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Mean Amount (mean + amount)
Selected AbstractsDaily dataset of 20th-century surface air temperature and precipitation series for the European Climate AssessmentINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 12 2002A. M. G. Klein Tank Abstract We present a dataset of daily resolution climatic time series that has been compiled for the European Climate Assessment (ECA). As of December 2001, this ECA dataset comprises 199 series of minimum, maximum and/or daily mean temperature and 195 series of daily precipitation amount observed at meteorological stations in Europe and the Middle East. Almost all series cover the standard normal period 1961,90, and about 50% extends back to at least 1925. Part of the dataset (90%) is made available for climate research on CDROM and through the Internet (at http://www.knmi.nl/samenw/eca). A comparison of the ECA dataset with existing gridded datasets, having monthly resolution, shows that correlation coefficients between ECA stations and nearest land grid boxes between 1946 and 1999 are higher than 0.8 for 93% of the temperature series and for 51% of the precipitation series. The overall trends in the ECA dataset are of comparable magnitude to those in the gridded datasets. The potential of the ECA dataset for climate studies is demonstrated in two examples. In the first example, it is shown that the winter (October,March) warming in Europe in the 1976,99 period is accompanied by a positive trend in the number of warm-spell days at most stations, but not by a negative trend in the number of cold-spell days. Instead, the number of cold-spell days increases over Europe. In the second example, it is shown for winter precipitation between 1946 and 1999 that positive trends in the mean amount per wet day prevail in areas that are getting drier and wetter. Because of its daily resolution, the ECA dataset enables a variety of empirical climate studies, including detailed analyses of changes in the occurrence of extremes in relation to changes in mean temperature and total precipitation. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Free and Cheap Riding in Strict, Conservative ChurchesJOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 2 2005DANIEL V. A. OLSON Iannaccone (1994) uses rational choice theory to argue that strict rules (e.g., no smoking or drinking) raise average commitment levels in conservative churches because strictness discourages free riding. Tests of this assertion have been hampered, in part, by uncertainties concerning how free riding should be measured. We introduce a new, indirect measure of free (and cheap) riding, the level of positive skewness of a congregation's money contributions,that is, the extent to which a few members give much more than the mean amount while the majority gives much less. Using a study of giving in five denominations, we find that strict, conservative congregations have both higher mean giving and less skewness in the pattern of their giving. The higher mean-contribution levels at strict, conservative congregations are not simply due to each member giving more or a few members giving a lot more. Instead, as Iannaccone's model predicts, some combination of strict rules and/or conservative theology appears to systematically limit the proportion of free- and cheap-riding members giving far less than the mean and thus increase the proportion giving at or above the mean. [source] Estimating food consumption of marine predators: Antarctic fur seals and macaroni penguinsJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2002I.L. Boyd Summary 1Estimating food consumption is central to defining the ecological role of marine predators. This study developed an algorithm for synthesizing information about physiology, metabolism, growth, diet, life history and the activity budgets of marine predators to estimate population energy requirements and food consumption. 2Two species of marine predators (Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella and macaroni penguin Eudyptes chrsolophus) that feed on krill in the Southern Ocean were used as examples to test the algorithm. A sensitivity analysis showed that estimates of prey consumed were most sensitive to uncertainty in some demographic variables, particularly the annual survival rate and total offspring production. Uncertainty in the measurement of metabolic rate led to a positive bias in the mean amount of food consumed. Uncertainty in most other variables had little influence on the estimated food consumed. 3Assuming a diet mainly of krill Euphausia superba, annual food consumption by Antarctic fur seals and macaroni penguins at the island of South Georgia was 3·84 [coefficient of variation (CV) = 0·11] and 8·08 (CV = 0·23) million tonnes, respectively. This was equivalent to a total annual carbon consumption of 0·35 (CV = 0·11) and 0·72 (CV = 0·23) G tonnes year,1. Carbon expired as CO2 was 0·26 (CV = 0·06) and 0·65 (CV = 0·19) G tonnes year,1 for fur seals and macaroni penguins, respectively. The per capita food consumption varied depending upon sex and age but, overall, this was 1·7 (CV = 0·22) tonnes year,1 for Antarctic fur seals and 0·45 (CV = 0·22) tonnes year,1 for macaroni penguins. 