Probiotics have been hypothesized to affect immunologic responses to environmental exposures by supporting healthy gut microbiota and could therefore theoretically be used to prevent the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM)-associated islet autoimmunity.

This longitudinal study used a multi-disciplinary approach and examined the relationship between psychosocial and health characteristics and the pattern of informal and formal support for non-institutionalized very old people. The data were derived from a single cohort of 80-year-old people living in Lund, Sweden who were followed over a 3-year period. In order to account for potential sample bias

BACKGROUND Although evidence suggests that some occupations may be a risk factor for small-for-gestational age (SGA) birth, associations between a wide range of maternal and paternal occupations and risk of SGA births remain unclear. Our objective was to analyze the risk of SGA births by parental occupation, including the entire Swedish population of mothers (>/=20 years) and fathers. METHODS We l

Disseminated melanoma is an aggressive disease with fatal outcome. Better understanding of the underlying biology is needed to find effective treatment. We applied microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization, gene expression and CpG island methylation analysis of primary tumors and multiple metastases from five melanoma patients with the aim of analyzing the molecular patterns of melanoma p

Smoking is an important cardiovascular risk factor and smoking cessation should be a primary target in secondary prevention after a myocardial infarction (MI).

Background It has been hypothesised that the presence of health-damaging factors and lack of health-promoting factors lie in the causal pathway between neighbourhood deprivation and coronary heart disease (CHD). This study is the first to examine the associations between individual-level CHD risk and neighbourhood availability of fast-food restaurants, bars/pubs, physical activity facilities and h

BACKGROUND: Optimal glucose control in juvenile type 1 diabetes mellitus is necessary but not sufficient to reduce the burden of cardiovascular events in later life. This emphasizes the importance of searching for other possible risk factors associated with diabetes. We investigated whether recurrent episodes of acute respiratory infections and exposure to tobacco smoke could influence vascular ph

OBJECTIVE:: Sweden experienced a marked epidemic of celiac disease between 1984 and 1996 in children younger than 2 years of age, partly explained by changes in infant feeding. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of celiac disease in 12-year-olds born during the epidemic (1993), including both symptomatic and screening detected cases. PATIENTS AND METHODS:: All sixth-grade

Since the 1990s, numerous studies on the relationship between parents and their children have been reported on in the literature and implemented as a philosophy of care in most paediatric units. The purpose of this article is to understand the process of nurses' care for children in a paediatric setting by using Noddings's caring ethics theory. Noddings's theory is in part described from a theoret

OBJECTIVE: This article, based on the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial (EMGT), provides prospective natural history data on progression of glaucomatous field defects in 3 of the most common glaucoma types. DESIGN: Cohort of EMGT patients randomized to the untreated control group and followed up to the time of progression, when treatment could be initiated. PARTICIPANTS: We evaluated 118 control patie

Recent studies in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) have provided evidence that dopamine released from spared serotonin afferents can act as a trigger of dyskinetic movements induced by repetitive, low doses of levodopa. Serotonin neurons have the capacity to store and release dopamine synthesized from systemically administered levodopa. However, because of the lack of any autoregulatory f

The resonance spectroscopic techniques - level-crossing, optical double resonance and quantum-beat spectroscopy - have been employed following pulsed laser excitation. The use of pulsed lasers has enabled spectroscopic studies of atomic structures and radiative lifetimes in the UV/VUV spectral region.

OBJECTIVE: Gene expression alterations, especially in target tissues of insulin, have been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we examined if genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) show differential gene expression and DNA methylation in pancreatic islets from patients with T2D compared with non-diabetic donors. DESIGN AND METHODS: Gene expression was analyzed in human panc

Knowledge has become a key source of competitiveness for advanced regions and nations, indicating a transformation of capitalism towards a "knowledge economy". Knowledge intensive sectors in production and in services have a lead in this respect, they can be considered as role models for the future. The innovation process, the mechanisms of knowledge exchange and the respective linkages in those i

BACKGROUND: The presence of receptor subtypes for the inhibitory peptide somatostatin in prostatic tissue has been a controversial issue with conflicting reports. To elucidate whether prostatic epithelial cells express mRNA for somatostatin receptor (SSTR) subtype 2 and 4, we have investigated the localization of SSTR2 and SSTR4 transcripts in prostatic tissues by in situ hybridization. METHODS: N

Traditional industrial robots have problems interacting with an uncalibrated, ill-defined environment where part geometry and position may vary. Active force control technology has therefore been suggested as a solution to add the extra sensory dimension needed to handle manufacturing tasks like assembly and deburring. The technology is proposed to give increased flexibility compared to other solu

The synthesis of optically active piperidines by enantioselective addition of aryl Grignard reagents to pyridine N-oxides and lithium binolate followed by reduction is reported for the first time. The reaction results in high yields (51-94%) in combination with good ee (54-80%). Some of these products were subsequently recrystallized, affording enhanced optical purities (>99% ee).

von Willebrand disease (VWD) is a common inheritable bleeding disorder caused by deficiency of von Willebrand Factor (VWF), which is involved in platelet adhesion and aggregation. We report a family consisting of three patients with VWD characterized by an apparently normal multimeric pattern, moderately decreased plasma factor VIII (FVIII) and VWF levels, and disproportionately low plasma VWF:RCo