Background Viral vectors have been used in several different settings for the delivery of small hairpin (sh) RNAs. However, most vectors have utilized ubiquitously-expressing polymerase (pol) III promoters to drive expression of the hairpin as a result Of the Strict requirement for precise transcriptional initiation and termination. Recently, pol 11 promoters have been used to construct vectors fo

The purpose of this study was to describe the everyday activities and social contacts among older deaf sign language users, and to investigate relationships between these phenomena and the health and well-being within this group. The study population comprised deaf sign language users, 65 years or older, in Sweden. Data collection was based on interviews in sign language, including open-ended ques

Objectives: A potential role in cancer biology is suggested for YKL-40 (CHI3L1, HC gp-39). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of serum YKL-40 (sYKL-40) in multiple myeloma (MM) and to examine YKL-40 expression in malignant plasma cells (MM PCs). Methods: sYKL-40 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 82 patients with newly diagnosed MM. YKL-40 expres

This paper describes an architecture of a connected-cluster labeling algorithm for binary images based on contour tracing with feature extraction. The implementation is intended as a hardware accelerator in a self contained real-time digital surveillance system. The algorithm has lower memory requirements compared to other labeling techniques and can guarantee labeling of a predefined number of cl

Rhizoplaca Zopf is a genus characterized by an umbilicate thallus with an upper and a lower cortex, as well as a cupulate hypothecium. It has been considered to be related to Lecanora Ach., the type genus of the Lecanoraceae and, in particular, to the lobate species of this genus. The phylogeny of Rhizoplaca, the monotypic Arctopeltis thuleana Poelt, and a number of representatives of different gr

Purpose. To compare health-related quality of life (HRQL) and-pain symptoms in patients with PD with a matched control group. To our knowledge, controlled studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients within this area are rare. Scope. Fifty-seven patients and 95 controls took part in a self-administered questionnaire study. The instruments were the SF-36, visual analogue scales, pain drawing and pa

We would like to report a case of cerebral infarction associated with anti-cardiolipin syndrome occurring 8 years after cessation of successful treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 11 years after cranial irradiation.

Background In addition to its glucose-lowering effect, metformin treatment has been suggested to improve lipidaemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. In contrast, in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), information about the effect of metformin treatment on lipidaemia is limited. In this study, we report the effect of a 1-year treatment with metformin vs. placebo on plasma lipids in T1DM patients

Trends towards distributed power generation and the deregulation of energy markets are increasing the requirement for software tools that optimize power generation plant design and operation. In this context, this paper describes the GTPOM (thermo-economic optimization of whole gas turbine plant) European project, funded in part through the European Commissions 5th Framework Programme, focusing on

To determine the epidemiology and outcome of children with Down syndrome (DS) diagnosed with acute leukaemia in the Nordic countries, data registered in the Nordic Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (NOPHO) population-based leukaemia registry were analysed. Of 3494 children with acute leukaemia diagnosed between July 1984 and December 2001, 136 patients (3.9%) with DS were identified.

The aim of this study was to determine whether muscle fibre degeneration brought about by chronic low-frequency electrical stimulation was related to the pattern and frequency of stimulation. Rabbit fast-twitch muscles, tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus, were stimulated for 9 days with pulse trains ranging in frequency from 1.25 Hz to 10 Hz. Histological data from these muscles were

It is known that bovine GH (bGH) transgenic mice have increased body mass, insulin resistance, and altered lipoprotein metabolism when fed a normal diet (ND). In this study, the effects of 8 wk of high-fat diet (HFD) were investigated in 6-month-old male bGH mice. Although littermate controls had unchanged energy intake, energy intake was higher in the bGH mice on a HFD than on a low-fat diet. Nev

We have calculated the electronic structure of InAs quantum dots embedded in InP as a function of size, using strain dependent eight-band k.p theory in the envelope function approximation. A realistic three-dimensional shape was used for the simulations and the piezoelectric polarization of the system was included. In order to avoid spurious solutions, an extra term was added to the Hamiltonian. P

We studied the population structure of a high arctic breeding wader bird species, the White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis. Breeding adults, chicks and juveniles were sampled at seven localities throughout the species' breeding range in arctic Canada in 1999. The mitochondrial control region was analysed by DNA sequencing, feathers were analysed for carbon isotope ratios (C-13/C-12) by isot

A connection between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and endothelium pathology has been inferred from measured decreases in both blood flow and metabolism in the parietal and temporal cortex. However, it is not known whether these alterations are seen in normal aging. We performed regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measurements in 22 AD patients and in 44 non-demented subjects during a simple test of in

We here study the interactions of a polyamide with large DNA, and compare to those of minor groove binder distamycin (DST), including high ligand/DNA binding ratios. Specific as well as nonspecific binding is probed using polarized-light spectroscopy combined with singular value decomposition analysis. Circular and linear dichroism data confirm binding geometries consistent with minor groove bindi

OBJECTIVE: A low Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a concept related to a feeling of ill health. Not much is known about possible relationships between SOC and biological factors. SETTING: Population-based study of middle-aged women. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Four-hundred-and-fifty women participated as a subgroup of a larger study of cardiovascular risk factor screening. A self-administered questionnaire w

A rapidly implemented qualitative study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of women about abortion in Egypt using in-depth interviews with hospitalised patients and focus group discussions with family planning clients and non-contracepting women. The most salient issue confronting the patients (whether the abortion had been spontaneous or induced) was their physical survival. The necessi