Showing papers by "University of Turku published in 1995"
TL;DR: It is concluded that a mutation in the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor gene causes hypergonadotropic ovarian dysgenesis in multiplex affected families and that the mutation causes ODG in these families.
902 citations
TL;DR: It is very important to be able to enhance the stability of probiotic bacteria both in old and new applications in order to expand their new uses and also to guarantee minimum effective doses for particular products.
Abstract: Recent advances in probiotic research have finally confirmed the health benefits of some probiotic bacterial strains. In addition to their application to dairy products, probiotic bacteria are now being applied to new food products including fermented cereals, infant formulae and therapeutic foods. It is very important to be able to enhance the stability of probiotic bacteria both in old and new applications in order to expand their new uses and also to guarantee minimum effective doses for particular products.
606 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a novel concept in far-field fluorescence microscopy, ground state depletion (GSD), was introduced to overcome the classical diffraction resolution limit. But the concept was not applied to the localization of the outer region of the focus of a scanning fluorescence microscope.
Abstract: We introduce and study a novel concept in farfield fluorescence microscopy fundamentally overcoming the classical diffraction resolution limit. This is accomlished by reducing the spatial extent of the effective focus of a scanning fluorescence microscope. The reduction is achieved by depleting the ground-state energy of the molecules located in the outer region of the focus. Our theoretical study shows that ground-state-depletion fluorescence microscopy has the potential of increasing the resolution of far-field fluorescence microscopy by an order of magnitude which is equivalent to a lateral resolution of 15 NM.
600 citations
TL;DR: Quantification of landscape heterogeneity in Peruvian Iowland Amazonia (500,000 kilometers squared), based on field studies and satellite image analysis, shows that Peruvian Amazonia is considerably more heterogeneous than previously reported.
Abstract: Biogeographical and biodiversity studies in Iowland Amazonian rain forests typically refer to observed or postulated distribution barriers such as past unfavorable climates, mountains, rivers, and river floodplains that divide the uniform tierra firme (noninundated) forest. Present-day ecological heterogeneity within tierra firme has hardly been discussed in this context, although edaphic differences are known to affect species distribution patterns in both inundated areas and tierra firme. Quantification of landscape heterogeneity in Peruvian Iowland Amazonia (500,000 kilometers squared), based on field studies and satellite image analysis, shows that Peruvian Amazonia is considerably more heterogeneous than previously reported. These observations have implications for the research, management, and conservation of Amazonian biodiversity.
449 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that kestrels flying over an area can see and use vole scent marks to assess vole numbers, a novel explanation for how raptors detect patches of high vole densities without prior knowledge of local food resources.
Abstract: IN northern Europe, broad four-year oscillations in small rodent and raptor populations are synchronous over hundreds of square kilometers1–6. Crashes in vole populations can induce wide emigration (> 1,000 km) of their predators7 –9, but almost nothing is known about how predators rapidly detect areas of vole abundance. Here we report on laboratory and field experiments on voles (Microtus agrestis) and kestrels (Falco tinnunculus). Voles mark their runaways with urine and faeces, which are visible in ultraviolet light. Wild kestrels brought into captivity were able to detect vole scent marks in ultraviolet light but not in visible light. In the field, kestrels hunted preferentially near experimental nest-boxes where artificial trails were treated with vole urine and faeces. We suggest that kestrels flying over an area can see and use vole scent marks to assess vole numbers. This ability would enable kestrels to 'screen' large areas in a relatively short time. Our results provide a novel explanation for how raptors detect patches of high vole densities without prior knowledge of local food resources.
336 citations
TL;DR: The study lends good support to the use of the pupillary response as an indicator of processing load by showing that momentary variations in processing load during a lexical translation task are reflected in pupil size.
Abstract: The present study tested whether the pupillary response can be applied to study the variation in processing load during simultaneous interpretation. In Experiment 1, the global processing load in s...
335 citations
TL;DR: Alterations in striatal presynaptic dopamine function may constitute a part of disrupted neural circuits that predispose to schizophrenic psychosis.
331 citations
TL;DR: The main rhetorical elements for all attempts to generalize in accounting research are statistical, contextual, and constructive generalization as mentioned in this paper, which are the three main rhetorics used in accounting studies: statistical generalization rhetoric relies on formal arguments brought from a mathematical theory, contextual generalization is based on understanding of the historical and institutional context, and the diffusion of innovation.
