BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been implicated in the genetic regulation of bone mineral density (BMD). However, the clinical impact of these variants remains unclear.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relation between VDR polymorphisms, BMD, and fractures.DESIGN: Prospective multicenter large-scale association study.SETTING: The Genetic Markers for Osteoporosis consor

In this study, we assessed the prevalence of self-rated post-traumatic stress in relation to reported trauma in an unselected primary care population. A total of 1113 out of 1378 consecutive attenders (response rate 81%) to 10 health centres completed the self-report instruments Impact of Event Scale (IES), and Post Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS-10). A horizontal visual analogue scale (VAS; 0-100

BACKGROUND: The method of treatment of aortic valve stenosis in early infancy is still controversial. This study was performed to evaluate short-term and long-term outcome in our center during a 14-year period.METHODS: Between 1991 and 2004, 64 consecutive patients younger than 3 months old underwent open surgical commissurotomy because of aortic valve stenosis. Median age was 18 days (range, 1 to

The effect of CD40 ligation on infection by HIV-1 primary isolates with different R5 phenotypes was evaluated with a novel set of anti-CD40 monoclonal antibodies originating from a human phage display library. Five human monoclonal anti-CD40 antibodies of IgG1 subtype characterized by the ability to activate B cells via CD40 were tested for induction of the CC-chemokines RANTES and MIP-1alpha and

We construct a nodal method for a two-dimensional absorption-diffusion problem. The method gives rise to a seven point stencil for which the truncation error analysis shows an accuracy of at least O(Δ2), where Δ is a uniform mesh parameter. We devise a numerical method which constructs a matrix whose entries are amplified according to contributions from each of the nodes in a rectangular domain. N

The dietary lectin phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) induces gut growth and precocious maturation in suckling rats after mucosal binding. The present study investigated the dose range in which PHA provokes gut maturation and if it coincided with immune activation. Suckling rats, aged 14 d, were orogastrically fed a single increasing dose of PHA: 0 (control), 2, 10, 50 or 250 mug/g body weight (BW) in sali

The equivalent biological half-times, Te, of 137Cs and 40K in a South-Swedish urban population have been determined through whole-body measurements and urinary excretion analysis. The Te - values for 137Cs found in males were on average, significantly lower than what is given in the literature. The relatively low average whole-body content of 40K,QK, in the males could explain the discrepancy, tak

Well-established models of nuclei describe properties such as shells and magic numbers. But how do these predictions stand up to scrutiny for exotic, unstable nuclei? Pretty well, according to the latest study.

For a large class of vorticities we prove that a steady periodic deep-water wave must be symmetric if its profile is monotone between crests and troughs.

Samples from vesicular Lonar impactite have been investigated by Mossbauer spectroscopy and SEM in combination with elemental analysis. Observation reveal the new-formation of oxide minerals have occurred with nucleation in particular at the walls of the vesicles interpreted as having formed from condensation of the gas phase having caused the vesicles to form in the first place. Elemental analysi

Under many circumstances, it might be adaptive for parents to bias the investment in offspring in relation to sex. Recently developed molecular techniques that allow sex determination of newly hatched offspring have caused a surge in studies of avian sex allocation. Whether females bias the primary brood sex ratio in relation to factors such as environmental and parental quality is debated. Progre

We present an algorithm for the computation of the stress field around a branched crack. The algorithm is based on an integral equation with good numerical properties. Our equation is obtained through a left regularization of an integral equation of Fredholm's first kind. Complex valued functions involving repeated products of square roots appear in the regularization. A new and effective scheme f

When assessing the health status of patients after orthopaedic surgery, such as knee arthroplasty, general health and disease-specific questionnaires are gaining in popularity because of their precision in detecting subtle differences. Self-administered postal surveys using extensive questionnaires have associated patient burden, however, which may have an impact on response rate and completeness.

Tumor-associated trypsin-2 and matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) are associated with cancer, particularly with invasive squamous cell carcinomas. They require activation for catalytical competence via proteolytic cascades. One cascade is formed by enterokinase, trypsin-2 and MMP-9; enterokinase activates trypsinogen-2 to trypsin-2, which is an efficient proMMP-9 activator. We describe here that ora

Investigating claims that a clothed person’s mass loss does not always represent their evaporative heat loss (EVAP), a thermal manikin study was performed measuring heat balance components in more detail than human studies would permit. Using clothing with different levels of vapor permeability and measuring heat losses from skin controlled at 34°C in ambient temperatures of 10, 20, and 34°C with