BACKGROUND Serial peak expiratory flow rate (PEF) recording has been advocated as a sensitive and specific means of confirming work related asthma. The optimum number of recordings per day to achieve the best between-reader and within-reader reproducibility and sensitivity/specificity ratio compared with the final diagnosis determined by specific inhalation challenges is unknown. METHODS PEF ...

In the currently standard ways of representing quantification in logical form, this sentence has 120 different readings, or quantifier scopings. Moreover, they are truly distinct, in the sense that for any two readings, there is a model that satisfies one and not the other. With the standard logical forms produced by the syntactic and semantic translation components of current theoretical frame...

Seven types of sphygmomanometer were used in random order on each of nine hypertensive patients and the readings compared with simultaneous intra-arterial blood-pressure recordings. All the devices gave significantly different values for systolic pressure, and only two measured diastolic pressure without significant error. Systolic pressure was consistently underestimated (range 31-7 mm Hg), an...

Green WLAN is a promising technique for accessing future indoor Internet services. It is designed not only for high-speed data communication purposes but also for energy efficiency. The basic strategy of green WLAN is that all the access points are not always powered on, but rather work on-demand. Though powering off idle access points does not affect data communication, a serious asymmetric ma...

  Background and Objective: The reliability and validity of monitors for self-monitoring of blood glucose are debated. We evaluated the analytical performance of Accu-check Active (Boehringer Mannheim, Roche) which is one of the most commonly used monitors in Iran. Material and Methods: We compared the monitor readings with the reference values by percentage of values within...

Dynamic tissue perfusion measurement (DTPM) is a pre-described and available method in pediatric ultrasound to quantify tissue perfusion in renal Doppler ultrasound by particular video analysis software. This study evaluates DTPM during single and between repeated visits after 6 months, calibrates repeated DTPM within different region of interest (ROI) and compares DTPM with kidney function mar...

Introduction: Contrast sensitivity is a visual element used in optometric examinations to help assess visual capacity. This study compared two formats of contrast sensitivity tests, ETDRS Letters and Continuous Text. Methods: Contrast sensitivity was measured in 75 subjects, who met inclusion criteria, using the Adult Near Contrast Test. Patients’ verbal readings provided data for the formats a...

Korean has two types of answers shorter than full sentential answers: Fragments and null argument constructions. Apparently the two constructions have the same interpretative processes. However, there are some cases where the fragment and null argument construction behave differently: e.g., wh-puzzles, sloppy interpretation. We suggest that the two constructions involve two different types of a...

RTKs and Their Ligands Aberrant, uncontrolled activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) is the “original sin” of many human cancers, in that this activation can both initiate and drive the evolution of tumors (1). Mutation and overexpression of the multiple members of the epidermal growth factor/ErbB receptor family, to cite only a single example, constitute cancer drivers that have been c...

One of the effects of the globalization process has been the diffusion of international management mindsets. Such a process of diffusion may be contributing to an increasing homogeneity of managerial practice around the world, but important differences still remain. The research reported in this article analyzes management as a process in the making, i.e. as a dynamic interplay between local cu...