03 at room temperature However, a correlation of the 3d(3z2-r2)

03 at room temperature. However, a correlation of the 3d(3z2-r2) orbital AZD2014 order is also promoted by the Sr substitution, which bounds a further enhancement of ZT. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3505756]“
“Aim of this study is to verify whether there is concordance between disease’s severity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and disability in patients with Myasthenia gravis (MG). 102 MG patients were clustered on the

basis of HRQoL and disability scores into three groups: low disability and low HRQoL decrement (51 patients), intermediate disability and HRQoL decrement (28 patients), severe disability and high HRQoL decrement (23 patients). Cross tabulation with symmetric measures (Cramer’s V and Contingency Coefficient) was used to verify the relationships between disease severity groups, based on the Myasthenia

Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) criteria, and obtained clusters. Results confirm a significant relationship between MG severity groups, HRQoL and disability profiles. In our opinion, HRQoL and disability instruments should be employed in clinical trials to match efficacy of treatments, measured on symptoms’ reductions only, with their effects on patients’ disability and HRQoL.”
“Novel hydrogels, physically selleck chemicals llc crosslinked by hydrogen bonding of component polymers, were obtained by mixing aqueous solutions of carboxymethylchitosan (CMCS) with cellulose ethers including hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) and methylcellulose (MC). The hydrogels were

characterized by IR, XPS, WAXD, and SEM. The swelling and controlled drug release behaviors of hydrogels were also studied. The results indicate that intermacromolecular hydrogen bonding in CMCS/HEC is stronger than that in CMCS/MC. The swelling and drug release rate of hydrogels decrease as the interaction of component polymers increases. Both the swelling and drug release from hydrogels can be controlled by component polymer ratio. The hydrogels may be potential candidates for biomedical applications. VC 2010 Wiley Periodicals, JQ1 purchase Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119: 2350-2358, 2011″
“We report measurements of the nonlinear refractive index, n(2), and the nonlinear absorption coefficient, alpha(2), of Pb(PO3)(2)-WO3 glasses. The measurements were performed using 100 fs (17 ps) laser pulses at 800 nm (1064 nm). Positive values of n(2) similar to 10(-19) m(2)/W and negligible alpha(2) were measured. The results show that the nonlinearity is faster than 100 fs and it is observed an increase of n(2) with the increasing of the WO3 amount in the samples. The Boling, Glass, and Owyoung model, based on the semiclassical harmonic oscillator model, was used to predict the values of n(2), with basis on the values of the linear refractive index of the samples. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.

It leads to ordered self-organized growth

It leads to ordered self-organized growth LY3023414 supplier of clusters, which occupy only the faulted half cells, forming a cluster array with triangular symmetry. Further, the model introduces a cluster interaction mechanism, which enhances the nucleation and growth in the neighborhood of existing clusters. The simulations show that the cluster interaction suppresses the growth asymmetry so that a low coverage deposition yields a compact aggregation of clusters, which occupy both faulted and unfaulted half cells, forming a local cluster array with a honeycomb symmetry. The simulation results are compared with relevant experimental results, and

good qualitative agreements are found.”
“Cardiac efficiency describes the relationship between cardiac work, an index of function, and oxygen consumption, an index of energy substrate metabolism. As the heart obtains upwards of 95% of its ATP requirements from oxidative P005091 concentration metabolism the choice of energy substrate strongly impacts cardiac efficiency.

The increased utilization of fatty acids relative to glucose as an energy substrate decreases cardiac efficiency. This effect is attributable to differing phosphorous/oxygen ratios of fatty acid and glucose metabolism, increased mitochondrial uncoupling induced by increased rates of fatty acid oxidation, futile cycles engaged by fatty acids and effects of fatty acid use on cardiac ionic homeostasis. Increasing myocardial glucose utilization at the expense of fatty acid utilization can improve cardiac efficiency in various pathophysiologies characterized by an increased reliance on fatty acids as an energy substrate. In this review we present current information regarding the mechanisms contributing to the effects of fatty acids on cardiac efficiency:”
“In this work, we have theoretically investigated the possibility to achieve multifrequency transparency

