EEG spectral abnormalities and psychosis as predictors of cognitive and functional decline in probable Alzheimer's disease

We examined whether either psychotic features (e.g., delusions and hallucinations) or EEG abnormalities are associated with more rapid progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD patients with psychosis have exhibited more EEG abnormalities than those without psychosis, and both abnormal EEG and psychosis have been noted to be predictors of functional and cognitive decline in AD. Ninety-five probable AD patients participating in a longitudinal study of dementia had an EEG and a semistructured psychiatric interview at baseline. Using EEG spectral analysis, we classified records as normal/abnormal based on the parasagittal mean frequency. Patients with abnormal EEGs were more functionally (e.g., Blessed Rating Scale for activities of daily living) and cognitively (e.g., Mini-Mental State) impaired than patients with normal EEG. AD patients with psychosis were only more functionally impaired than patients without psychosis. A two-factor analysis showed no interaction between abnormal EEG and psychosis. In addition, using a Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for age and education, the presence of an abnormal EEG or psychotic symptom at study entry was associated with higher risk of reaching severe cognitive and functional impairment during follow-up. Neither abnormal EEG nor the presence of psychosis predicted death. These results indicate that both abnormal EEG and psychosis are independent predictors of disease progression but not of physical survival.     

The influence of viewing distance on subjective impairment assessment

In this paper, the influence of viewing distance on subjective assessment of the impairment in video sequences is investigated. Subjective tests using the double-stimulus impairment scale variant II (DSIS II) method have been conducted at viewing distances of 5H (where H stands for the screen height) and 3H, respectively. Several statistical measures have been used to analyze the influence, including correlations and ANOVA (analysis of variance) tests. The results reveal that there is a very high correlation between the subjective scores, the variances are similar under the two viewing distances, the means of subjective data at these two viewing distances are the same, and there is no interaction between the viewing distance and the other two factors, i.e., the codec system and the source sequence. Throughout the tests, there is no evidence that a closer viewing distance such as 3H will vary the subjective test result statistically significantly.     

Unicode Steganographic Exploits: Maintaining Enterprise Border Security

Unicode is rapidly becoming the preferred means for representing symbols used in creating multimedia content, especially for information that's presented in multiple languages. This article discusses a unicode vulnerability that makes such content susceptible to being used for creation of covert channel communications. We also developed a solution architecture, the unified secure message augmentation (USMA) service. The USMA service incorporates rules (in an XML vocabulary) that we can apply to unicode transmissions that will detect an attempt to transmit a potential exploit, alert network managers to the presence of the unicode anomaly, and take action to mitigate the exploit.     

A new method for seed oil body purification and examination of oil body integrity following germination

Plant seeds store triacylglycerols as energy sources for germination and postgerminative growth of seedlings. The triacylglycerols are preserved in small, discrete, intracellular organelles called oil bodies. A new method was developed to purify seed oil bodies. The method included extraction, flotation by centrifugation, detergent washing, ionic elution, treatment with a chaotropic agent, and integrity testing by use of hexane. These processes subsequently removed non-specifically associated or trapped proteins within the oil bodies. Oil bodies purified by this method maintained their integrity and displayed electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance on their surface. Compared with the previous procedure, this method allowed higher purification of oil bodies, as demonstrated by SDS-PAGE using five species of oilseeds. Oil bodies purified from sesame were further analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and revealed two potential oleosin isoforms. The integrity of oil bodies in germinating sesame seedlings was examined by hexane extraction. Our results indicated that consumption of triacylglycerols reduced gradually the total amount of oil bodies in seedlings, whereas no alteration was observed in the integrity of remaining oil bodies. This observation implies that oil bodies in germinating seeds are not degraded simultaneously. It is suggested that glyoxisomes, with the assistance of mitochondria, fuse and digest oil bodies one at a time, while the remaining oil bodies are preserved intact during the whole period of germination.     

Effects of serotonin and the serotonin blocker metergoline on meal patterns and macronutrient selection

Serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT)] in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of rats has a suppressive effect on feeding behavior and causes a selective decrease in carbohydrate ingestion, specifically at the onset of the natural (dark) feeding period. Studies conducted here provide further evidence for this phenomena, showing a similar dose-related decrease in carbohydrate ingestion at dark onset after PVN injection of 5-HT or of the agonists, d-norfenfluramine or fluoxetine, which act through endogenous 5-HT. To further characterize the effects of this indoleamine on the macrostructure of feeding, a computer-automated data acquisition system was used to analyze macronutrient feeding patterns in freely feeding animals maintained on the pure diets of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Results indicate that PVN administration of 5-HT at dark onset decreases intake of the carbohydrate nutrient by decreasing meal size, feeding time, and feeding rate for this nutrient and increasing the satiating effect of carbohydrate. These effects, which occur specifically during the first meal after injection, are opposite those seen after peripheral administration of the 5-HT receptor antagonist, metergoline. This drug stimulates feeding through a selective increase in carbohydrate intake, characterized by an increase in meal size, percent composition, and feeding time for this nutrient and a decrease in the satiety ratio for carbohydrate. These results implicate the serotonergic system in the termination of carbohydrate-rich meals that are prevalent during the early hours of the natural feeding cycle.     

