefit to IBM patients.
Atrophy and fatty infiltration are important causes of muscle weakness in inclusion body myositis (IBM). Muscle weakness can also be caused by reduced specific force; i.e. the amount of force generated per unit of residual muscle tissue. This study investigates in vivo specific force of the quadriceps and ex vivo specific force of single muscle fibers in patients with IBM. We included 8 participants with IBM and 12 healthy controls, who all underwent quantitative muscle testing, quantitative MRI of the quadriceps and paired muscle biopsies of the quadriceps and tibialis anterior. Single muscle fibers were isolated to measure muscle fiber specific force and contractile properties. Both in vivo quadriceps specific force and ex vivo muscle fiber specific force were reduced. Muscle fiber dysfunction was accompanied by reduced active stiffness, which reflects a decrease in the number of attached actin-myosin cross-bridges during activation. Myosin concentration was reduced in IBM fibers. Because reduced specific force contributes to muscle weakness in patients with IBM, therapeutic strategies that augment muscle fiber strength may provide benefit to patients with IBM.
A key hindrance of operating solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) at low temperature is the relatively high cell resistance resulting in low power output density. In this work, we report an SOFC design ...based on an anode-supported cell (ASC) with thin film Yttria stabilized zirconia electrolyte (YSZ), capable of high power output densities of 1050 mW cm−2 using H2 as fuel, at an operating temperature of 873 K. Such high cell performances have been realized by applying three optimization steps: (1) using La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ-perovskite (LSC) as high performing cathode material at low temperature; (2) integration of an optimized Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 (CGO) inter-diffusion barrier layer and (3) optimization of the microstructure of the anode substrate by means of increasing the substrate porosity.
•A significant improved cell performance at operating temperature of 873 K.•Using La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ perovskite (LSC) as cathode material.•Implementing optimized Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 (CGO) interdiffusion barrier layer.•Improving the tortuosity of anode substrate.
Crystals of the solvate C 60 ·2CBr 2 H 2 (monoclinic C2/m), which is stable in air, were grown by slow evaporation of solutions of C 60 in CBr 2 H 2 at room temperature. The high enthalpy change for ...the complete desolvation process, 54.9 kJ mol-1 of solvent, as well as the relatively large negative excess volume of-49.6 Å 3 indicate the presence of strong intermolecular interactions between C 60 and CBr 2 H 2. The strong intermolecular interactions are consistent with an overall orientational order for the C 60 and the CBr 2 H 2 molecules in the solvate as found by the Rietveld refinement of its crystal structure.
It is generally assumed that stress around oestrus and during early pregnancy reduces reproductive performance of pigs. In our experiment, late prepuberal gilts (age at arrival 225
±
6 days) were ...housed in groups of four. Stress treatment consisted of once weekly regrouping and twice weekly feed competition of the 28 Stress gilts during 6 consecutive weeks, starting 13 days after arrival. Control gilts (
n
=
28) were not treated.
During the 0.5–1.5
h after regroupings, Stress animals fought consistently more than the Control animals; up to 13 of the Stress animals fought for at most 60% of the time compared to one Control animal fighting for at most 3.3% of the time. The day before first regrouping, gilts had on average 4.0
±
0.9 skin scratches. By week 6, this number had reduced to 2.1
±
1.0 in Control, but remained 4.0
±
1.3 in Stress gilts (
P
<
0.05). In the afternoon after regroupings, skin scratches increased up to 6.3
±
1.6 in the Stress gilts. Saliva cortisol in the afternoon before regrouping did not differ between weeks 1, 3 and 6, nor did it differ between Stress and Control. In Stress gilts, saliva cortisol was increased in the afternoon of first regrouping, in Batch 2 only (from 1.8
±
0.4 to 4.1
±
0.9
ng/ml;
P
<
0.05).
