Short-range intercellular calcium signaling in bone.

The regulation of bone turnover is a complex and finely tuned process. Many factors regulate bone remodeling, including hormones, growth factors, cytokines etc. However, little is known about the signals coupling bone formation to bone resorption, and how mechanical forces are translated into biological effects in bone.

Semen quality of 324 fertile Japanese men.

Background: A number of studies have indicated regional differences in semen quality. To examine the current status in Japan, we undertook a cross-sectional study on the semen quality of fertile Japanese men for comparison with recent European results.

Methods: Semen parameters of 324 fertile men from the Kawasaki/Yokohama area were investigated.

[P2 purinergic receptors: regulation of bone metabolism and therapeutic potential?].

Osteoporosis is a disabling disease, and despite the progress in treating this disease in recent years, it is still necessary to develop new treatment options. A potential target for new pharmacological agents with the ability to regulate bone metabolism is the purinergic receptors, also called P2 receptors. Nucleotides activate these receptors, and recent studies have shown a possible role for these in bone turnover and metabolism.

The antiarrhythmic peptide analog rotigaptide (ZP123) stimulates gap junction intercellular communication in human osteoblasts and prevents decrease in femoral trabecular bone strength in ovariectomized rats.

Gap junctions play an important role in bone development and function, but the lack of pharmacological tools has hampered the gap junction research. The antiarrhythmic peptides stimulate gap junction communication between cardiomyocytes, but effects in noncardiac tissue are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine whether antiarrhythmic peptides, which are small peptides increasing gap junctional conductivity, show specific binding to osteoblasts and investigate the effect of the stable analog rotigaptide (ZP123) on gap junctional intercellular communication in vitro and on bone mass and strength in vivo.

A study of finger lengths, semen quality and sex hormones in 360 young men from the general Danish population.

Background: It has been suggested that finger length may correlate with function or disorders of the male reproductive system. This is based on the HOXA and HOXD genes' common embryological control of finger development and differentiation of the genital bud. The objective of this study was to explore the association between the ratio of 2nd to 4th finger length (2D:4D ratio) and testis function in a sample of young Danish men from the general population.

Hypoosmotic cell swelling as a novel mechanism for modulation of cloned HCN2 channels.

This work demonstrates cell swelling as a new regulatory mechanism for the cloned hyperpolarization-activated, cyclic nucleotide-gated channel 2 (HCN2). HCN2 channels were coexpressed with aquaporin1 in Xenopus laevis oocytes and currents were monitored using a two-electrode voltage-clamp. HCN2 channels were activated by hyperpolarization to -100 mV and the currents were measured before and during hypoosmotic cell swelling.

Higher than expected prevalence of congenital cryptorchidism in Lithuania: a study of 1204 boys at birth and 1 year follow-up.

Background: Cryptorchidism at birth is one of the symptoms of testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS). The aim of the study was to detect prevalence of cryptorchidism in Lithuanian newborn boys.

Methods: A total of 1204 consecutively born boys were examined within the first days after birth in one regional hospital.

Insulin-like factor 3 serum levels in 135 normal men and 85 men with testicular disorders: relationship to the luteinizing hormone-testosterone axis.

Insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3) serum levels were measured in 135 andrologically well-characterized normal men and 85 patients with testicular disorders to investigate how the hormone, which is a major secretory product of human Leydig cells, is related to testosterone (T), LH, and semen quality. INSL3 was measured by using a newly developed fluorescence immunoassay. Median (2.

Multi-elemental EDXRF mapping of polluted soil from former horticultural land.

The distribution of major and trace elements was systematically investigated by use of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) on a former horticultural soil. The purpose of the study was to combine mapping of soil element concentration levels with multivariate statistics for characterisation of soil metal pollution in relation to previous and present land use. A 1-ha study site was chosen from a former horticulture where a previous preliminary survey indicated increased concentration levels of toxic elements.

Functional characteristics of culturable bacterioplankton from marine and estuarine environments.

Information on the structure of bacterioplankton communities is continuously increasing, while knowledge of their metabolic capabilities remains limited. In this study, the metabolic capacity of bacterioplankton was investigated, as such information is necessary to fully understand carbon cycling and other biogeochemical processes. The diversity of dominant culturable chemoorganotrophic bacteria from one estuarine and three marine environments was analyzed by random isolation of colony-forming units on solid media, taxonomical identification by partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, and functional characterization of the isolates.

Body mass index in relation to semen quality and reproductive hormones among 1,558 Danish men.

Objective: To examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and semen quality among young men from the general population.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Danish young men were approached when they attended a compulsory physical examination to determine their fitness for military service.

Basolateral localisation of KCNQ1 potassium channels in MDCK cells: molecular identification of an N-terminal targeting motif.

KCNQ1 potassium channels are expressed in many epithelial tissues as well as in the heart. In epithelia KCNQ1 channels play an important role in salt and water transport and the channel has been reported to be located apically in some cell types and basolaterally in others. Here we show that KCNQ1 channels are located basolaterally when expressed in polarised MDCK cells.

