Embryonic expression patterns of Wnt genes in the RTA-clade spider Cupiennius salei.

Spiders represent widely used model organisms for chelicerate and even arthropod development and evolution. Wnt genes are important and evolutionary conserved factors that control and regulate numerous developmental processes. Recent studies comprehensively investigated the complement and expression of spider Wnt genes revealing conserved as well as diverged aspects of their expression and thus (likely) function among different groups of spiders representing Mygalomorphae (tarantulas), and both main groups of Araneae (true spiders) (Haplogynae/Synspermiata and Entelegynae).

Prospective associations between ECG abnormalities and death or myocardial infarction in a cohort of 980 employed, middle-aged Swedish men.

Background: In 1993, 1000 randomly selected employed Swedish men aged 45-50 years were invited to a nurse-led health examination with a survey on life style, fasting lab tests, and a 12-lead ECG. A repeat examination was offered in 1998. The ECGs were classified according to the Minnesota Code.

A Child Health Index for Sweden's 290 Municipalities: A System of Indicators and Indices for Monitoring Children's Health on the Local Level.

This broad survey of children's health and wellbeing in Sweden's 290 municipalities converts freely available national data to a set of 13 high quality indicators, and makes local surveillance and comparisons possible. Combining the indicators, using equal weights, into relevant domains as 5 sub-indices and then again into one summary index provides one index for the great picture, sub-indices for the various domains of child health and separate indicators for the detailed study of the basic components. This creates a simplified tool for decision makers and professionals in their task to monitor children's health on the local level.

Upregulation of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 in Irradiated Recipient Arteries and Veins from Free Tissue Transfer Reconstruction in Cancer Patients.

Background: Clinical studies have shown that radiotherapy can induce vascular disease at the site of exposure but is usually not clinically evident until years after treatment. We have studied irradiated human arteries and veins to better understand the underlying biology in search of future treatments. The aim was to investigate whether radiotherapy contributed to a sustained expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in human arteries and veins.

Prevalence and incidence of overweight and obesity among Vietnamese preschool children: a longitudinal cohort study.

Background: A plateau in childhood overweight and obesity has been reported in some developed countries while in almost all developing countries this problem is on the rise. The aim of this paper is to describe the changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity within a cohort of preschool children followed for 3 years, and to estimate and compare the incidences in urban and rural children of Hanoi, Vietnam.

Methods: A longitudinal study of a cohort of 2677 children aged 3 to 6 years old at the beginning of the study was conducted in urban DodaLab and rural FilaBavi, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Brain inflammation accompanies amyloid in the majority of mild cognitive impairment cases due to Alzheimer's disease.

See Kreisl (doi:10.1093/awx151) for a scientific commentary on this article.Subjects with mild cognitive impairment associated with cortical amyloid-β have a greatly increased risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease.

Improved Head and Neck Free Flap Outcome-Effects of a Treatment Protocol Adjustment from Pre- to Postoperative Radiotherapy.

Background: The impact of preoperative radiotherapy on microvascular reconstructive surgery outcome has been a subject of debate. However, data are conflicting and often dependent on local treatment protocols. We have studied the effects of radiotherapy in a unique, single-center setting where a treatment protocol change was undertaken from pre- to postoperative radiotherapy administration for microsurgical head and neck reconstructions.

Somatic effects of AAS abuse: A 30-years follow-up study of male former power sports athletes.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between somatic health and former abuse of AAS in former elite male athletes 30 years after the end of their active sports career.

Design: Retrospective follow-up study.

Methods: N=996 former elite male athletes were sent a questionnaire concerning sociodemographic variables, previous and past sport activity and lifetime prevalence of seeking professional help for health problems.

Is ultrasonography useful for population studies on schistosomiasis mansoni? An evaluation based on a survey on a population from Kome Island, Tanzania.

Background: Observation of characteristic alterations at liver ultrasonography in clinical schistosomiasis mansoni cases has initiated utilization of this examination method in population surveys in areas where this disease is endemic.

Purpose: To present results of liver ultrasonography and their relation to epidemiological data of a population in an area endemic for , to estimate the precision of classification of periportal anatomy changes known as periportal fibrosis (PPF), and to evaluate the relevance of ultrasonography in epidemiological studies on .

Material And Methods: A total of 459 inhabitants on Kome Island, Lake Victoria, Tanzania were examined by ultrasound with image documentation by locally trained personnel.

Organic textile waste as a resource for sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid areas.

New vegetation in barren areas offers possibilities for sequestering carbon in the soil. Arid and semi-arid areas (ASAs) are candidates for new vegetation. The possibility of agriculture in ASAs is reviewed, revealing the potential for cultivation by covering the surface with a layer of organic fibres.

Parkinsonism as a side effect of infliximab.

We present a case of a 64-year-old man with Crohn's disease who developed parkinsonism after starting treatment with infliximab (Remicade). The patient had a 30-year history of Crohn's disease with previous surgical procedures and treatment with methotrexate. Treatment was augmented with infliximab, and 3 days after the first dose of 400 mg, a resting tremor began in the left leg.

Vietnamese mother's conceptions of childhood overweight: findings from a qualitative study.

Background: Childhood overweight and obesity is a new and emerging problem in Vietnam. The so far observed prevalence increases have pointed to the need for public health intervention strategies with parents as crucial resources for change.