and cloaking for a cylindrical object by employing a multilayered plasmonic shell. The frequency dispersion of plasmonic material and the size effect of the cylindrical object have been considered. The analytical transparency AS1842856 cell line condition in the quasistatic case has not only been given, an exact numerical calculation based on the Mie scattering theory has also been performed. Our results show that the multifrequency transparency and cloaking for any dielectric or metal cylinder can always be realized by a suitable adjustment of the structure parameter, permittivity, and permeability of the multilayered shell. Such a transparency is not only for a certain polarized wave, it can also be realized for both polarizations of electromagnetic wave at the same time.”
“Background Sclerotherapy of telangiectasias and reticular leg veins can be unpleasant and painful for some patients. Objective To determine pain level with two different sclerotherapy techniques in a prospective randomized trial.


“Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the benefit


“Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the benefit of antioxidant supplementation in a cohort of women with low antioxidant status and determine the changes in cell-free mRNA. Material and Methods: This study was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 812 weeks’ pregnant women who had low antioxidant status treated with either antioxidants or control diets daily until 2 weeks’ postpartum. The primary end-point was the risk of pre-eclampsia and the secondary end-point was the changes of angiogenic and anti-oxidant mRNA markers related to the outcome (ClinicalTrial.gov, number NCT01232205).

Results: There were 110 women enrolled in the study, randomly assigned to the supplementation (n = 52) and control group (n = 58). The overall selleckchem rate of pre-eclampsia was 8.7% (nine subjects). There were Lonafarnib solubility dmso significant differences (P = 0.034) between the supplementation and control group in the incidence of pre-eclampsia (2.0% [one case] and 14.5% [eight cases], respectively) and mRNA level of superoxide-dismutase, heme oxygenase-1, vascular endothelial growth

factor receptor-1, endoglin and placental growth factor after supplementation. Conclusion: Supplementation of women with low antioxidant status with micronutrients containing antioxidants during early gestation might reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia.”
“Sideritis italica (Miller) Greuter et Burdet (Lamiaceae), widely used in ethnopharmacological medicine, occurs in Southern Italy and Sicily. The phytochemical composition of the essential oils of S. italica MAPK inhibitor flowers and leaves, harvested in Piano Battaglia (Sicily), was analysed by GC and GC-MS. Of the 51 compounds, 43 in the oil from flowers and 29 in the oil from leaves were identified. Kaur-15-ene (20.0%) was recognised as the main constituent of the oil from flowers, together with -cubebene (12.1%), -pinene (8.5%), (Z)-nuciferol (6.5%), tricyclene (4.5%) and -bisabolol (4.0%). In the oil from leaves, p-methoxyacetophenone (26.0%) prevailed,

as did hexadecanoic acid (21.3%), followed by nonanal (4.8%), -bisabolol (4.5%) and -cubebene (4.7%).”
“Aim: To study the efficacy and complications of uterine tamponade using condom catheter balloon in non-traumatic postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Material and Methods: This prospective study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in India. Eighteen patients with non-traumatic PPH not responding to medical management were included in the study. Uterine tamponade was achieved by a condom catheter balloon filled with saline and kept in situ for 848 h. The main outcome measures were success rate in controlling hemorrhage, time required to stop bleeding, subsequent morbidity and technical difficulties. Data was analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Results: The success rate of condom catheter balloon in controlling hemorrhage was 94%. The mean amount of fluid filled in the condom catheter balloon was 409 mL.

The initial specific methane production rate was fitted with the

The initial specific methane production rate was fitted with the Monod type equation in order to calculate the kinetic parameters. The values obtained for the maximum specific methane production rate were 0.043, 0.143 and 0.052 gCH(4) gVS(1)(-1) d(-1) for each experimental condition, aforementioned.

