Limited exposure to direct current polarization of the prefrontal cortex is safe and can enhance verbal fluency selectively in healthy subjects. As such, it deserves consideration as a procedure to improve frontal lobe function in patients.

In this study, we analyzed the relationships of exercise capacity and health status to mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We recruited 150 male outpatients with stable COPD with a mean postbronchodilator FEV1 at 47.4% of predicted. Their pulmonary function, progressive cycle ergometry, and health status using the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and the Breathing Problems Questionnaire were measured at entry. Among 144 patients who were available for the 5-year follow-up, 31 had died. Univariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that the SGRQ total score and the Breathing Problems Questionnaire were significantly correlated with mortality; however, with the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire, the total score was not significantly correlated. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that the peak oxygen uptake and the SGRQ total score were both predictive of mortality, independent of FEV1 and age. Stepwise Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that the peak oxygen uptake was the most significant predictor of mortality. We found that exercise capacity and health status were significantly correlated with mortality, although different health status measures had different abilities to predict mortality. These results will have a potentially great impact on the multidimensional evaluation of disease severity in COPD.

The fluorescence yield of europium chelates in several solutions varies, through its maximum value, with the increase in the energy difference between the triplet state of a ligand and the emitting level of an europium ion. The time-resolved spectroscopic measurements show that the excitation energy is transferred from the triplet state to the lower and nearest resonance level of the europium ion. The intramolecular energy transfer mechanisms for europium chelates and terbium chelates are proposed, taking the resonance exchange interaction and the thermal deactivation processes from the emitting levels of rare earth ions into consideration. Steady-state rate equations are made, and the equation of the fluorescence yield is obtained. Thus, the relations between the fluorescence yield and the triplet state energy are estimated and the fluorescence properties of rare earth β-diketone chelates may be qualitatively described.

BACKGROUND-Menkes disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder of infancy caused by diverse mutations in a copper-transport gene, ATP7A. Early treatment with copper injections may