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PubMed1996

Kinetic studies on depurination and detritylation of CPG-bound intermediates during oligonucleotide synthesis.

Fully protected CPG-immobilized monomer, dimer and trimer oligonucleotides were used to study depurination during the chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides. Disappearance of the oligonucleotide during acid exposure time relative to an internal thymidine standard not subject to depurination was monitored by reverse phase HPLC analysis. Depurination half-times obtained for dichloroacetic acid (DCA) and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in methylene chloride were found to be 3% DCA >> 15% DCA > 3% TCA. In order to understand the implications of depurination during DNA synthesis, the detritylation kinetics of model compounds DMT-dG-pT dimer and DMT-[17mer] mixed-base sequence were also measured. These results improve our ability to properly balance the contradictory goals of obtaining maximum detritylation with minimum depurination in oligonucleotide synthesis.

Adenosine↗

PubMed1992

The CNS as a cost manager.

The role of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in a cost-conscious environment includes the need to be alert to opportunities for cost-containment. Efforts to improve the quality of nursing care need to be balanced with the ability to manage costs. The CNS is in a key position to guide and influence decision-making about cost savings. This article reviews costs in health care and the elements of total nursing costs. CNSs can affect costs in three areas: direct costs, indirect costs, and supplies/equipment. Practical examples in each of the three areas are given for actions that are potentially useful to the CNS who desires to reduce the costs to patients and document the cost savings generated by nursing.

Cost Control↗

PubMed1995

Review of the visual system in Parkinson's disease.

In an era when the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) is increasing because our population is aging, eye care professionals need to become aware of the visual changes experienced by PD patients. This paper reviews the visual pathophysiology of PD and the results of the lack of dopamine on the retina and visual cortex. It also discusses the impact of PD on the oculomotor system and the visual sensory pathways with the consequent effects on reading, balance, and driving abilities of PD patients. Further research on the visual system and PD may provide improved means for early diagnostic testing as well as the possibility of vision rehabilitation for treatment of visual performance impairments.

Dopamine↗

PubMed2026

Healthy subjects gut microbiome modulation by Bacillus coagulans BCP92: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Probiotics are recognized for their ability to restore balance in the gut microbiome during dysbiosis. However, their effects on the gut microbiota of healthy individuals have rarely been investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Bacillus coagulans (Heyndrickxia coagulans) BCP92 and its influence on microbiota composition in healthy subjects. METHODS: In the present investigation, healthy participants (n = 48) were allocated into 2 groups and administered either Bacillus coagulans BCP92 capsules (1 billion CFU/capsule) or a placebo containing maltodextrin for 42 days. Microbiome composition and short-chain fatty acid analyses were subsequently conducted. RESULTS: Analysis of metagenomes showed no major alterations in gut microbiome composition among participants who received B. coagulans BCP92 supplementation. However, subtle beneficial changes were observed in the treatment group, suggesting that probiotic administration may increase advantageous phyla, classes, orders, families, and some genera, while decreasing potentially harmful groups. A slight increase in short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) was also observed in the fecal samples. CONCLUSIONS: This study implies that extended supplementation with the probiotic B. coagulans BCP92 may lead to substantial improvements in gut microbiome composition and SCFA levels.

Humans↗

PubMed1996

Energy consumption in children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy: a comparative study.

The authors looked for differences in the energy expenditure patterns of ambulant children with cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Oxygen consumption was measured according to type of cerebral palsy or level of spina bifida lesion, and in healthy children. The rate of oxygen consumption (mL/kg/min) was significantly higher in the children with diplegia than in those with hemiplegia or with spina bifida or the healthy children. Oxygen cost (mL/kg/m) was significantly higher and velocity was significantly slower in all the groups with disability than in the healthy children. The reason children with diplegia consumed more oxygen than other children when walking may be that their abnormal equilibrium reactions impaired their balance and their ability to control their walking speed.

Cerebral Palsy↗

PubMed1975

A geriatric functional rating scale to determine the need for institutional care.

