OBJECTIVES :Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is used in the manufacture of polyurethane and is a potent inducer of diseases of the airways. In this study, 2,4- and 2,6-toluenediamine in hydrolyzed urine and plasma were evaluated as biomarkers of exposure to 2,4- and 2,6-TDI, respectively. METHODS: For 81 exposed workers from nine different plants, the personal 8-hour time-weighted-average exposure to TD

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that regulates several genes crucial for tumor development. To identify epigenetically regulated genes in bladder cancer, we performed genome wide expression analyses of eight-bladder cancer cell lines treated with the demethylating agents 5-aza-2'-cytidine and zebularine. To identify methylated C-residues, we sequenced cloned DNA fragments f

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulates proliferation and migration in ovarian cancer cells, and high tumor expression of the EGF system correlates with poor prognosis. Epidermal growth factor upregulates urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) on the cell surface via 3 distinct mechanisms: rapid mobilization of uPAR from detergent-resistant domains, increased mRNA, and decreased degradat

Objective: Characteristic capillary abnormalities occur early in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Our aim was to study the longitudinal development of capillary density in SSc patients. Methods: Forty-eight consecutive patients with SSc fulfilling a follow-up of at least 8 years were retrospectively analysed for capillary loss over the observation period. Eleven had diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc) and 37 l

A virtual reality (VR) experiment with 96 participants was carried out to provide recommendations on the design of flashing lights at emergency exit portals for road tunnel emergency evacuation. The experiment was carried out in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment laboratory. A set of variables was investigated, namely (1) colour of flashing lights, (2) flashing rate, (3) type of light source, (4

The most unfavourable orientation of a straight crack of given length is investigated, assuming mode I growth. It is shown that this orientation is not always the one perpendicular to the largest principal stress. If the smallest in-plane principal stress is compressive and its magnitude more than about one third of the largest (tensile) in-plane stress, then some other orientations are more unfav

Histopathological classification of lung cancer is of central importance in the diagnostic routine and guides therapy in the majority of patients. The 4(th) edition of the WHO classification was recently published and includes changes to the diagnostic procedure of non-small cell carcinomas (NSCC) with more emphasis on immunohistochemical (IHC) staining.

It is generally accepted that structural and functional quantitative imaging of individual islets would be beneficial to elucidate the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes. We here introduce functional optical coherence imaging (FOCI) for fast, label-free monitoring of beta cell destruction and associated alterations of islet vascularisation.

Polyamines are important for cell growth and proliferation and they are formed from arginine and ornithine via arginase and ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). Arginine may alternatively be metabolised to NO via NO synthase. Here we study if vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation can be reversed by polyamine synthesis inhibitors and investigate their mechanism of action. Cell proliferation was asses

Pyruvate is included in the energy production of the heart muscle and is metabolized into lactate, alanine, and CO(2) in equilibrium with HCO(3) (-). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using (13)C hyperpolarization enhanced MRI to monitor pyruvate metabolism in the heart during an ischemic episode. The left circumflex artery of pigs (4 months, male, 29-34 kg) was occluded for

Systolic tissue Doppler measurements (s') have been used to measure the velocity in myocardial motion and are a valuable tool for evaluating the systolic function of the left and right ventricles. Digestion of food is known to significantly alter hemodynamics and may therefore affect s'. The effect of food intake on s' parameters has not yet been studied. We assessed whether s' is affected by food

In epidemiologic studies on direct genetic associations, hypothesis testing is primarily considered for evaluating the effects of each candidate genetic marker, eg, single nucleotide polymorphisms. To help investigators protect themselves from over-interpreting statistically significant findings that are not likely to signify a true effect-a problem connected to multiple comparisons-consideration

PURPOSE: The incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing worldwide in fair-skinned populations. Melanomas respond poorly to systemic therapy, and metastatic melanomas inevitably become fatal. While spontaneous regression, likely due to immune defense activation, rarely occurs, we lack a biological rationale and predictive markers selecting patients for immune therapy. Experimental design: We per

The aim of this study was to explore the experience of loneliness among frail older people living at home.

Enteroendocrine cells such as duodenal cholecystokinin (CCK cells) are generally thought to be confined to certain segments of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and to store and release peptides derived from only a single peptide precursor. In the current study, however, transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) under the control of the CCK promoter demonstrated a distribu

BACKGROUND: Among the textile dyes, disperse dyes are common sensitizers. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether patch testing with a textile dye mix consisting of eight disperse dyes would be equivalent to testing with the separate ingredients of the mix at the concentrations used in the mix. METHODS: Researchers tested 1,780 consecutive patients with a mix consisting of Disperse Blue 35, Disperse Yel

The quinoline-3-carboxamide ABR-215757 (5757) is in clinical development for the treatment of human SLE and has shown efficacy in several mouse models of T cell-mediated inflammatory autoimmune disease. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of 5757 on steady state immune cells. We show that the number of splenic CD4 dendritic cells (DCs) was reduced in 5757-treated mice, while there w