Vitellogenin (VTG) is a well-known biomarker for endocrine disruption and the measurement of alkali-labile protein bound phosphate (ALP) has been used as an indirect quantification method for VTG in fish, clam and mussel. One limitation of the ALP method has been the insufficient detection limit but with the method presented here this obstacle has been overcome, enabling measurement in fish specie

Background: Low competence levels among nursing staff have been associated with lower quality of older people care. However, interventions to improve staff competence have not always been evaluated for their impact on the quality of older people care. An educational intervention in the form of a workplace "toolbox" was shown to have positive effects oil nursing staff competence and work satisfacti

Objective To test a life-course model of cognitive reserve in dementia and examine if school grades around age 10 years, formal educational attainment, and lifetime occupational complexity affect the risk of dementia in old age. Methods 7,574 men and women from the Uppsala Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study were followed for 21 years. Information on school performance, formal education, and occ

Infectious etiologies have been hypothesized for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (HL and NHL) in early life, but findings to date for specific lymphomas and periods of susceptibility are conflicting. We conducted the first national cohort study to examine whether season of birth, a proxy for infectious exposures in the first few months of life, is associated with HL or NHL in childhood through yo

Objective: To investigate the mortality rate and possible early predictive factors of mortality after 19-23 years in a cohort of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) followed prospectively from disease onset. Patients and methods: A community-based cohort of 183 patients (63% female) with RA and disease duration < 2 years was recruited 1985-1989. The patients were followed yearly from diagnosis

Aims/hypothesis High plasma copeptin, a marker of vasopressin (VP) secretion, has been shown to be associated with the metabolic syndrome and development of type 2 diabetes in humans. The present study was designed to determine the long-term influence of plasma VP concentration in a rodent model prone to metabolic dysfunction. Methods Obese Zucker rats and their lean counterparts were submitted fo

Recent data suggest that platelets not only control thrombosis and hemostasis but may also regulate inflammatory processes such as acute pancreatitis. However, the specific role of platelet-derived mediators in the pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis is not known. Herein, we examined the role of CD40 ligand (CD40L, CD154) in different models of acute pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis was induced

Social structures and socioeconomic patterns are the major determinants of population health. However, very few previous studies have simultaneously analysed the "social" and the "economic" indicators when addressing social determinants of health. We focus on the relevance of economic and social capital as health determinants by analysing various indicators. The aim of this paper was to analyse in

An improved knowledge of how contrasting types of plant communities and their associated soil biota differ in their responses to climatic variables is important for better understanding the future impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. Elevational gradients serve as powerful study systems for answering questions on how ecological processes can be affected by changes in temperature an

Raised blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have identified 47 distinct genetic variants robustly associated with BP, but collectively these explain only a few percent of the heritability for BP phenotypes. To find additional BP loci, we used a bespoke gene-centric array to genotype an independent discovery sample of 25,118 individuals that combin

Background High levels of soluble cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (soluble CTLA-4), an alternative splice form of the regulatory T-cell (Treg) associated CTLA-4 gene, have been associated with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and other autoimmune diseases, such as Grave's disease and myasthenia gravis. At the same time, studies have shown soluble CTLA-4 to inhibit T-cell activation through B7 binding. This

Healthy first-degree relatives with heredity of type 2 diabetes (FH+) are known to have metabolic inflexibility when compared to subjects without heredity for diabetes (FH-). In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that FH+ individuals have an impaired response to exercise compared to FH-. 16 FH+ and 19 FH- insulin sensitive men similar in age, VO2peak and BMI completed an exercise interven

Primary health care resources for rehabilitation and secondary prevention after myocardial infarction - a questionnaire survey Background: During the first year after a cardiac event, many patients are offered participation in a cardiac rehabilitation programme, after which the patients are often not given the opportunity to continue to attend rehabilitation and secondary prevention programmes. Ai