To ensure test security and fairness, alternative forms of the same test are administered in practice. However, alternative forms of the same test generally do not have the same test difficulty level, even though alternative test forms are designed to be as parallel as possible. Equating adjusts for differences in difficulties among forms of the test. Six traditional equating methods are consid...

In November 2008, the "2nd Summit on Osteoporosis-Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)" was held in Warsaw, Poland. Discussions at this meeting focused on the identification and discussion of diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic measures used in CEE. Evaluated information was used to identify issues regarding diagnosis and therapy of osteoporosis in these countries to facilitate the subsequent s...

This study examines banking transformations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) under conditions of economic liberalization, dependence between development countries efficiency their systems. The comparative method methods economic-mathematical modeling were applied. Considering the positive correlation financial structure growth, confirmed by literature findings, sector can become a crucial fa...

The expansion of Internet-based tools has opened new opportunities to improve collaborative work through the development of a new generation of tools designed to support e-work and e-collaboration. The concepts of e-work and e-collaboration have been evolved through the increasing demand of collaborative environments to support distributed networked activities. This trend has triggered the deve...

All obligate intracellular pathogens must exit their host cells in order to propagate and survive as a species; the precise strategies they use have a direct impact on their ability to disseminate within a host, transmit to new hosts, and engage or avoid immune responses. The obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis exits the host cell by two distinct exit strategies, lysis and ex...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Tibolone is a tissue-specific compound that has favorable effects on bone and menopausal symptoms without stimulating endometrium or breast, but lowers concentrations of plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (HDLC). This study was designed to determine whether the HDL lowering with tibolone exacerbated common or internal carotid artery atherosclerosis and to e...

The objective of the present study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo hepatoprotective properties of Cichorium endivia L. extract (CEE), and to identify its chemical constituents. CEE significantly blocked the oxidative stress and cytotoxicity induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) in HepG2 cells. Meanwhile, oral administration of CEE to mice before the treatment of t-BHP exhibite...

The objective of this study was to determine the arterial responses to plasma lipid lowering alone or in combination with (1) estrogen replacement therapy or (2) hormone replacement therapy in surgically postmenopausal female monkeys with preexisting atherosclerosis. Eighty-eight female cynomolgus macaques were ovariectomized, fed an atherogenic diet for 24 months, and then assigned by randomiz...

Therapy and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease To the Editor: In their interesting study, Koh et al demonstrated that lower dosage of oral conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) eliminated the adverse effects of conventional dosage of CEE on markers of vascular inflammation and coagulation, in addition to preserving the favorable effects of estrogen on endothelial function.1 Similar to their report, ...

CONTEXT Menopausal hormone therapy has long been credited with many benefits beyond the indications of relieving hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness, and it is often prescribed to treat urinary incontinence (UI). OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of menopausal hormone therapy on the incidence and severity of symptoms of stress, urge, and mixed UI in healthy postmenopausal women. DE...