The functional benefits of tilt adaptation.

Many have argued that effects of adaptation, such as aftereffects from motion or tilt, reflect that the visual system hones its responses in on the characteristics of the adapting stimulus. This view entails that on average, the discrimination of the characteristics of an adapting stimulus should become easier as viewing time increases since the variation in the response gradually adapts to the range and variation in the stimulus. Here this was tested for adaptation to tilt.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia--Nationwide assessment of treatment adequacy and outcome.

Objectives: To assess the treatment adequacy for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) and its association with outcome on a whole population basis.

Methods: All individuals ≥18 years old diagnosed with SAB in Iceland between December 1 2003 and November 30 2008 were retrospectively identified. Clinical data was collected from medical records and adequacy of antibiotic treatment based on antibiotic choice, dose, administration route and treatment duration.

[Bacterial osteomyelitis and arthritis in Icelandic children 1996-2005].

Objective: The main objective was to determine the incidence and causative pathogens of osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in Icelandic children, as well as presenting symptoms and diagnosis.

Methods: A nationwide retrospective review was done of all children <18 year old, 1996-2005. Subjects were divided into three equal age groups, 0-5, 6-11 and 12-17 years old.

The effect of deleting a putative salt bridge on the properties of the thermostable subtilisin-like proteinase, aqualysin I.

Aqualysin I, is a subtilisin-like serine proteinase, from the thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus. It is predicted that the enzyme contains a salt bridge, D17-R259, connecting the N- and C-terminal regions of the enzyme. Previously we reported on the stabilizing effect of the incorporation of a salt bridge at a corresponding site in VPR, a related cold adapted enzyme from a marine Vibrio sp.

Evolution of adaptive diversity and genetic connectivity in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in Iceland.

The ecological theory of adaptive radiation predicts that the evolution of phenotypic diversity within species is generated by divergent natural selection arising from different environments and competition between species. Genetic connectivity among populations is likely also to have an important role in both the origin and maintenance of adaptive genetic diversity. Our goal was to evaluate the potential roles of genetic connectivity and natural selection in the maintenance of adaptive phenotypic differences among morphs of Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, in Iceland.

Molecular taxonomy and phylogenetic affinities of two groundwater amphipods, Crangonyx islandicus and Crymostygius thingvallensis, endemic to Iceland.

The amphipod superfamily Crangonyctoidea is distributed exclusively in freshwater habitats worldwide and is characteristic of subterranean habitats. Two members of the family, Crangonyx islandicus and Crymostygius thingvallensis, are endemic to Iceland and were recently discovered in groundwater underneath lava fields. Crangonyx islandicus belongs to a well-known genus with representatives both in North America and in Eurasia.

Smoking outcome expectancies in young adult female smokers: individual differences and associations with nicotine dependence in a genetically informative sample.

Outcome expectancy is a central construct in models of addiction. Several outcome expectancies associated with smoking cigarettes have been identified, and studies suggest that individual differences in smoking expectancies are related to important aspects of tobacco use, including levels of smoking, nicotine dependence and smoking cessation. In the present study, we used a novel analytic method, exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), to quantify smoking expectancies from a subset of items adapted from the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (SCQ; Brandon and Baker, 1991) and SCQ-Adult (Copeland et al.

Genetic correction of PSA values using sequence variants associated with PSA levels.

Measuring serum levels of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the most common screening method for prostate cancer. However, PSA levels are affected by a number of factors apart from neoplasia. Notably, around 40% of the variability of PSA levels in the general population is accounted for by inherited factors, suggesting that it may be possible to improve both sensitivity and specificity by adjusting test results for genetic effects.

How effects on health equity are assessed in systematic reviews of interventions.

Background: Enhancing health equity has now achieved international political importance with endorsement from the World Health Assembly in 2009.  The failure of systematic reviews to consider effects on health equity is cited by decision-makers as a limitation to their ability to inform policy and program decisions. 

Objectives: To systematically review methods to assess effects on health equity in systematic reviews of effectiveness.

Body weight dissatisfaction in the Icelandic adult population: a normative discontent?

Background: Body weight dissatisfaction is a common problem in many modern societies and it appears to have grown over time. This study examined the prevalence and predictors of body weight dissatisfaction among 18- to 79-year-old Icelanders. The distribution of body weight dissatisfaction according to the WHO body mass index criteria for underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity was also assessed.

Hidden state dynamics in laser Doppler vibrometery measurements of the carotid pulse under resting conditions.

A laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) is used to sense movements of the skin overlying the carotid artery. Fluctuations in carotid artery diameter due to variations in the underlying blood pressure are sensed at the surface of the skin. Portions of the LDV signal corresponding to single heartbeats, called the LDV pulses, are extracted.

Drinking motives in female smokers: factor structure, alcohol dependence, and genetic influences.

