BACKGROUND Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes. It can lead to significant visual loss. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and clinical profile of diabetic retinopathy, and assess the outcomes of laser photocoagulation therapy in a diabetic population in Cameroon. METHODS We carried out a prospective cohort study during 24 mont...

Despite progress in the design of advanced surgical techniques, stenosis recurs in a large percentage of vascular anastomosis. In this study, a novel heparin-poloxamer (HP) hydrogel was designed and its effects for improving the quality and safety of vascular anastomosis were studied. HP copolymer was synthesized and its structure was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) ...

A computational market model for distributed configuration design. In Proceedings Conference of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, pp. 401–407.

Agro-Engineering Center, Valencian Institute for Agricultural Research (IVIA), Ctra. de Moncada a Náquera km. 4.5; Moncada 46113, Valencia, Spain † Entomology Associated Unit IVIA/CIB CSIC, Plant Protection and Biotechnology Center, Valencian Institute for Agricultural Research (IVIA), Ctra. de Moncada a Náquera km. 4.5; Moncada 46113, Valencia, Spain †† Martinavarro S.A., Avda. al Grao, 12, Al...

• Integration of forms. I review the basics about integrating an n-form over an n-dimensional manifold. Let M be a smooth n-manifold. We need M to be orientable. There are several equivalent characterizations of orientability; for example, M is orientable if there exists a nowhere vanishing continuous n-form ω. Given such an n-form we can select from a smooth atlas of M a subatlas for which the...

Lack of mucoadhesive properties is the major drawback to poloxamer 407 (F127)-based in situ hydrogels for mucosal administration. The objective of the present study was to construct a novel mucoadhesive and thermosensitive in situ hydrogel drug delivery system based on an amino-functionalized poloxamer for vaginal administration. First, amino-functionalized poloxamer 407 (F127-NH2) was synthesi...

An in vitro mucus assay was developed to study the role of mucus gel and secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) in preventing attachment of Campylobacter jejuni to INT 407 cells. An overlay of rabbit small intestinal mucus was found to impede the attachment of C. jejuni to a monolayer of INT 407 cells. Mucus from rabbits previously colonized with C. jejuni was found to completely inhibit bacterial a...

Background: A cross-sectional study combining different serological and molecular techniques for the detection of Ehrlichia canis in dogs was carried out to determine hemopathological findings and suggestive clinical signs associated with acute, subclinical and chronic infections in the dog population of Costa Rica. Objectives: The present study describes and analyzes, in a more representative ...