Telomeres are essential structures for maintaining chromosomal stability and their length has been reported to correlate with cancer risk and clinical outcome. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding telomere-associated proteins could affect telomere length and chromosomal stability by influencing gene expression or protein configuration in the telomeres. Here, we report the resul

Aims: The aim of the study was to compare alcohol use, consequences and common risk factors between American and Swedish college students. Methods: A secondary comparative analysis from one American and two Swedish studies in college settings. Results: Swedish freshmen report higher alcohol use than US freshmen students. Swedish residence hall students report higher alcohol use than US residence h

Sharp transmission resonances have been observed in the U-235(d, Pf) U-236 reaction. The shapes of the resonances as well as the angular distributions of the associated fission fragments are analyzed together with the data obtained previously for U-234. The resonances are interpreted as being hyperdeformed rotational bands with (h) over bar(2)/2 theta = 1.8(-0.7)(+0.5) and 1.6(-0.4)(+1.0) keV and

The purpose of this study was to develop an automated method for the segmentation of the heart in a 3-D cardiac scintigram. This is immediately useful for eliminating a manual step in a previous version of a decision support system. The automatic segmentation method uses a statistical 3D-model, inspired by Active Shape, which locates the base and apex automatically from a cardiac scintigram. Key f

Objective: We examined polymorphisms in the HDL receptor, SR-BI, for association with plasma HDL cholesterol levels. Methods: Study subjects, including 847 women and 725 men, were from families originally ascertained for type 2 diabetes from Finland, Sweden and Israel. Four common polymorphisms were examined in linear regression analysis: an exon 1 missense (EX1), exon 8 silent (EX8), intron 5 (IV

This article proposes nonparametric inference procedures for analyzing microarray gene expression data that are reliable, robust, and simple to implement. They are conceptually transparent and require no special-purpose software. The analysis begins by normalizing gene expression data in a unique way. The resulting adjusted observations consist of gene-treatment interaction terms ( representing di

The dynamic crack growth in ductile steel is investigated by means of the impact loaded 3 point bending (3PB) specimens. Results from experiments and numerical simulations are compared to each other. A modified 3PB specimen designed with the reduced width at its ends has been developed in order to avoid the initial compressive loading of the crack tip and also to avoid the uncertain boundary condi

Design. In a longitudinal study, 335 children ages 8, 11 and 14, first studied in 1989 were followed-up on two occasions in 1991 and 2002. The subjects filled in questionnaires on pain, the first two times in school, the last as a postal survey. Purposes. To determine if headache and back pain during the school years were transitory or if they grew into pain problems in adulthood; to determine pre

Three rotational bands in Kr-74 were studied up to (in one case one transition short of) the maximum spin I-max of their respective single-particle configurations. Their lifetimes have been determined using the Doppler-shift attenuation method. The deduced transition quadrupole moments reveal a modest decrease, but far from a complete loss of collectivity at the maximum spin I-max. This feature, t

Many common diseases are known to have genetic components, but since they are non-Mendelian, i.e. a large number of genetic factors affect the phenotype, these components are difficult to localize. These traits are often called complex and analysis of siblings is a valuable tool for mapping them. It has been shown that the power of the affected relative pairs method to detect linkage of a disease

The phase behavior of aqueous mixtures of a nonionic surfactant, hexaethylene glycol dodecyl ether (C12E6), was investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (C-13 NMR) spectroscopy, The T-X phase diagram of this system was constructed from the DSC results. Comparison of the phase diagram with

This paper explores and describes the impact of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology on inventory accuracy within a production and assembly plant, and proposes a model for assessing the impact of the technology on inventory accuracy. The empirical investigation, based on case study research, focuses on a RFID implementation at a supplier of bumper and spoiler systems to the automotive

The haptophyte Prymnesium parvum is known to produce a set of highly potent exotoxins, commonly called prymnesins. These toxins have been shown to have several biological activities, including ichthyotoxic, neurotoxic, cytotoxic, hepatotoxic and hemolytic activity towards a range of marine organisms. In addition, recent studies have shown that the toxicity of P parvum is enhanced when the cells ar

Aqueous mixtures of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes undergo associative phase separation, resulting in coacervation, gelation, or precipitation. This phenomenon has been exploited here to form DNA gel particles by interfacial diffusion. We report on the formation of DNA gel particles by mixing solutions of DNA (either single-stranded (ssDNA) or double-stranded (dsDNA)) with solutions of cation

Existing research on supranational autonomy in the European Union (EU) is predominantly concerned with political and judicial agenda-setting, whereas the supranational institutions' capacity to exert independent influence in post-decisional enforcement has received more limited attention. Employing principal-agent analysis, this article explores an important component of the supranational institut

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of denervation and alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) administration on the development of osteopenia in the turkey radius. At 22 d of age, all turkeys were subjected to neurectomy of the right radius. Control turkeys were given a saline solution into the crop each day for 97 d. Experimental turkeys were given 0.4 g of AKG/kg of BW into the crop each da

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe form of mental retardation, which is caused by spontaneous mutations in the X-linked gene MECP2. How the loss of MeCP2 function leads to RTT is currently unknown. Mice lacking the Mecp2 gene initially show normal postnatal development but later acquire neurological phenotypes, including heightened anxiety, that resemble RTT. The MECP2 gene encodes a methyl-CpG-bindi

A lab-scale continuous microalgal culture was grown on sterile-filtered wastewater in order to clarify the phosphorus removing mechanisms in a microalgal treatment step that treats residual phosphorus from a hydroponic wastewater treatment pilot plant. The phosphorus assimilation was dependent on algal biomass production, whereas the chemical precipitation was dependent on phosphorus load, i.e. an

Two different self-adjoint Pauli extensions describing a spin-1/2 two-dimensional quantum system with singular magnetic field are studied. An Aharonov-Casher type formula is proved for the maximal Pauli extension and the possibility of approximation of the two different self-adjoint extensions by operators with regular magnetic fields is investigated.