747 research outputs found
Two distinct aetiologies of cardia cancer, evidence from premorbid serological markers of gastric atrophy and Helicobacter pylori status
Background: Non-cardia gastric adenocarcinoma is positively associated with Helicobacter pylori infection
and atrophic gastritis. The role of H pylori infection and atrophic gastritis in cardia cancer is unclear.
Aim: To compare cardia versus non-cardia cancer with respect to the premorbid state of the stomach.
Methods: Nested case–control study. To each of 129 non-cardia and 44 cardia cancers, three controls were
matched. Serum collected a median of 11.9 years before the diagnosis of cancer was tested for anti-H pylori
antibodies, pepsinogen I:II and gastrin.
Results: Non-cardia cancer was positively associated with H pylori (OR 4.75, 95% CI 2.56 to 8.81) and
gastric atrophy (pepsinogen I:II ,2.5; OR 4.47, 95% CI 2.71 to 7.37). The diffuse and intestinal histological
subtypes of non-cardia cancer were of similar proportions and both showed a positive association with
H pylori and atrophy. Cardia cancer was negatively associated with H pylori (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.12 to
0.59), but H pylori-positive cardia cancer showed an association with gastric atrophy (OR 3.33, 95% CI 1.06
to 10.5). The predominant histological subtype of cardia cancer was intestinal and was not associated with
gastric atrophy compared with the diffuse subtype ((OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.19 to 2.79) vs (OR 3.46, 95% CI 0.32
to 37.5)). Cardia cancer in patients with atrophy had an intestinal: diffuse ratio (1:1) similar to non-cardia
cancer (1.9:1), whereas cardia cancers in patients without atrophy were predominantly intestinal (7:1).
Conclusion: These findings indicate two aetiologies of cardia cancer, one associated with H pylori atrophic
gastritis, resembling non-cardia cancer, and the other associated with non-atrophic gastric mucosa,
resembling oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Serological markers of gastric atrophy may provide the key to
determining gastric versus oesophageal origin of cardia cancer
Exogenous Estrogen Boosts Circulating Estradiol Concentrations and Calcium Uptake by Duodenal Tissue in Heat-Stressed Hens
In the hen, heat stress (HS) disrupts shell calcification and reproductive processes, including hormone synthesis and egg production. Two studies were conducted to investigate palliative effects of exogenous estrogen or dietary vitamin D3 on Ca homeostasis and reproductive physiology during HS. Study 1: Hy-Line W36 hens were randomly assigned to thermoneutral (TN) or HS treatments and to 1 of 7 estrogen treatments: zero (control) or one Compudose 200 implant given 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, or 10 d before onset of HS. With no implant, HS reduced plasma estradiol (E2) and total Ca absorbed (CaT) by duodenal cells (P \u3c 0.05). In TN hens with implants, plasma E2 tripled within 24 h (P \u3c 0.05) and remained elevated (P \u3c 0.05) through d 9. In HS hens with implants, plasma E2 rose 6-fold (P \u3c 0.05) to equal TN+E2 concentrations and remained elevated through d 10. In TN and HS hens with implants, the rate of Ca absorption (CaTR) and CaT increased dramatically; the responses were quadratic and essentially identical. Study 2: Hy-Line W36 hens were provided diets formulated either according to NRC requirements (NRC, 1994), or with the addition of 22,000 IU/kg vitamin D3 (+VD hens). A 24-h HS episode was imposed 2 wk after initiation of the dietary regimen. Duodenal samples were collected for Ca absorption assays after the 24-h HS episode. Both CaTR and CaT in +VD hens were approximately 3-fold higher than in hens in the NVD group (P = 0.102). The results lead to the conclusion that exogenous estrogen, high levels of dietary vitamin D, or both, before a HS episode, are efficacious in alleviating at least some of the effects of HS and should be further investigated
Western Immunoblotting in Avian Shell Gland Sample Immunoblotting Methods1
Avian shell gland tissue was subjected to Western blot analysis using anti-human estrogen receptor- α antibody H222. Initial attempts to obtain consistent, high-quality blots were unsuccessful because, as it turned out, excessive lipid in tissue preparations interfered with protein separation. Incremental additions of acetone eventually proved to be the critical step in solubilizing lipids and allowing consistent separation of bands on gels. A detailed description of the methodology is presented