4The algorithm showed that the seasonal demand for food peaked in both species in the second half of the breeding season and, for macaroni penguins, there was a second peak immediately after moult. Minimum food demand occurred in both species during the first half of the breeding season. 5As both Antarctic fur seals and macaroni penguins compete for krill with a commercial fishery, these results provide an insight into the seasons and stages of the life cycle in which competition is likely to be greatest. [source] Osteogenesis by guided tissue regeneration and demineralized bone matrixJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PERIODONTOLOGY, Issue 3 2003N. Mardas Abstract Aim:, To evaluate in a discriminating capsule model whether bone formation by guided tissue regeneration (GTR) may be influenced by concomitant implantation of demineralized bone matrix (DBM). Materials and Methods:, Thirty 4-month-old male albino rats of the Wistar strain were used in the study. Following surgical exposure of the mandibular ramus, a hemispherical, Teflon capsule (5.0 mm in diameter), loosely packed with a standardized amount of DBM, was placed with its open part facing the lateral bone surface of the ramus. At the contralateral side, an empty capsule was placed, serving as control. After healing periods of 15, 30, and 120 days, groups of 10 animals were sacrificed and 40,70 ,m thick undecalcified sections of the capsules were produced. In the sections, the cross-sectional areas of (1) the space created by the capsule, (2) newly formed bone, (3) DBM particles, (4) loose connective tissue as well as the (5) height of the capsules, and (6) that of the newly formed bone were measured. Results:, Increasing bone fill was observed in both test and control sites from 30 to 120 days. After 30 days of healing, the mean amount of bone was approx. 3% of the cross-sectional area of the capsules at the test sites while it was 8% in the control sites (p<0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed between the test (46%) and control (64%) sites after 120 days regarding any of the measured parameters (p>0.05). The newly formed bone in the DBM group at 120 days, on the other hand, appeared more dense than that in the control capsules. Conclusion:, DBM used as an adjunct to GTR did not provide any added effect on bone formation but increased the density of the newly formed bone. Zusammenfassung Ziel: Die Untersuchung in einem Kapselmodell, welches differenzieren kann, ob die Knochenbildung durch GTR durch die gleichzeitige Implantation von demineralisierter Knochenmatrix (DBM) beeinflusst werden könnte Material und Methoden: Dreißig männliche 4-Monate-alte Albinoratten des Wistar Stammes wurden in der Studie verwendet. Nach der chirurgischen Freilegung des Unterkieferastes wurde eine halbkugelförmige Teflonkapsel (5,0 mm Durchmesser), welche locker mit einer standardisierten Menge von DBM versehen war, wurde mit ihrer offenen Fläche auf die seitlichen Knochenfläche des Ramus gelegt. Auf der kontralateralen Seite diente eine leere Kapsel als Kontrolle. Nach Heilungsintervallen von 15, 30 und 120 Tagen wurden Gruppen von 10 Tieren geopfert und 40-70 ,m dicke nicht-entkalkte Schnitte der Kapseln wurden hergestellt. An den Schnitten wurde die Querschnittsfläche von: 1) der Fläche, die von der Kapsel geschaffen wurde, 2) dem neu gebildeten Knochen, 3) den DBM-Partikeln, 4) dem lockeren Bindegewebe gemessen, als auch 5) die Höhe der Kapseln und 6) des neu gebildeten Knochens bestimmt. Ergebnisse: Von Tag 30 zu Tag 120 wurde sowohl bei den Test- als auch bei den Kontrollstellen eine erhöhte Knochenauffüllung beobachtet. Nach 30 Tagen der Heilung betrug an den Teststellen die mittlere Knochenmenge ungefähr 3% der Querschnittsfläche der Kapseln, während sie an den Kontrollstellen 8% (p<0,05) betrug. Jedoch wurde nach 120 Tagen bei keinem der gemessenen Parameter eine statistisch signifikante Differenz zwischen den Test- (46%) und den Kontrollstellen (64%) beobachtet. Auf der anderen Seite erschien nach 120 Tagen in der DBM-Gruppe der neu gebildete Knochen dichter als in den Kontrollkapseln Schlussfolgerung: DBM welches als Zusatz bei der GTR verwendet wurde, lieferte keinen zusätzlichen Effekt bei der Knochenbildung, aber erhöhte die Dichte des neu gebildeten Knochens. Résumé Le but de cette étude a été d'évaluer dans un modèle de capsule discriminatoire si la formation osseuse par regénération tissulaire guidée (GTR) pouvait être influencée par l'implantation concomitante de matrice osseuse déminéralisée (DBM). Trente rats albinos mâles âgés de quatre mois de la souche Wistar ont été utilisés pour cette étude. A la suite de l'exposition chirurgicale de la branche montante mandibulaire, une capsule en téflon hémisphérique de 0,5 mm de diamètre remplie sans tassement avec