Objective: The aim of this study was to understand mothers' conceptions of childhood overweight.

Preschool overweight and obesity in urban and rural Vietnam: differences in prevalence and associated factors.

Background: Childhood obesity may soon be an equally important health threat as undernutrition and infectious diseases. Accurate information about prevalence and risk factors of obesity in children is important for the design of prevention.

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate prevalence of overweight and obesity for preschool children in two Vietnamese areas, one urban and one rural, and to identify risk factors.

Epidemiology and statistics at the Nordic School of Public Health: Teaching and research 1979-2014.

The Nordic School of Public Health (NHV) was jointly founded in 1953 by the Nordic countries. Until 1979, the school provided ad hoc courses on public health topics, using external teachers drawn mainly from the Nordic countries. At the time, the permanent staff of the school was small.

Differential expression of retinal determination genes in the principal and secondary eyes of Cupiennius salei Keyserling (1877).

Background: Transcription factors that determine retinal development seem to be conserved in different phyla throughout the animal kingdom. In most representatives, however, only a few of the involved transcription factors have been sampled and many animal groups remain understudied. In order to fill in the gaps for the chelicerate group of arthropods, we tested the expression pattern of the candidate genes involved in the eye development in the embryo of the wandering spider Cupiennius salei.

Onychophoran Hox genes and the evolution of arthropod Hox gene expression.

Introduction: Onychophora is a relatively small phylum within Ecdysozoa, and is considered to be the sister group to Arthropoda. Compared to the arthropods, that have radiated into countless divergent forms, the onychophoran body plan is overall comparably simple and does not display much in-phylum variation. An important component of arthropod morphological diversity consists of variation of tagmosis, i.

Effect of mobile telephone reminders on treatment outcome in HIV: evidence from a randomised controlled trial in India.

Objective: To assess whether customised mobile phone reminders would improve adherence to therapy and thus decrease virological failure among HIV infected patients starting antiretroviral treatment (ART).

Design: Randomised controlled trial among HIV infected patients initiating antiretroviral treatment.

Setting: Three diverse healthcare delivery settings in south India: two ambulatory clinics within the Indian national programme and one private HIV healthcare clinic.

Factors associated with physical growth of children during the first two years of life in rural and urban areas of Vietnam.

Background: Differences between urban and rural settings can be seen as a very important example of gaps between groups in a population. The aim of this paper is to compare an urban and a rural area regarding child growth during the first two years of life as related to mother's use of antenatal care (ANC), breastfeeding and reported symptoms of illness.

Methods: The studies were conducted in two Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites, one rural and one urban in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The function of Notch signalling in segment formation in the crustacean Daphnia magna (Branchiopoda).

Ten years ago we showed for the first time that Notch signalling is required in segmentation in spiders, indicating the existence of similar mechanisms in arthropod and vertebrate segmentation. However, conflicting results in various arthropod groups hampered our understanding of the ancestral function of Notch in arthropod segmentation. Here we fill a crucial data gap in arthropods and analyse segmentation in a crustacean embryo.

Characterisation and localisation of the opsin protein repertoire in the brain and retinas of a spider and an onychophoran.

Background: Opsins have been found in the majority of animals and their most apparent functions are related to vision and light-guided behaviour. As an increasing number of sequences have become available it has become clear that many opsin-like transcripts are expressed in tissues other than the eyes. Opsins can be divided into three main groups: rhabdomeric opsins (r-opsins), ciliary opsins (c-opsins) and group 4 opsins.

Spectral sensitivity of the ctenid spider Cupiennius salei.

The spectral sensitivity of adult male Cupiennius salei Keys, a nocturnal hunting spider, was studied in a behavioural test. As known from earlier behavioural tests, C. salei will walk towards a black target presented in front of a white background.

The expression pattern of the genes engrailed, pax6, otd and six3 with special respect to head and eye development in Euperipatoides kanangrensis Reid 1996 (Onychophora: Peripatopsidae).

The genes otd/otx, six3, pax6 and engrailed are involved in eye patterning in many animals. Here, we describe the expression pattern of the homologs to otd/otx, six3, pax6 and engrailed in the developing Euperipatoides kanangrensis embryos. Special reference is given to the expression in the protocerebral/ocular region.

A retrospective 30-year follow-up study of former Swedish-elite male athletes in power sports with a past anabolic androgenic steroids use: a focus on mental health.

Background: The knowledge concerning the long-term effect of former anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS)-use on mental health is sparse.

Aim: This study aims to investigate whether previous AAS-use affects mental health, present sociodemographic data, sport activity and substance abuse in a retrospective 30-year follow-up study of former elite athletes.

Methods: Swedish male-elite power sport athletes (n=683) on the top 10 national ranking lists during any of the years 1960-1979 in wrestling, Olympic lifting, powerlifting and the throwing events in track and field answered a questionnaire.

Birth weight and delivery practice in a Vietnamese rural district during 12 year of rapid economic development.

Background: Since the Doi Moi reform 1986 economic conditions in Vietnam have changed significantly and positive health and health care developments have been observed. International experience shows that improved economic conditions in a country can reduce the risk of perinatal mortality, decrease the risk of low birth weight and increase the mean birth weight in newborns. The Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (HDSS) FilaBavi in Bavi district outside Hanoi city has been operational since 1999.