Estrogen Receptor-α Populations Change with Age in Commercial Laying Hens
Older hens in production lay larger but fewer eggs than younger birds, and the incidence of soft and broken shells is greater in older hens than younger. These changes are attributable at least in part to changing hormone profiles and diminished ability of the hen to transport calcium at the duodenum. In further exploration of this relationship, a study was conducted with three ages of Hy-Line W-36 birds: prelay pullets (PL; 19 wk, 0% production), peak-production hens (PP; 29 wk, ∼93% production), and late-stage hens (LS; 71 wk, ∼80% production). Hens from the PP and LS groups were palpated for presence of an egg in the shell gland; hens were then euthanized and tissues (kidney, shell gland, hypothalamus) were removed for quantification of estrogen receptor- α (ERα) populations via immunocytochemical and Western blot analyses. Localization of ERα by immunostaining in the shell gland showed differences among age groups; however, no differences were noted in localization of ERα between age groups in the kidney and hypothalamus. In both the kidney and the shell gland there was a decrease in the amount of ERα, as detected by immunoblotting, in the LS hens compared to PL and PP birds (P \u3c 0.05). The results suggest that failure of calcium regulating mechanisms with age may be mediated at least in part through the reduced populations of estrogen receptors in certain critical tissues
Moisture Buffer Value of Building Materials
Building materials and furnishing used in contact with indoor air may have a positive effect to moderate the variations of indoor humidity seen in occupied buildings. Thus, very low humidity can be alleviated in winter, as well as can high indoor humidity in summer and during high occupancy loads. This way, materials can be used as a passive means of establishing indoor climatic conditions, which are comfortable for human occupancy, or for safe storing of artefacts which are sensible to humidity variation. But so far there has been a lack of a standardized figure to characterize the moisture buffering ability of materials. It has been the objective of a recent (ongoing until mid-2005) Nordic project to come up with such a definition, and to declare it in the form of a NORDTEST method. Apart from the definition of the term Moisture Buffer Value, there will also be a declaration of a test protocol which expresses how materials should be tested. Finally as a part of the project, some Round Robin Tests will be carried out on various typical building materials. The paper gives an account on the definition of the Moisture Buffer Value, it will outline the content of the test protocol, and it will give some examples of results from the Round Robin Tests
Pore former induced porosity in LSM/CGO cathodes for electrochemical cells for flue gas purification
Gastric cancer and Helicobacter pylori: a combined analysis of 12 case control studies nested within prospective cohorts
BACKGROUND: The magnitude of the association
between Helicobacter pylori and
incidence of gastric cancer is unclear. H
pylori infection and the circulating antibody
response can be lost with development
of cancer; thus retrospective studies
are subject to bias resulting from classifi-
cation of cases as H pylori negative when
they were infected in the past.
AIMS: To combine data from all case control
studies nested within prospective
cohorts to assess more reliably the relative
risk of gastric cancer associated with H
pylori infection.To investigate variation in
relative risk by age, sex, cancer type and
subsite, and interval between blood sampling
and cancer diagnosis.
METHODS: Studies were eligible if blood
samples for H pylori serology were collected
before diagnosis of gastric cancer in
cases. Identified published studies and two
unpublished studies were included. Individual
subject data were obtained for
each. Matched odds ratios (ORs) and 95%
confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated
for the association between H pylori
and gastric cancer.
RESULTS: Twelve studies with 1228 gastric
cancer cases were considered. The association
with H pylori was restricted to noncardia
cancers (OR 3.0; 95% CI 2.3–3.8)
and was stronger when blood samples for
H pylori serology were collected 10+ years
before cancer diagnosis (5.9; 3.4–10.3). H
pylori infection was not associated with an
altered overall risk of cardia cancer (1.0;
0.7–1.4).