The substantial increment LY2835219 price of this parameter at thermophilic condition shows the differences in the specific maximum growth rate between thermophilic and mesophilic populations. The affinity constant values were 3.842, 4.790 and 4.623 g L(-1) for each experimental condition; however, a significant uncertainty was obtained due to some identification problems. A preliminary validation of the procedure was applied for predicting the operation of a continuous digester treating raw sewage sludge. The overall behavior of the system was represented by the model, although it slightly underestimates the experimental values, by approximately 20%. The results achieved, indicate that the procedure may be used as a tool in a real scale operation; however, further research must

be performed. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“SYMRK is a leucine-rich-repeat (LRR)-receptor kinase that mediates intracellular symbioses of legumes with rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. It participates in signalling find more events that lead to epidermal calcium spiking, an early cellular response that is typically considered as central

for intracellular accommodation and nodule organogenesis. Here, we describe the Lotus japonicus symRK-14 mutation that alters a conserved GDPC amino-acid sequence in the SYMRK extracellular domain. Normal infection of the epidermis by fungal or bacterial symbionts was aborted in symRK-14. Likewise, epidermal responses of symRK-14 to bacterial signalling, including calcium spiking, NIN GNS-1480 nmr gene expression and infection thread formation, were significantly reduced. In contrast, no major negative effects on the formation of nodule primordia and cortical infection were detected. Cumulatively, our data show that the symRK-14 mutation uncouples the epidermal and cortical symbiotic program, while indicating that the SYMRK extracellular domain participates in transduction of non-equivalent signalling events. The GDPC sequence was found to be highly conserved in LRR-receptor kinases in legumes and non-legumes, including the evolutionarily distant bryophytes. Conservation of the GDPC sequence in nearly one-fourth of LRR-receptor-like kinases in the genome of Arabidopsis thaliana suggests, however, that this sequence might also play an important non-symbiotic function in this plant.”
“Objective: To evaluate whether the addition of topotecan can improve the efficacy of carboplatin and paclitaxel in first-line treatment of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods: Meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model.

(C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Soc

(C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.”
“P>Immediate or early use of proliferation signal inhibitor (PSI)/mammalian

target see more of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor therapy can avoid high exposure to calcineurin inhibitors but concerns exist relating to the risk of delayed graft function (DGF) and impaired wound healing with the mTOR sirolimus. CALLISTO was a 12-month, prospective, multicenter, open-label study. Deceased-donor kidney transplant patients at protocol-specified risk of DGF were randomized to start everolimus on day 1 (immediate everolimus, IE; n = 65) or week 5 (delayed everolimus, DE; n = 74). Incidence of the primary endpoint (biopsy-proven acute rejection, BPAR; graft loss, death, DGF, wound healing complications related to transplant surgery or loss to follow-up) was 64.6% and 66.2% in the IE and DE groups, respectively, at month 12 (P = 0.860). The overall incidence of BPAR was 20.1%. Median estimated glomerular filtration rate was 48 ml/min/1.73 m2 and 49 ml/min/1.73 m2 in the IE and DE groups, respectively, at month 12. DGF and wound healing complications were similar between groups. Adverse events led to study drug discontinuation in 17 IE patients (26.2%) and 28 DE

patients (37.8%) (NS). In conclusion, introduction of everolimus immediately or early posttransplant in DGF-risk patients is associated with good efficacy, C59 Wnt inhibitor renal function and safety profile. There seems no benefit in delaying

initiation of everolimus.”
“Multilevel selection has been indicated as an essential factor for the evolution of complexity in interacting RNA-like replicator systems. There are two types of multilevel selection mechanisms: implicit and explicit. For implicit multilevel selection, spatial self-organization of replicator populations has been suggested, which leads to higher level selection among emergent mesoscopic spatial patterns (traveling waves). For explicit multilevel selection, compartmentalization C59 order of replicators by vesicles has been suggested, which leads to higher level evolutionary dynamics among explicitly imposed mesoscopic entities (protocells). Historically, these mechanisms have been given separate consideration for the interests on its own. Here, we make a direct comparison between spatial self-organization and compartmentalization in simulated RNA-like replicator systems. Firstly, we show that both mechanisms achieve the macroscopic stability of a replicator system through the evolutionary dynamics on mesoscopic entities that counteract that of microscopic entities. Secondly, we show that a striking difference exists between the two mechanisms regarding their possible influence on the long-term evolutionary dynamics, which happens under an emergent trade-off situation arising from the multilevel selection.

