Danish study of Non-Invasive testing in Coronary Artery Disease (Dan-NICAD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is an established method for ruling out coronary artery disease (CAD). Most patients referred for CCTA do not have CAD and only approximately 20-30 % of patients are subsequently referred to further testing by invasive coronary angiography (ICA) or non-invasive perfusion evaluation due to suspected obstructive CAD. In cases with severe calcifications, a discrepancy between CCTA and ICA often occurs, leading to the well-described, low-diagnostic specificity of CCTA.

Long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists have direct access to and effects on pro-opiomelanocortin/cocaine- and amphetamine-stimulated transcript neurons in the mouse hypothalamus.

Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist marketed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Besides lowering blood glucose, liraglutide reduces bodyweight, and has recently also been approved for the obesity indication. Acutely, GLP-1 markedly reduces gastric emptying, and this effect was previously believed to at least partly explain the effect on bodyweight loss.

Persistent pain is common 1 year after ankle and wrist fracture surgery: a register-based questionnaire study.

Background: Substantial literature documents that persistent postsurgical pain is a possible outcome of many common surgical procedures. As fracture-related surgery implies a risk of developing neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), further studies investigating the prevalence and pain characteristics are required.

Methods: All patients undergoing primary surgery because of ankle or wrist fracture at Hvidovre and Odense University Hospitals, Denmark, between April 15, 2013 and April 15, 2014, were identified from the Danish Fracture Database.

Surfactant dysfunction during overexpression of TGF-β1 precedes profibrotic lung remodeling in vivo.

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is involved in regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation, and fibrogenesis, inducing myofibroblast migration and increasing extracellular matrix synthesis. Here, TGF-β1 effects on pulmonary structure and function were analyzed. Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of TGF-β1 in mice lungs was performed and evaluated by design-based stereology, invasive pulmonary function testing, and detailed analyses of the surfactant system 1 and 2 wk after gene transfer.

Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling through the Lysophosphatidic Acid-1 Receptor Is Required for Alveolarization.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling through one of its receptors, LPA1, contributes to both the development and the pathological remodeling after injury of many organs. Because we found previously that LPA-LPA1 signaling contributes to pulmonary fibrosis, here we investigated whether this pathway is also involved in lung development. Quantitative assessment of lung architecture of LPA1-deficient knock-out (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice at 3, 12, and 24 weeks of age using design-based stereology suggested the presence of an alveolarization defect in LPA1 KO mice at 3 weeks, which persisted as alveolar numbers increased in WT mice into adulthood.

An investigation of the microbiota in uterine flush samples and endometrial biopsies from dairy cows during the first 7 weeks postpartum.

Metritis and endometritis commonly occur in dairy cows after calving. Although numerous studies have been performed to identify the causative pathogens, a complete overview has not been done. Metagenomic studies have analyzed the bacterial populations of uterine flush samples from postpartum (pp) dairy cows, but the microbiota in the uterine luminal fluid may differ from the microbiota of the endometrium itself, and important putative pathogens may have been overlooked.

A technique for ultrasound-guided blood sampling from a dry and gel-free puncture area.

Purpose: Vein punctures are performed daily to sample blood. Ultrasound (US) offers an alternative to the blind landmark technique for difficult vascular access. A challenge for this procedure is the presence of US gel in the puncture area.

Association of objectively measured occupational walking and standing still with low back pain: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study investigated the association of objectively measured walking and standing still time at work with low back pain (LBP) intensity among blue-collar workers.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Methods: 187 workers attached two accelerometers for diurnal standing still and walking measurements, which were categorised using tertiles.

The GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide reduces pathology-specific tau phosphorylation and improves motor function in a transgenic hTauP301L mouse model of tauopathy.

In addition to a prominent role in glycemic control, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists exhibit neuroprotective properties. There is mounting experimental evidence that GLP-1 receptor agonists, including liraglutide, may enhance synaptic plasticity, counteract cognitive deficits and ameliorate neurodegenerative features in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease (AD), predominantly in the context of β-amyloid toxicity. Here we characterized the effects of liraglutide in a transgenic mutant tau (hTauP301L) mouse tauopathy model, which develops age-dependent pathology-specific neuronal tau phosphorylation and neurofibrillary tangle formation with progressively compromised motor function (limb clasping).

Newborns health in the Danube Region: Environment, biomonitoring, interventions and economic benefits in a large prospective birth cohort study.

Background: The EU strategy for the Danube Region addresses numerous challenges including environment, health and socioeconomic disparities. Many old environmental burdens and heavily polluted areas in Europe are located in the Danube Region, consisting of 14 countries, with over 100 million people. Estimating the burden of environmental exposures on early-life health is a growing research area in Europe which has major public health implications, but the data from the Danube Region are largely missing.

MAP1LC3B overexpression protects against Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome type-1-induced defective autophagy in vitro.

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder, and some patients with HPS develop pulmonary fibrosis, known as HPS-associated interstitial pneumonia (HPSIP). We have previously reported that HPSIP is associated with severe surfactant accumulation, lysosomal stress, and alveolar epithelial cell type II (AECII) apoptosis. Here, we hypothesized that defective autophagy might result in excessive lysosomal stress in HPSIP.

[Golf handicap score is a suitable scale for monitoring rehabilitation after apoplexia cerebri].

A 67-year-old male was examined nine, 35 and 135 days after stroke using conventional stroke scales, 18 holes of golf, functional MRI (fist closures) and translocator protein imaging of microglial function in the brain using single photon emission computed tomography. The data showed that the over 100-year-old golf handicap scale is better suited for quantifying recovery after stroke than conventional stroke assessment scales, which are prone to ceiling effect. We suggest that rating with golf handicap should be used more widely in stroke research, and we find it tremendously important that these new findings are published before Christmas.