Abstract: Generalization in accounting research is always suspect as the social context and institutions of accounting change over time and space. However, exactly for this reason, there are a number of different ways to reach pragmatic and somewhat generalizable results. No research programme or approach has an absolute upper hand in understanding the true dynamics of economic development. The genuine puzzle of inductive reasoning creates a rhetorical element for all attempts to generalize in accounting research. The main rhetorics used in accounting studies are statistical, contextual, and constructive generalization. To put it in broad terms, statistical generalization rhetoric relies on formal arguments brought from a mathematical theory, contextual generalization rhetoric is based on understanding of the historical and institutional context, and constructive generalization relies on the diffusion of innovation. Combining the often silenced opportunities of contextual or constructive generalization rhetorics in...
324 citations
TL;DR: Late Miocene tidal sediments of Acre, Brazilian Amazonia, were deposited in an embayment or interior seaway located in the sub-Andean zone and give insight into the formation of several observed biogeographic patterns, especially of aquatic biota.
Abstract: Late Miocene tidal sediments of Acre, Brazilian Amazonia, were deposited in an embayment or interior seaway located in the sub-Andean zone. This late Tertiary embayment system may once have connected the Caribbean with the South Atlantic. The tidal coasts of the embayment-seaway have provided an avenue for the earliest waif (over water) dispersal phases of the great American biotic interchange in the late Miocene. The subsequent change from semimarine to terrestrial environments is of value in assessing the importance of earlier hypotheses on the evolution of the westem Amazonian landscape and gives insight into the formation of several observed biogeographic patterns, especially of aquatic biota.
322 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that systematic usage of polyol-based chewing gums reduces caries rates in young subjects, with xylitol gums being more effective than sorbitol gums.
Abstract: Dental caries is a pandemic infectious disease which can affect the quality of life and consumes considerable health care resources. The chewing of xylitol, sorbitol, and even sugar gum has been suggested to reduce caries rates. No clinical study has simultaneously investigated the effectiveness of these gums when compared with a group receiving no chewing gum. A 40-month double-blind cohort study on the relationship between the use of chewing gum and dental caries was performed in 1989-1993 in Belize, Central America. One thousand two hundred and seventy-seven subjects (mean age, 10.2 years) were assigned to nine treatment groups: one control group (no supervised gum use), four xylitol groups (range of supervised xylitol consumption: 4.3 to 9.0 g/day), two xylitol-sorbitol groups (range of supervised consumption of total polyols: 8.0 to 9.7 g/day), one sorbitol group (supervised consumption: 9.0 g/day). The gum use during school hours was supervised. Four calibrated dentists performed the caries registrations by means of a modified WHO procedure. The primary endpoint was the development of an unequivocal caries lesion on a non-cavitated tooth surface. Compared with the no-gum group, sucrose gum usage resulted in a marginal increase in the caries rate (relative risk, 1.20; 95% confidence interval,0.96 to 1.49; p = 0.1128). Sorbitol gum significantly reduced caries rates (relative risk 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.6 to 0.92 ; p = 0.0074). The four xylitol gums were most effective in reducing caries rates, the most effective agent being a 100% xylitol pellet gum (relative risk, 0.27; 95% confidence interval, 0.20 to 0.36; p = 0.0001). This gum was superior to any other gum (p < 0.01). The xylitol-sorbitol mixtures were less effective than xylitol, but they reduced caries rates significantly compared with the no-gum group. DMFS analyses were consistent with these conclusions. The results suggest that systematic usage of polyol-based chewing gums reduces caries rates in young subjects, with xylitol gums being more effective than sorbitol gums.
280 citations
TL;DR: The data indicate that the level of MMP-1 expression is regulated by the collagen receptor α2β1 integrin, and the down-regulation of collagen α1(I) is mediated by another receptor.
TL;DR: The results suggest that different HSPGs have multiple functions in keratinocyte migration and differentiation during reepithelialization, and indicate that migrating keratinocytes express both CD44 and syndecan-1 but not BM-HSPG.
Abstract: We investigated the expression of proteoglycans (PGs) and hyaluronan (HA) during healing of human mucosal wounds. Biopsy specimens of experimental wounds were taken 1, 3, and 7 days after wounding. Frozen sections were used for immunolocalization of CD44, syndecan-1, basement membrane-associated heparan sulfate proteoglycan (BM-HSPG), decorin, and biglycan. HA was localized in paraffin sections with a specific HA-binding probe. Epithelium showed first signs of migration on Day 1, more progressive migration on Day 3, and epithelial sheets confronted on Day 7. CD44 surrounded migrating keratinocytes at all stages of wound healing. In epithelium, CD44 and HA remarkably localized to the same region. Expression of syndecan-1 was switched from the suprabasal cell layer of unwounded epithelium to the basal cell layer of the migrating wound epithelium. BM-HSPG was absent under migrating keratinocytes. It started to reappear at the basement membrane zone on Day 7. The area under the wound epithelium containing new...
