OBJECTIVE Although blood-brain barrier (BBB) impairment has been reported in HIV-infected individuals, characterization of this impairment has not been clearly defined. METHODS BBB integrity was measured by CSF/plasma albumin ratio in this cross-sectional study of 631 HIV-infected individuals and 71 controls. We also analyzed CSF and blood HIV RNA and neopterin, CSF leukocyte count, and neuro...

AIM To evaluate the main platelet volume (MPV) as a severity marker in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-nine patients with biopsy-proven and as yet untreated PBC followed between January 2008 and January 2015 were included in this study. Liver biopsies were categorized as early stage (stage 1 and 2 according to Scheuer's histological stage) and late ...

Human sperm heads were detected and tracked using semiautomatic image analysis. Measurements of size and shape on two specimens from each of 26 men showed that the major component of variability both within and between subjects was the number of small elongated sperm heads. Variability of the computed features between subjects was greater than that between samples from the same subject.

In response to stressors, animals can increase the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, resulting in elevated glucocorticoid concentrations. An increase in glucocorticoids results in an increase in heterophils and a decrease in lymphocytes, which ratio (H/L-ratio) is an indicator of stress in birds. The physiological response to a stressor can depend on individual charact...

OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of helmets on the risk of head and neck injuries in skiers and snowboarders. DESIGN Matched case-control and case crossover study. SETTING 19 ski areas in Quebec, Canada, November 2001 to April 2002. PARTICIPANTS 1082 skiers and snowboarders (cases) with head and neck injuries reported by the ski patrol and 3295 skiers and snowboarders (controls) with non...

Introduction Signal intensity uniformity in a magnetic resonance (MR) image indicates how well the MR imaging (MRI) system represents an object. One of the major sources of image non-uniformity in high-field MRI scanners is inhomogeneity of radio-frequency coil. The aim of this study was to investigate non-uniformity in head, head and neck, and body coils and compare the obtained results to det...