Electrophoretic deposition of ZnO/alginate and ZnO-bioactive glass/alginate composite coatings for antimicrobial applications.

Two organic/inorganic composite coatings based on alginate, as organic matrix, and zinc oxide nanoparticles (n-ZnO) with and without bioactive glass (BG), as inorganic components, intended for biomedical applications, were developed by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Different n-ZnO (1-10 g/L) and BG (1-1.5 g/L) contents were studied for a fixed alginate concentration (2 g/L).

Factors associated with longitudinal food record compliance in a paediatric cohort study.

Objective: Non-compliance with food record submission can induce bias in nutritional epidemiological analysis and make it difficult to draw inference from study findings. We examined the impact of demographic, lifestyle and psychosocial factors on such non-compliance during the first 3 years of participation in a multidisciplinary prospective paediatric study.

Design: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study collects a 3 d food record quarterly during the first year of life and semi-annually thereafter.

Factors affecting the sorption of cesium in a nutrient-poor boreal bog.

(135)Cs is among the most important radionuclides in the long-term safety assessments of spent nuclear fuel, due to its long half-life of 2.3 My and large inventory in spent nuclear fuel. Batch sorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the sorption behavior of radiocesium ((134)Cs) in the surface moss, peat, gyttja, and clay layers of 7-m-deep profiles taken from a nutrient-poor boreal bog.

Protein interactions with corroding metal surfaces: comparison of Mg and Fe.

The influence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the electrochemical behaviour of pure Mg and Fe was studied in simulated body fluid (SBF), in view of the possible application of these materials as biodegradable metals. Results indicate a different trend for the BSA-effect on corrosion for the two metals: for Mg, a strong corrosion-inhibiting effect is observed in the presence of BSA in solution, especially for short-term exposure, whereas for Fe only a slight acceleration of corrosion is caused by the addition of BSA to the solution. For both metals, the protein-effect on the electrochemical behaviour shows a complex time-dependence.

Age at menarche and diet among adolescents in slums of Nashik, India.

Background And Aim: The role of dietary patterns in determining age at menarche is insufficiently understood in low-income countries. The relationship between dietary patterns, particularly the consumption of oil, and age at menarche in a slum-dwelling adolescent population in India is examined.

Methods: Data were derived from a cross-sectional baseline survey and anthropometric measurements among 10- to 19-year-old adolescents (n=545, female respondents 272, of whom 160 were post-menarcheal) and a household survey in two slums in the city of Nashik, Western India.

Iron and iron-based alloys for temporary cardiovascular applications.

In the last decade, biodegradable metals have emerged as a topic of interest for particular biomedical applications which require high strength to bulk ratio, including for cardiovascular stents. The advantages of biodegradable materials are related to the reduction of long term risks associated with the presence of permanent metal implants, e.g.

Food consumption and risk of childhood asthma.

Background: The consumption of foods rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids has been proposed to protect against childhood asthma. This study explores the association of food consumption (including cow's milk (CM)-free diet) in early life and the risk of atopic and non-atopic asthma.

Methods: Food intake of 182 children with asthma and 728 matched controls was measured using 3-day food records, within the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) Nutrition Study cohort.

The dynamics of the human infant gut microbiome in development and in progression toward type 1 diabetes.

Colonization of the fetal and infant gut microbiome results in dynamic changes in diversity, which can impact disease susceptibility. To examine the relationship between human gut microbiome dynamics throughout infancy and type 1 diabetes (T1D), we examined a cohort of 33 infants genetically predisposed to T1D. Modeling trajectories of microbial abundances through infancy revealed a subset of microbial relationships shared across most subjects.

Age at gluten introduction and risk of celiac disease.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine whether age at introduction to gluten was associated with risk for celiac disease (CD) in genetically predisposed children.

Methods: TEDDY (The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young) is a prospective birth cohort study. Newborn infants (N = 6436) screened for high-risk HLA-genotypes for CD were followed up in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the United States.

Maternal intake of fatty acids and their food sources during lactation and the risk of preclinical and clinical type 1 diabetes in the offspring.

Aims: We examined maternal dietary intake of fatty acids and foods which are sources of fatty acids during lactation and whether they are associated with the risk of preclinical and clinical type 1 diabetes in the offspring.

Methods: The subjects comprised a cohort of 2,939 mother-child pairs from the prospective Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study. Composition of maternal diet during the third month of lactation was assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Bayesian modelling to identify the risk factors for Yersinia enterocolitica contamination of pork carcasses and pluck sets in slaughterhouses.

