BACKGROUND It is difficult to determine whether to treat a given girl who has idiopathic central precocious puberty (CPP) with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog (GnRHa) in terms of adult height (AH). The objective was to provide an easy tool for predicting AH and age at first menstruation at initial evaluation to help guide the decision regarding whether to treat. METHODS Data analysis us...

INTRODUCTION Models of atmospheric processes simulate only certain spatial and temporal scales. The observations used to test the performance of these models are individual realizations (which can be envisioned as coming from ideal ensembles), and are affected by variations unaccounted for within the simulation model. Given this, it makes sense to ask the models to replicate variations having c...

As the oven temperature is raised at a reproducible rate, analytes are eluted and the areas under the chromatogram are recorded. Boiling points are assigned to the time axis from a calibration curve, known as the boiling-point distribution curve, based on a known mixture of normal paraffin hydrocarbons over a fixed range. These paraffin hydrocarbons serve as markers, which identify the time tha...

The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the most important pest of fruits and vegetables in tropical and subtropical countries. The sterile insect technique (SIT) as a component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) approaches is being used for the successful management of this pest. VIENNA 8 is a genetic sexing strain (GSS) that ha...

Normal rat bile contains secretory platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH), the enzyme capable of hydrolyzing the inflammatory mediator platelet-activating factor (PAF), and phospholipids containing oxidized truncated fatty acids. Because lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) possesses intrinsic PAF-AH-like activity, it also may represent a potential anti-inflammatory enzyme. ...

BACKGROUND Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH), also denoted as lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, is a lipoprotein-bound enzyme that is possibly involved in inflammation and atherosclerosis. This study investigates the relationship of PAF-AH activity to angiographic coronary artery disease (CAD), the use of cardiovascular drugs, and other established risk factors. METHO...

BACKGROUND In high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence population, tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. HIV is driving the TB epidemic in many countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed the survival time and predictors of mortality among tuberculosis patients under directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) strategy in Dessie Ref...