une quantité standardisée de DBM a été placée avec sa partie ouverte contre la surface osseuse latérale de la branche. Du côté contralatéral, une capsule vide était placée servant de contrôle. Après des périodes de guérison de 15, 30 et 120 jours, des groupes de dix animaux ont été tués et des coupes non-décalcifiées de 40 à 70 ,m d'épaisseur des capsules ont été effectuées. Dans ces coupes, une aire sur coupe transversale contenant 1) l'espace créé par la capsule, 2) l'os néoformé, 3) des particules DBM, 4) du tissu conjonctif lâche; 5) la hauteur des capsules et 6) et celle de l'os néoformé ont été mesurés. Un comblement osseux de plus en plus important tant dans les sites contrôles que les sites tests a été constaté entre les jours 30 et 120. Après 30 jours de guérison, la quantité moyenne d'os formait approximativement 3% de l'aire de la coupe des capsules dans les sites tests tandis qu'elle était de 8% dans les sites contrôles (p<0,05). Cependant, aucune différence statistique n'a été observée entre les sites tests (46%) et les sites contrôles (64%) après 120 jours pour les paramètres mesurés (p>0,05). L'os néoformé dans le groupe DBM à 120 jours semblait plus dense que dans les capsules contrôles. Le DBM utilisé durant la GTR n'apportait aucun effet additionnel sur la formation osseuse mais augmentait cependant la densité du nouvel os formé. [source] Ultrasonographic Reference Values for Assessing the Normal Median Nerve in AdultsJOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, Issue 1 2009Michael S. Cartwright MD ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Several studies have evaluated the cross-sectional area of the median nerve at the wrist, but none have examined other sites along the median nerve. Nerve enlargement has been demonstrated in entrapment, hereditary and acquired neuropathies, as well as with intraneural masses, and cross-sectional area reference values at sites along the nerve will help in the evaluation of these conditions. In addition, muscle intrusion into the carpal tunnel has been implicated in carpal tunnel syndrome, but the normal amount of muscle intrusion has not been quantified. METHODS Fifty asymptomatic volunteers (100 arms) were evaluated to determine the mean cross-sectional area of the median nerve at 6 sites and the mean amount of muscle intruding into the carpal tunnel. RESULTS The cross-sectional area of the nerve was consistent along its course (7.5 to 9.8 mm2). The amount of muscle within the carpal tunnel varied greatly, with the mean area of flexor digitorum being 15.5 mm2 and lumbricals 13.5 mm2. CONCLUSIONS These reference values are necessary for advancing the field of neuromuscular ultrasound, because they facilitate studies of the median nerve in conditions such as entrapment, hereditary neuropathy, acquired neuropathy, and intraneural masses. [source] Quantification of Alzheimer pathology in ageing and dementia: age-related accumulation of amyloid-,(42) peptide in vascular dementiaNEUROPATHOLOGY & APPLIED NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2006H. Lewis Clinicopathological observations suggest there is considerable overlap between vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used immunochemical methods to compare quantities of amyloid-, (A,) peptides in post mortem brain samples from VaD, AD subjects and nondemented ageing controls. Total A, peptides extracted from temporal and frontal cortices were quantified using a previously characterized sensitive homogenous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assay. The HTRF assays and immunocapture mass spectrometric analyses revealed that the A,(42) species were by far the predominant form of extractable peptide compared with A,(40) peptide in VaD brains. The strong signal intensity for the peak representing A,(4,42) peptide confirmed that these N-terminally truncated species are relatively abundant. Absolute quantification by HTRF assay showed that the mean amount of total A,(42) recovered from VaD samples was approximately 50% of that in AD, and twice that in the age-matched controls. Linear correlation analysis further revealed an increased accumulation with age of both A, peptides in brains of VaD subjects and controls. Interestingly, VaD patients surviving beyond 80 years of age exhibited comparable A,(42) concentrations with those in AD in the temporal cortex. Our findings suggest that brain A, accumulates increasingly with age in VaD subjects more so than in elderly without cerebrovascular disease and support the notion that they acquire Alzheimer-like pathology in older age. [source] A Pilot Study of Quantitative Aspiration in Patients with Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Comparison to a Historic Control Group,THE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 6 2004Michael Beal MD Abstract Objective: It has been shown that many healthy people aspirate secretions at night. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have frequent episodes of gasping at night that may predispose them to aspiration. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients with symptoms of OSA are predisposed to pharyngeal aspiration. Study Design: A prospective study in which patients with symptoms of OSA were compared with a historic group of normal controls by using the same methodology. Methods: The study was offered to patients with symptoms of OSA undergoing a sleep study. The radiotracer Technicium99 was infused through a plastic tube placed in the nasopharynx after the patient achieved stage II sleep. A chest radionuclide scan determined the amount of material aspirated. The Wilcoxon-rank sum test was used to compare the mean amount aspirated between the experimental and historic control groups. Results: Fourteen patients successfully completed the study. One normal volunteer in our study aspirated a quantity similar to the historic normal control group. The amount of aspirated material in the study group ranged from 0.152 to 3.648 mL, with a mean of 1.24 mL ± 0.905 (SD). When compared with the historic normal control group, the patients with symptoms of OSA aspirated significantly more radio-tracer (P <.01). There was a lack of association between respiratory disturbance index and amount aspirated. Conclusions: The results suggest there is an apparent risk of increased pharyngeal aspiration in patients with symptoms of OSA. [source] Unexpected diminished innervation of epidermis and dermoepidermal junction in lichen amyloidosusBRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2008B. Maddison Summary Background, Lichen amyloidosus is a localized, chronic, pruritic skin disease characterized by deposition of amyloid in the papillary dermis. The pathogenesis of the pruritus of lichen amyloidosus is largely unknown. Objectives, To determine any change in the nerve fibre density in lichen amyloidosus lesions as an explanation for itch. Methods, Using an antibody to protein gene product (PGP) 9.5, the immunohistochemical analysis of the skin biopsies of 30 Hispanic patients with clinicopathologically proven lichen amyloidosus and of 11 healthy Hispanic controls matched for age, sex and site was performed. Results, Unexpectedly, the mean amount of PGP9.5 stain, a measure for nerve fibre amount, for the healthy controls was higher than the lichen amyloidosus group both in the epidermis (P < 0·0019) and dermoepidermal junction (P < 0·0064). No change was observed in the papillary dermis. Furthermore, the proportion of area covered by PGP9.5 showed a significant decrease in the epidermis (P < 0·0024) and dermoepidermal junction (P < 0·0075) in lichen amyloidosus compared with healthy controls. Age, gender and body site were found not to be influencing factors in nerve fibre amounts in lichen amyloidosus samples. Conclusions, We speculate that the severe pruritus observed in lichen amyloidosus might be the result of the hypersensitivity of the remaining nerve fibres as a response to an unexplained neurodegeneration of the absent nerve fibres. [source] Operant Self-Administration of Ethanol in Sardinian Alcohol-Preferring RatsALCOHOLISM, Issue 11 2002Giovanni Vacca Background "Work" for ethanol, that is, the ability of a laboratory animal to press a lever to gain access to ethanol, has been proposed as (a) a requirement for definition of an animal model of alcoholism and (b) a measure of ethanol-reinforcing properties. The present study evaluated oral self-administration of ethanol under an operant (lever pressing) procedure in selectively bred Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) and alcohol-nonpreferring (sNP) rats. Methods Rats from both lines were initiated to self-administer 10% ethanol, on a fixed ratio 1 schedule and in daily 30 min sessions, by using the Samson sucrose fading procedure. Subsequently, rats were exposed to increasing concentrations of ethanol up to 30% on a fixed ratio 4 schedule. Finally, the extinction responding for ethanol, defined as the maximal number of lever responses reached by each rat in the absence of ethanol reinforcement, was determined. Results The results indicated that sP rats acquired and maintained lever pressing for ethanol, self-administering mean amounts of ethanol in the range of 0.6 to 1.1 g/kg/session, which gave rise to mean blood ethanol levels in the 30 to 45 mg% range. Extinction responding for ethanol in sP rats averaged 73. In contrast, once sucrose was faded out, sNP rats displayed minimal levels of responding for ethanol, and extinction responding averaged 6. Conclusions The results of the present study extend to the sP/sNP rat lines the finding that ethanol can be established as a reinforcer in selectively bred alcohol-preferring rats, whereas it has modest, if any, reinforcing properties in alcohol-nonpreferring rats. [source] Effectiveness of an ultrafiltration device for use with the enzyme-hydrolysed protein method for determining endogenous ileal nitrogen and amino acid excretion in the pigJOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 15 2001Suzanne M Hodgkinson Abstract The