Clinical implications of benign multiple sclerosis: a 20-year population-based follow-up study.

In 2001, we followed up all patients from the 1991 Olmsted County Multiple Sclerosis (MS) prevalence cohort. We found that the longer the duration of MS and the lower the disability, the more likely a patient is to remain stable and not progress. This is particularly powerful for patients with benign MS with Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 2 or lower for 10 years or longer who have a greater than 90% chance of remaining stable.

Microbial community-level toxicity testing of linear alkylbenzene sulfonates in aquatic microcosms.

Complex microbial communities may serve as ideal and ecologically relevant toxicity indicators. We here report an assessment of frequently used methods in microbial ecology for their feasibility to detect toxic effects of the environmentally important surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) on microbial communities in lake water and treated waste water. The two microbial communities were evaluated for changes in community structure and function over a period of 7 weeks in replicated aquatic microcosms amended with various levels of LAS (0, 0.

Impaired Leydig cell function in infertile men: a study of 357 idiopathic infertile men and 318 proven fertile controls.

To investigate whether an impaired Leydig cell function is present in severely oligospermic men, serum testosterone (T), LH, estradiol (E(2)), and SHBG levels in 357 idiopathic infertile men were compared with levels in 318 proven fertile men. In addition, the T/LH ratio, E(2)/T ratio, and calculated free T index (cFT) were compared between the two groups.A shift toward lower serum T levels, cFT, and T/LH ratio and higher serum LH, E(2), and E(2)/T levels was observed in the group of infertile men.

Population-based study of symptomatic internal carotid artery occlusion: incidence and long-term follow-up.

Background And Purpose: Internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion is an important cause of transient ischemic attack (TIA) and cerebral infarction. There are no previous population-based natural history studies evaluating outcome after symptomatic ICA occlusion (SICAO).

Methods: We performed a retrospective, population-based study of SICAO.

The Nordic Trueness Project 2002: use of reference measurement procedure values in a general clinical chemistry survey.

Up to 136 laboratories participated in a joint effort to assess the trueness of routine measurements for 14 serum components. An unmodified, fresh-frozen human serum ("IMEP-17 Material 1"), produced for an international inter-laboratory comparison, served as the "master material". The serum had assigned values of the highest available metrological quality, and is assumed to involve no or negligible commutability problems.

Dexamethasone, BMP-2, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D enhance a more differentiated osteoblast phenotype: validation of an in vitro model for human bone marrow-derived primary osteoblasts.

In vitro models of bone cells are important for the study of bone biology, including the regulation of bone formation and resorption. In this study, we have validated an in vitro model of human osteoblastic cells obtained from bone marrow biopsies from healthy, young volunteers, aged 20-31 years. Osteoblast phenotypes were induced by either dexamethasone (Dex) or bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2).

Serum inhibin B and follicle-stimulating hormone levels as tools in the evaluation of infertile men: significance of adequate reference values from proven fertile men.

Inhibin B and FSH levels in 289 idiopathic infertile men were compared with reference materials consisting of 303 proven fertile men (reference group 1) and 307 healthy men from the general population with unknown fertility status (reference group 2). The diagnostic power of these two serum markers of spermatogenesis was evaluated by the use of receiver operating characteristic plot analysis, and an example of how both markers can be used simultaneously in a bivariate reference chart is presented. Inhibin B levels were significantly lower and FSH levels were significantly higher in the infertile men, compared with either reference group, but with significant overlap, especially with reference group 2.

Quality of life is favorable for most patients with multiple sclerosis: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Quality of life (QOL) is becoming an increasingly important factor in measurement of disease impact as well as an outcome measure in clinical trials.

Objectives: To study the QOL of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a population-based prevalence cohort and compare it with the general US population.

Design: Population-based prevalence cohort.

Developmental expression of POU5F1 (OCT-3/4) in normal and dysgenetic human gonads.

Background: To investigate how long fetal germ cells retain pluripotency, which may be linked to their ability to transform into histologically variable tumours, we examined the expression of OCT-3/4 (POU5F1), a transcription factor essential for the maintenance of totipotency in embryonic stem cells.

Methods: The ontogeny of expression of OCT-3/4 was studied in 74 specimens of normal human gonads during development and in 58 samples of gonads from cases with testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS), including disorders of sex differentiation and malignant changes.

Results: OCT-3/4 expression was found in primordial germ cells during migration to the gonadal ridges and in the indifferent gonad.

Perinatal risk factors of adverse outcome in very preterm children: a role of initial treatment of respiratory insufficiency?

Aim: To investigate risk factors of adverse outcome in a cohort of very preterm children treated mainly with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during the neonatal course.

Methods: In Denmark, preterm children are treated with nasal CPAP as a first approach to respiratory support. A national prospective study of all infants with a birthweight below 1000 g or a gestational age below 28 wk born in 1994-1995 was initiated to evaluate this approach.