Sexual function changes attributed to hormonal contraception use - a qualitative study of women experiencing negative effects.

To increase the understanding of women who experience negative effects on sexual function when using hormonal contraception. We performed 24 in-depth interviews with women who had previously experienced negative sexual function effects while using hormonal contraceptives. The thematic analysis method was used.

A survey of young women's perceptions of the influence of the Levonorgestrel-Intrauterine System or copper-intrauterine device on sexual desire.

Objectives: Few studies, with contradictory results, evaluate intrauterine contraceptives (IUC) and sexual function specifically. This study compares perception of sexual desire related to IUC use and aspects of sexual function in women who use the Lng-IUS with those using the Cu-IUD.

Study Design: A secondary analysis regarding IUC use based on a larger cross-sectional survey of contraceptive use in Sweden, conducted in 2013.

Sexual function and combined oral contraceptives - a randomised, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: The effect of combined oral contraceptives (COC) on female sexuality has long been a matter of discussion, but placebo-controlled studies are lacking. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate if an estradiol-containing COC influences sexual function.

Design: Investigator-initiated, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial where 202 healthy women were randomized to a combined oral contraceptive (1.

Ongoing or previous mental disorders predispose to adverse mood reporting during combined oral contraceptive use.

Purpose: Previous studies have emphasised that women with pre-existing mood disorders are more inclined to discontinue hormonal contraceptive use. However, few studies have examined the effects of combined oral contraceptives (COC) on mood in women with previous or ongoing mental disorders.

Materials And Methods: This is a supplementary analysis of an investigator-initiated, double-blinded, randomised clinical trial during which 202 women were treated with either a COC (1.

Testing Human Skin and Respiratory Sensitizers-What Is Good Enough?

Alternative methods for accurate in vitro assessment of skin and respiratory sensitizers are urgently needed. Sensitization is a complex biological process that cannot be evaluated accurately using single events or biomarkers, since the information content is too restricted in these measurements. On the contrary, if the tremendous information content harbored in DNA/mRNA could be mined, most complex biological processes could be elucidated.

Combined oral contraceptive use is associated with both improvement and worsening of mood in the different phases of the treatment cycle-A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial.

Objective: Ever since the introduction of combined oral contraception (COC), one of the major reasons for discontinuing the pill use has been mood-related side effects. Moreover, women who discontinue the pill turn to less effective methods whereby the probability of an unintended conception increases. Approximately 4-10% of COC users complain of depressed mood, irritability or increased anxiety, but drug-related causality has been difficult to prove.

Hormonal contraception and sexual desire: A questionnaire-based study of young Swedish women.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine whether a decrease in sexual desire is more prevalent among women using hormonal contraception than among women using hormone-free contraception, and whether a decrease increases the risk of changing to another contraceptive method.

Methods: A validated questionnaire was posted to 3740 women (aged 22, 25 or 28 years) living in Sweden. Descriptive statistics were used to present the results; differences between groups were tested using χ(2) analyses.

Technical improvement of human pancreatic islet isolation.

Introduction: A key factor for successful islet isolation is to place the optimal amount of enzyme into the pancreatic ducts prior to starting digestion of pancreatic glands. To improve this procedure, we introduced novel techniques to identify and repair tissue damage resulting in leakage of collagenase solution.

Materials And Methods: One hundred twelve standardized consecutive islet isolations were for the effects of dye and glue on islet yield, islet function using a perifusion assay, and the possibility of clinical transplantation.

The phage infection process: a functional role for the distal linker region of bacteriophage protein 3.

The filamentous bacteriophage infects Escherichia coli by interaction with the F pilus and the TolQRA complex. The virus-encoded protein initiating this process is the gene 3 protein (g3p). The g3p molecule can be divided into three different domains separated by two glycine-rich linker regions.

Penetration and co-localization in MDCK cell mitochondria of IgA derived from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic autoimmune liver disease of unknown etiology characterized by high-titer anti-mitochondrial antibodies. The major autoantigen has been identified as the E2 subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC-E2). The fact that PDC-E2 is present in all nucleated cells, but autoimmune damage is confined to biliary epithelial cells, prompted us to investigate the possibility that mucosally-derived IgA may be pathogenic for biliary epithelial cells.

Selective phage infection mediated by epitope expression on F pilus.

Proteins and peptides can be displayed on bacterial and bacteriophage surfaces as fusions to bacterial integral membrane proteins or phage coat proteins. We now report on the expression of peptide antigens on the surface of F pili, elaborated by F+ strains of Escherichia coli. The peptides were expressed as fusions to F pilin, the building block of the F pilus that is encoded by the traA gene on the F plasmid.

Binding site for C4b-binding protein in vitamin K-dependent protein S fully contained in carboxy-terminal laminin-G-type repeats. A study using recombinant factor IX-protein S chimeras and surface plasmon resonance.

The interaction between vitamin K-dependent protein S and the C4b-binding protein (C4BP) was studied using surface plasmon resonance and genetic engineering. The affinity, as well as association and dissociation rates of the complex, was measured for human and bovine protein S at five different calcium concentrations. The binding to C4BP of six protein hybrids containing different parts of coagulation factor IX and protein S was studied in the absence and presence of calcium.

Selection of binders from phage displayed antibody libraries using the BIAcore biosensor.

In this report we show that phage displayed antibodies can be selected based on dissociation rate constants, using a BIAcore biosensor. To demonstrate the principle, two Fab phage stocks displaying antibodies specific for hen egg lysozyme or phenyloxazolone were mixed in a ratio of 1:10 and injected over the biosensor chip containing immobilized lysozyme. Antigen-specific bound phages were eluted and analysed for specificity and phage titer.

In vitro immunization of naive human B cells yields high affinity immunoglobulin G antibodies as illustrated by phage display.

In vitro antibody responses to a synthetic immunogen, consisting of both a B cell [V3 loop of gp120 from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)] and a T-helper epitope (15 amino acids of tetanus toxoid) was studied. The in vitro activation was performed by primary and secondary in vitro immunizations, using lymphocytes obtained from uninfected, seronegative donors. Analysis of the in vitro immune response demonstrated an antigen-specific isotype switch, which was dependent on the presence of antigen-specific T-helper cells, CD40 ligation and antigen.