Debate still surrounds which level of analysis (individual vs. contextual) is most appropriate to investigate the effects of social capital on health. Applying multilevel ecometric analyses to British Household Panel Survey data, we estimated fixed and random effects between five individual-, household- and small area-level social capital indicators and general health. We further compared the vari

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Uric acid (UA) has been linked to renal damage in experimental models of kidney failure. In humans, no definitive link between UA and renal function has been established, but several epidemiologic studies have suggested that higher UA levels are associated with accelerated loss of renal function, higher incidence of dialysis, and death. Many of the associations have been

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia have been reported to induce immunomodulatory effects. We aimed to assess peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) lymphocyte status at the diagnosis and during different TKI therapies and correlate it with treatment responses.

In the simulation of multibody systems, the equations of motion are generated by so-called multibody formalisms as a system of differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). A recently developed extrapolation method for integrating the equations of motion is investigated. Extrapolation methods for ordinary differential equations are briefly reviewed, before proceeding to the DAE method. The inherent par

PURPOSE: To examine the incidence of and the indications for re-intervention, as well as the changes in aortic morphology, in patients with chronic type B aortic dissection who underwent endovascular intervention for false lumen aneurysms. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 10 patients (8 men; mean age 63 years, range 45-79) who underwent stent-graft repair of aneurysmal false lume

Evacuation models often neglect the impact of fatigue on pedestrian movement during stair evacuation. While a limited number of sub-models are available in the literature to represent fatigue during evacuations, they mostly refer to simple, fixed walking speed reductions due to physical fatigue. This paper introduces a more comprehensive conceptual model for the representation of the impact of fat

The treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has been changed by the introduction of targeted agents. Consideration of individual patient factors, such as previous treatment and prognostic risk, e.g. according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) risk criteria), can assist in ensuring that patients receive appropriate targeted therapies. Available clinical evidence show

The small leucine-rich repeat proteins (SLRPs), fibromodulin and osteoadherin, have N-terminal extensions with a variable number of O-sulfated tyrosine residues. This modification combined with a number of aspartic and glutamic acid residues results in a highly negatively charged domain of less than 30 amino acids. We hypothesized that this domain shares functional properties with heparin regardin

A multicolor fluorescence imaging system applied to medical diagnostics is described. The system presented simultaneously records four fluorescence images in different wavelength bands, permitting low-resolution spectroscopy imaging. An arithmetic function image of the four spectral images is constructed by a pixel-to-pixel calculation and is presented on a monitor in false-color coding. A sensiti

The collection of genetic variants that cause inherited disease (causative mutation) has occurred for decades albeit in an ad hoc way, for research and clinical purposes. More recently, the access to collections of mutations causing specific diseases has become essential for appropriate genetic health care. Because information has accumulated, it has become apparent that there are many gaps in our

We compared the efficiency of some commercially available products and methods used for remediation of mould-contaminated building materials. Samples of gypsum board and pinewood were artificially contaminated with toxin-producing isolates of Stachybotrys chartarum and Aspergillus versicolor, respectively, then, ten different remediation treatments were applied according to the manufacturers' inst

We recently have shown that samples from microdialysis (MD) probes placed on the surface of the heart reflect metabolic events in the myocardium. This new interesting observation challenges us to consider whether surface application of MD applies to other parenchymatous organs and their surfaces. In 13 anesthetized pigs, transient liver ischaemia was achieved by occlusion of arterial and venous in

Although animal studies have raised concern that the influence of endocrine-disrupting compounds would obstruct the development of the male reproductive system, in general, exposure levels far above those found in humans have been needed to induce reproductive toxicity in animal models. Human data are inconclusive and have evoked the question whether endocrine-disrupting compounds can have any imp

Oxidative stress has been suggested as an underlying mechanism of many human diseases. However, definitive evidence for this association has not been presented due to different shortcomings of the methods used to measure biomarkers of oxidative stress. Persulfates are oxidizing agents known to elicit hypersensitive reactions from the airways and skin. Despite a frequent use of persulfates at many

BACKGROUND: /st> Septic shock includes blood vessel dilatation and activation of innate immunity, which in turn causes release of antimicrobial peptides such as LL-37. It has been shown that LL-37 can attract leucocytes via the lipoxin A(4) receptor (ALX, FPRL1). ALX is also present in vascular endothelial cells. To explore possible ways of pharmacological intervention in septic shock, we investig