Associations between plasma concentrations of PCB 28 and possible indoor exposure sources in Danish school children and mothers.

Background: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitously present in the environment and are suspected of carcinogenic, neurotoxic and immunotoxic effects. Significantly higher plasma concentrations of the congener PCB 28 occur in children compared to adults. Exposure in schools may contribute to this difference.

Novel understanding of ABC transporters ABCB1/MDR/P-glycoprotein, ABCC2/MRP2, and ABCG2/BCRP in colorectal pathophysiology.

Aim: To evaluate ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in colonic pathophysiology as they had recently been related to colorectal cancer (CRC) development.

Methods: Literature search was conducted on PubMed using combinations of the following terms: ABC transporters, ATP binding cassette transporter proteins, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative, colitis, Crohn's disease, colorectal cancer, colitis, intestinal inflammation, intestinal carcinogenesis, ABCB1/P-glycoprotein (P-gp/CD243/MDR1), ABCC2/multidrug resistance protein 2 (MRP2) and ABCG2/breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), Abcb1/Mdr1a, abcc2/Mrp2, abcg2/Bcrp, knock-out mice, tight junction, membrane lipid function.

Results: Recently, human studies reported that changes in the levels of ABC transporters were early events in the adenoma-carcinoma sequence leading to CRC.

Phylogenetic and epidemiological analysis of measles outbreaks in Denmark, 2013 to 2014.

Despite the introduction of safe, effective vaccines decades ago and joint global public health efforts to eliminate measles, this vaccine-preventable disease continues to pose threats to children's health worldwide. During 2013 and 2014, measles virus was introduced into Denmark through several independent importations. This resulted in a number of secondary cases (n=7), with two clusters in 2013 and one in 2014.

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 is an increasing cause of disease in people with no livestock contact in Denmark, 1999 to 2011.

Livestock constitutes a potential reservoir of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates belonging to a recently derived lineage within clonal complex 398 (MRSA CC398-IIa). Since its discovery in the early 2000s, this lineage has become a major cause of human disease in Europe, posing a serious public health challenge in countries with intensive livestock production. To retrace the history of human colonisation and infection with MRSA CC398-IIa in Denmark, we conducted a nationwide, retrospective study of MRSA isolates collected from 1999 to 2011.

FDG PET/CT in cancer: comparison of actual use with literature-based recommendations.

Purpose: The Region of Southern Denmark (RSD), covering 1.2 of Denmark's 5.6 million inhabitants, established a task force to (1) retrieve literature evidence for the clinical use of positron emission tomography (PET)/CT and provide consequent recommendations and further to (2) compare the actual use of PET/CT in the RSD with these recommendations.

Maternal pain influences her evaluation of recurrent pain in 6- to 11-year-old healthy children.

Aim: Children with recurrent pain rely on their parents to acknowledge it. We compared pain reported by healthy children and their mothers, to evaluate their agreement, and also looked at the effect of maternal health on children's pain.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey in Danish public schools.

The MicroRNA Repertoire in Enteroendocrine Cells: Identification of miR-375 as a Potential Regulator of the Enteroendocrine Lineage.

Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are crucial for many biological processes, but their role in the enteroendocrine development and differentiation has been neglected due to the elusive nature of the enteroendocrine cells. However, transgenic mice expressing fluorescent reporter proteins under the control of promoters for Cck, Gpr41, and Lgr5, ie, two different enteroendocrine markers and a marker for the stem cells, now enables identification and FACS purification of enteroendocrine cells at different stages of their differentiation along the crypt-villus axis. Surprisingly few of the 746 analyzed miRNAs differed in their expression pattern between enteroendocrine and nonenteroendocrine cells of the gut mucosa and between enteroendocrine cells of the crypt versus the villus.

The role of inducible nitric oxide synthase for interstitial remodeling of alveolar septa in surfactant protein D-deficient mice.

Surfactant protein D (SP-D) modulates the lung's immune system. Its absence leads to NOS2-independent alveolar lipoproteinosis and NOS2-dependent chronic inflammation, which is critical for early emphysematous remodeling. With aging, SP-D knockout mice develop an additional interstitial fibrotic component.

Micronucleus frequency in Danish schoolchildren and their mothers from the DEMOCOPHES population.

Micronucleus (MN) frequency is a biomarker for early genetic effects which is often used in human biomonitoring studies. Increased frequency of micronuclei has been associated with high levels of traffic exposure. Further high MN frequency was found predictive for cancer development in several studies of adults.

Correlating 3D morphology with molecular pathology: fibrotic remodelling in human lung biopsies.

Assessing alterations of the parenchymal architecture is essential in understanding fibrosing interstitial lung diseases. Here, we present a novel method to visualise fibrotic remodelling in human lungs and correlate morphological three-dimensional (3D) data with gene and protein expression in the very same sample. The key to our approach is a novel embedding resin that clears samples to full optical transparency and simultaneously allows 3D laser tomography and preparation of sections for histology, immunohistochemistry and RNA isolation.

Causes of genome instability: the effect of low dose chemical exposures in modern society.

Genome instability is a prerequisite for the development of cancer. It occurs when genome maintenance systems fail to safeguard the genome's integrity, whether as a consequence of inherited defects or induced via exposure to environmental agents (chemicals, biological agents and radiation). Thus, genome instability can be defined as an enhanced tendency for the genome to acquire mutations; ranging from changes to the nucleotide sequence to chromosomal gain, rearrangements or loss.