Objective: Young adults with childhood-onset GH deficiency (GHD) have reduced memory and attention, which can be improved by treatment with GH. Little information is available on cognitive function in elderly GHD patients. Design: Single center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of 52-week duration. Methods: Elderly GH therapy naive GHD patients (n = 34; age range 60-77 years) wer

PURPOSE: The use of conformal radiation therapy has grown substantially during the last years since three-dimensional (3D) treatment planning systems with beams-eye-view planning has become commercially available. We studied the degree of conformity reached in clinical routines for some common diagnoses treated at our department by calculating a radiation conformity index (RCI). METHODS AND MATERI

Objectives: To develop evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis of hand osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: The multidisciplinary guideline development group, representing 15 European countries, generated 10 key propositions regarding diagnosis using a Delphi consensus approach. For each recommendation, research evidence was searched for systematically. Whenever possible, the sensitivity, specif

A Primary Reference Preparation has been produced using pure, recombinant, Cystatin C in a solvent of 0.1 mol/L KCl. Dry mass determination of the Primary Reference Preparation resulted in a Cystatin C concentration of 5.20 g/L. Agarose-electrophoresis and SDS-electrophoresis, as well as N-terminal sequencing, verified the purity, homogeneity and identity of Cystatin C in the Primary Reference Pre

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) and other long terminal repeat (LTR)–containing elements comprise a significant portion (8%) of the human genome and are likely vestiges of retroviral infections during primate evolution. Many of the HERVs present in human DNA have retained functional promoter, enhancer, and polyadenylation signals, and these regulatory sequences have the potential to modify t

We studied the physiological, metabolic and hormonal mechanisms underlying the elevated risk of type 2 diabetes in carriers of TCF7L2 gene. We undertook genotyping of 81 healthy young Danish men for rs7903146 of TCF7L2 and carried out various beta cell tests including: 24 h glucose, insulin and glucagon profiles; OGTT; mixed meal test; IVGTT; hyperglycaemic clamp with co-infusion of glucagon-like

Ga diffusion from focused ion beam (FIB) milled grooves has been studied using x-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM) and mirror electron microscopy (MEM). We analyze the surface chemistry of the FIB structures measuring the Ga presence in the top layers of the milled grooves and morphological defects inside the grooves. The Ga is initially strictly confined to the grooves. However, annea

OBJECTIVE: To explore a possible temporal association between changes in antidepressant sales and suicide rates in different age groups. METHODS: A time series analysis using a two-slope model to compare suicide rates in Sweden before and after introduction of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs. RESULTS: Antidepressant sales increased between 1977-1979 and 1995-1997 in men from 4.2

Global extinction of a species is sadly irreversible. At a local scale, however, extinctions may be followed by re-invasion. We here show that this is not necessarily the case and that an ecological community may close its doors for re-invasion of species lost from it. Previous studies of how communities are assembled have shown that there may be rules for that process and that limitations are set

Sanfilippo syndrome type B (mucopolysaccharidosis III B) is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by deficiency of alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase, one of the enzymes required for the lysosomal degradation of heparan sulfate. The gene for this enzyme, NAGLU, recently was isolated, and several mutations were characterized. We have identified, in amplified exons from nine fibroblast cell lines der

Through ethnographic accounts, the method of heat treatment of silica materials to improve the flaking qualities is shown to have been known almost worldwide. Some mesolithic and neolithic flint artifacts from southern Sweden were examined in order to determine if they too were heat treated. From several methods proving or indicating thermal alteration of flint, analysis using scanning electron mi

Objective: To determine whether genetic amniocentesis performed in the second trimester of pregnancy is associated with the risk of preterm delivery. Study design: Case–control study performed in several departments of obstetrics and gynaecology of nine European countries. Three thousand and ninety-one preterm births and 5298 controls randomly selected from singleton births born at term during 199

This paper presents a method for frequency estimation in a power system by demodulation of two complex signals. In power system analysis, the αβ-transform is used to convert three phase quantities to a complex quantity where the real part is the in-phase component and the imaginary part is the quadrature component. This complex signal is demodulated with a known complex phasor rotating in opposite

Background. Only a minority of the potential candidates for lung donation are considered suitable, using current evaluation methods. A new method for ex vivo evaluation, with the potential for reconditioning of marginal and nonacceptable lungs, has been developed. This is a report of the ex vivo evaluation of six donor lungs deemed nonacceptable (arterial oxygen pressure less than 40 kPa) by the S

Background. The effect of dexamethasone (Dex) on postnatal bone formation processes is known to decrease the synthesis of collagen and bone matrix, but the effect of alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is to induce positive effects on growth and skeletal development during postnatal life. However, the effects of Dex and AKG treatment on the prenatal processes of skeletal development have not been investigat

The spin-forbidden reaction of Fe(CO)(4)+CO -> Fe(CO)(5) has been investigated with multiconfigurational quantum chemical methods (CASSCF/CASPT2). The structure of the minimum energy crossing point ( MECP) between the singlet and triplet energy surfaces as well as the equilibrium structures of Fe(CO)(5) ( a singlet state) and Fe(CO)(4) ( a triplet state) has been determined. The partition rational

Background. Persistent pain is a common problem for older people. Knowledge about how nursing and paramedical staff perceive these people and what they do to relieve the pain seems scarce. Aim. To explore nursing and paramedical staff perceptions of older people in persistent pain and their day-to-day management of pain. Methods. Interviews in Swedish with 52 nursing auxiliaries, Registered Nurs

The purpose of this case report is to describe a new intervention, the Interactive Metronome, for improving timing and coordination. A nine-year-old boy, with difficulties in attention and developmental delay of unspecified origin underwent a seven-week training program with the Interactive Metronome. Before, during, and after training timing, accuracy was assessed with testing procedures consiste