Daily life without cranial bone protection while awaiting cranioplasty: a qualitative study.

Purpose: Decompressive craniectomy is occasionally performed as a life-saving neurosurgical intervention in patients with acute severe brain injury to reduce refractory intracranial hypertension. Subsequently, cranioplasty (CP) is performed to repair the skull defect. In the meantime, patients are living without cranial bone protection, and little is known about their daily life.

Severe thiamine deficiency in eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua).

The eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) population has been decreasing in the Baltic Sea for at least 30 years. Condition indices of the Baltic cod have decreased, and previous studies have suggested that this might be due to overfishing, predation, lower dissolved oxygen or changes in salinity. However, numerous studies from the Baltic Sea have demonstrated an ongoing thiamine deficiency in several animal classes, both invertebrates and vertebrates.

Assessment for Sustainable Use of Quarry Fines as Pavement Construction Materials: Part I-Description of Basic Quarry Fine Properties.

As a secondary material, quarry fines are a valuable material to be reused for many purposes in civil engineering projects. The aggregate source depletion, especially the lack of high quality aggregates as expected in the future, as well as the demand for a carbon-neutral society and circular economy, also promotes the high-volume utilization of secondary materials such as quarry fines. The aim of this study is to do a feasibility assessment including a series of laboratory tests and analyses to evaluate the properties of quarry fine materials to determine if this type of material could be qualified as pavement construction material in high volume.

Thiamine deficiency impairs common eider (Somateria mollissima) reproduction in the field.

The Baltic Sea population of the common eider (Somateria mollissima) has declined dramatically during the last two decades. Recently, widespread episodic thiamine (vitamin B) deficiency has been demonstrated in feral birds and suggested to contribute significantly to declining populations. Here we show that the decline of the common eider population in the Baltic Sea is paralleled by high mortality of the pulli a few days after hatch, owing to thiamine deficiency and probably also thereby associated abnormal behaviour resulting in high gull predation.

Widespread episodic thiamine deficiency in Northern Hemisphere wildlife.

Many wildlife populations are declining at rates higher than can be explained by known threats to biodiversity. Recently, thiamine (vitamin B) deficiency has emerged as a possible contributing cause. Here, thiamine status was systematically investigated in three animal classes: bivalves, ray-finned fishes, and birds.

Castration resistant prostate cancer is associated with increased blood vessel stabilization and elevated levels of VEGF and Ang-2.

Background: Angiogenesis is important for the progression of prostate cancer and may be a target for treatment in castration resistant (CR) disease. This study was performed to investigate blood vessel stabilization and expression of the pro-angiogenic factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) in CR and hormone naïve (HN) prostate cancer. The effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) on these parameters was also studied.

ADAMTS1 alters blood vessel morphology and TSP1 levels in LNCaP and LNCaP-19 prostate tumors.

Background: Decreased expression of the angiogenesis inhibitor ADAMTS1 (ADAM metallopeptidase with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 1) has previously been reported during prostate cancer progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of ADAMTS1 in prostate tumors.

Methods: ADAMTS1 was downregulated by shRNA technology in the human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP (androgen-dependent), originally expressing ADAMTS1, and was upregulated by transfection in its subline LNCaP-19 (androgen-independent), expressing low levels of ADAMTS1.

N-cadherin increases after androgen deprivation and is associated with metastasis in prostate cancer.

Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard treatment for metastatic prostate cancer. One factor that has been implicated in the metastatic process is the cell adhesion molecule N-cadherin. In this study, we investigated if the expression of N-cadherin was influenced by androgen deprivation and was associated with metastasis in prostate cancer.

ADAMTS1, a putative anti-angiogenic factor, is decreased in human prostate cancer.

Objective: To investigate the expression of 'ADAM metallopeptidase with thrombospondin type I motif, 1' (ADAMTS1) in human prostate cancer, and to study its relationship to microvessel density (MVD) and metastasis. ADAMTS1 has been described as an anti-angiogenic and antitumour factor, but its function in prostate cancer is unknown.

Patients And Methods: ADAMTS1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in specimens obtained by transurethral resection of the prostate from patients with hormone-naïve and hormone-refractory prostate tumours, including adjacent benign tissue.

The prostatic environment suppresses growth of androgen-independent prostate cancer xenografts: an effect influenced by testosterone.

Background: Interactions between prostate cancer cells and their surrounding stroma play an important role in the growth and maintenance of prostate tumors. To elucidate this further, we investigated how growth of androgen-dependent (AD) LNCaP and androgen-independent (AI) LNCaP-19 prostate tumors was affected by different microenvironments and androgen levels.

Methods: Tumor cells were implanted subcutaneously and orthotopically in intact and castrated immunodeficient mice.

Verification of dynamic radiotherapy: the potential for 3D dosimetry under respiratory-like motion using polymer gel.

Following the implementation of advanced treatment procedures in radiotherapy, there is a need for dynamic dose verification in 3D. Gel dosimetry could potentially be used for such measurements. However, recently published data show that certain types of gels have a dose rate and fractionation dependence.

Liquid ionization chamber calibrated gel dosimetry in conformal stereotactic radiotherapy of brain lesions.

Unlabelled: Hypofractionated conformal stereotactic radiotherapy (HCSRT) is an established method of treating brain lesions such as arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and brain metastases. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of treatment plans in the terms of dose distribution and absorbed dose for HCSRT.

Methods And Materials: Treatment plans for three different clinical intracerebral targets, AVMs, were transferred to a CT study of a spherical water filled phantom simulating the human head and recalculated for the phantom geometry using a standard treatment planning system utilizing a pencil beam algorithm for dose calculation.

