The 999del5 mutation is the single, strong BRCA2 founder mutation in Iceland and the most common BRCA1/2 founder mutation in Finland. To evaluate the origin and time since spreading of the 999del5 mutation in Iceland and in Finland, we constructed haplotypes with polymorphic markers within and flanking the BRCA2 gene in a set of 18 Icelandic and 10 Finnish 999del5 breast cancer families. All Icela

Organic farming may contribute substantially to future agricultural production worldwide by improving soil quality and pest control, thereby reducing environmental impacts of conventional farming. We investigated in a comprehensive way soil chemical, as well as below and aboveground biological parameters of two organic and two conventional wheat farming systems that primarily differed in fertiliza

The closely related dioecious herbs Silene latifolia and Silene dioica are widespread and predominantly sympatric in Europe. The species are interfertile, but morphologically and ecologically distinct. A study of large-scale patterns of plastid DNA (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) haplotypes in a sample of 198 populations from most of the European ranges of both

When a child is hospitalized, the parents find themselves in an unfamiliar environment and their parental role changes. They are in a stressful and often anxiety-filled situation and it may be difficult for them to participate in decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which parents participate in decisions during the course of events when their child is hospitalized. Thi

Aim: To evaluate the characteristics, outcome and prognostic factors among children suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden. Methods: Patients aged below 18 years suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest which were not crew witnessed and included in the Swedish cardiac arrest registry were included in the survey. This survey included the period 1990-2001 and 60 ambulance organ

Monocot residues such as corn stover and straw are often not fully exploited and constitute a potential substrate for bioethanol production. However, a number of factors such as high enzyme loadings make large-scale utilization economically difficult. Addition of non-ionic surfactants and poly(ethylene glycol) to enzymatic hydrolysis of various lignocellulosic substrates has been found to increase

The R2 protein subunit of class I ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) belongs to a structurally related family of oxygen bridged diiron proteins. In wild-type R2 of Escherichia coli, reductive cleavage of molecular oxygen by the diferrous iron center generates a radical on a nearby tyrosine residue (Tyr122), which is essential for the enzymatic activity of RNR, converting ribonucleotides into deoxyribo

Aim: To examine the prevalence and characteristics of uncontrolled hypertension (HT). Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study (1992-93) was carried out in Skara, Sweden, including 894 patients who consecutively underwent an annual follow-up at the hypertension outpatient clinic in primary care. Controlled HT was defined as diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 160 mmHg and DBP 5.5 mmol/l more o

Nanovials, microarrays, and microfluidics are brought together for the exploration of complex biological problems.

The enzyme chloroperoxidase (CPO) found in Calclariomyces fumago is able to catalyze several stereoselective oxidation reaction by using a dean oxidant, usually hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), without the need for expensive cofactor generation. CPO's lack of operational stability however, is a major limitation for its commercial use. In the present study, a capillary-LC on-line trypsin- digestion system

In situ postgrowth annealing of (Ga,Mn)As layers under As capping is adequate for achieving high Curie temperatures (T-C) in a similar way as ex situ annealing in air or in N-2 atmosphere practiced earlier. Thus, the first efforts give an increase of T-C from 68 to 145 K after 2 h annealing at 180 degrees C. These data, in combination with lattice parameter determinations and photoemission results

Tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) regulate the breakdown of extracellular matrix components and play an important role in tissue remodelling and growth, in both physiological and pathological conditions. We studied the autoimmune response to TIMPs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Eighty- nine paired blood and synovial fluid samples from patients with RA were assesse

Complement is involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and has also a seemingly paradoxical protective role in the development of the disease. Low levels of components within the classical pathway of complement especially C1q, C4 and C3 have a high specificity for SLE diagnosis and should be considered as promising for inclusion in classification criteria of SLE.

Podophyllotoxin (CPH86), at concentrations of 5 ng/ml or more, inhibited [3H]-thymidine uptake of ConA-induced proliferation of human peripheral mononuclear blood cells. Tween80, the detergent included in the anti-inflammatory drug Proresid, containing podophyllum lignan derivatives, also inhibited lymphocyte proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Combination of the two drugs did not, or did on

We describe a new method for gas flux measurements that is a combination of differential absorption lidar (DIAL) and wind videography. The wind speed was measured by an imaging method that calculates the horizontal displacement of the plume with cross-correlation techniques. High spatial and temporal resolution is achieved with histogram equalization and window-filtering techniques. Simultaneous m

Objective - People living in eastern Finland have approximate to 40% higher coronary heart disease mortality rates than western Finns. Whether this is because of genetic or environmental factors is unknown. We examined the effect of geographic family origin on subclinical atherosclerosis among young Finns. Methods and Results - As part of a longitudinal follow-up study, we measured carotid intima-

The adsorption of two cationic amphiphilic polyelectrolytes, which are copolymers of two charged monomers, triethyl(vinylbenzyl)ammonium chloride and dimethyldodecyl(vinylbenzyl)ammonium chloride (which is the amphiphilic one) with different contents of amphiphilic groups (40% (40DT) and 80% (80DT)), onto the hydrophilic silica-aqueous solution interface has been studied by in situ null ellipsomet

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between coagulation factor level and bleeding frequency during prophylactic treatment of haemophilia after stratification of the patients according to joint scores. The secondary aim was to obtain a systematic overview of the doses of coagulation factors prescribed for prophylaxis at the Malmo haemophilia treatment centre d