We tested the hypothesis that causality analysis, applied to the spontaneous beat-to-beat variability of heart period (HP) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP), can identify the improvement of autonomic control linked to plantar mechanical stimulation in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). A causality index, measuring the strength of the association from SAP to HP variability, and derived a...

Dupuytren's disease (DD) is a common progressive fibroproliferative disorder causing permanent digital contracture. Proliferative myofibroblasts are thought to be the cells responsible for DD initiation and recurrence, although their source remains unknown. DD tissue has also been shown to harbor mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells. Fibrocytes are circulating cells that show characteristic...

BACKGROUND As an acute phase protein, α1-antitrypsin (AAT) has been extensively studied in acute coronary syndrome, but it is unclear whether a relationship exists between AAT and stable angina pectoris (SAP). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association between AAT plasma levels and SAP. METHODS Overall, 103 SAP patients diagnosed by coronary angiography and clinical m...

X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP1) arises from mutations in the gene encoding SLAM-associated protein (SAP) and leads to abnormalities of NKT-cell development, NK-cell cytotoxicity, and T-dependent humoral function. Curative treatment is limited to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation. We tested whether HSC gene therapy could correct the multilineage defects seen in...

AIM Psychophysical strategies designed for clinical visual field testing produce rapid estimates of threshold with relatively few stimulus presentations and so represent a trade-off between test quality and efficiency. The aim of this study was to determine the measurement error of a staircase algorithm similar to full threshold with standard automated perimetry (SAP) and frequency doubling per...

PURPOSE To evaluate and compare the diagnostic ability of frequency doubling technology perimetry (FDT) with standard automated perimetry (SAP) using Humphrey Field Analyser for the detection of visual field defects produced by chiasmal lesions. METHODS Fifteen patients with documented chiasmal disease and previously diagnosed of bitemporal hemianopia with Humphrey perimetry were prospectivel...

Human Nipah virus (NiV) infection in Bangladesh is a fatal disease that can be transmitted from bats to humans who drink contaminated raw date palm sap collected overnight during the cold season. Our study aimed to understand date palm sap consumption habits of rural residents and factors associated with consumption. In November-December 2012 the field team interviewed adult respondents from ra...

The adaptor molecule SAP (signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-associated protein) plays a critical role during NK T (NKT) cell development in humans and mice. In CD4(+) T cells, SAP interacts with the tyrosine kinase Fyn to deliver signals required for TCR-induced Th2-type cytokine production. To determine whether the SAP-dependent signals controlling NKT cell ontogeny rely on its binding...

The signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) family of receptors and the SLAM-associated protein (SAP) family of intracellular adaptors are expressed in immune cells. By way of their cytoplasmic domain, SLAM-related receptors physically associate with SAP-related adaptors. Evidence is accumulating that the SLAM and SAP families play crucial roles in multiple immune cell types. Moreover,...

A strong correlation was previously observed between carbon isotope discrimination (Delta(13)C) of phloem sap sugars and phloem sap sugar concentration in the phloem-bleeding tree Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (J. Pate, E. Shedley, D. Arthur, M. Adams [1998] Oecologia 117: 312-322). We hypothesized that correspondence between these two parameters results from covarying responses to plant water po...