Isozyme characters, exclusive of allozymes (alleles), are potentially useful in phylogenetic investigations. Such data have been derived from the multilocus L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme system. Among non-avian reptiles, the classes of potential characters include (1) and number of loci encoding LDH, (2) heterotramer patterns, (3) tissue-specific patterns of gene expression, (4) tissue-s...

The implantation of programs which gives a robot the ability to perform a non-repetitive task (task not completely de®ned called also unexpected), was hindered by a complex problem: the dif®culty met by the classical method in programming (procedural) to formulate a task which the evolution model does not obey to an algorithmic pre-established design. As a part of that the aim of this paper is ...

BACKGROUND An increasing number of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) studies are being conducted with nonclinical populations, but very little is known about their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy, mechanisms of actions, and moderators of MBSR for nonclinical populations. DATA SOURCES A systematic review of studies published in English journals in Medline, CINAHL or...

PURPOSE To investigate the association of soccer heading with subclinical evidence of traumatic brain injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS With institutional review board approval and compliance with HIPAA guidelines, 37 amateur soccer players (mean age, 30.9 years; 78% [29] men, 22% [eight] women) gave written informed consent and completed a questionnaire to quantify heading in the prior 12 months...

BACKGROUND Aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various surgical interventions for the management of cervical spondylosis due to the ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). METHODS After a comprehensive literature search in electronic databases, studies were selected by following pre-determined eligibility criteria. Random effects meta-analyses were performed...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate prospectively the contribution of a psychological self-management program to the amelioration of headache-related distress of patients with intractable migraine treated in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, inpatient program. BACKGROUND Previous research has shown the effectiveness of this overall inpatient program but did not examine the relationships between the use o...

BACKGROUND Recent scientific reports have mainly focused on the comparison between coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention. However, the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on mortality in patients who were treated by CABG was often ignored. Therefore, we aimed to compare the long-term mortality following CABG in patients with and without T2DM. METHO...

BACKGROUND The Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) randomized 4444 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and serum cholesterol 5.5 to 8.0 mmol/L (213 to 310 mg/dL) with triglycerides < or =2.5 mmol/L (220 mg/dL) to simvastatin 20 to 40 mg or placebo once daily. Over the median follow-up period of 5.4 years, one or more major coronary events (MCEs) occurred in 622 (28%) of the 2223...

Background. Acupuncture has been shown to reduce preoperative anxiety in several previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs). In order to assess the preoperative anxiolytic efficacy of acupuncture therapy, this study conducted a meta-analysis of an array of appropriate studies. Methods. Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and CINAHL) were searched up to February 2014. In the m...

BACKGROUND Zinc is an essential micronutrient with diverse biological roles in cell growth, apoptosis and metabolism, and in the regulation of endocrine, immune, and neuronal functions implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. This study sought to quantitatively summarize the clinical data comparing peripheral blood zinc concentrations between depressed and nondepressed subjects. METHO...