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We study a periodic Kolmogorov system describing two species nonlinear competition. We discuss coexistence and extinction of one or both species, and describe the domain of attraction of nontrivial periodic solutions in the axes, under conditions that generalise Gopalsamy conditions. Finally, we apply our results to a model of microbial growth and to a model of phytoplankton competition under the effect of toxins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this note we consider the action functional ∫ R × ω 1 - 1 - | ∇ u | 2 + W (u) d x ¯ where W is a double well potential and ω is a bounded domain of R N - 1 . We prove existence, one-dimensionality and uniqueness (up to translations) of a smooth minimizing phase transition between the two stable states u = - 1 and u = 1 . The question of existence of at least one minimal heteroclinic connection for the non-autonomous model ∫ R 1 - 1 - | u ′ | 2 + a (t) W (u) d t is also addressed. For this functional, we look for the possible assumptions on a(t) ensuring the existence of a minimizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease that affects about one in 500 young Europeans. In order to test the previously proposed influence of the APOE and SCA2 loci on susceptibility to MS, we studied these loci in 243 Portuguese patients and 192 healthy controls and both parents of 92 patients. We did not detect any significant difference when APOE and SCA2 allele frequencies of cases and controls were compared, or when we compared cases with different forms of the disease. Disequilibrium of transmission was tested for both loci in the 92 trios, and we did not observe segregation distortion. To test the influence of the APOE ∊4 and SCA2 22 CAGs alleles on severity of disease, we compared age at onset and progression rate between groups with and without those alleles. We did not observe an association of the ∊4 or the 22 CAGs alleles with rate of progression in our total patient population; allele ∊4 was associated with increased rate of progression of MS in a subset of patients with less than 10 years of the disease. However, globally in the Portuguese population, the APOE and SCA2 genes do not seem to be useful in the clinical context as prognostic markers of this disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The saliva of an individual with selective IgA deficiency was found to contain IgG and IgM, with some of the IgM linked to secretory component. Some specimens showed evidence of low molecular weight Immunoglobulin fragments, presumed to be the result of proteolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An immunochemical characterization of salivary immunoglobulins from ten patients with multiple myeloma was undertaken. Seven of the patients had IgA monoclonal components and their transfer to saliva could be proved immunochemically in five. Three salivas containing monoclonal IgA were fractionated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and secretory component could be detected in the same peaks as the monoclonal IgA. Molecular si/e studies by electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel showed that in most salivas oligomeric forms of IgA were exclusively or predominantly detected. These findings suggest that oligomeric IgA of systemic origin might be as effectively transferred to external secretions as oligomeric IgA of regional origin. Of the three remaining patients, two had IgG monoclonal proteins that could be detected in concentrated saliva, while the monoclonal component of the last patient was of light chain type. In this last patient no free light chains were detected in concentrated saliva, but normal IgA as well as an apparently increased amount of polyclonal IgG were evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with expanded CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeats. We wished to determine whether the presence of such expansions correlated with specific subsyndromes or other clinical features of schizophrenia.Method: Seventy patients from England and Wales and 44 patients from Portugal with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia were rated on the OPCRIT checklist. Patient's maximum CAG/CTG repeat length was measured using repeat expansion detection (RED). Significant differences were sought for repeat lengths in subjects categorised according to dimensional and categorical schizophrenia subsyndromes, affective episodes, individual symptoms, and a range of demographic variables.Results: Maximum CAG/CTG repeat length did not differ significantly for any of the clinical or demographic variables studied.Conclusion: There are no subsyndromes or other clinical features of schizophrenia associated with CAG/CTG repeat expansion. Therefore, the identification of the gene(s) that contain expanded CAG/CTG repeats and which are associated with schizophrenia is unlikely to be facilitated at present by using any subsyndromes of schizophrenia as phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reinforcement of acrylic denture base remains problematic. Acrylic prosthesis fractures are commonly observed in prosthodontic practice and have not been reliably resolved. This study compared the resistance to masticatory force of acrylic bases of removable complete conventional prosthesis in 3D upper models. Forty acrylic base test specimens containing two types of reinforcement meshes (20 with glass fiber meshes (FIBER-FORCE®- Synca, Bio Composants MédicauxTM, Tullins, France), 20 with metal meshes (DENTAURUM®-Ispringen, Germany)), 20 with a conventional PMMA acrylic base (LUCITONE 199®-Dentsply Sirona, York, PA, USA), and 20 using a permanent soft reline material (MOLLOPLAST-B®-DETAX GmbH & Co. KG, Ettlingen, Germany) were tested—a total of 80 specimens. Half of the specimens were made for a low alveolar ridge and half for a high alveolar ridge. The data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance and Student's t-test for independent test specimens. In the high-alveolar-ridge group, the prosthesis reinforced with the glass fiber mesh was the most resistant to fracture, while in the low-alveolar-ridge group, the non-reinforced prosthesis showed the highest resistance masticatory force. Prostheses with the permanent soft reline material showed the lowest resistance to fracture in both high and low-alveolar-ridge groups. The results show that the selection of the right reinforcement material for each clinical case, based on the height of the alveolar ridge, may help to prevent prosthesis fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]