Animals showing a second oestrus within 5 weeks after arrival were inseminated. Duration of second oestrus of these animals was 2.48
±
0.66 days in the Stress gilts (
n
=
24) and 2.21
±
0.58 days in the Control gilts (
n
=
22;
P
>
0.10). At Day 35 after insemination, pregnancy rate was 100% in both groups. Ovulation rate and number of total and vital fetuses was similar (
P
>
0.10). The Stress treatment during a 6-week period around insemination consistently resulted in fighting but did not result in long term effects on cortisol levels and did not impair reproductive performance.
The appearance of pharmaceuticals in wastewater has become a significant concern to both the water treatment industry as well as consumers. The availability of advanced treatment methods has ...optimized the removal of these compounds present in wastewater sources. The latest development in polymers as flocculants and combining it with other treatment helps to reduce the quantities of these pharmaceuticals in the final wastewater effluent. This paper gives an insight on the potential usage of polymer flocculants and its combination with particles, organic substances and conventional adsorbents towards removing pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater. Polymer flocculants alone will have a limited ability in pharmaceuticals removal. The flocculation process combination with adsorption on natural components and particles is always necessary. Interaction of polymers with adsorbents in the wastewater could also play an important role in their removal by polymer flocculants due to its proven implementation. An understanding of the changes in processes and mechanisms involving the polymers is essential for achieving effective removal rate. Combination of polymer flocculants with conventional adsorbents such as carbon and clays during the treatment process could lead to a new effective and economic approach in removal of the pharmaceutical compound.
The paper identifies conditions under which asymmetric equilibria may exist when carriers compete in designing their network configurations in a game-theoretical framework. Two carriers are assumed ...here, which are allowed to play three different strategies: point-to-point (PP), hub-and-spoke (HS) or multi-hub. We find two main stable outcomes, which depend on the size of the internal market. First, when the internal markets are small, PP network strategies are played by both carriers, while for a specific subset of parameters a collusive equilibrium in a HS configuration can be derived. Second, when the size of the internal markets is large, asymmetric configurations, where one carrier chooses a HS strategy and the other chooses a PP strategy, are the only stable equilibria. The result can be used to describe the coexistence of alternative business models that have recently emerged in the aviation industry: the established full-service model based on the HS system and the recent low-cost model based on the PP system.
The structure and function of the tumor microvasculature is of great interest for cancer biology, diagnosis, and therapy. The distribution of endothelial cells, pericytes, and basal lamina in tumors ...is not well documented. In this study, the authors investigated the distribution of markers for these different components in a series of malignant human tumors and in human granulation tissue, both situations with extensive angiogenesis. Their results show a striking heterogeneity in the expression of markers for pericytes and endothelial cells between different tumors, but also within a single tumor lesion. To be able to distinguish between these two adjacent cell types decisively, all marker studies were carried out both on the light and the electron microscopical level and compared with staining results in granulation tissue of cutaneous wounds in healthy volunteers and of decubitus lesions. In granulation tissue of decubitus lesions, well-defined zones with increasing levels of maturation can be delineated. It was found that antibodies recognizing von Willebrand factor often failed to stain the tumor capillaries. Of the pericyte markers, alpha-smooth muscle actin was only locally expressed by pericytes in the tumor vasculature, whereas the high-molecular-weight melanoma-associated antigen, a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, stained the microvasculature broadly. Staining of the basal lamina components collagen type IV and laminin was, within the tumor, not restricted to the microvasculature. From their findings the authors conclude that 1) for the visualization of the tumor vasculature, antibodies recognizing endothelial markers, especially monoclonal antibodies PAL-E and BMA 120, are preferable to those recognizing pericytes or basal lamina; 2) within the microvasculature of tumors and granulation tissue, a heterogeneity of expression of endothelial and pericyte markers is observed; 3) during the formation of granulation tissue, all three microvascular components can be demonstrated already in the histologically earliest stage, suggesting not only an involvement of endothelial cells but also of pericytes and basal lamina in the initial steps of angiogenesis in wound healing.
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