This study was carried out to validate a rating scale which could serve as a guide in determining the need for institutional care. The scale assesses the subject's physical and mental disability, balanced against his ability to function and the support available from relatives and community resources. Cut-off points were tested by the use of an 18-month follow-up interval. Initially, 130 aged men and women from three different settings were rated. At the time of follow-up eighteen months later, 83 per cent of the subjects who had obtained an initial score indicative of their inability to function in the community were either dead or in an institution. In contrast, 90 per cent of those who obtained an initial score indicating that they were able to continue in the community, were not in an institution at the time of follow-up. The rating scale can be used not only to help decide the need for institutional care, but also to help determine the most suitable setting for the patient if placement is necessary.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2000

Invasion of a multitude of genetic niches by mobile endonuclease genes.

Persistence of a mobile DNA element in a population reflects a balance between the ability of the host to eliminate the element and the ability of the element to survive and to disseminate to other individuals. In each of the three biological kingdoms, several families of a mobile DNA element have been identified which encode a single protein that acts on nucleic acids. Collectively termed homing endonuclease genes (HEGs), these elements employ varied strategies to ensure their survival. Some members of the HEG families have a minimal impact on host fitness because they associate with genes having self-splicing introns or inteins that remove the HEGs at the RNA or protein level. The HEG and the intron/intein gene spread throughout the population by a gene conversion process initiated by the HEG-encoded endonuclease called 'homing' in which the HEG and intron/intein genes are copied to cognate alleles that lack them. The endonuclease activity also contributes to a high frequency of lateral transmission of HEGs between species as has been documented in plants and other systems. Other HEGs have positive selection value because the proteins have evolved activities that benefit their host organisms. The success of HEGs in colonizing diverse genetic niches results from the flexibility of the encoded endonucleases in adopting new specificities.

Endonucleases↗

PubMed1989

Principal-Component Analysis of the Characteristics Desirable in Baker's Yeasts.

Twenty-seven properties considered to be required for good bakery products were examined in 56 industrial and 2 laboratory yeast strains. The data obtained were applied to principal-component analysis, one of the multivariate statistical analyses. The first and second principal components together were extracted, and these accounted for 77.7% of the variance. The first principal component was interpreted as the glycolytic activity of yeast in dough, and the second one was interpreted as the balance of leavening abilities in sweet and flour doughs from the factor loadings. The scattergram on the two principal components was effective in grouping the 58 yeast strains used.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1989

Effects of unilateral loss of vestibular function on the vestibulo-ocular reflex and postural control.

Long-term recovery from surgically induced unilateral loss of vestibular function was studied in 14 patients. Seven patients underwent surgical extirpation or section of the vestibular nerve, and seven patients underwent labyrinthectomy without vestibular nerve section. The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and postural control were evaluated preoperatively and monitored for up to 4 years postoperatively with use of pseudorandom rotation (combined sinusoidal frequencies from 0.009 to 1.5 Hz) and moving platform posturography. Immediately following surgery all patients showed minimal reductions in the VOR gain constant, but marked reduction in the time constant, and marked increase in slow eye velocity bias. Bias returned to normal values within about 10 days, but time constants never returned to normal values. Results of standard Romberg tests in these patients were normal throughout the preoperative and postoperative periods. However, all patients showed marked postural control abnormalities in tests of the ability to maintain balance in unusual sensory environments in the immediate postoperative period. Seventy-five percent of the patients eventually recovered normal postural control. Postural control returned to near baseline performance with a time course similar to that of the VOR bias. However, postural control also continued to improve after the recovery of VOR bias was complete.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Volatile anesthetic requirements differ in mice selectively bred for sensitivity or resistance to diazepam: implications for the site of anesthesia.

One approach to elucidating the general anesthetic target has used genetic selection procedures, wherein animals are bred for sensitivity or resistance to general anesthetics and correlations are sought with a specific neuronal structural or functional defect. For example, murine strains have been developed that are either sensitive or resistant to the obtunding effects of diazepam, as assessed by their ability to maintain balance on a rotating rod. The present study explored whether diazepam-sensitive (DS) and diazepam-resistant (DR) mice might also be similarly divergent in the obtunding response to general anesthetics, by testing the requirements for halothane and enflurane in these strains. Using a carousel enclosed in a chamber, the end-point of loss-of-righting reflex was defined. For both anesthetics, the DS groups had a lower median effective dose (ED50, %atm) than did the DR group, and the reductions paralleled diazepam susceptibility. For example, with halothane, the ED50 for the DS group was 0.72 +/- 0.022 (SE); the ED50 for the DR group was 0.87 +/- 0.030 (P < 0.0001). Similar results were obtained with enflurane. Such findings associate an inbred difference in response to diazepam with altered volatile anesthetic requirement, suggesting that these two phenotypes are mediated by a common underlying mechanism.

