Erythrocyte deformability was determined in 48 patients with cerebrovascular disease and 116 healthy controls as an index of blood filtrability in microcirculation. Hemo-rheological and blood chemical changes were also studied to assess their effect on filtrability. Erythrocyte deformability, determined by Reid's method, was expressed as the deformability index (DI). DI and ATP levels decreased...

Studies of personality in nonhuman primates have usually relied on assessments by humans and seldom considered the function of the resulting "trait" classifications. In contrast, we applied exploratory principal component analysis to seven behaviors among 45 wild female baboons over 7 y to determine whether the personality dimensions that emerged were associated with measures of reproductive su...

Agronomic research suggests Australian farmers may increase wheat yields by 13 to 47% and reduce risk of crop failures by sowing crops earlier than is currently practiced. This study investigated the potential to use remote sensing to assist in evaluating changes in farmer sowing date practices in response to research recommendations, using study paddocks in the southern Australian cropping reg...

Universal antenatal haemoglobinopathy screening in this hospital has identified several women with increased haemoglobin A(2) values, but without hypochromic microcytic red cell indices. This report describes two cases where there is evidence that the raised haemoglobin A(2) value is not caused by heterozygous beta thalassaemia, but rather results from these patients being human immunodeficienc...

The fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR) absorbed by vegetation – a key parameter in crop biomass and yields as well as net primary productivity models – is critical to guiding crop management activities. However, accurate and reliable estimation of FPAR is often hindered by a paucity of good field-based spectral data, especially for corn crops. Here, we investigate the relati...

Severe hyperglycemia can result in falsely high results for mean cell (erythrocyte) volume (MCV), which will also cause false results for erythrocyte indices calculated on the basis of MCV. Falsely high MCV results were obtained with the Technicon H1 and H2 analyzers and (to a lesser extent) with the Coulter T660. The H analyzers were more susceptible to this interference than was the Coulter T...

Globally, mediterranean-climate ecosystem vegetation has converged on an evergreen, sclerophyllous and shrubby growth form. The particular aspects of mediterranean-climate regions that contribute to this convergence include summer droughts and relatively nutrient-poor soils. We hypothesised that winter-precipitation implies stressful summer droughts and leaches soils due to greater water availa...

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the ‘lure and kill’ technique, commonly called Mass Trapping (MT), compared with the larvicidal technique in olive fruit fly control. Data from different agro-ecological and management conditions were collected in several mass trapping areas in the regions of Tuscany and Liguria during 1999, 2000 and 2001. Data were organized and stored ...

PURPOSE To propose an alternative and practical model to conceptualize clinical patterns of concomitant intermittent strabismus, heterophoria, and convergence and accommodation anomalies. METHODS Despite identical ratios, there can be a disparity- or blur-biased "style" in three hypothetical scenarios: normal; high ratio of accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) and low ratio of co...

BACKGROUND Disease Management Programmes (DMPs) have been introduced in Germany ten years ago with the aim to improve effectiveness and equity of care, but little is known about the degree to which enrolment in the programme meets the principles of equity in health care. We aimed to analyse horizontal equity in DMP enrolment among patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS Cross-sect...