In patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVI), we have previously defined a subgroup of patients (CVIHyper) characterized by decreased numbers of CD4+ lymphocytes in peripheral blood, splenomegaly, and persistent immune activation in vivo, particularly of monocytes/macrophages. To further characterize this hyperactivity, parameters of activation of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) syst...

OBJECTIVES Primarily, to determine the association between the clinical severity of primary varicose veins and different reflux patterns in an anatomic and haemodynamic clinical study using duplex ultrasonography (DU). Secondly, to analyse the association of clinical severity with other aspects, such as risk factors for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and other concurrent diseases. METHOD ...

Leaf thickness is a quantitative trait that is associated with the ability of plants to occupy dry, high irradiance environments. Despite its importance, leaf thickness has been difficult to measure reproducibly, which has impeded progress in understanding its genetic basis, and the associated anatomical mechanisms that pattern it. Here, we used a custom-built dual confocal profilometer device ...

BACKGROUND AND METHODS We report two clinical studies, one already published, performed in patients with early and advanced chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). In both, compression therapy and oral therapy with horse-chestnut seeds extracts (HCSE) were compared to placebo. RESULTS The published study in early CVI (Grade I) showed HCSE and compression to be superior to placebo and to be equiva...

Nucleolar dominance describes the silencing of one parent's ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes in a genetic hybrid. In Arabidopsis thaliana, rRNA genes are clustered in two nucleolus organizer regions, NOR2 and NOR4. In F(8) recombinant inbreds (RI) of the A. thaliana ecotypes Ler and Cvi, lines that display strong nucleolar dominance inherited a specific combination of NORs, Cvi NOR4 and Ler NOR2. The...

The molecular mechanisms underlying the T cell dysfunction often present in common variable immunodeficiency (CVI) are not established. cAMP-dependent protein kinase A type I (PKAI) is an important inhibitor of T cell proliferation after Ag stimulation. We therefore investigated the possibility that activation of PKAI may be involved in the development of T cell dysfunction in CVI. An exogenous...

OBJECTIVES To examine and interpret the variation in the incidence of blindness and sight impairment in England by PCT, as reported by the Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI). DESIGN Analysis of national certification data. SETTING All Primary Care Trusts, England. PARTICIPANTS 23 773 CVI certifications issued from 2008 to 2009. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Crude and Age standardised rates ...

Nurse researchers typically provide evidence of content validity for instruments by computing a content validity index (CVI), based on experts' ratings of item relevance. We compared the CVI to alternative indexes and concluded that the widely-used CVI has advantages with regard to ease of computation, understandability, focus on agreement of relevance rather than agreement per se, focus on con...