Context: Both leukocyte telomere length and IGF-I are associated with the aging process. A previous in vitro study suggested that IGF-I may modulate telomerase activity in white blood cells, but little is known whether these two systems interact in vivo. Patients and Methods: Leukocyte telomere length was determined using a quantitative PCR assay in 2744 elderly men (mean age 75.5 yr, range 69-81

Quality is an aspect of high importance in software development projects. The software organizations have to ensure that the quality of their developed products is what the customers expect. Thus, the organizations have to verify that the product is functioning as expected and validate that the product is what the customers expect. Empirical studies have shown that in many software development pro

Coagulation factor V (FV) is activated by thrombin through proteolytic cleavage at Arg-709, Arg-1018 and Arg-1545. Upon thrombin activation, the active form of factor V (FVa) is formed. FVa functions as a cofactor to factor Xa in the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin during coagulation. Recently, it was shown that in addition to being a precursor form of the procoagulant FVa, FV functions as a

Natural killer (NK) cells and T lymphocytes are the major effector cells that can recognize and kill tumor cells. NK cells have a constitutive cytotoxic activity and kill a wide spectrum of tumor cells while T cells recognize specific tumor antigens and need to be activated through their TCR to differentiate into cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) killers or T helper cells. Interleukin-2 is the principa

Enterostatin is a peptide formed in the stomach and intestine during the activation of pancreatic/gastric procolipase. Procolipase is a necessary cofactor for lipase. These two proteins contribute to the breakdown of dietary triglycerides in the intestine. Enterostatin has been found to act as a satiety factor, selectively inhibiting fat intake both through sites in the gastrointestinal tract and

Gifts have been given and received in all eras and societies; gifts are part of a universal human exchange. The importance of creating and sustaining social bonds with the help of gifts is widely acknowledged by social scientists, not only from anthropological but also from economic, sociological, and political science perspectives. Contemporary anti-corruption campaigns, however, have gifts to be

When a person becomes critically ill, injured and/or undergoes major surgery and requires intensive care, a complex dilemma can arise. The condition of the illness, the specific caring situation and the environment lead to significant changes and effects in the senses and perceptional abilities. Under these conditions some patients can develop symptoms of the Intensive Care Unit syndrome/delirium.

Hypoglycaemia is an acute complication to insulin-treatment in type 1 diabetes mellitus, which affects many physiological parameters, deteriorates the cognitive function, and may lead to death. The aim of this thesis was to study nerve function, cognitive function and cerebral blood flow during and after hypoglycaemia in healthy subjects and to study certain aspects of a fall in blood glucose in p

Objective. To describe factors associated with the development of stroke during long-term follow-up after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the LoWASA trial. Patients. Patients who had been hospitalized for AMI were randomized within 42 days to receive either warfarin 1.25 mg plus aspirin 75 mg daily or aspirin 75 mg alone. Design. The study was performed according to the probe design, that is

Severely deficient activity of the von Willebrand Factor (VWF) cleaving metalloprotease,ADAMTS 13, is associated with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The mutation spectrum ofADAMTS 13 is rather heterogeneous, and numerous mutations spread across the gene have been described in association with congenital TTP. The 4143insA mutation is unusual with respect to its geographic concentration.

Allochthonous organic carbon in aquatic systems is metabolized by heterotrophic bacteria, with significant consequences for the biostructure and energy pathways of freshwater ecosystems. The degree to which allochthonous substrates support growth of bacteria is largely dependent on bacterial growth efficiency (BGE), i.e., bacterial production ( BP) per unit of assimilated carbon. Here we show how

Children developing type 1 diabetes may have risk markers already in their umbilical cord blood. It is hypothesized that the risk for type 1 diabetes at an early age may be increased by a pathogenic pregnancy and be reflected in altered cord-blood composition. In this study metabolomics was used to test if the cord-blood lipidome was affected in children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes before eight

A number of amyloidogenic variants of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) have been discovered but most have not been analyzed. Previously, we showed that the G26R mutation of apoA-I leads to increased β-strand structure, increased N-terminal protease susceptibility and increased fibril formation after several days of incubation. In vivo, this and other variants mutated in the N-terminal domain (residues