Context: Sex steroid levels decrease with increasing age, but little is known whether this is of importance for the age-related decline in cognitive function. Design and Patients: A cross-sectional study of 50 (26 men) consecutive patients under primary evaluation of cognitive impairment (D group) and 18 (9 men) matched healthy controls (C group). Measurements: Sex steroid and precursor levels wer

The fictitious crack model is a non-linear fracture mechanics representation which has been well known and generally accepted for application to concrete fracture for about 10 years. It is a general model which in principle is applicable to all kinds of materials. At present, however, practical and numerical difficulties prevent its application to many types of materials, particularly to metals. I

Retinoic acid (RA) is an important morphogen that regulates many biological processes, including the development of the central nervous system (CNS). Its synthesis from vitamin A (retinol) occurs in two steps, with the second reaction - catalyzed by retinal dehydrogenases (RALDHs) - long considered to be crucial for tissue-specific RA production in the embryo. We have recently identified the Xenop

In 1997, a German group demonstrated that the antigen of the biomarker EMA (endomysial antibodies) in coeliac disease is a calcium-dependent thiol enzyme, transglutaminase type 2 (TG2). This most important discovery opened up an exciting field of research aimed at a better understanding of the pathogenesis of coeliac disease, a T-cell-driven autoimmune disorder with a prevalence of about 1%. The a

Studies have found higher survival rates after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and admission to tertiary heart centers. The aim was to examine the level-of-care at tertiary centers compared with nontertiary hospitals and the association with outcome after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

On the 700 MeV MAX III ring at MAX-lab, a 6.65 m off-axis eagle type monochromator beamline has recently been commissioned. The beamline is sourced by an apple type variable polarization undulator. The energy range of the beamline is 4.6-50 eV and the resolving power achieved is more than 100,000. There are two branch lines, one for angle and spin resolved photoemission studies from solids and the

The microstructure and the capillary pressure of the pore space are important variables for better understanding of the complex phenomena occurring during vacuum impregnation (VI) of plant tissues. In this study, we used GASMAS (Gas in Scattering Media Absorption Spectroscopy) of oxygen to, non-destructively, measure the dynamics of the internal pressure in apple pieces after restoration of the at

Mitigation measures, especially municipal energy infrastructure transformation, have been the focus of Sweden’s climate change responses. Recently, adaptation measures have grown in priority and planners are challenged to integrate mitigation and adaptation. In our study, we observe how synergies and conflicts in adaptation, mitigation, and other social and economic dimensions of spatial planning

We analyzed prevalence rates of syphilis (positive Treponema pallidum hemagglutinin antigen/T. pallidum particle antigen and venereal disease research laboratory test) among police officers in Guinea-Bissau from 1990 to 2010 and found a significant decline from 4.5% to 0.4% (P = 0.0065). Our results are in line with other recent reports from West Africa. More research is needed to identify the rea

The mechanisms of neutral dissociation of oxygen molecules in the excitation energy range 15–25 eV have been studied in a dispersed fluorescence experiment. By detecting the fluorescence from excited oxygen atoms, we find that neutral superexcited O2 states below 20 eV dissociate into O(g.s.)+O(3s,3p). At higher excitation energies (hν=20–25 eV) the curve-crossing interactions following excitation

The aim of the study was to investigate and compare the ability to make inferences in three groups of children ranging from 5;2 to 10;9 years: 10 children with cerebral palsy (CP), 10 children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH) and 10 children with pragmatic language impairment (PLI). The relationship between inferential and literal comprehension was investigated by analysing atypical respo

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) results in 2 types of tissue deformation, macrodeformation (ie, wound contraction) and microdeformation (ie, the interaction of tissue and dressing on a microscopic level). These effects have been delineated for one type of wound filler, foam, but not for gauze. The mechanical deformation initiates a signaling cascade which ultimately leads to wound healing.

Angiogenesis and increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier have been reported to occur in animal models of Parkinson's disease and l-dopa-induced dyskinesia, but the significance of these phenomena has remained unclear. Using a validated rat model of l-dopa-induced dyskinesia, this study demonstrates that chronic treatment with l-dopa dose dependently induces the expression of vascular end

The terrestrial biosphere is a key regulator of atmospheric chemistry and climate. During past periods of climate change, vegetation cover and interactions between the terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere changed within decades. Modern observations show a similar responsiveness of terrestrial biogeochemistry to anthropogenically forced climate change and air pollution. Although interactions betwee

Although an important biomarker in breast cancer, Ki67 lacks scoring standardization, which has limited its clinical use. Our previous study found variability when laboratories used their own scoring methods on centrally stained tissue microarray slides. In this current study, 16 laboratories from eight countries calibrated to a specific Ki67 scoring method and then scored 50 centrally MIB-1 stain

The majority of reported complex disease associations for common genetic variants have been identified through meta-analysis, a powerful approach that enables the use of large sample sizes while protecting against common artifacts due to population structure and repeated small-sample analyses sharing individual-level data. As the focus of genetic association studies shifts to rare variants, genes