TL;DR: The risk of developing lung cancer is dramatically (up to 40-fold) elevated in subpopulations having simultaneously high-risk genotypes in CYP1A1 and GSTM1, and biologically plausible mechanisms linking genotypes and cancer are lacking in most of the observed cases.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The schedule of the events in this study contradicts the general concept that differentiation should follow proliferation, and it is proposed that there are two populations of precursor cells: committed satellite cells, ready for immediate differentiation without preceding cell division, and stematellite cells, which undergo mitosis before providing one daughter cell for differentiation and another for future proliferation.
TL;DR: It is suggested that various movement disorders, multiple sclerosis-like illness, and deformities of the vertebral column may associate pathogenetically with LHON.
Abstract: Previous studies suggest that Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) may be a systemic disorder with manifestations in organs other than the optic nerves. To evaluate nervous system involvement 38 men and eight women with LHON were re-examined. The patients were divided into three groups according to mtDNA analysis--namely, patients with the 11778 or with the 3460 mutation and patients without these primary mutations. Fifty nine per cent of patients had neurological abnormalities but there was no significant difference between the three groups. Movement disorders were the most common finding; nine patients had constant postural tremor, one chronic motor tic disorder, and one parkinsonism with dystonia. Four patients had peripheral neuropathy with no other evident cause. Two patients had a multiple sclerosis-like syndrome; in both patients MRI showed changes in the periventricular white matter. Thoracic kyphosis occurred in seven patients, five of whom had the 3460 mutation. In one patient the 3460 mutation was associated with involvement of the brain stem. It is suggested that various movement disorders, multiple sclerosis-like illness, and deformities of the vertebral column may associate pathogenetically with LHON.
TL;DR: Women are more sensitive to insulin than equally fit men because of enhanced muscle but not heart insulin sensitivity, and gender and VO2max together explained 68% of the variation in femoral muscle glucose uptake.
Abstract: Good insulin sensitivity is independently associated with a low risk for coronary heart disease, but it is unclear whether this risk factor differs between men and women. We compared insulin sensitivity of glucose uptake directly in muscle and heart tissues between healthy women (age 29 +/- 2 years, body mass index [BMI] 22 +/- 1 kg/m2, VO2max 39 +/- 4 ml.kg-1.min-1) and men matched for age (31 +/- 2 years), BMI (23 +/- 1 kg/m2), and VO2max (44 +/- 3 ml.kg-1.min-1) using [18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose and positron emission tomography under hyperinsulinemic (insulin infusion rate 1 mU.kg-1.min-1) normoglycemic conditions. Whole body insulin sensitivity was 41% greater in women (52 +/- 6 mumol.kg body wt-1.min-1) than in men (37 +/- 3 mumol.kg body wt-1.min-1, P < 0.05). This difference was explained by a 47% greater rate of glucose uptake by femoral muscles (113 +/- 10 vs. 77 +/- 7 mumol.kg muscle-1.min-1, women vs. men, P < 0.01). Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake rates in the heart were similar in women (738 +/- 58) and men (749 +/- 62 mumol.kg muscle-1.min-1). Femoral muscle insulin sensitivity was closely correlated with whole body insulin sensitivity (r = 0.84, P < 0.001). Gender and VO2max together explained 68% of the variation in femoral muscle glucose uptake. We conclude that women are more sensitive to insulin than equally fit men because of enhanced muscle but not heart insulin sensitivity.
TL;DR: It is concluded that high fasting insulin levels measured in children and adolescents predict the development of hypertriglyceridaemia years later, and high insulin levels seem to precede theDevelopment of a potentially atherogenic risk factor profile including low HDL-cholesterol, high triglycerides and high systolic blood pressure.