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that
5.9 is the best estimate of the relative risk
of non-cardia cancer associated with H
pylori infection and that H pylori does not
increase the risk of cardia cancer. They
also support the idea that when H pylori
status is assessed close to cancer diagnosis,
the magnitude of the non-cardia
association may be underestimated
Multiple Andreev Reflection and Giant Excess Noise in Diffusive Superconductor/Normal-Metal/Superconductor Junctions
We have studied superconductor/normal metal/superconductor (SNS) junctions
consisting of short Au or Cu wires between Nb or Al banks. The Nb based
junctions display inherent electron heating effects induced by the high thermal
resistance of the NS boundaries. The Al based junctions show in addition
subharmonic gap structures in the differential conductance dI/dV and a
pronounced peak in the excess noise at very low voltages V. We suggest that the
noise peak is caused by fluctuations of the supercurrent at the onset of
Josephson coupling between the superconducting banks. At intermediate
temperatures where the supercurrent is suppressed a noise contribution ~1/V
remains, which may be interpreted as shot noise originating from large multiple
charges.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, extended versio
The DanTIN project – creating a platform for describing the grammar of Danish talk-in-interaction
The article introduces a new website, samtalegrammatik.dk ('grammar of
talk-in-interaction'), it describes the methods used for constructing the
website, and it provides descriptions of three new grammatical phenomena
in Danish talk-in-interaction. The website is a result of investigations carried
out by the research group DanTIN ('Danish talk-in-interaction') since
2009. Until 2013, the group has published analyses of quite diverse phenomena,
such as different versions of the word hvad 'what' that seem to belong
to different word classes and have different functions in talk-ininteraction,
the distribution of the hesitation marker øh(m) 'uh(m)', or different
word orders after the conjunction fordi ('because'). These phenomena
were selected because they were clearly different from written Danish.
By launching the website samtalegrammatik.dk the group takes a step towards
building a comprehensive grammar of Danish talk-in-interaction. It
offers a template for a description of all aspects of the grammar of Danish
talk-in-interaction, even though at the time of the launching only a little
part of the entries will be filled in. The idea is that the investigations will be
continued in many years to come, and, thus, the website will grow and become
more complete. The three phenomena reported in some detail here all
have intonation as an important part of their grammatical descriptions.
They are (1) the particle nå (roughly 'oh'), (2) exaggerated pitch as a story
ending device, and (3) the interjection ej, which is an intranslatable exclamation
word. FGW – Publications without University Leiden contrac
Adsorption of mono- and multivalent cat- and anions on DNA molecules
Adsorption of monovalent and multivalent cat- and anions on a deoxyribose
nucleic acid (DNA) molecule from a salt solution is investigated by computer
simulation. The ions are modelled as charged hard spheres, the DNA molecule as
a point charge pattern following the double-helical phosphate strands. The
geometrical shape of the DNA molecules is modelled on different levels ranging
from a simple cylindrical shape to structured models which include the major
and minor grooves between the phosphate strands. The densities of the ions
adsorbed on the phosphate strands, in the major and in the minor grooves are
calculated. First, we find that the adsorption pattern on the DNA surface
depends strongly on its geometrical shape: counterions adsorb preferentially
along the phosphate strands for a cylindrical model shape, but in the minor
groove for a geometrically structured model. Second, we find that an addition
of monovalent salt ions results in an increase of the charge density in the
minor groove while the total charge density of ions adsorbed in the major
groove stays unchanged. The adsorbed ion densities are highly structured along
the minor groove while they are almost smeared along the major groove.
Furthermore, for a fixed amount of added salt, the major groove cationic charge
is independent on the counterion valency. For increasing salt concentration the
major groove is neutralized while the total charge adsorbed in the minor groove
is constant. DNA overcharging is detected for multivalent salt. Simulations for
a larger ion radii, which mimic the effect of the ion hydration, indicate an
increased adsorbtion of cations in the major groove.Comment: 34 pages with 14 figure
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