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Objective. To investigate whether comorbidity as assessed by the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is associated with mortality in a long-term followup of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods. Data were collected from 499 SLE patients attending the Lupus Clinic at the McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and 170 SLE patients from the Department of Rheumatology
Purpose: We have developed a statistical prediction model for prostate cancer based on four kallikrein markers in blood: total, free, and intact prostate-specific antigen ( PSA), and kallikrein-related peptidase 2 ( hK2). Although this model accurately predicts the result of biopsy in unscreened men, its properties for men with a history of PSA screening have not been fully characterized. Experime
Photovoltaics based on nanowire arrays could reduce cost and materials consumption compared to planar devices, but have exhibited low efficiency of light absorption and carrier collection. We fabricated a variety of millimeter-sized arrays of p-i-n doped InP nanowires and found that the nanowire diameter and the length of the top n-segment were critical for cell performance. Efficiencies up to 13.
Differences in 24 h blood pressure (BP) monitoring parameters such as average 24 h BP, day to night BP ratio and BP variability could have an impact in arterial stiffness. The study hypothesis was that despite similar average BP values in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring subjects with increased 24 h BP variability may have increased arterial stiffness. The study population consisted of 115 con
BACKGROUND: Risk models to predict prostate cancer on biopsy, whether they include only prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or other markers, are intended for use in all men of screening age. However, the association between PSA and cancer probably depends on a man's recent screening history. METHODS: The authors examined the effect of prior screening on the ability to predict the risk of prostate can
Background and purpose - The self-reported foot and ankle score (SEFAS) is a questionnaire designed to evaluate disorders of the foot and ankle, but it is only validated for arthritis in the ankle. We validated SEFAS in patients with forefoot, midfoot, hindfoot, and ankle disorders. Patients and methods - 118 patients with forefoot disorders and 106 patients with hindfoot or ankle disorders comple
To determine the frequency of each American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criterion met at time of enrollment, and the increase in each of the criteria over 5 years.
Results of electrical characterization of Au nucleated InAs1-xSbx nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy are reported. An almost doubling of the extracted field effect mobility compared to reference InAs nanowires is observed for a Sb content of x = 0.13. Pure InSb nanowires on the other hand show considerably lower, and strongly diameter dependent, mobility values. Finally, InAs of wurtzite cr
It is well established by a large number of randomized controlled trials that lowering blood pressure (BP) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by drugs are powerful means to reduce stroke incidence, but the optimal BP and LDL-C levels to be achieved are largely uncertain. Concerning BP targets, two hypotheses are being confronted: first, the lower the BP, the better the treatment outco
Molecular spiders are synthetic molecular motors featuring multiple legs that each can interact with a substrate through binding and cleavage. Experimental studies suggest the motion of the spider in a matrix is biased toward uncleaved substrates and that spider properties such as processivity can be altered by changing the binding strength of the legs to substrate [R. Pei, S. K. Taylor, D. Stefan
Background: The role of estrogen and progesterone in the development of endometrial cancer is well documented. Few studies have examined the association of genetic variants in sex hormone-related genes with endometrial cancer risk. Methods: We conducted a case-control study nested within three cohorts to examine the association of endometrial cancer risk with polymorphisms in hormone-related genes
OBJECTIVES: We examined whether the association between hormone therapy (HT) use and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk differed between women with and without vasomotor symptoms (VMS). STUDY DESIGN: We used data from a Dutch (EPOS) and Swedish (WHILA) population-based sample of 8865 women, aged 46-64 years, and free of CHD, stroke, venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolism or cancer at baseline. Data o
The extent to which a system of services is in tune with the needs of the population can be expressed in terms of target efficiency, which includes horizontal target efficiency - the extent to which those deemed to need a service receive it - and vertical target efficiency - the corresponding extent to which those who receive a service actually need it. Vertical efficiency can be measured by looki
To examine whether increasing fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were associated with worsening left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, independently of LV mass index (LVMI) in elderly, otherwise healthy subjects.
Advances in laboratory techniques have led to a rapidly increasing use of biomarkers in epidemiological studies. Biomarkers of internal dose, early biological change susceptibility and clinical outcomes are used as proxies for investigating the interactions between external and/or endogenous agents and body components or processes. The need for improved reporting of scientific research led to infl
