Switching of hypertrophic signalling towards enhanced cardiomyocyte identity and maturity by a GATA4-targeted compound.

Background: The prevalence of heart failure is constantly increasing, and the prognosis of patients remains poor. New treatment strategies to preserve cardiac function and limit cardiac hypertrophy are therefore urgently needed. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are increasingly used as an experimental platform for cardiac in vitro studies.

Ethics of esthetic dentistry.

Patient demand for esthetics has increased globally, and often for reasons of patient self-esteem. However, important ethical issues encompass treatment for purely esthetic reasons. Also, perceptions of what is esthetic differ among patients and clinicians.

Incidence of cancer among the participants of the Finnish Asbestos Screening Campaign.

Objectives: Cancer risk has been estimated for asbestos production workers or other heavily exposed asbestos workers in numerous studies. The bulk of the asbestos epidemic results come, however, from past intermittent exposures during asbestos product use. This study concentrated on estimating the risk of cancer in such a population.

Different measures of asbestos exposure in estimating risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma among construction workers.

To analyze occupation, expert-evaluated cumulative exposure, and radiographic abnormalities as indicators of asbestos-related cancer risk we followed 16,696 male construction workers for cancer in 1990-2000. We calculated standardized incidence ratios (SIR) in comparison to the Finnish population and relative risks (RR) in a multivariate analysis in comparison to the internal low-exposure category of each indicator. Overall, the risk was increased for mesothelioma (SIR 2.

Effects of whole body massage on serum protein, electrolyte and hormone concentrations, enzyme activities, and hematological parameters.

The effects of a 1-h whole body massage on blood parameters were studied in nine healthy male volunteers. The venous blood samples were drawn just before treatment, immediately after, and after 2, 24, and 48 h. The parameters measured were blood leukocyte and erythrocyte counts, hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, red cell indices, the activities of serum creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and their isoenzymes, and the concentrations of serum sodium, potassium, total protein, haptoglobin, growth hormone, prolactin, cortisol, and plasma corticotropin.

Effect of smoking on the central circulation at rest and during exercise as studied by radiocardiography.

The pulmonary vessels are the first target of tobacco smoke in the circulatory system, but the functional changes occurring in the pulmonary circulation are poorly understood. Hence 46 volunteers were studied by radiocardiography under the following conditions: 1. At rest before and after smoking 2 cigarettes (15 men); 2.

Mental health and housing.

With the present trend away from the designing of individual buildings and towards the systematic planning of whole residential communities, it should be possible to take mental health requirements into account at the planning stage. At present, sociologists are all too seldom consulted on matters of residential planning. When discussing the relationship between housing and mental health one cannot restrict oneself only to the external aspects of the house, but rather one must also consider the opportunities available for the members of the family to satisfy their own needs, both within the home and in its immediate surroundings.

Smoking and the subjective health condition among Finnish military conscripts.

Information on smoking habits and a subjective self-estimate of general state of health was collected by means of a questionnaire from 400 conscripts in Northern Finland. The data were treated by factor analysis. Long-term fatigue, frequent headache, insomnia and occasional depression were less frequent among non-smokers than among smokers.