Factor XII (FXII), a clotting enzyme that can initiate coagulation in vitro, has long been considered dispensable for normal blood clotting in vivo because hereditary deficiencies in FXII are not associated with spontaneous or excessive bleeding. However, new studies show that mice lacking FXII are protected against arterial thrombosis (obstructive clot formation) and stroke. Thus, FXII could b...

High-throughput screening (HTS) using multiwell plates and fluorescence plate readers is a powerful tool for drug discovery and evaluation by allowing tens of thousands of assays to be completed in 1 day. Although this method has been successful, electrophoresis-based methods for screening are also of interest to avoid difficulties associated fluorescence assays such as requirements to engineer...

Background—This study investigated whether the extent of perfusion defect determined by intravenous myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) treated by primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) relates to coronary flow reserve (CRF) for assessment of myocardial reperfusion and is predictive for left ventricular recovery. M...

Multi-criteria Evaluation (MCE) is increasingly being used in the assessment of natural resource management options which involve complex ecological, economic and social outcomes and interactions. This paper draws on the results of research experiences and reviews MCE applications to identify methodological issues with conducting MCE and future research possibilities. Some of the key issues tha...

The stomach of newborn pig contains a proteinase that is immunologically closely related to calf chymosin (rennin) (EC 3.4.23.4.). None of the pepsins from the stomach of adult pig is present in the newborn pig. Pig chymosin has optimal general proteolytic activity around pH 3.5. The ratio of milk-clotting activity to general proteolytic activity is about 30--70 times higher than that of pylori...

OBJECTIVES The association of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD) association with major coronary events (MCE) has been well documented, nevertheless data are lacking for populations with a low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). We aimed to assess the association of PAD with MCE in a Mediterranean population. DESIGN Prospective survey of 699 55-74 year-old men representative o...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) with leukocyte-targeted microbubbles could temporally and spatially characterize the severity of postischemic myocardial inflammation. METHODS AND RESULTS In 9 open-chest dogs, either the left anterior descending or left circumflex coronary artery was occluded for 90 minutes (n=6), while the remaining dogs served as no...

Large rotating magnetocaloric effect (MCE) has been observed in some single crystals due to strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy. By utilizing the rotating MCE, a new type of rotary magnetic refrigerator can be constructed, which could be more simplified and efficient than the conventional one. However, compared with polycrystalline materials, the high cost and complexity of preparation for sin...

BACKGROUND The use of the vasodilating agent adenosine as stressor in conjunction with myocardial contrast echocardiography has not been extensively evaluated in hypertensive patients. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic value of adenosine myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in comparison to single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), with reference to angiographic findings, i...