Background A main goal in nursing care of persons with chronic heart failure (HF) is to strengthen their health related quality of life (HRQoL). This presupposes knowledge about the relation between heart failure and HRQoL. Existing studies have shown incongruent results about whether HRQoL is affected differently depending on age or sex of elderly persons with chronic HF. Aim This study aimed

Impaired degradation of amyloid beta (A beta) peptides could lead to A beta accumulation, an early trigger of Alzheimer's disease (AD). How A beta-degrading enzymes are regulated remains largely unknown. Cystatin C (CysC, CST3) is an endogenous inhibitor of cysteine proteases, including cathepsin B (CatB), a recently discovered A beta-degrading enzyme. A CST3 polymorphism is associated with an inc

The cytotoxicity and photocytotoxicity of trans-[RuCl2(DMSO)4] and cis-[RuCl2(DMSO)4] complexes was tested in two melanoma cell lines, human (SK-MEL 188) and mouse (S91). The trans isomer was found to be more effective for cell growth inhibition than its cis analogue both in the presence and in the absence of illumination. However, the antiproliferative activity of both isomers was significantly e

Despite the great significance of geomorphologic-environmental data in different disciplines, there are sundry problems in relation to availability, accessibility and their applicability. Primarily the problems dealing with these data were investigated and then technical solutions to remove each of the above problems and how to manage geomorphologic-enviromnental data were suggested. The solution

We explore numerically different aspects of periodic traveling-wave solutions of the Camassa-Holm equation. in particular, the time evolution of some recently found new traveling-wave solutions and the interaction of peaked and cusped waves is studied.

Mutations in the TP53 tumor suppressor gene have been shown to significantly correlate with poor prognosis in endometrial cancer. In the present study we have evaluated a luminometric immunoassay (LIA) for quantitative estimation of TP53 protein expression in 65 cytosol preparations from endometrial cancer, previously analyzed for mutations in TP53 exons 4-10. LIA showed high (greater than or equa

We report on large-scale ab initio multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculations of hyperfine-structure parameters and oscillator strengths for the lowest few levels in Tl II and Tl III. The effect of both core-valence and core-core correlation on these properties is investigated, probing effects of all core subshells. The agreement with most experiments is excellent. These data are of vital interest

Experiments were conducted to investigate the "paired" arbuscules characteristic of Arum-type mycorrhizal colonization in Linum usitatissimum L. The development and senescence of arbuscular structures were followed in a time course study. Roots were freeze-sectioned longitudinally and mycorrhizal structures visualized using nitroblue tetrazolium, a vital stain to indicate metabolically active arbu

The serial Color Word Test, which is a semi-experimental way to differentiate adaptive behavior in stressful situations, was administered at baseline to men participating in the prospective cohort study "Men born in 1914". During follow-up, from 1982-1983 until December 31, 1996, 133 men experienced a myocardial infarction. Four patterns of adaptive behavior in 2 separate dimensions, the Variabili

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of social capital on self-reported sense of insecurity in the neighbourhood. The public health survey in Malmö, Sweden in 1994 was a cross-sectional study. A total of 5600 individuals aged 20–80 years were asked to answer a postal questionnaire. The participation rate was 71%. A multilevel logistic regression model, with individuals at the fir

Extant members of the order Carnivora split into two basal groups, Caniformia (dog-like carnivorans) and Feliformia (cat-like carnivorans). In this study we address phylogenetic relationships within Caniformia applying various methodological approaches to analyses of complete mitochondrial genomes. Pinnipeds are currently well represented with respect to mitogenomic data and here we add seven mt g

The astroglial protein S100 is an established biochemical marker for CNS injury in the adult. The aim was to investigate whether S100 in serum is a prognostic marker of cerebral injury in term newborn infants, with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) after perinatal asphyxia. Serum S100 was measured on postnatal days 1-4 in 62 term infants with birth asphyxia. The infants were classified for HIE

Background: Ratios of values of brachytherapy source strengths, as measured by hospitals and vendors, comprise constant differences as, e.g., systematic errors in ion chamber calibration factors and measurement setup. Such ratios therefore have the potential to reveal the systematic changes in routines or calibration services at either the hospital or the vendor laboratory, which could otherwise b

Background: There are two independent head injury outcome studies using the "Lund concept", and both showed a mortality rate of about 10%, and a favourable outcome (Glasgow outcome scale, GOS 4 and 5) of about 70%. The Lund concept aims at controlling intracranial pressure, and improving microcirculation around contusions. Intracranial pressure is controlled by maintaining a normal colloid osmotic

Stable isotopes ratios (delta C-13 and delta N-15) were measured in primary producers and consumers of two bays with contrasting eutrophic conditions in the pains Lagoon estuary, southern Brazil: the Justino bay, a more pristine ecosystem, and the Mangueira bay, a heavily polluted region that receives the Rio Grande city sewage and effluents of several industries. delta C-13 values of organisms co

The latest Cyrtograptus lundgreni graptolite Chron (Late Wenlock, middle Silurian) is characterized globally by the Mulde Event faunal extinctions and glacio-eustatic sea-level change. Only in the last decade has it been recognized as one of the most severe extinction events of the Silurian Period. A section spanning the Slite Group-Halla Formation boundary on the islet Ytterholmen off main Gotlan

A capacitive biosensor for the detection of bacterial endotoxin has been developed. Endotoxin-neutralizing protein derived from American horseshoe crab was immobilized to a self-assembled thiol layer on a biosensor transducer (Au). Upon injection of a sample containing endotoxin, a decrease in the observed capacitive signal was registered. Endotoxin could be determined under optimum conditions wit