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According to the leading hypothesis on testicular cancer (TC) etiology exposure to a specific pattern of steroid hormones in utero, in particular, to high levels of estrogens and low levels of androgens is the major determinant of TC risk in the offspring. We performed a case-referent study nested within Finnish, Swedish and Icelandic maternity cohorts exploiting early pregnancy serum samples to e

Deficit sialylation of vascular endothelium, circulating cells and macromolecules has been associated with the development of atherosclerosis. On the other hand, an elevated serum level of sialic acid is a long-lasting marker of atherosclerosis and complications from atherosclerosis. One may speculate that the inverse associations with atherosclerosis risk are due to some common underlying cause.

Aqueous aerosols produced by nebulizers used in clinical situations can rapidly change size as the patient inhales. This is caused by air with a relative humidity (RH) lower than inside the nebulizer being entrained and mixed with nebulized aerosol during the inhalation maneuver. A way to assess the change in size is to measure the aerosol in a test method that reflects the clinical situation. The

Aim. Calcium phosphate deposition in blood vessels is correlated to increased mortality risk. In this study, the formation of solid calcium phosphate in an in vitro solution mimicking the inorganic part of blood serum was studied. Methods. The precipitates formed were analyzed using several experimental techniques, including infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectr

Ferrochelatase (EC 4.99.1.1) catalyzes the last reaction in the heme biosynthetic pathway. The enzyme was studied in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, for which the ferrochelatase three-dimensional structure is known. Two conserved amino acid residues, S54 and Q63, were changed to alanine by site-directed mutagenesis in order to detect any function they might have. The effects of these changes were

BACKGROUND: Earlier studies have shown that physical exercise and a higher workload increase muscle strength and improve gait and balance at all ages for both sexes. Published studies have, so far, failed to investigate the functional performance of elderly individuals concerning their long-term physical activity and variables of daily living. OBJECTIVE: To compare elderly women who participate in

Mammalian leukotriene A4 (LTA4) hydrolase is a bifunctional zinc metalloenzyme possessing an Arg/Ala aminopeptidase and an epoxide hydrolase activity, which converts LTA4 into the chemoattractant LTB4. We have previously cloned an LTA4 hydrolase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with a primitive epoxide hydrolase activity and a Leu aminopeptidase activity, which is stimulated by LTA4. Here we used a m

Both benign and malignant prostate diseases elevate total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA), and the incidence of benign disease increases markedly with age. There is evidence, however, that free-to-total PSA ratio (%fPSA) and human kallikrein 2 (hK2) more closely reflect the malignant process. We tested the hypothesis that tPSA levels are more strongly predictive of cancer in younger when compared

Intragranular porosity and liquid saturation were influenced by the impeller speed, the loss-on-drying of starch, the added amount of water and the drug concentration. A reduction of the impeller speed and the drug concentration decreased the porosity and increased the liquid saturation. Response surface contours were plotted.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Irena Daily Activity (IDA) assessment which measures occupational performance in adults with developmental disabilities. The instrument's content validity was investigated by elucidating its general appropriateness, its clinical applicability and the feasibility of the measurement procedure. Data were collected from a multidisciplina

Alkaline sphingomyelinase (Alk-SMase) is a key enzyme in the intestinal tract for digestion of dietary sphingomyelin (SM), which generates lipid messengers with cell-cycle regulating effects. The enzyme is significantly decreased in ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. Based on this information, we wanted to investigate whether the enzyme had preventive effects against murine colitis. We report he

To model aerosol-cloud interactions in general circulation models (GCMs), a prognostic cloud scheme of cloud liquid water and amount is expanded to include droplet number concentration (N(d)) in a way that allows them to be calculated using the same large-scale and convective updraft velocity field. In the scheme, the evolution of droplets fully interacts with the model meteorology. An explicit tr

All cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) diagnosed from 1987 to 1991 in the Southern Health Care Region of Sweden, and operated upon with breast conserving treatment (BCT) with (n=66) or without (n=121) postoperative radiation (RT) were clinically followed, morphologically re-evaluated and analysed for cell biological factors (immunohistochemical assays or DNA flow cytometry). Median age at di

BACKGROUND: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is gaining increased popularity in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal lesions; and, in many patients, a definitive diagnosis can be rendered from aspiration smears alone. The main limitation of FNAC of soft tissue and bone neoplasms is in the evaluation of tissue architecture. In addition cytologic specimens are not always adequate for ancillary stu