The relationship between use of corticosteroids and fracture risk was estimated in a meta-analysis of data from seven cohort studies of similar to42,000 men and women. Current and past use of corticosteroids was an important predictor of fracture risk that was independent of prior fracture and BMD.

Monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDG), digalactosyldiacylglycerols (DGDG) and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (SQDG) are major lipids in vegetable food. Their digestion and absorption are unknown. This study examines the hydrolysis of galactolipids in vitro with human duodenal contents, pancreatic juice, and purified human pancreatic lipases. Galactolipids were incubated with human duodenal contents

Treatment of severe bleeding and the performance of surgery in haemophilia patients with inhibitors creates severe problems. It is generally agreed that treatment is most effective if circulating levels of factor VIII/IX can be achieved long enough for control of haemostasis. Immunoadsorption with protein A for the removal of inhibitor has improved treatment for patients with initial inhibitor tit

Seven patients with rheumatoid arthritis and posterior atlanto-axial dislocation are presented. The patients were elderly women who had suffered with the disease a long time. In all cases earlier cervical radiographs were available, excluding any predisposing congenital anomaly. Fracture and arthritic destruction of the dens, of parts of the body of the axis, or of the anterior arch of the atlas p

Molecular variation is often used to infer the demographic history of species, but sometimes the complexity of species history can make such inference difficult. The willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus, shows substantially less geographical variation than the chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita, both in morphology and in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) divergence. We therefore predicted that the willo

In the wake of the geo-political development in recent years, the question of sacrifice has come to the fore in the contemporary philosophical discussion. Does sacrifice merely sharpen conflicts between cultures, or should it be seen as an inevitable part of their foundation? This article addresses the question from the perspective of the biblical view of sacrifice, expressed paradigmat- ically in

The eyes of visually prominent animals such as vertebrates, cephalopods, and arthropods generally subserve a multitude of visual tasks. Naturally, early stages in the evolution of these complex visual organs must have been simpler, and subserved a smaller number of visual tasks. Hence, eye evolution is driven by a consecutive accumulation of visual tasks. Each task adds to the requirements on eye

Background. Describing the illness-story from a patient perspective could increase understanding of living with a chronic disease for health professionals and others, facilitate decision-making about treatment and enhance information about the outcome from a patient perspective. Aim. To illuminate patients' illness experiences of having a gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), going through sur

We analysed the relative importance of individual versus institutional factors in explaining variations in the utilisation of physician services among the 50+ in ten European countries. The importance of the latter was investigated, distinguishing between organisational (explicit) and cultural (implicit) institutional factors, by analysing the influence of supply side factors, such as physician de

Understanding individual and population responses to climate change is emerging as an important challenge. Because many phenotypic traits are sensitive to environmental conditions, directional climate change could significantly alter trait distribution within populations and may generate an evolutionary response. In species with environment-dependent sex determination, climate change may lead to

The Strategic Systemic Thinking (SST) framework is presented as a stepping stone towards enabling the refocusing of organizational analysis in Information Systems (IS). The paper introduces some of the fundamental assumptions regarding the objectives of the SST framework; such as sense making as learning processes build upon communicative actions. The main concepts of the SST framework are present

T cells obtained in a mouse model for rheumatoid arthritis are activated by a glycopeptide fragment from rat type II collagen (CII) bound to the class II major histocompatibility complex A(q) molecule. We report a comparative model of A(q) in complex with the glycopeptide CII260-267. This model was used in a structure-based design approach where the amide bond between Ala(261) and Gly(262) in the

Stiffness measurements were performed on smooth muscle preparations from guinea-pig taenia coli to obtain information on the number of attached cross bridges under varying contractile conditions. The normalized stiffness of the cross-bridge system in smooth muscle may be of a magnitude similar to that assumed in skeletal muscle. Transition from isometric contraction to unloaded shortening was asso

Previously, we found that emergence of the X4 viral phenotype in HIV-1-infected children was related to the presence of X4 in their mothers (C. H. Casper et al., J Infect Dis 2002; 186: 914-921). Here, we investigated the origin of the X4 phenotype in the child, analyzing two mother-child pairs (Ma-Ca, Mb-Cb) where the mothers carried X4 and their children developed X4 after an initial presence of

Negative potassium (K) balances have been reported from grass-dominated organic systems in several European countries, and in these systems delivery of K from soil primary minerals by weathering is probably crucial to sustained productivity. Mass balances and K budgets have been made at eight grass-dominated experimental agricultural systems, one each in Scotland and Sweden and six in Norway. Wher

Objectives: To investigate if the detection of celiac disease (CD) in children was improved by using alternative conjugates for assessment of tissue transglutaminase (tTG) autoantibodies. Methods: Serum samples from 108 biopsy confirmed CD children and 42 control subjects were investigated for the presence of autoantibodies with tTG coated microplates using protein A (PA), protein G (PG), anti-IgG