Anesthesia, Inhalation↗

PubMed2006

Cohesive short-stretch vs four-layer bandages for venous leg ulcers.

Nurses today are employing more and more evidence base within their practice. This must be carefully balanced with their ability to offer patients choice about treatment options for venous leg ulceration. Knowledge of only one particular compression bandage system is inadequate for nurses working within this area. This article aims to examine the evidence base for the use of compression bandaging in the treatment of leg ulceration. It explores results of current randomised controlled trials in this area pertaining to four-later bandage (4LB) and cohesive short-stretch bandage (CSSB) systems. The advantages and disadvantages of the 4LB and CSSB are explored and application method of CSSB is explained. Concordance is and important issue that affects successful leg ulcer management (Moffatt, 2004a): if this can be achieved through offering patients choice of treatment bandages, then more successful treatment will be achieved for patients.

Bandages↗

PubMed2000

The maintenance of cooperative and helping behaviours in cooperative groups.

BACKGROUND: This study was a full-year investigation of whether children, who had previously been trained to cooperate and help each other, were able to use these behaviours in reconstituted groups without additional training one year later. AIMS: (i) To examine whether children who have previously been trained to cooperate demonstrate more cooperative and helping behaviours in their groups than children who had no been trained and (ii) to determine the effect of prior training on children's learning. SAMPLE: The study involved 144 Grade 2 children (mean age = 94.5 months; third year of schooling), from nine schools in a similar socio-demographic area of Brisbane, Australia. Sixty-four children, who had been trained in cooperative group behaviours in the previous year, were assigned to the Trained groups and 80 children, who had not received any training, were assigned to the Untrained groups. METHOD: The children worked in four-person, mixed-ability (high-, medium-, and low-ability), gender-balanced groups (2 males, 2 females) for one six-week social studies unit of work each term for three school terms. Videotaping occurred in the 5-6 week of each work unit. Videotapes were coded for behaviour and verbal interactions. Learning outcomes data were also collected. RESULTS: The children in the trained groups exhibited more cooperative behaviour and they provided more explanations, both in response to explicit and implicit requests for help across the three periods of time. The children in the trained groups used higher level cognitive strategies such as providing specific concrete facts and reasons in their interactions and they also obtained higher scores on the learning outcomes questionnaire than their untrained peers. CONCLUSION: Young children who have been trained to cooperate and help each other are able to demonstrate these behaviours in reconstituted groups without additional training a year later.

Child↗

PubMed2005

Have male and female genitalia coevolved? A phylogenetic analysis of genitalic morphology and sexual size dimorphism in web-building spiders (Araneae: Araneoidea).

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) can strongly influence the evolution of reproductive strategies and life history. If SSD is extreme, and other characters (e.g., genitalic size) also increase with size, then functional conflicts may arise between the sexes. Spiders offer an excellent opportunity to investigate this issue because of their wide range of SSD. By using modern phylogenetic methods with 16 species of orb-weaving spiders, we provide strong evidence for the "positive genitalic divergence" model, implying that sexual genitalic dimorphism (SGD) increases as SSD increases. This pattern is supported by an evolutionary mismatch between the absolute sizes of male and female genitalia across species. Indeed, our findings reveal a dramatic reversal from male genitalia that are up to 87x larger than female genitalia in size-monomorphic species to female genitalia that are up to 2.8x larger in extremely size-dimorphic species. We infer that divergence in SGD could limit SSD both in spiders, and potentially in other taxa as well. Further, male and female body size, as well as male and female genitalia size, are decoupled evolutionarily. Finally, we show a negative scaling (hypoallometry) of male and female genitalic morphology within sexes. Evolutionary forces specific to each sex, such as larger female size (increased fecundity) or smaller male size (enhanced mate-searching ability), may be balanced by stabilizing selection on relative genitalic size.

Animals↗

PubMed1984

Therapy after stroke: amounts, determinants and effects.