Arterial reactivity is enhanced in genetic males taking high dose estrogens

OBJECTIVES: We sought to assess whether high dose estrogen treatment is associated with enhanced arterial reactivity in genetic males. BACKGROUND: Although estrogens have been shown to enhance arterial reactivity in women, and are thereby thought to confer cardiovascular benefit, the vascular effects of long-term estrogen therapy in genetic males is unknown. METHODS: We studied the arterial physiology of 30 genetic males--15 male to female transsexuals receiving long-term high dose estrogen therapy and 15 healthy male control subjects matched for age, smoking history and vessel size. Using external vascular ultrasound, brachial artery diameter was measured at rest, after flow increase (causing endothelium-dependent dilation [EDD]) and after nitroglycerin (GTN), an endothelium-independent dilator. Blood pressure, cholesterol and testosterone levels were also measured in each subject. RESULTS: Total testosterone and free testosterone index levels were lower in the transsexuals compared with the control subjects (p < 0.001). In contrast, EDD was significantly higher in the transsexuals than in the control males (mean [+/-SD] 7.1 +/- 3.1% vs. 3.2 +/- 2.8%, p = 0.001), as was the GTN response (21.2 +/- 6.7% vs. 14.6 +/- 3.3%, p = 0.002). Total and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure levels and baseline vessel size were similar in the two groups. On multivariate analysis, enhanced EDD was associated independently with estrogen therapy (p = 0.02) and with low total cholesterol (p = 0.04). An enhanced GTN response was also significantly associated with estrogen therapy (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term treatment with high dose estrogens is associated with enhanced arterial reactivity in genetic males, which may be due to the effects of estrogen excess or androgen deprivation, or both.     

Use of the polymerase chain reaction in the diagnosis of leprosy

A case is described in which a pericardial branch of a nongrafted left internal mammary artery communicated directly with the distal left anterior descending artery, following saphenous vein bypass grafting. This type of collateralization following coronary artery bypass surgery seems to be very rare, and perhaps could protect the myocardium from severe ischemia.     

Cryopreservation of all prezygotes in patients at risk of severe hyperstimulation does not eliminate the syndrome, but the chances of pregnancy are excellent with subsequent frozen-thaw transfers

In-vitro fertilization patients (n = 15) at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) (oestradiol > or =4500 pg/ml on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration and 25 or more follicles of intermediate or large size) underwent aspiration of all follicles and cryopreservation of all fertilized oocytes at the pronuclear stage. Patients were monitored for up to 2 weeks post-retrieval. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed embryos was performed in programmed cycles using exogenous oestrogen and progesterone for endometrial preparation. Two patients (13%) developed OHSS necessitating hospitalization and vaginal aspiration of ascitic fluid. Two other patients (13%) developed moderate OHSS requiring ascitic fluid vaginal aspiration in the office setting, with dramatic improvement of the condition. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed embryos yielded a clinical pregnancy rate of 58% per transfer and ongoing or delivery rates of 42 and 67% per transfer and per patient respectively. By eliminating pregnancy potential with cryopreservation of all prezygotes and examining the pregnancy potential with subsequent cryopreserved-thawed transfers, it is concluded that OHSS is reduced, but not eliminated for patients at risk. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed prezygotes in a programmed cycle with exogenous steroids yields an excellent pregnancy rate.     

Isolation of a genetic locus associated with metronidazole resistance in Helicobacter pylori

We examined the molecular mechanism of metronidazole resistance by constructing a lambda-Zap II phagemid expression library with genomic DNA from a metronidazole-resistance strain of Helicobacter pylori. Twenty-two clones were found to have elevated MTZ resistances in XLOLR strain of E. coli. Phagemids belonging to the twenty two clones were extracted and then retransformed into the XLOLR strain of E. coli. After MTZ selection, five clones could confer metronidazole resistance consistently. According to Southern hybridization and DNA sequencing, the five clones contained a same locus, recA. In addition, transforming the five clones into BL21 strain of E. coli produced a higher resistance to MTZ. Interestingly, electroporation of one of the five phagemid clones into two MTZ sensitive H. pylori yielded MTZ resistant strains. Comparing amino acid sequence in MTZ resistant with sensitive isolates revealed two point mutations at this locus. Above results suggest that mutation in recA may be associated with metronidazole resistance of H. pylori.