P>The relationships between the Platelet Function Analyzer (PFA)-100 and von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels and bleeding score (BS) were evaluated within a multicentre project on Molecular and... Show moreP>The relationships between the Platelet Function Analyzer (PFA)-100 and von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels and bleeding score (BS) were evaluated within a multicentre project on Molecular and Clinical Markers for the Diagnosis and Management of type 1 von Willebrand disease (MCMDM-1VWD). PFA-100 closure time, either with epinephrine (EPI) or adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-cartridges, was measured in 107 index cases, 105 affected and 71 unaffected family members, and 79 healthy controls. By regression analysis VWF levels were strongly related to both closure times, with a non-linear progression. In a multiple stepwise regression model, age- and sex-adjusted PFA-100 ADP and VWF ristocetin cofactor activity (VWF:RCo) were independently associated with BS. Most of the variation of BS was predicted by PFA-100 ADP and VWF:RCo alone. In the subgroup of patients with subtle abnormalities of the multimeric pattern, VWF was invariably reduced and closure time prolonged in almost all of them. Neither PFA-100 ADP nor EPI closure times appeared to significantly improve the diagnostic capability of VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) measurement. Thus, in an unselected population a normal PFA-100 would be useful to exclude VWD, but whether it could replace the more specific VWF assay in patients with significant mucocutaneous bleeding symptoms remains to be investigated prospectively. Show less
Background: Accurate measurement of von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a critical requirement for the diagnosis of von Willebrand disease (VWD). Aim of the study: To evaluate the diagnostic efficiency... Show moreBackground: Accurate measurement of von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a critical requirement for the diagnosis of von Willebrand disease (VWD). Aim of the study: To evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of a rapid quantitative test for the measurement of VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) in type 1 VWD. Patients and methods: VWF: Ag was measured with an ELISA in a robotic instrument, as a reference method, and with a fully automated latex-immunoassay (LIA) on an ACL 9000 analyser in 1,716 subjects enrolled within the Molecular and Clinical Markers for Diagnosis and Management of Type 1 von Willebrand Disease (MCMDM-1VWD) Study. Among these subjects, 1,049 were healthy controls, 281 healthy family members and 386 affected members from 127 European families with type 1 VWD. Results: The assay linearity range was 10-125 IU/dL for LIA (R-2 = 0.99) and 5-133 IU/dL for ELISA (R-2 = 0.99). The inter-assay CV for low VWF levels (similar to 30 IU/dL) was 2% for the LIA test and 8.7 % for ELISA. The sensitivity for detection of type 1 VWD affected members was 86% and the specificity 91% for LIA, 87% and 90% for ELISA. A receiver-operator (ROC) analysis disclosed only a marginal difference between the two tests, LIA having a slightly greater area under the curve (0.94 vs. 0.93, p = 0.03). Conclusion: VWF: Ag LIA compared well to standard ELISA in this large population of patients and controls, showing better CV. However the lower detection limit for the VWF: Ag LIA compared to the VWF: Ag ELISA means that the LIA assay is less good at discriminating between type 3 VWD and moderate type 1 VWD. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Show less
This book analyzes a defined corpus of philosophic texts from the Warring States period. It treats texts as objects in their own right and, in a broad sense, discusses the relationship between... Show moreThis book analyzes a defined corpus of philosophic texts from the Warring States period. It treats texts as objects in their own right and, in a broad sense, discusses the relationship between material conditions of text and manuscript culture, writing, techniques of meaning-construction, and philosophy in Warring States period (ca. 481-222). By analyzing the formal structure of the philosophic texts from the Warring States, the present study distinguishes between two ideal types of texts, which I call “argument-based texts” and “authority-based texts”. Meaning-construction in the former type of texts is based in writing; in the latter ideal type of texts, meaning-construction requires reference to (oral) commentators. Hence, whereas argument-based texts facilitate philosophy that is exempt from needs of contextualization, authority-based texts, for their part, are mere modules of larger philosophic processes that remain outside the texts themselves. Show less
