Some diseases are more frightening than others to patients and every culture or society has its own most dreaded disease(s). In some previous studies it has been shown that the fears of the patients sometimes have their roots in events in family history. In this qualitative study fourteen men and women aged 66-83 years, all of whom were primary care patients were interviewed with regard to their f

Objective. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a progressive, debilitating disease with complex symptoms, unclear etiology and pathogenesis, and difficult diagnosis. Current imaging methods are useful in diagnosing AS and other spondyloarthropathies, and are frequently used in investigations of sacroiliitis. The radiographic diagnosis of sacroiliitis has large interobserver variations. Computed tomogra

The osteoblast-derived protein osteocalcin has recently been shown to affect adiposity and glucose homeostasis in mice, suggesting that the skeleton influences energy metabolism through an endocrine mechanism. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between plasma osteocalcin and parameters reflecting fat mass and glucose homeostasis in humans. Fasting levels of plasma osteocalci

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between stuttering and a range of variables of possible relevance, with the main focus on neuromuscular reactivity, and anxiety. The explorative analysis also included temperament, biochemical variables, heredity, preonset lesions, and altered auditory feedback (AAF). An increased level of neuromuscular reactivity in stuttering adults has p

The T-13910 variant located in the enhancer element of the lactase (LCT) gene correlates perfectly with lactase persistence (LP) in Eurasian populations whereas the variant is almost nonexistent among Sub-Saharan African populations, showing high prevalence of LP. Here, we report identification of two new mutations among Saudis, also known for the high prevalence of LP. We confirmed the absence of

The formation of nanostructures with controlled size and morphology has been the focus of intensive research in recent years(1-10). Such nanostructures are important in the development of nanoscale devices and in the exploitation of the properties of nanomaterials(9). Here we show how tree-like nanostructures ('nanotrees') can be formed in a highly controlled way. The process involves the self-ass

Some preliminary tests at the crystallography beamline I711 at the MAX II synchrotron in Lund, Sweden, have shown that it is possible to use acoustical levitation to keep a droplet of liquid and solid (powder) samples in an X-ray beam for a sufficient time for collection of the X-ray diffraction pattern.

The conventional view that female reproductive success is unlikely to benefit from multiple mating has come under strong challenge in recent years. In the present study, we demonstrate that the time wild-caught reproductive female water pythons (Liasis fuscus) spent in the laboratory prior to oviposition affected both hatching success and the number of male microsatellite alleles detected in the b

We examined the role of a striatal lesion in the development of L-DOPA-induced abnormal involuntary movements (AlMs) using the double lesion rat model of striatonigral degeneration (SND), the underlying neuropathological substrate of parkinsonism associated with multiple system atrophy (MSA-P), in comparison to a Parkinson's disease (PD) rat model. L-DOPA administration reliably induced AlMs in SN

The stability of DNA in solution and the phase behavior in mixtures with dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) were investigated. By means of circular dichroism, UV absorption, and differential scanning calorimetry, we found that for dilute solutions of DNA with no addition of salt the DNA molecules are in the single-stranded conformation, whereas the addition of a small amount of NaBr, 1 mM, is

The electronic coupling strength within columns of discotic liquid crystals is investigated using core-level Coexisting well-ordered and disordered regions are identified in thin films of tetra-alkoxy-substituted phthalocyanines with the aid of near edge X-ray absorption fine structure and photoelectron spectroscopies. These different regions Lire used to derive a lower limit for the intermolecula

In many applications, such as remote sensing or wave slamming on ships and offshore structures, it is important to have a good model for wave slope. Today, most models are based on the assumption that the sea surface is well described by a Gaussian random field. However, since the Gaussian model does not capture several important features of real ocean waves, e.g. the asymmetry of crests and troug

Nitric oxide (NO) can modulate both tumor growth and antitumor immune responses. In order to elucidate the mechanism of curative therapeutic immunization with IFNgamma-producing glioma cells, we examined the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in tissue sections from immunized animals. There was a significantly enhanced iNOS expression both intratumorally and at the immunization s

Significant soft-tissue trauma induces platelet activation, aggregation, and sequestration in the lungs. This pulmonary trapping is due either to the size of the platelet aggregates or to changes in the pulmonary microvasculature. To evaluate which one of these mechanisms is responsible for the trapping, we performed portacaval transposition in one group of pigs, making the liver the first receivi

This article explores the applicability of a conceptual framework derived from interorganization theory and network analysis to the study of international organization. The framework emphasizes the pivotal role of linking-pin organizations and of boundary-role personnel within these organizations in transnational networks. A set of issue-specific and organization-specific factors accounting for va

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease directed towards peripheral joints. As all common diseases it is associated with several genes and a multitude of environmental factors. In addition, in similarity with most other complex diseases, it is defined only on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms, it is therefore more properly classified as a syndrome rather than a distinct

In-situ measurements of soot volume fraction in the exhausts of jet engines can be carried out using the laser-induced incandescence (LII) technique in backward configuration, in which the signal is detected in the opposite direction of the laser beam propagation. In order to improve backward LII for quantitative measurements, we have in this work made a detailed experimental and theoretical inves