Abstract: In adults hyperinsulinaemia is associated with an atherogenic risk profile including obesity, low levels of HDL-cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides and elevated blood pressure. To examine these associations in the young we studied the cross-sectional relationships of insulin with obesity indices (body mass index, subscapular skinfold thickness), serum lipids and blood pressure in 1,865 children, adolescents and young adults aged 6-24 years. We also used longitudinal data to study the value of a single insulin measurement to predict high risk factor levels and clustering of multiple risk factors after a 6-year follow-up. In cross-sectional analyses the levels of triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and obesity indices were usually significantly different across the quartiles of fasting insulin in both sexes among children, adolescents and young adults. In general, no associations were seen with total cholesterol or LDL-cholesterol. In prospective analysis elevated baseline insulin was related to the incidence of hypertriglyceridaemia (> or = 95th percentile) at the follow-up. This relationship persisted even after adjustments for baseline obesity or 6-year change in obesity status. Moreover, baseline insulin concentration was higher in subjects who subsequently showed clustering of high triglycerides, low HDL-cholesterol and high systolic blood pressure levels at the follow-up. We conclude that high fasting insulin levels measured in children and adolescents predict the development of hypertriglyceridaemia years later. In addition, high insulin levels seem to precede the development of a potentially atherogenic risk factor profile including low HDL-cholesterol, high triglycerides and high systolic blood pressure.
TL;DR: The ease of calibration and the accuracy of free PSA assays in comparison with assays of the PSA-ACT complex suggest that measurements of free to total PSA most accurately reflect the inverse of the proportion of PSA complexed to ACT in serum.
Abstract: Generation of 15 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) allowed construction of epitope maps and specific two-site immunofluorometric assays for free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and PSA complexed with alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (ACT). Close correlation of PSA concentrations obtained with the use of different assays of free PSA suggested extensive similarity in immunodetection of free PSA in serum. Assays of the PSA-ACT complex overestimated the concentration of PSA-ACT in serum because of nonspecific adsorbance of ACT or cathepsin G-complexed ACT to the solid phase. This interference was substantially decreased in the presence of heparin. In studying the stability of purified PSA and PSA-ACT complexes formed in vitro, we found that the free PSA was stable during storage for 4 weeks at 35 degrees C, whereas PSA-ACT complexes largely dissociated in these conditions. The instability of PSA-ACT complexes was counteracted by storage at low temperatures, by adjusting the pH of the storage buffer between 6.8 and 7.4, and through addition of 100-1000-fold molar excess of native ACT. The ease of calibration and the accuracy of free PSA assays in comparison with assays of the PSA-ACT complex suggest that measurements of free to total PSA most accurately reflect the inverse of the proportion of PSA complexed to ACT in serum.
TL;DR: Records made in the late 1970s in 57 small lakes in southern Finland were used to examine ecological gradients, species assemblages, and two a priori classifications of lakes, indicating an ecological continuum, and only relative importance of lake classifications.
TL;DR: The present study shows that an infrequent vowel presented among frequent vowels elicits in sleeping human newborns a negativity in the auditory event-related potential (ERP) resembling the mismatch negativity (MMN) recorded in adults.
TL;DR: In this paper, a new type of multi-mesh gillnet to be used for fish monitoring in Norway, Finland and Sweden has been developed, and the results of ageing E. perch, whitefish (Coregonus sp.) and roach indicate that differences between laboratories can be reduced by intercalibration.
Abstract: The awareness of the effects of transboundary pollution has increased the necessity to use comparable methods and to initiate joint studies between countries in environmental monitoring. In freshwater fish monitoring a number of different methods have been used, strongly reducing the possibilities to comparative assessments between countries. In 1990, a workshop on freshwater fish sampling was initiated in order to develop and intercalibrate methods used in freshwater fish studies in the Nordic countries. During a three year period, a new type of multi-mesh gillnet to be used for fish monitoring in Norway, Finland and Sweden have been developed. Comparative studies and gillnet-selectivity assessments show that these new multi-mesh gillnets better describe the actual population structure of European perch (Perca fluviatilis), roach (Rutilus rutilus) and Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) than do the traditional gillnet series used in the Nordic countries. Ageing of fish is central in most environmental studies, however, the comparability of analyses performed at different laboratories may be low. Comparative age analyses between the three countries have been performed for a number of fish species. The results of ageing E. perch, whitefish (Coregonus sp.) and roach indicate that differences between laboratories can be reduced by intercalibration. In the future, the workgroup will be focused on a further development of joint methods within studies of freshwater fish and on joint intemordic assessments on species distribution, abundance and life history characteristics in relation to airborne pollutants and liming.
TL;DR: The increases in serum cholesterol and non-high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol concentration that occur in infants between the ages of 7 and 13 months can be avoided by individualised diets, with no effect on the children's growth.
