BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress and related DNA damage in human sperm may be important for fecundity and pregnancy outcome. METHODS: We studied the level of oxidative DNA damage in terms of 7-hydro-8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) in sperm DNA among 225 first-pregnancy planners. Over the six menstrual cycle follow-up time, after cessation of contraception, 135 pregnancies were conceived. RESULTS: Th

BACKGROUND Calcium (Ca2+) supplementation has been shown paradoxically to reduce intracellular Ca2+ and induce vascular relaxation. The aim of the study was to assess 24-h blood pressure (BP) change after Ca2+ supplementation and to investigate its relation to changes in intracellular ions and the activity of the first isoform of sodium-hydrogen exchange (NHE-1) in subjects with hypertension and t

Experience in using rapidly internalizing antibodies, such as the anti-CD22 antibody, for radioimmunotherapy of B-cell lymphomas is still limited. The present study was conducted to assess the efficacy and toxicity of a 131I-labeled anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody (mAb), LL2, in patients with B-cell lymphomas failing first- or second-line chemotherapy. Eligible patients were required to have measura

It is known that solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibers can be equilibrated directly within environmental matrices such as water, sediment and soil slurries. Here it is shown that this method can also be applied to biological tissue. SPME extraction of biological matrices reportedly causes lipophilic fouling of the fiber. However, we found no significant measurement bias when combining equilibr

Abstract is not available

Introduction: The gene encoding TGFBI is a strong functional candidate for genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis. Several polymorphisms have been identified in TGFB1, and previous work has suggested that allelic variants of TGFBI. may regulate BMD and susceptibility to osteoporotic fracture. Materials and Methods: We studied the relationship between common polymorphisms of TGFBI and several osteo

Rectal swabs were collected from Antarctic fur seal pups Arctocephalus gazella at Cape Shirreff, South Shetland Islands, and analyzed for the presence of anthropogenic pathogens. Two of the 33 pups tested positive for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). These samples are the first records of EPEC in Antarctic wildlife and suggest that more needs to be done to protect the Antarctic fauna from

A technique based on progressive fumigation was used to reduce soil microbial biodiversity, and the effects of such reductions upon the stability of key soil processes were measured. Mineral soil samples from a grassland were fumigated with chloroform for up to 24 h and then incubated for 5 months to allow recolonisation by surviving organisms. The diversity of cultivable and non-cultivable bacter

The immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin induces an efficient and specific lesion of low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor-bearing cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain. Intraventricular injection of 192 IgG-saporin, which caused a complete loss of cholinergic afferents to the hippocampus and neocortex and a partial denervation of amygdala and piriform cortex, was found to markedly facilitate the

The evolution of female promiscuity poses an intriguing problem as benefits of mating with multiple males often have to arise via indirect, genetic, effects. Studies on birds have documented that multiple paternity is common in natural populations but strong evidence for selection via female benefits is lacking. In an attempt to evaluate the evidence more broadly, we review studies of multiple pat

PIP: At the University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, researchers grouped healthy nulliparous women aged 19-25 into current, former, and never users of low-dose combined oral contraceptives (OCs) to examine the effect of the OCs on the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The subjects were from two independent samples. Based on the day the blood was sampled, their

The prevailing attitudes regarding diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in patients with polycythaemia vera (PV) among Swedish haematologists were surveyed by way of a mailed questionnaire in August 2002. Among diagnostic procedures frequent use is reported for arterial O-2 saturation, spleen size determination, bone marrow histology, serum erythropoietin, serum cobalamins and leukocyte alkaline

We consider a class of non-invertible piecewise affine hyperbolic endomorphisms with singularities and show that for an open set of parameters there exists almost surely an absolutely continuous invariant measure. Also, exponential decay of correlations is proved for Holder continuous functions.

The taxonomic status of populations of rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) is still enigmatic. Northern populations differ from southern ones in breeding phenology, song characteristics and head ornaments used as mating signals. We conducted a molecular analysis using mitochondrial DNA sequencing to test if there is a gene flow barrier between northern (subtropical) populations and southern

The production of complex three-dimensional dendritic structures is an important step in the application of semiconductor nanowires. One promising method for achieving this is the sequential seeding of multiple generations of epitaxial nanowires using metal seed particles. However, it is difficult to control and predict the position of second and higher generation nanowires with respect to the fir

OBJECTIVE: The absence of infra-popliteal runoff in patients with acute limb ischemia and thrombosed popliteal aneurysms carries a high risk of amputation. A combined treatment method involving thrombolysis and surgery is reported. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Information regarding six patients was reviewed. Ankle brachial indices and degree of ischemia were recorded. All patients underwent digital subtr

High signal-to-noise ratio spectra of RR Tel obtained at medium resolution with the Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are used to test available atomic data for the O IV 2s(2)2p P-2-2s2p(2) P-4 multiplet (UV 0.01). The fine-structure intervals of the 2s2p(2) P-4 term given by Moore (1983) appear to need revision. The flux ratios of lines within multipl

Swallowing has hitherto been evaluated during physical examination, radiologic barium studies, manometry, and cervical auscultation. Radiography principally demonstrates qualitative aspects of oral and pharyngeal function, whereas quantitative aspects have primarily been documented by manometry. To evaluate swallowing quantitatively, without using invasive methods or radiation, we have applied a c