01) than in AL pigs Feed-restricted pigs tended to have greater

01) than in AL pigs. Feed-restricted pigs tended to have greater (P < 0.10) yields of trimmed hams and shoulders and less carcass fat than AL pigs, but feeding regimens did not affect chemical composition and color of meat. Intact females tended (P < 0.10) to have greater G: F and produced carcasses with less (P < 0.05) fat, greater (P < 0.01) proportions of primal cuts, and greater (P < 0.05) CP in the LM than castrated

females and castrated males. It was concluded from this experiment that feed restriction selleck chemicals applied from 152 to 263 d of age improved primal cut yields without affecting G: F, pork quality, and cured ham production traits. Moreover, intact females were superior to their castrated counterparts (particularly castrated females) in growth performance and primal cut yields. Therefore, feed restriction in intact females can be recommended as an acceptable PF-03084014 cell line practice for the production of Iberian pigs under intensive conditions.”
“Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a distinct invasive breast carcinoma. It is a rare and heterogeneous group of malignancies, generally characterized by hormone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) negativity.

The aim of the study is to evaluate epidemiological aspects, clinical characteristics, pathological features and biological profile of MBC cases diagnosed in our institution.

All patients with MBC diagnosed and treated in our institution between January 2004 and June 2009 were included.

Twelve patients were identified. The median age was 46.5 (range 35-57 years) and the average tumor size was 6.9 cm (3.5-18 cm). Seven cases were purely squamous cell carcinomas, one was an adenosquamous carcinoma and four cases were mixed epithelial and mesenchymal metaplastic carcinomas. Primary treatment was mastectomy in 11 patients and wide local excision in one patient. There was lymph node (LN) involvement in four patients. Three patients were stage IIA, eight

were stage III (2 IIIA, 6 IIIB), and one was stage IV. Estrogen and progesterone receptors status and over expression of HER2 were assessed. Eleven tumors had a basal-like phenotype and one Bafilomycin A1 Transmembrane Transporters inhibitor tumor had luminal B phenotype.

This study found a high incidence of MBC compared to Western countries. The tumors occur at an earlier age of onset and are usually diagnosed at a late stage with predominance of squamous cell carcinoma subtype. LN metastases are found in the third case and the tumors are most often basal-like phenotype significantly reducing therapeutic options.”
“Cholesteric liquid crystals with long pitch confined in homeotropic cells can be used to generate stable but distorted and localized liquid crystal structures exhibiting spherulitic textures, known as “”bubbles.


“Background Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are a major


“Background Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are a major cause of mortality among allogeneic hematopoietic A 769662 stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) patients. Thanks to the widespread

use of secondary antifungal prophylaxis (SAP), a history of IFI is not an absolute contraindication to allo-HSCT. However, IFI recurrence remains a risk factor for transplant-related mortality. Methods To evaluate the risk factors for IFI recurrence in allo-HSCT patients receiving SAP, we performed a retrospective analysis of 90 individuals treated at our hospital. SAP antifungal agents included fluconazole (n=28), voriconazole (n=25), itraconazole (n=23), caspofungin (n=7), and micafungin (n=7). Results By day +100, recurrent IFI had occurred in 23 (25.5%) patients. Silmitasertib mouse Our multivariate analysis identified 4 factors significantly associated with a risk of IFI recurrence within 100days of allo-HSCT: duration of neutropenia >18days, presence of severe acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), <70-day interval between previous infection and transplantation, and use of a narrow-spectrum SAP agent (P=0.008, 0.010, 0.041, and 0.001, respectively).

Of the 87 patients who remained in the study for the duration of the follow-up period (median length: 551days), 26 (29.9%) died; only 7 (8.0%) of these deaths resulted from a severe fungal infection. Conclusion These results suggest that transplantation outcome can be improved by adequate antifungal treatment before transplantation, better prevention of, and therapy for, severe aGVHD, use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to reduce the duration of neutropenia, and use of broad-spectrum prophylaxis agents.”
“Objective. Painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis (PBS/IC) is an inflammatory bladder disease of unknown origin. Symptoms of PBS/IC Natural Product Library screening compromise patients’ quality of life (QoL).

