3%) and specificity (46.2%). For the pre-diabetic patients, the three tests performed equally well. None of the control subjects displayed abnormal interdigital anisothermal

readouts or thermal recovery indices, which precluded the sensitivity estimation in this sample of subjects. However, the specificity (70.6%) was higher in this group.

CONCLUSION: In this study, plantar thermography, which predominately considers the small and autonomic fibers that are commonly associated with a sub-clinical condition, proved useful in diagnosing diabetic neuropathy early. The interdigital anisothermal test, when used alone, performed best.”
“Patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at high risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The aim of this work was to assess brain maturity Wnt inhibitor and brain injury in newborns with cyanotic CHD using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The study included 38 newborns with cyanotic CHD (study group) and 20 healthy full-term newborns (control group) matched together regarding gestational age and sex. Three-dimensional MRS showed that the mean ratio of N-acetylaspartate to choline (Ch) was significantly Selleck JQ-EZ-05 lower in newborns with cyanotic CHD (0.55 +/- A 0.08) compared with controls (0.67 +/- A 0.11) (p < 0.001). However, the mean ratio of lactate to Ch metabolite was significantly higher in the studied cases (0.14

+/- A 0.04) compared with controls (0.09 +/- A 0.04) (p < 0.001). The mean value for average diffusivity was 1.41 +/- A 0.06 in newborns with cyanotic CHD compared with 1.27 +/- A 0.07 in control newborns (p < 0.001), and the mean value for white-matter fractional anisotropy was 0.19 +/- A 0.03 in cyanotic newborns and 0.25 +/- A 0.08 in controls (p < 0.001). Newborns with cyanotic CHD are at increased risk of cerebral white matter injury as well as poor brain maturity. MRS provides a surrogate marker for early detection of such

brain abnormalities.”
“A commercial phenolic resin and a bio-based phenolic resin formulated partially substituting phenol by a methylolated softwood ammonium lignosufonate were studied to selleck compound characterize their structural, thermal and rheological properties. The structures of the resins and the modified and non-modified lignosulfonates were studied by FTIR, showing a similar structure for both resins and higher reactivity for the modified lignosulfonate than for the non-modified. The curing heats of both resins were obtained by DSC, showing a reduced reactivity of the lignin-resol due to the incorporation of lignosulfonates. The thermal stability of lignin-phenolic resin studied by TGA was enhanced with respect to that of the commercial resin due to the high thermal stability of lignosulfonate used in its formulation. The addition of lignosulfonates modified the rheological behavior of resol resin changing its flow behavior from Newtonian to pseudoplastic.