Background: Dried blood spots (DBS) are a convenient and inexpensive method for biobanking. Although many countries have established population-based DBS biobanks from neonatal screening programs, the quality and usefulness of DNA from DBS have not been extensively assessed. Methods: We compared 4 common DNA extraction methods (Qiagen, EZNA, Chelex 100, and alkaline lysis) in a pilot study using

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the change over time of cartilage defects, subchondral lesions and meniscal abnormalities of the knee using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with a 2-year interval in patients with chronic knee pain. Design: In the format of a prospective study of early osteoarthritis (OA), the signal knee (most painful at the inclusion in the study 1990) in 47 indivi

We report on the design and fabrication of a channel structure for high precision guidance and achieving excellent confinement properties for motor-propelled molecular shuttles. The techniques used to manufacture the channel structure are mainly e-beam lithography and selective monolayer functionalization. The structure consists of two lateral layers of concentric channels on a SiO2 surface made b

An experimental investigation has been carried out to find the pressure difference of the process of steam condensation across the port to channel in plate heat exchangers. In the present study, low corrugation angle (30 degrees) plates have been used for different number of channels, namely, 10 and 80. The process steam entered at 1 bar with a small degree of superheat. Water has been used as the

Biopsychosocial problems experienced by renal disease patients were studied within a contextual framework the patients themselves defined, the findings being related to sociodemographic and medical data. Participants were 72 predialysis patients and 73 patients being treated by haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis (106 men and 39 women, aged 18-84 years). Both stress-related global and situational

Lymphomas are one of the few cancers that have been increasing in incidence over the past decades. So far, only a few established risk factors have been identified, including immunosuppression and viral infections. Recent evidence suggests etiologic heterogeneity of different lymphoma subtypes. Smoking may affect risk differently, depending on the lymphoma entity. The European Prospective Investig

This article argues that the body of foreign direct investment (FDI) literature in general and the ownership, location, and internalization (OLI) paradigm in particular would be enriched if finance-specific factors are explicitly incorporated as drivers of FDI. We suggest that financial strategies involving factors such as debt/equity swaps or equity listings in foreign equity markets affect the f

Background & Aims: Iron overload may be carcinogenic. Patients with hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) are reportedly at a 20-200-fold risk of intrahepatic cancer, but the reported risks for nonhepatobiliary cancers are conflicting. The risk of cancer in heterozygous individuals (estimated allele frequency, 1/10 to 1/20) is unknown. This study aimed to better assess these risks. Methods: We perfo

An Autonomously Guided Vehicle using both odometry and visual data for navigation needs calibration parameters. These include camera placement as well as parameters relating odometry to vehicle motion. Calibration of these parameters is related to the Hand-Eye calibration problem. Instead of using a calibration target or trying to solve for structure and motion a novel method using the continuous

The present immunohistochemical investigation reveals that difucosylated carbohydrate antigens (DFCA) are extensively expressed in rectal and rectosigmoid carcinomas while normal mucosa and hyperplastic polyps are mainly negative. The adenomas showed intermediate staining patterns where adenomas with villous structures and moderate-severe dysplasia resembled of carcinomas. CEA was more extensively

Let A be a real symmetric n x n-matrix with eigenvalues, lambda(1),..., lambda(n) ordered after decreasing absolute value, and b an n x 1-vector. We present an algorithm finding approximate solutions to min x*(Ax+b) and maxx*(Ax+b) over x is an element of {-1,1}(n), with an absolute error of at most (c(1) vertical bar lambda(1)vertical bar +vertical bar lambda([c2 log n])vertical bar)2n + O(alpha

Glycosphingolipids and sphingomyelin (SM) are important components of the apical brush border and the Golgi and enclocytic vesicles of the gut epithelium. In particular, glucosylceramide is abundant in the microvilli. Synthesis and degradation of mucosal sphingolipids and targeting of sphingolipids to distinct cell compartments during cell differentiation are thus important features of intestinal

Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to study the interaction between hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB, and three starch polysaccharides, amylose from potato, amylopectin from potato and amylopectin from barley. The enthalpy change for consecutive additions of CTAB to starch polysaccharide solutions were measured at 27degreesC. The starch-CTAB interaction enthalpies, DeltaH(f), were c

Objective: We sought to investigate the cost of living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and evaluate the influence of both demographics and specific disease characteristics on these costs. Methods: We used a population-based questionnaire to survey 895 patients living in the city of Malmo, Sweden, during 2002. Data were obtained on direct resource consumption, investments, informal care and work cap

Metal chelate affinity precipitation (MCAP) has been successfully developed as a simple purification process for proteins that have affinity for metal ions. The present lack of widespread applications for this technique as compared to immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) may be related to the scarcity of well-characterized metal affinity macroligands (AML) and their applications to the

Design: The aim was to study the long-term effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in depression. 55 patients were followed-up 20-24 years after an ECT series. 13 patients were still alive and 10 agreed to participate in the study. All 55 patients had been investigated with clinical and neuropsychological assessment and with neurophysiological measurements; regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) a

Background: Only a few intervention studies aiming to change high-risk drinking behavior have involved university students with heredity for alcohol problems. This study evaluated the effects after 2 years on drinking patterns and coping behavior of intervention programs for students with parents with alcohol problems. Method: In total, 82 university students (57 women and 25 men, average age 25 y