This study evaluated a health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire in PBS/IC. Material and methods. 151 patients with PBS/IC filled in the HRQoL questionnaire before and after the treatment. Of these, 87 patients participated in a 3-month randomized study testing intravesical dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and 64 patients took part in a 6-month randomized study evaluating oral cyclosporine A (CyA) and pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS). The changes in HRQoL questionnaire were evaluated with respect to the changes in global response assessment (GRA). Results. The results of the HRQoL questionnaire reflected well the post-treatment GRA. Patients responding to their treatment had improved QoL. CyA treatment had more impact on emotional well-being, social functioning, activity limitation days, pain and physical capacity than PPS treatment (p0.05). More patients responded to DMSO than BCG treatment according to GRA (p0.

6%, an increase of 13 80% was achieved consistently, and an incre

6%, an increase of 13.80% was achieved consistently, and an increase of 21.05% in the potential tensile of adhesion strength was also achieved.

(C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012″
“Background: An investigational quadrivalent Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine (MenACWY-TT) has been developed to expand available options for vaccination against invasive meningococcal disease.

Methods: A total of 784 healthy adolescents and young adults 11 to 25 years of age were randomized (3:1) to receive a single dose of the MenACWY-TT vaccine or a licensed MenACWY diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine (MenACWY-DT). An additional nonrandomized group of 88 subjects 10 years of age received the MenACWY-TT

vaccine only (MenACWY-TT/10). Immunogenicity was assessed 1 month postvaccination by human complement serum bactericidal assay (hSBA) for all serogroups. Solicited local HSP990 and general symptoms were recorded for 8 days postvaccination and safety outcomes for 6 months.

Results: One month postvaccination, 81.9% to 96.1% of subjects had hSBA titers >= 1:8 in the MenACWY-TT group compared with 70.7% to 98.8% in the MenACWY-DT group. Exploratory analyses showed the proportion of subjects with hSBA titers >= 1:4 and >= 1:8 to be higher in the MenACWY-TT group than in the MenACWY-DT group for serogroups A, W-135, and Y. GMTs adjusted for age strata and baseline titer 1 month postvaccination were higher in the MenACWY-TT group than in the MenACWY-DT group for all 4 serogroups. The percentage of subjects reporting solicited local PKC412 price and general symptoms of any or Grade 3 severity or serious adverse events was similar between the 2 groups. Immune response and reactogenicity in the MenACWY-TT/10 group was similar to that in the MenACWY-TT group,

except for higher hSBA-MenA GMTs in the MenACWY-TT/10 group.

Conclusions: The investigational MenACWY-TT vaccine was immunogenic in adolescents and young adults, with an acceptable safety profile.”
“Vitamin E stabilization Tariquidar of radiation-crosslinked ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) joint implants was successfully introduced to improve long-term oxidation resistance. Current clinically available vitamin E stabilized UHMWPE implants were prepared by the postirradiation diffusion of vitamin E into 100-kGy-irradiated UHMWPE by a two-step process, which included doping in pure vitamin E at an elevated temperature below the melting point followed by an annealing step at an elevated temperature in inert gas to homogenize the antioxidant throughout components of desired thickness. We hypothesized that the diffusion of vitamin E could be enhanced with supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) during homogenization without an increase in the surface vitamin E concentration, which would thus result in faster homogenization.

The distribution of NVC in several members of the same family sug

The distribution of NVC in several members of the same family suggests a genetic susceptibility towards vascular anomaly.”
“The composition of the pyrolysis products of plastics depends on disintegration of the macromolecule into variety of hydrocarbon fractions. In this work, a detailed

