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Vitamin D supplements have been used to prevent fractures. The effect may be mediated through increased bone mass, but also through reduced falling propensity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels (25OHD), fall-associated variables (including tests of functional performance), and fracture in ambulatory women. At baseline 25OHD was measured in 98

Background— Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is increasingly used as a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis. Its use relies on its ability to predict future clinical cardiovascular end points. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of data to examine this association. Methods and Results— Using a prespecified search strategy, we identified 8 relevant studies and compared study des

Smooth muscle cell (SMC)-specific deletion of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) signaling would help elucidate the mechanisms through which TGF-beta signaling contributes to vascular development and disease. We attempted to generate mice with SMC-specific deletion of TGF-beta signaling by mating mice with a conditional ("floxed") allele for the type 11 TGF-beta receptor (tgfbr2(flox)) to

Objective A common threonine481serine polymorphism (T481S) has been shown in vitro to strongly activate the chloride channel Kb (CLC-Kb) expressed in the kidney, and the 481S allele has been associated with human hypertension. The study aim was to evaluate the association of the T481 S polymorphism with blood pressure (BP) levels and the BP progression rate in Swedes. Design and methods The cardio

A multicenter, open-label, randomized efficacy and safety study was performed with combined human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (recFSH) (Puregon(R)) treatment to induce spermatogenesis in hypogonadotropic hypogonadal male patients. Patients were pretreated for 16 weeks with hCG to normalize testosterone levels. A total of 30 of 49 (61%) subjects had nor

Objective The effect of salt restriction on blood pressure is under intense debate. We tested the effect of 100 mmol salt reduction on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in 46 Swedish individuals, 39 of whom completed the study, using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. Furthermore, we tested whether the basal plasma concentration of renin or N-terminal atrial natriuretic peptide (N

Endoglucanases (EGI) (endo-1,4-β-d-glucan-4-glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.4, Cel7B) of Trichoderma reesei are industrially important enzymes. Thus, there is a great need for development of a primary recovery method suitable for large-scale utilization. In this study we present a concept applicable for large-scale purification of an EGI fusion protein by one-step extraction in a poly(ethylene glycol)

A novel insertion device for electron storage rings called the MAX-Wiggler has been constructed and commissioned at MAX-lab. The MAX-Wiggler is a cold bore superconducting wiggler magnet with 47 3.5 T poles and a period length of 61 mm aimed for the production of X-rays at the 1.5 GeV electron storage ring MAX-II at MAX-lab. This note describes the cryogenic system of the MAX-Wiggler, theoretical

Objectives: At the request of the European Commission and in the framework of the European Machinery Directive, research was performed in five different laboratories to develop specifications for surface temperature limit values for the short-term accidental touching of the fingertip with cold surfaces. Methods: Data were collected in four laboratories with a total of 20 males and 20 females perfo

Aim: Care based on the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) has been reported to exert a positive impact on the development of prematurely born infants. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the effect of such care on the development at preschool age of children born with a gestational age of less than 32 wk. Methods: All surviving infants in a

Whitewater from production of packaging board was treated in a combined anaerobic/aerobic biokidney, both in laboratory scale and pilot plant experiments. Both the laboratory experiments and the pilot plant trial demonstrate that a combined anaerobic/aerobic process is suitable for treating whitewater from a packaging mill. It is also possible to operate the process at the prevailing whitewater te

Aims/hypothesis Post-translational modifications, such as isomerisation of native proteins, may create new antigenic epitopes and play a role in the development of the autoimmune response. Protein-L-isoaspartate (D-aspartate) O-methyltransferase (PIMT), encoded by the gene PCMT1, is an enzyme that recognises and repairs isomerised Asn and Asp residues in proteins. The aim of this study was to asse

Aims/hypothesis Most studies of diet in glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes have focused on intakes of fat, carbohydrate, fibre, fruits and vegetables. Instead, we aimed to compare diets that were available during human evolution with more recently introduced ones. Methods Twenty-nine patients with ischaemic heart disease plus either glucose intolerance or type 2 diabetes were randomised to re

We conducted pooled and meta-analyses of the association of the calpain-10 gene (CAPN10) polymorphisms SNP-43, Indel-19 and SNP-63 individually and as haplotypes with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in 3237 patients and 2935 controls of European ancestry. In the pooled analyses, the common SNP-43*G allele was associated with modest but statistically significant increased risk of T2D (odds ratio (OR) = 1.11

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are clustered in certain individuals but the molecular basis of disease susceptibility is not known. A single gene was shown to control the susceptibility to acute pyelonephritis and renal scarring in mice. The IL-8 receptor homologue (mIL-8Rh) controls neutrophil function during acute infection and the mIL-8Rh deletion causes tissue damage through neutrophil entrap

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of asymptomatic abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and their possible relation to hypertension, heart disease, and carotid artery disease, we studied 77 randomly selected subjects (mean age, 65.1 years; range, 36 to 95 years) with no history of focal brain lesions. METHODS: The study protocol included magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND: The 30-item disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) questionnaire is increasingly used in clinical research involving upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. From the original DASH a shorter version, the 11-item QuickDASH, has been developed. Little is known about the discriminant ability of score changes for the QuickDASH compared to the DASH. The aim of this study was to

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (Il-1ra) and interleukin-1beta (Il-1beta) can be detected in human carotid artery tissue, and whether their presence is related to evidence of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection, risk factors for atherosclerosis, and clinical data. SETTING: Departments of Vascular Diseases and Surgical Pathophysiology, University Hospital, Malmö,

Context: Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) are cleaved by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4); plasma activity of DPP-4 may be increased in obesity. The impact of this increase on incretin hormone secretion and metabolism is not known. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess incretin hormone secretion and degradation in lean and obese nondiabet

OBJECTIVES: Alzheimer disease (AD) can now be diagnosed in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using biomarkers. However, little is known about the rate of decline in those subjects. In this cohort study, we aimed to assess the conversion rate to dementia and identify prognostic markers in subjects with MCI and evidence of amyloid pathology. METHODS: We pooled subjects from the VU Un