Blood pressure is a heritable trait(1) influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (>= 140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or >= 90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure)(2). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events(3). This genome-wide association study o

A fully divergence-free method is proposed for generation of inhomogeneous/anisotropic turbulence with large spatial variation. The method is based on the method of Smirnov et al., which is known to violate the divergence-free constraint when spatial variation of turbulence is present. In the proposed method a vector potential field is introduced; by taking the vector curl of the potential field o

We report a comprehensive experimental-theoretical study of the temperature-and concentration-dependent swelling behavior of weakly cross-linked PNiPAm ionic microgel particles in the deionized fluid phase. The particles swell reversibly when the dispersion is cooled from the collapsed state to lower temperatures. While the collapsed state shows no dependence on the microgel number density, the sw

To determine the association between vision-related quality of life (VRQOL) and levels of visual function loss in the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT).

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a disease of complement dysregulation, characterized by hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia and acute renal failure. Mutations in complement inhibitors are major risk factors for development of aHUS. The three aHUS patients reported in this study had several previously identified alterations in complement inhibitors; e.g. risk haplotypes in CD46 and fact

Cervical ripening is necessary for successful delivery. Since cytokines are believed to be involved in this process, the aim of this study was to investigate possible changes in the mRNA and protein expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-12, IL-18) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13)in the human cervix during pregnancy, term and preterm l

Properties of a series of acetylene-linked perylene bisimide (PBI) macrocycles with different ring size composed of three to six PBI dyes were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy in a condensed phase. it was demonstrated that the structures of PBI cyclic arrays (CNs, N = 3, 4,5, and 6) become distorted with increasing the ring size through mo

We examined the spatial and temporal (hourly) variation of aqueous concentrations of mercury in a gold miner's river to determine factors that control transport, retention, and export of mercury. The mercury flux was estimated to account for episodic inputs of mercury through mining tailings, variations in flow rate, and the partitioning of mercury between dissolved and particulate phases. Water s

EndoS from Streptococcus pyogenes is an immunomodulating enzyme that specifically hydrolyzes glycans from human IgG and thereby affects antibody effector functions. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia is caused by antibody mediated red blood cell (RBC) destruction and often resists treatment with corticosteroids that also cause frequent adverse effects. We show here that anti-RhD (anti-D) and rabbit anti-

Abstract in Undetermined In this study the distinction between complicated and complex is used to shed some light on compliance with best-practice guidelines. Data was gathered related to obstetric practice in labor wards and operating theatres at two Scandinavian hospitals, one of them being a university hospital, and in a training facility. The complexity of obstetrical intervention is analyzed

In this study, a method using liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) is described for the analysis of the plant growth regulator chlormequat (CCC) in human urine. Analysis was carried out using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) in the positive ion mode. [(2)H(4)] labeled CCC as internal standard (IS) was used for quantification of CCC. The limit of detection (LOD) wa

A sudden unilateral loss or impairment of vestibular function causes vertigo, dizziness and impaired postural function. In most occasions, everyday activities supported or not by vestibular rehabilitation programs will promote compensation and the symptoms subside. As the compensatory process requires sensory input, matching performed motor activity, both motor learning of exercises and matching t

Obese subjects have increased number of enlarged fat cells which are reduced in size but not number in post-obesity. We performed DNA methylation profiling in fat cells with the aim of identifying differentially methylated DNA sites (DMS) linked to adipose hyperplasia (many small fat cells) in post-obesity.

Experience can affect human gray matter volume. The behavioral correlates of individual differences in such brain changes are not well understood. In a group of Swedish individuals studying Italian as a foreign language, we investigated associations among time spent studying, acquired vocabulary, baseline performance on memory tasks, and gray matter changes. As a way of studying episodic memory tr

Gaucher disease is caused by an inherited deficiency of the enzyme glucosylceramidase. Due to the lack of a fully functional enzyme there is progressive build-up of the lipid component glucosylceramide. Insufficient glucosylceramidase activity results in hepatosplenomegaly, cytopenias and bone disease in patients. Gene therapy represents a future therapeutic option for patients unresponsive to enz

-Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects over 30 million individuals worldwide and is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart failure, and death. AF is highly heritable, yet the genetic basis for the arrhythmia remains incompletely understood.

Drug development and clinical decision making for patients with metastatic prostate cancer (PC) have been hindered by a lack of quantitative methods of assessing changes in bony disease burden that are associated with overall survival (OS). Bone scan index (BSI), a quantitative imaging biomarker of bone tumor burden, is prognostic in men with metastatic PC. We evaluated an automated method for BSI

This paper presents a measurement of the W+W- production cross section in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV. The leptonic decay channels are analyzed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4: 6 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The W+W- production cross section sigma(pp -> W+W- + X) is measured to be 51.9 +/- 2.0(stat) +/- 3.9(syst) +/- 2.0(lumi)