HKI-272 in vitro gas chromatographic study of pyrolysis products of polypropylene (PP) between 200 and 600 degrees C was carried out. The pyrograms have been analyzed in terms of amount of different products evolved at various pyrolysis temperatures. At low pyrolysis temperatures (200-300 degrees C), the yield of lighter hydrocarbons (C5-C10) is low; it gradually increases until maximum decomposition temperature (446 degrees C) and decreases thereafter. The following reaction types were considered to explain the decomposition mechanism of PP: (a) main chain cleavage to form chain-terminus radicals; (b) intramolecular hydrogen transfer to generate internal radicals; (c) intermolecular hydrogen transfer to form both volatile products and radicals; and (d) beta-scission to form both volatiles and terminally unsaturated polymer chains. VC 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119:2318-2325, 2011″
“The nonlocal transport properties of a ferromagnet/superconductor/ferromagnet junction formed on the surface of a three-dimensional topological selleck screening library insulator are investigated. It is found the electron elastic cotunneling

and crossed Andreev reflection depend sensitively on the directions of the magnetizations of the two ferromagnets. The basic mechanism behind this effect is that due to the translation invariant along the y-axis, during the tunneling the wave-vector k(y) of the incident electron must be conserved. The effects of the superconductor length and the bias voltage on the electron elastic cotunneling and crossed

Andreev reflection are discussed. If the exchange field is larger than the chemical potential in the ferromagnet leads, a perfect electron elastic cotunneling or crossed Andreev click here reflection can be obtained in the low-energy regime by varying the magnetization direction in one of the ferromagnet leads. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3499295]“
“Due to the alleged higher risk of complications of microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia in elderly we evaluated its age-related results. A retrospective analysis of clinical outcome and complications was performed in 476 patients affected by drug-resistant trigeminal neuralgia who underwent microvascular decompression. As much as 117 patients older than 65 years (Group 1) and 359 under the age of 65 (Group 2) were followed-up for a period of 7-138 months. Pain relief was complete without medication in 84.5% in Group 1. Morbidity included slight trigeminal hypoesthesia in 5.8%; severe hearing loss in 0.9%; CSF leakage in 4.2%; transient diplopia in 3.4%; and posterior fossa subdural hematoma in 0.8% of these patients.

0001), the average abduction improved from 49 degrees to 125 degr

0001), the average abduction improved from 49 degrees to 125 degrees (p <0.0001), the average internal rotation improved from Si to L2 (p < 0.0001), and the average external

rotation improved from 27 degrees to 51 degrees (p = 0.001). There were a total of twelve complications in eleven patients (prevalence, 20%). The survivorship at a mean of fifty-two months (range, twenty-four to 101 months) was 90.7% for all patients, 91.8% for Group A, and 87% for Group B.

Conclusions: When non-arthroplasty options either have failed or have a low likelihood of success, reverse shoulder arthroplasty provides reliable pain relief and return of shoulder function in patients with massive rotator cuff tears without arthritis at the time of short selleck to intermediate-term follow-up.”
“Tobacco smoking is common in schizophrenia patients. It has been reported that schizophrenia patients who are tobacco smokers have better cognitive performances compared to those who are nonsmokers. However, little is known on the effects of tobacco smoking in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) patients. The aim of this study was to compare cognitive performances, psychotic symptoms, and social adjustment in tobacco smoker TRS patients compared to nonsmoker TRS patients. Smoker and nonsmoker TRS patients SN-38 did not differ in demographics

and in mean daily antipsychotic dose. Smoker TRS patients had significantly higher scores than nonsmoker patients on the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) and on the negative symptoms subscale. These

patients also performed worse than nonsmoker patients on problem-solving cognitive domain. Social adjustment was not significantly different between the two groups. JQ-EZ-05 price In both groups of patients, worse cognitive performances were mostly predicted by higher severity of negative symptoms. Worse performances on the verbal memory and problem-solving cognitive domains were correlated with social-functioning impairment in tobacco smoker TRS patients but not in nonsmoker ones. The results showed that tobacco smoking was not significantly associated with better cognitive performances in TRS patients, while it was significantly associated with higher negative symptoms. Even if a direct causative mechanism cannot be inferred and despite the fact that these patients may use tobacco to self-medicate, it could be speculated that these associations may, at least partially, be related to a tobacco-smoking-induced worsening of abnormal dopamine dysfunction, which has been suggested to occur in TRS patients.”
“Abiotic stresses cause serious crop losses. Knowledge on genes functioning in plant responses to adverse growth conditions is essential for developing stress tolerant crops.