Summary: This study examines the impact of smoking and smoking cessation on fracture risk in 75-year-old women followed for 10 years. Smoking increased fracture risk, especially for vertebral fractures. Smoking cessation decreased the risk for vertebral fractures but not for other fracture types. Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of smoking and smoking cessation on fra

Background: Epileptic seizures are associated with an immune response in the brain. However, it is not known whether it can extend to remote areas of the brain, such as the eyes. Hence, we investigated whether epileptic seizures induce inflammation in the retina. Methods: Adult rats underwent electrically induced temporal status epilepticus, and the eyes were studied 6 h, 1, and 7 weeks later with

Stem cell therapies for neurological disorders are rapidly moving towards use in clinical trials. Before initiation of clinical trials, extensive pre-clinical validation in appropriate animal models is essential. However, grafts of human cells into the rodent brain are rejected within weeks after transplantation and the standard methods of immune-suppression for the purpose of studying human xenog

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is an important regulator of vascular integrity and immune cell migration, carried in plasma by high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated apolipoprotein M (apoM) and by albumin. In sepsis, the protein and lipid composition of HDL changes dramatically. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in S1P and its carrier protein apoM during sepsis. For this purpose, pla

Iron-carbene complexes show considerable promise as earth-abundant light-harvesters, and adsorption onto nanostructured TiO2 is a crucial step for developing solar energy applications. Intrinsic electron injection capabilities of such promising FeII N-heterocyclic complexes (Fe-NHC) to TiO2 are calculated here, and found to correlate well with recent experimental findings of highly efficient inter

The formation of lumps during industrial recombination of powder is a common problem in many industries. An important step in the recombination process is the wetting of the dry material. Only with an efficient wetting the individual powder particles will disperse and a complete dissolution will occur. In difference, a slow or incomplete wetting will not supply liquid to all portions of the powder

Objective: The aim of this study was to translate and validate the Swedish version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale – Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index (FACT-VCI). Materials and methods: For adaptation into Swedish, a multiprofessional team was used for translation including cultural adjustment, followed by back-translation. Test and retest in 10 individuals was followed by assessing

The transcription factor Sox4 has been proposed to underlie the increased type 2 diabetes risk linked to an intronic single nucleotide polymorphism in CDKAL1. In a mouse model expressing a mutant form of Sox4, glucose-induced insulin secretion is reduced by 40% despite normal intracellular Ca2+ signaling and depolarization-evoked exocytosis. This paradox is explained by a fourfold increase in kiss

Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) of HDL is central to the transport of cholesterol in circulation. ApoA-I also provides glucose control with described in vitro effects of apoA-I on β-cell insulin secretion and muscle glucose uptake. In addition, apoA-I injections in insulin-resistant diet-induced obese (DIO) mice lead to increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and peripheral tissue glucos

We extend past research on the congruency between moral foundations and morally relevant outcomes to ingroup- and outgroup-focused charitable giving. We measured intentions to donate to outgroup members (begging EU-migrants) and self-reported donations to ingroup (medical research) and outgroup (international aid) charity organizations in a heterogeneous sample (N = 1008) and actual donations to i

NURBS (Non-uniform rational B-splines) surfaces are the standard freeform representation in Computer- Aided Design (CAD) applications. Rendering NURBS surfaces accurately while they are interactively manipulated and deformed is a challenging task. In order to achieve it, the elimination from pipeline in early stages of back-facing surfaces or surface pieces is a key advantage. Furthermore, an effe

Ultrafast excited state dynamics of [Cr(CO)4(bpy)] upon metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (1MLCT) transition have been studied by pump-probe absorption spectroscopy in CH3CN, pyridine and CH2Cl2 solvents. Intersystem crossing (ISC) was found to be very fast (∼100 fs) and efficient, while the formation of the photoproduct with one axial CO dissociated is significantly less competitive, indicating a b

The shell structure of low-lying neutron resonance levels in axially symmetric quadrupole-deformed potentials is discussed, which seems analogous to that of weakly bound neutrons. As numerical examples, nuclei slightly outside the neutron drip line, Mg271239 and C15621, are studied. For the lowest resonance I obtain Iπ=Ωπ=5/2- for Mg39 which is likely to be prolately deformed, while Iπ=Ωπ=1/2+ may

Block diagram languages are often used for physical modeling and automation, where end users are domain engineers that instantiate block types and wire them together. Abstraction mechanisms in these languages allow specialists to build advanced reusable domain-specific libraries. However, this brings a tension between supporting reusability and making the language simple to comprehend for domain e

Purpose of review We aim to review the most interesting recent advances on the clinical aspects of continuous dopaminergic stimulation in Parkinson's disease. Recent findings Several large, open-label studies have presented data that are in line with the randomized controlled trial on L-dopa-carbidopa intestinal gel infusion, which shows that a continuous drug delivery can improve motor fluctuatio

This study analyzes the intergenerational effects of late child bearing on offspring’s adult longevity in a population in Utah (USA) that does not display evidence of parity-specific birth control – a so-called natural fertility population. Studies have found that for women who experience late menopause and prolonged reproduction, aging is postponed and longevity is increased. This is believed to