BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between history of induced abortion and preterm delivery in various parts of Europe, and according to the main cause of preterm birth. METHODS: We used data from a case–control survey, the EUROPOP study; 2938 preterm births and 4781 controls at term from ten European countries were included. Based on national statistics, w

PDCD1, an immunoreceptor involved in peripheral tolerance has previously been shown to be genetically associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). PDCD1 has two ligands whose genes are located in close proximity on chromosome 9p24. Our attention was drawn to these ligands after finding suggestive linkage to a marker (gata62f03, Z = 2.27) located close to their genes in a genome scan of Icel

Academic archaeology of the twentieth century has strangely ignored warfare and violence as relevant aspects of past human activity despite sufficient evidence of war-related traumata, weaponry, warrior burials, and war-celebrative iconographies. Instead - and relatively independently of paradigmatic shifts - two commemorative tales about warriors and peasants in the European societies of the Ston

Previous case-control studies have suggested that a high intake of animal foods and its associated nutrients are associated with an increased risk of renal cell carcinoma, although data from prospective studies are limited. We report here on the relationship between macronutrient intake and renal cell carcinoma incidence among 435,293 participants enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation

Administration of insulin with premeal boluses of short-acting insulin using a new injection device (Novopen) was compared with a conventional three times daily injection regimen regarding aspects of quality of life and metabolic control in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Eighteen C-peptide-negative patients with IDDM (16 men, two women, aged 31.0 ± 7.4 years, duration of diabetes 13.

The laminin receptor integrin alpha 6 chain is ubiquitously expressed in human and mouse hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. We have studied its role for homing of stem and progenitor cells to mouse hematopoietic tissues In vivo. A function-blocking anti-integrin alpha 6 antibody significantly reduced progenitor cell homing to bone marrow (BM) of lethally irradiated mice, with a corresponding

Purpose: To identify target genes of clinical significance for patients with malignant peripheral-nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), an aggressive cancer for which no consensus therapy exists. Materials and Methods: Biopsies and clinical data from 51 patients with MPNST were included in this study. Based on our previous research implicating chromosome arm 17q amplification in MPNST, we performed gene exp

The remarkable progress of cryoelectron microscopy and crystallography in elucidating ribosomal structure and function continues. Most recently, two papers about complete 70S ribosomes from Thermus thermophilus at 2.8- and 3.7-angstrom resolution give us more details about the conformations of bound transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules; the bridges between subunits; the locations and roles of proteins, m

This investigation determined the effects of fermented oat-based products containing both native and microbial beta-glucans on plasma lipids and on fecal total bacterial count and Bifidobacterium ssp. The study was randomized, double blind with 3 parallel groups. Sixty-two free-living volunteers with moderately increased plasma cholesterol levels were recruited. In the final analysis, 56 subjects

At small x, the effects of finite transverse momenta of partons inside a hadron become increasingly important, especially in analyses of jets and heavy-quark production. These effects can be systematically accounted for in a formalism based on k(perpendicular to)-factorization and unintegrated distribution functions. We present results for the unintegrated distribution function, together with the

Comparing observed Swedish security policy behavior to generally recognized models suggests that Sweden resorted to a variety of strategies in the 19th century, within the general position of nonalignment, in order to successfully avoid being drawn into war. Three phases are identified during the period examined, revealing a pendulum pattern in policy choices. The weak-state strategies employed by

We have reviewed initial diagnostic features, treatment, and outcome in 29 patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage due to non-traumatic vertebrobasilar artery dissection diagnosed in our hospital between 1993 and 2003. The dissections occurred in the vertebral artery in 19 patients, the posterior inferior cerebellar artery ( PICA) in two patients, the basilar artery in four patients, and in th

A combination of intumescent components was evaluated as a novel flame retardant system in a flexible polyurethane foam, and the incorporation of these components gave rise to a significant enhancement of the flame retardant properties of the foam. The heat release rate was lowered at an early stage as well as throughout the fire, the total heat production was decreased and the time to ignition wa

Effects of surrounding climate give temperature variations in both time and space for concrete structures. The associated thermal strains may give rise to stresses and cracking due to external or internal restraint. This will affect the performance of the structure. It is therefore important to analyze the temperature variations and the extreme situations that can occur. To predict the dynamic the

The orbicular rock at Slattemossa, southeastern Sweden, has a quartz monzodioritic composition. The cores of the orbicules crystallized directly from the orbicule-forming magma; cores made up of xenoliths have not been observed. Outside the core follow first an inner mafic, a felsic and then an outer mafic shell. The orbicules occur in a matrix, which is similar to the core. They grew simultaneous

This article proposes a bias-adjusted estimator for use in cointegrated panel regressions when the errors are cross-sectionally correlated through an unknown common factor structure. The asymptotic distribution of the new estimator is derived and is examined in small samples using Monte Carlo simulations. For the estimation of the number of factors, several information-based criteria are considere

Wear particles commonly used for experiments may carry adherent endotoxin on their surfaces, which may be responsible for the observed effects. In this study, we attached titanium plates to the tibiae of 20 rats. After osseointegration, endotoxin-contaminated or uncontaminated high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) particles were applied. Contaminated specimens showed a dramatic resorption of bone after

Introduction: Fibrillatory rates can reliably be obtained from surface ECGs during atrial fibrillation (AF) and correspond with right atrial (RA) and coronary sinus (CS) rates, while both the relation with pulmonary venous (PV) rates and determinants of fibrillatory waveform are unknown. Class III antiarrhythmic drugs prolong atrial refractoriness and decrease its dispersion, effects that may be r