The probability of contamination by pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica of carcasses and pluck sets at slaughterhouse was determined by means of a Bayesian analysis. Prior information of the prevalence of Y. enterocolitica in faeces and the seroprevalence of Yersinia in serum of pigs collected at farms were obtained from previous studies and introduced in the models as beta prior informative distributions.

White matter damage of the brain is associated with poor outcome in vascular surgery patients with claudication: a pilot study.

Objective: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a systemic atherosclerotic syndrome with high post-operative morbidity and mortality. Fractional anisotropy (FA), an index measured by magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), has been shown to be exceedingly sensitive to microstructural damage in brain white matter tracts. It is hypothesized that pre-operative white matter damage is more extensive in PAD patients scheduled for vascular surgery who experience an adverse long-term outcome.

Group Factor Analysis.

Factor analysis (FA) provides linear factors that describe the relationships between individual variables of a data set. We extend this classical formulation into linear factors that describe the relationships between groups of variables, where each group represents either a set of related variables or a data set. The model also naturally extends canonical correlation analysis to more than two sets, in a way that is more flexible than previous extensions.

Isolation and characterization of Yersinia-specific bacteriophages from pig stools in Finland.

Aims: Bacteriophages infect bacteria, and they are present everywhere in the world including the intestinal tracts of animals. Yersiniosis is a common foodborne infection caused by Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. As these bacteria are frequently isolated from pigs, we wanted to know whether Yersinia-specific bacteriophages are also present in the pig stools and, if so, whether there is a positive or negative association between the prevalence of the Yersinia phages and the pathogenic Yersinia in the stool samples.

Evaluation of a brief counseling for tobacco cessation in dental clinics among Swedish smokers and snus users. A cluster randomized controlled trial (the FRITT study).

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a very brief structured counseling for tobacco cessation in dentistry clinics.

Method: A cluster randomized trial was conducted in Sweden in 2012-2013. Twenty-seven dentistry clinics in two Swedish counties were randomized to provide either a structured brief advice based on the 5 A's model or usual care.

A multi-scale comparison of dissolved Al, Fe and S in a boreal acid sulphate soil.

Acid sulphate (AS) soils are most prevalent in the tropics, but the acidic discharge from cultivated AS soils also threatens water bodies under boreal conditions. Feasible options to reduce the acid load are needed. In this study, the groundwater of an AS field was monitored for 3.

Identification of structural features in chemicals associated with cancer drug response: a systematic data-driven analysis.

Motivation: Analysis of relationships of drug structure to biological response is key to understanding off-target and unexpected drug effects, and for developing hypotheses on how to tailor drug therapies. New methods are required for integrated analyses of a large number of chemical features of drugs against the corresponding genome-wide responses of multiple cell models.

Results: In this article, we present the first comprehensive multi-set analysis on how the chemical structure of drugs impacts on genome-wide gene expression across several cancer cell lines [Connectivity Map (CMap) database].

Adenosine inhibits tumor cell invasion via receptor-independent mechanisms.

Unlabelled: Extracellular adenosine mediates diverse anti-inflammatory, angiogenic, and other signaling effects via binding to adenosine receptors, and it also regulates cell proliferation and death via activation of the intrinsic signaling pathways. Given the emerging role of adenosine and other purines in tumor growth and metastasis, this study evaluated the effects of adenosine on the invasion of metastatic prostate and breast cancer cells. Treatment with low micromolar concentrations of adenosine, but not other nucleosides or adenosine receptor agonists, inhibited subsequent cell invasion and migration through Matrigel- and laminin-coated inserts.

Microbial exposure in infancy and subsequent appearance of type 1 diabetes mellitus-associated autoantibodies: a cohort study.

Importance: The role of microbial exposure during early life in the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus is unclear.

Objective: To investigate whether animal contact and other microbial exposures during infancy are associated with the development of preclinical and clinical type 1 diabetes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A birth cohort of children with HLA antigen-DQB1-conferred susceptibility to type 1 diabetes was examined.

Prenatal and post-natal exposure to antibiotics and risk of asthma in childhood.

Background: Evidence on the association between post-natal exposure to antibiotics and the development of asthma is extensive, but inconsistent and even less is known about prenatal exposure.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the associations between prenatal and post-natal exposure to different antibiotics and the risk of childhood asthma in a population- and register-based nested case-control study.

Methods: All children who were born in 1996-2004 in Finland and diagnosed with asthma by 2006 were identified from a national health register.

Hydrolyzed infant formula and early β-cell autoimmunity: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: The disease process leading to clinical type 1 diabetes often starts during the first years of life. Early exposure to complex dietary proteins may increase the risk of β-cell autoimmunity in children at genetic risk for type 1 diabetes. Extensively hydrolyzed formulas do not contain intact proteins.