Differential expression of angiopoietin-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor in androgen-independent prostate cancer models.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between microvessel density (MVD), blood vessel morphology and the expression of angiopoietin (Ang)-1, Ang-2, tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin and epidermal growth factor homology domains (Tie)-2, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in androgen-dependent (AD) and androgen-independent (AI) prostate cancer models, to gain insight into the regulation of angiogenesis at different stages of prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: MVD and blood vessel morphology were evaluated by CD34 immunohistochemical staining. The mRNA and protein secretion of the Angs, Tie-2 and VEGF were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, respectively, in LNCaP (AD) and LNCaP-19, C4-2, C4-2B4 and PC-3 (AI) prostate cancer xenografts in mice.

Investigation of spatial resolution, partial volume effects and smoothing in functional MRI using artificial 3D time series.

This work addresses the balance between temporal signal-to-noise ratio (tSNR) and partial volume effects (PVE) in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and investigates the impact of the choice of spatial resolution and smoothing. In fMRI, since physiological time courses are monitored, tSNR is of greater importance than image SNR. Improving SNR by an increase in voxel volume may be of negligible benefit when physiological fluctuations dominate the noise.

Altered expression of genes regulating angiogenesis in experimental androgen-independent prostate cancer.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate how the expression of genes regulating angiogenesis is altered when prostate cancer cells progress into androgen-independency.

Methods: A gene array specific for angiogenesis was used to compare the human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP (androgen-dependent) with its more angiogenic and tumorigenic subline LNCaP-19 (androgen-independent). Results were verified with real-time RT-PCR, and further investigations were focused on the angiogenesis inhibitor a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 1 (ADAMTS1).

Dose integration characteristics in normoxic polymer gel dosimetry investigated using sequential beam irradiation.

Dose integration properties were investigated for normoxic polymer gels based on methacrylic acid (nMAG) and acrylamide/N, N'-methylenebisacrylamide (nPAG). The effect of sequential irradiation was studied for different fractionation schemes and varying amounts of methacrylic acid for the nMAG gels. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used for read out of the absorbed dose response.

Prostate cancer progression into androgen independency is associated with alterations in cell adhesion and invasivity.

Background: Mortality in prostate cancer is primarily due to failure to cure hormone refractory patients with metastatic disease. The present study focused on elucidating alterations in invasive properties, which are connected with progression into androgen independency.

Methods: Ability to grow without anchor, migration, cell adhesion properties and expression of invasive factors were investigated in LNCaP and its androgen-independent subline LNCaP-19.

Dose response evaluation of a low-density normoxic polymer gel dosimeter using MRI.

A low-density (approximately 0.6 g cm(-3)) normoxic polymer gel, containing the antioxidant tetrakis (hydroxymethyl) phosponium (THP), has been investigated with respect to basic absorbed dose response characteristics. The low density was obtained by mixing the gel with expanded polystyrene spheres.

Linear energy transfer dependence of a normoxic polymer gel dosimeter investigated using proton beam absorbed dose measurements.

Three-dimensional dosimetry with good spatial resolution can be performed using polymer gel dosimetry, which has been investigated for dosimetry of different types of particles. However, there are only sparse data concerning the influence of the linear energy transfer (LET) properties of the radiation on the gel absorbed dose response. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible LET dependence for a polymer gel dosimeter using proton beam absorbed dose measurements.

Transition of an androgen-dependent human prostate cancer cell line into an androgen-independent subline is associated with increased angiogenesis.

Background: Androgen-independent prostate cancer is today an incurable disease, but increased understanding of the mechanisms for the transition into an androgen-independent state may increase the possibilities for more efficient strategies in the future.

Methods: An androgen-independent subline, LNCaP-19, to the androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell line LNCaP was developed in vitro under standard culture conditions. The characteristics of LNCaP-19 regarding androgen responsiveness, PSA, and VEGF secretion was studied in vitro.

Development and optimization of a 2-hydroxyethylacrylate MRI polymer gel dosimeter.

In this study, radiation induced changes in a polymer gel dosimeter manufactured using 2-hydroxyethylacrylate (HEA) and N,N'-methylene-bisacrylamide (BIS) were investigated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and FT-Raman spectroscopy. The variation in magnetic resonance relaxation time (T2) with absorbed dose was modelled assuming fast exchange of magnetization. Overall good agreement between the model and experimental data was obtained.

MAGIC-type polymer gel for three-dimensional dosimetry: intensity-modulated radiation therapy verification.

A new type of polymer gel dosimeter, which responds well to absorbed dose even when manufactured in the presence of normal levels of oxygen, was recently described by Fong et al. [Phys. Med.

Migration of bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) and its reaction products in canned foods.

Bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is used as an additive or starting agent in coatings for cans. The presence of hydrochloric acid in the organosol (PVC-based) lacquers results in formation of chlorohydroxy compounds of BADGE. These compounds, as well as BADGE itself, are potential migrants into the preserved food and are of toxicological concern.

Determination of fumonisins B1 and B2 in various maize products by a combined SAX + C18 column and immunoaffinity column.

Fumonisins B1 and B2 were determined in 42 samples of different maize products from the Swedish market by 2 different methods based on cleanup steps using an immunoaffinity column and a combination of SAX + C18 columns, respectively. A simple "precipitation step" was included before the samples were added to the main column(s), giving less column clogging, fewer interfering peaks, and better recoveries for the different sample matrixes. Recovery, repeatability, and results from the survey showed comparable results with the methods.