Exaggerated Pulmonary Hypertension During Mild Exercise in Chronic Mountain Sickness

Chronic mountain sickness (CMS) is an important public health problem and is characterized by exaggerated hypoxemia, erythrocytosis, and pulmonary hypertension. While pulmonary hypertension is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with CMS, it is relatively mild and its underlying mechanisms are not known. We speculated that during mild exercise associated with daily activities, pulmonary hypertension in CMS is much more pronounced.

Homeopathic Preparations to Control the Rosy Apple Aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea Pass.)

A laboratory model system with the rosy apple aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea Pass.) on apple seedlings was developed to study the effects of homeopathic preparations on this apple pest. The assessment included the substance Lycopodium clavatum and a nosode of the rosy apple aphid. Each preparation was applied on the substrate surface as aqueous solution of granules (6c, 15c, or 30c). Controls were aqueous solutions of placebo granules or pure water. In eight independent, randomized, and blinded experiments under standardized conditions in growth chambers, the development of aphids on treated and untreated apple seedlings was observed over 17 days, each. Six experiments were determined to assess the effects of a strict therapeutic treatment; two experiments were designed to determine the effects of a combined preventative and therapeutic treatment. After application of the preparations, the number of juvenile offspring and the damage on apple seedlings were assessed after 7 and 17 days, respectively. In addition, after 17 days, the seedling weight was measured. In the final evaluation of the six strictly therapeutic trials after 17 days, the number of juvenile offspring was reduced after application of L. clavatum 15c (-17%, p = 0.002) and nosode 6c (-14%, p = 0.02) compared to the pure water control. No significant effects were observed for leaf damage or fresh weight for any application. In the two experiments with combined preventative and therapeutic treatment, no significant effects were observed in any measured parameter. Homeopathic remedies may be effective in plant-pest systems. The magnitude of observed effects seems to be larger than in models with healthy plants, which renders plant-pest systems promising candidates for homeopathic basic research. For successful application in agriculture, however, the effect is not yet sufficient. This calls for further optimization concerning homeopathic remedy selection, potency level, dosage, and application routes.

The effect of polymerization procedure on Vickers hardness of dual-curing resin cements

To investigate the surface hardness (Vickers hardness, HVN) of one light-curing flowable resin composite and five dual-curing resin cements after different polymerization procedures.

An Introduction to mountain glaciers as climate indicators with spatial and temporal diversity

This article gives an introduction to the spatial and temporal diversity of mountain glaciers as climate indicators. Alongside some information about the present extent of mountain glaciation and available databases, some specific problems with the interpretation of mountain glacier changes are highlighted.

Investigation of different apple cultivars by high resolution magic angle spinning NMR. A feasibility study

(1)H HR-MAS NMR spectroscopy was applied to apple tissue samples deriving from 3 different cultivars. The NMR data were statistically evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), and partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The intra-apple variability of the compounds was found to be significantly lower than the inter-apple variability within one cultivar. A clear separation of the three different apple cultivars could be obtained by multivariate analysis. Direct comparison of the NMR spectra obtained from apple tissue (with HR-MAS) and juice (with liquid-state HR NMR) showed distinct differences in some metabolites, which are probably due to changes induced by juice preparation. This preliminary study demonstrates the feasibility of (1)H HR-MAS NMR in combination with multivariate analysis as a tool for future chemometric studies applied to intact fruit tissues, e.g. for investigating compositional changes due to physiological disorders, specific growth or storage conditions.

Reproducibility of acute mountain sickness in children and adults: a prospective study

Although a history of previous acute mountain sickness (AMS) is commonly used for providing advice and recommending its prophylaxis during subsequent exposure, the intraindividual reproducibility of AMS during repeated high-altitude exposure has never been examined in a prospective controlled study.