aim of the work was to perform an in vitro study to determine the effectiveness of Centriprep-10 concentrator devices for use with the enzyme-hydrolysed protein method for the determination of endogenous ileal nitrogen and amino acid flows. Different amounts of enzyme-hydrolysed casein (EHC) were added to tubes containing digesta collected from pigs that had received a protein-free diet for 5,8 days. The samples were centrifuged and then ultrafiltered using Centriprep-10 concentrators. The precipitate from the centrifugation step was added to the retentate from the ultrafiltration, and this material was analysed for nitrogen and amino acids. The ultrafiltrates were also analysed for nitrogen. The amount of nitrogen that was deemed to have originated from the EHC and remained in the precipitate plus retentate fraction of digesta after processing, expressed as a percentage of the total amount of nitrogen added to the tubes as EHC, ranged from 1.0 to 5.0%. The overall mean amounts of amino acid in the precipitate plus retentate fractions originating from the EHC, expressed as a percentage of the amino acids added to the tubes as EHC, ranged from 2.4 to 5.8%. The results demonstrate that with Centriprep-10 concentrators there is a less than complete separation of nitrogen and amino acids originating from EHC from endogenous material in digesta, but for most amino acids this is unlikely to be due to binding of the amino acids to digesta. The incomplete separation of EHC from the endogenous fraction of digesta by Centriprep-10 concentrators may lead to a small overestimation (approximately 2%) of endogenous ileal nitrogen and amino acid flows. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Predictive value of frozen-section analysis in the histological assessment of steatosis before liver transplantationLIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 12 2009Michelangelo Fiorentino Histological quality assessment of donated livers is a key factor for extending the cadaveric donor pool for liver transplantation. We retrospectively compared frozen-section analysis with routine histological permanent slides and the outcomes of grafts in liver biopsies from 294 candidate donors. The , concordance coefficient of agreement between frozen-section analysis and routine histological analysis was very good for macrosteatosis (, = 0.934), microsteatosis (, = 0.828), and total steatosis (, = 0.814). The correlation between the mean amounts of macrosteatosis, microsteatosis, and total steatosis in frozen and permanent sections was also significant (P < 0.001, Spearman's test). Macrosteatosis and microsteatosis were overestimated to >30% in 4 of 32 cases (12.5%) and in 23 of 62 cases (37.1%), respectively. The only 2 histological parameters of frozen sections able to predict graft dysfunction within 7 days of transplantation were macrosteatosis and total steatosis (P = 0.018 and P = 0.015, respectively, Mann-Whitney test). None of the other histopathological features evaluated in frozen sections, including portal inflammation, lobular necrosis, myointimal thickening, biliocyte regression, cholestasis, hepatocellular polymorphism, lipofuscin storage, and fibrous septa, were significantly correlated with the graft outcome. The frozen-section histological evaluation of biopsies from cadaveric liver donors is an accurate, time-effective, and predictive method for the assessment of graft suitability. Liver Transpl 15:1821,1825, 2009. © 2010 AASLD. [source] Effect of a combination of extract from several plants on Cell-mediated and humoral immunity of patients with advanced ovarian cancerPHYTOTHERAPY RESEARCH, Issue 5 2006N. Kormosh Abstract The influence of a plant preparation AdMax (Nulab Inc., Clearwater, FL, USA) on immunity in ovarian cancer patients was studied. The preparation is a combination of dried ethanol/water extracts from roots of Leuzea carthamoides, Rhodiola rosea, Eleutherococcus senticosus and fruits of Schizandra chinensis. Twenty eight patients with stage III,IV epithelial ovarian cancer were treated once with 75 mg/m2 cisplatin and 600 mg/m2 cyclophosphamide. Peripheral blood was collected 4 weeks after the chemotherapy. Subclasses of T, B and NK lymphocytes were tested for in the blood samples: CD3, CD4, CD5, CD7, CD8, CD11B, CD16, CD20, CD25, CD38, CD45RA, CD50, CD71 and CD95. Immunoglobulin G, A and M concentrations were also determined. Changes were observed in the following T cell subclasses: CD3, CD4, CD5 and CD8. In patients who took AdMax (270 mg a day) for 4 weeks following the chemotherapy, the mean numbers of the four T cell subclasses were increased in comparison with the mean numbers of the T cell subclasses in patients who did not take AdMax. In patients who took AdMax, the mean amounts of IgG and IgM were also increased. The obtained results suggest that the combination of extracts from adaptogenic plants may boost the suppressed immunity in ovarian cancer patients who are subject to chemotherapy. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||