Background: Alcohol and tobacco use often co-occur. Human and animal studies indicate that nicotine increases alcohol's rewarding effects and the motivation to consume it. The aims of this study were to examine whether the factorial architecture of self-reported motivations to consume alcohol differed between regular and nonregular cigarette smokers while taking into account the lifetime history of alcohol dependence and psychopathology, and to estimate the genetic and environmental influences on the motivations.

Temporal consistency is currency in shifts of transient visual attention.

Background: Observers respond more accurately to targets in visual search tasks that share properties with previously presented items, and transient attention can learn featural consistencies on a precue, irrespective of its absolute location.

Methodology/principal Findings: We investigated whether such attentional benefits also apply to temporal consistencies. Would performance on a precued Vernier acuity discrimination task, followed by a mask, improve if the cue-lead times (CLTs; 50, 100, 150 or 200 ms) remained constant between trials compared to when they changed? The results showed that if CLTs remained constant for a few trials in a row, Vernier acuity performance gradually improved while changes in CLT from one trial to the next led to worse than average discrimination performance.

Exploring novel non-Leloir β-glucosyltransferases from proteobacteria for modifying linear (β1->3)-linked gluco-oligosaccharide chains.

Over the years several β-glucan transferases from yeast and fungi have been reported, but enzymes with such an activity from bacteria have not been characterized so far. In this work, we describe the cloning and expression of genes encoding β-glucosyltransferase domains of glycosyl hydrolase family GH17 from three species of proteobacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, P. putida KT2440 and Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC BAA-1303.

Gastrointestinal sensitivity to soy and milk proteins in patients with IgA nephropathy.

Background: sensitivity to food antigens has been postulated as a contributing factor to the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN).

Methods: in this study we used a recently developed mucosal patch technique to evaluate rectal mucosal sensitivity to soy and cow's milk (CM) proteins in IgAN patients (n = 28) compared to healthy subjects (n = 18). The rectal mucosal production of nitric oxide (NO) and release of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) were measured.

"The Fly": a new clinical assessment and treatment method for deficits of movement control in the cervical spine: reliability and validity.

Study Design: Test-retest and case-control study designed to detect accuracy of cervical spine movements by comparing 3 incrementally difficult movement patterns. An asymptomatic group, a nontrauma neck pain group, and a group with whiplash-associated disorders, Grade II, were tested (n = 18 in each group).

Objective: To determine the test-retest reliability and the discriminative validity of the new Fly method.

Altered scapular orientation during arm elevation in patients with insidious onset neck pain and whiplash-associated disorder.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study using a cross-sectional design.

Objectives: To investigate whether there is a pattern of altered scapular orientation during arm elevation in patients with insidious onset neck pain (IONP) and whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) compared to asymptomatic people.

Background: Altered activity in the axioscapular muscles and impairments in scapular orientation are considered to be important features in patients with cervical disorders.

Adolescent substance use, sleep, and academic achievement: evidence of harm due to caffeine.

Using academic achievement as the key outcome variable, 7377 Icelandic adolescents were surveyed for cigarette smoking, alcohol use, daytime sleepiness, caffeine use, and potential confounders. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine direct and indirect effects of measured and latent variables in two models: the first with caffeine excluded and the second with caffeine included. A substantial proportion of variance in academic achievement, which might otherwise have been attributed to the harmful effects of cigarette smoking and alcohol use, was found to be attributable to caffeine.

A collaborative community approach to adolescent substance misuse in Iceland.

Substance use has become a major threat to health and human development in many European countries. In 23 out of 28 countries participating in the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD), there was a constant and substantial increase in substance use among secondary-school students between the years 1995 and 2003 (Hibell , 2003). Iceland experienced a similar upward trend in substance use (Sigfusdottir , 2008).

[Discontinuation of prophylactic drugs to the elderly].

Polypharmacy is common among the elderly and consequences may be adverse drug reactions, interactions and toxicity. At the same time it is well documented that elderly patients are suboptimally treated for conditions such as atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis. When assessing medical treatment one must take into account the remaining life expectancy, time to effect, complication risk related to not treating, risks related to adverse drug effects and interactions, patient preferences and treatment goals.

Association of variants at UMOD with chronic kidney disease and kidney stones-role of age and comorbid diseases.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. To search for sequence variants that associate with CKD, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) that included a total of 3,203 Icelandic cases and 38,782 controls. We observed an association between CKD and a variant with 80% population frequency, rs4293393-T, positioned next to the UMOD gene (GeneID: 7369) on chromosome 16p12 (OR = 1.

Ancestry-shift refinement mapping of the C6orf97-ESR1 breast cancer susceptibility locus.

We used an approach that we term ancestry-shift refinement mapping to investigate an association, originally discovered in a GWAS of a Chinese population, between rs2046210[T] and breast cancer susceptibility. The locus is on 6q25.1 in proximity to the C6orf97 and estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) genes.