This report investigates the amounts of physiotherapy and occupational therapy given to acute stroke patients over the first 6 months, the factors that determine how much therapy a patient receives, and the effects of therapy upon outcome. The study is based on 162 acute stroke patients referred to a stroke rehabilitation unit. In this group the average daily rate of treatment during active rehabilitation, for both therapies combined, was 46 minutes, with a maximum of 42 minutes a day for physiotherapy and 48 minutes a day for occupational therapy. The major factors associated with the amount of therapy given related to the severity of the stroke: more therapy was given to those with lower initial functional ability, worse sitting balance, or greater loss of use of arm or leg. This association with severity probably accounts for the association between therapy and shoulder disease. A minor factor governing the amount of therapy given was the patient's degree of recovery: those who recovered less well received more therapy. It was not possible to demonstrate a specific beneficial effect of therapy.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

How a heart network can influence a cardiovascular product line.

The authors believe that a viable heart network program can give tertiary centers the competitive edge in cardiology marketing, can provide the opportunity to fine-tune cardiovascular product lines and can position hospitals to meet the challenges of the next decade in healthcare. However, success will be determined by an institution's ability to carefully balance cost and quality issues.

Alabama↗

PubMed1999

Specific alteration of spontaneous GABAergic inhibition in cerebellar purkinje cells in mice lacking the potassium channel Kv1. 1.

In the cerebellum, the basket cell innervation on Purkinje cells provides a major GABAergic inhibitory control of the single efferent output from the cerebellum. The Shaker-type K channel Kv1.1 is localized at the axon arborization preceding the terminal of the basket cells and is therefore a potential candidate for regulating the GABAergic inhibition. In this study, we directly assess this role of Kv1.1 by electrophysiological analysis of Kv1.1 null mutant mice. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of spontaneous IPSCs (sIPSCs) were made from Purkinje cells in thin cerebellar slices from postnatal day (P)10-15 Kv1.1-null mutants using wild-type littermates as controls. The null mutation confers a very specific change in the sIPSC: the frequency increases about twofold, without accompanying changes in the mean and variance of its amplitude distribution. The frequency and amplitude of the miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) are unaffected. Spontaneous firing rate of the basket cells is unaltered. Evoked IPSC does not show multiple activity in the mutants. Motor skills tests show that Kv1.1 null mice display a compromised ability to maintain balance on a thin stationary rod. We conclude that the Kv1.1 null mutation results in a persistent elevation of the tonic inhibitory tone on the cerebellum Purkinje cell efferent and that this is not fully compensated for by residual Shaker-type channels. We further suggest that the increase in inhibitory tone in the mutants might underlie the behavioral deficits. At the cellular level, we propose that Kv1.1 deletion enhances excitability of the basket cells by selectively enhancing the likelihood of action potential propagation past axonal branch points.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1997

[Clinical study of effect of yizhi capsule on senile vascular dementia].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Yizhi capsule (YZC) in treating senile dementia. METHODS: Sixty-one vascular dementia (VaD) patients were randomly divided into YZC and control groups. There were 32 cases in YZC group, 4 capsules each time three times a day. In control group, there were 29 cases, 2 mg of hydergine were given each time three times a day, single-blind method was used and the treatment course was two months. RESULTS: YZC could remarkably increase mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) marks of VaD patients. YZC had the effect of improving balance and gait ability of VaD patients. YZC could improve the abnormal blood velocity (BV), as well as improve cerebral blood flow, brain electrical activity monitoring (BEAM) and hemorheological indexes especially for the abnormal case. No side-effect or toxic-effect was observed in the administration period. CONCLUSION: YZC had certain effect on senile VaD, and it was safe in application.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

[Clinical study on effect of xianlong capsule on senile vascular dementia].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of Xianlong Capsule (XLC) in treating the senile vascular dementia (VD). METHODS: Forty-six cases of VD were randomly divided into two groups. The XLC group (24 patients) were treated with XLC and the control group (22 patients) were treated with Hydergine. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Hamilton depression scale (HDS) marks and clinical symptoms were observed in different groups. RESULTS: XLC could markedly increase MMSE and HDS marks of VD patients. XLC had the effect of improving balance and gait ability of VD patients. CONCLUSION: XLC had certain effect on VD and its effect was better than that of Hydergine.

Aged↗