OBJECTIVE To better understand the role of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) in lipoprotein metabolism through the genetic and biochemical characterization of families carrying mutations in the LCAT gene. METHODS AND RESULTS Thirteen families carrying 17 different mutations in the LCAT gene were identified by Lipid Clinics and Departments of Nephrology throughout Italy. DNA analysis...

Solid bar microextraction (SBME), followed by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD), for the quantification of ochratoxin A in wheat and maize was developed. Ground wheat and maize grains were extracted with acetonitrile-water-acetic acid (79:20:1, v/v/v), followed by defatting with cyclohexane, and subjected to SBME-LC-FLD analysis. SBME devices were constructed by packi...

The P-factor for support practice of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) accounts soil conservation measures and leads to a significant reduction in modelled loss. However, practical application, is most neglected factor overall due high effort determining or lack input data. This study provides new method automatic derivation main cultivation direction from seed rows tramlines on agricultu...

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an excellent antineoplastic agent used for the treatment of hematological and solid malignancies. The aqueous extract of Bombyx mori (BMAE) contains amino acids and some flavonoids with obvious cardioprotective effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective effect of BMAE against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and its underlying mechanisms on murine mo...

The K-means Iterative Fisher (KIF) algorithm is a robust, unsupervised clustering algorithm applied here to the problem of image texture segmentation. The KIF algorithm involves two steps. First, K-means is applied. Second, the K-means class assignments are used to estimate parameters required for a Fisher linear discriminant (FLD). The FLD is applied iteratively to improve the solution. This c...

A sensitive, specific, reproducible and optimized high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) method for the determination of bergapten in rat plasma was established and applied to the pharmacokinetic and bioavailability study in rat after oral and intravenous administration of bergapten. The method was also successfully applied to the excretion study of bergap...

BACKGROUND The association between diet and fatty liver disease (FLD) has predominantly been analyzed for single nutrients or foods, and findings have been inconsistent. OBJECTIVE We aimed to compare associations of hypothesis-driven and exploratory dietary pattern scores with liver fat content. DESIGN Liver fat was measured by using magnetic resonance imaging as liver signal intensity (LSI...

PURPOSE To determine high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) patterns and pulmonary function indices which are associated with increased mortality in patients with connective tissue disease related fibrotic lung disease (CTD-FLD). METHODS HRCTs from 168 patients with CTD-FLD were scored by 2 observers for a variety of HRCT patterns and traction bronchiectasis. A radiological diagnosis of u...

The primary function of Photosystem I (PSI)1 during photosynthesis is to provide reducing equivalents, in the form of NADPH, that will then be used in CO2 assimilation (Golbeck, 2006). In plants, this occurs via reduction of the soluble [2Fe-2S] Ferredoxin (Fd) by PSI. Subsequent reduction of NADP+ by Fdrd is catalysed by the FAD-dependent FerredoxinNADP+ reductase (FNR) (Eox/hq = -374 mV at pH...

When analyzing database query languages a property of theories, the pseudo-finite homogeneity property has been introduced and applied (cf. [3]). We show that a stable theory has the pseudo-finite homogeneity property just in case its expressive power for finite states is bounded. Moreover, we introduce the corresponding pseudo-finite saturation property and show that a theory fails to have the...