TL;DR: The 10-year follow-up showed that postural diastolic, but not systolic, blood pressure drop predicted excess vascular mortality, and this association disappeared in the multivariate analysis, thus being related to background factors such as cardiovascular diseases.
Abstract: Objectives: To determine the prevalence and predisposing factors of postural hypotension and to evaluate the effect of postural hypotension on 10-year vascular mortality in an elderly population. Methods: A random sample of 480 subjects aged 65 years or older was obtained in 1982. The participation rate of the subjects in the study was 72%, for a total of 347 subjects. Orthostatic testing and continuous ambulatory electrocardiographic recording, as well as comprehensive clinical evaluation, including medical history, physical examination, standard electrocardiography, chest radiography, blood pressure measurement, routine biochemical analysis, and determination of body mass index, were performed. In 1992, the 10-year mortality of subjects and causes of death were recorded from the mortality statistics. Of the participants, 184 (53%) had died and 163 were still alive. To determine the effect of postural hypotension on the 10-year mortality, the subjects who were alive and those who had died of vascular or nonvascular causes were compared. All of the examinations had been completed in 156 subjects who were still alive, in 109 subjects who had since died of vascular causes, and in 64 subjects who had died of nonvascular causes. Results: An abnormal postural systolic blood pressure drop (-20) mm Hg or less) after standing for 3 minutes was demonstrated in 28.0% of subjects. There were no sex or age differences between the subjects with and without postural hypotension. No predisposing factors for postural hypotension other than elevated blood pressure were found. Chronic cardiovascular diseases, disability, body mass index, medication, and abnormal findings in ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring were not associated with postural hypotension. In the univariate analysis, the extent of systolic or mean blood pressure change predicted neither vascular nor nonvascular death during the 10-year follow-up. On the other hand, diastolic blood pressure drop, in particular after standing for 1 minute, was associated with increased vascular mortality (odds ratio, 2.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 5.6). In the multivariate analysis, however, this association disappeared. Conclusions: Postural hypotension was common in an unselected elderly population. No predisposing factors for postural hypotension other than elevated blood pressure were found. The 10-year follow-up showed that postural diastolic, but not systolic, blood pressure drop predicted excess vascular mortality. However, this association disappeared in the multivariate analysis, thus being related to background factors such as cardiovascular diseases. (Arch Intern Med. 1995;155:930-935)
TL;DR: The inheritance of migraine and concomitant symptoms among Finnish twins in 1981 is studied and the definition of migraine is based on a questionnaire method.
Abstract: We studied the inheritance of migraine and concomitant symptoms among 2690 monozygotic (1524 female and 1166 male) pairs and 5497 dizygotic (2951 female and 2546 male) twin pairs. Our material consists of a population-based questionnaire study among Finnish twins in 1981. The definition of migraine is based on a questionnaire method. Concordance was assessed using probandwise concordance rates and tetrachoric correlations for monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. For estimating the contribution of genetic factors to the susceptibility of migraine, a polygenic multifactorial model was used. Structural equation models were applied for estimating variance components and to compare different genetic models. Nearly one-half (40% to 50%) of the liability to migraine is attributable to genetic factors. In all structural analyses, the model with both additive genetic and unshared environmental component had the best goodness-of-fit value. The genetic component varied between 34% to 51% in different migraine types. There were no remarkable differences between sexes except in the effects due to dominance, where the proportion was 26% for men and 14% for women. Concomitant symptoms among subjects within pairs concordant for headache had genetic effects varying from 56% (subjects with unilaterality) and 56% (subjects with visual symptoms) to 45% (persons with nausea and vomiting). The two threshold model of headache points to the continuum model of headache, and the thresholds represent different levels of severity of the pain. Our results emphasize a multifactorial and higher than previously reported genetic pattern in the etiology of migraine. Also unshared environmental factors play an important role.
TL;DR: The results suggest that T withdrawal induces apoptotic cell death in most stages of the cycle and that the effects are largely preventable.
Abstract: The quantitative effects of ethane dimethane sulfonate (EDS), a Leydig cell toxin, on apoptosis in adult rat seminiferous epithelium were studied by the improved transillumination method. Nonradioactive in situ end labeling of fragmented DNA in squash preparations revealed significant increases in apoptotic cells in stages II-XI, whereas controls showed 0.5-2.3 apoptotic cells/mm tubule. Seven days post-EDS treatment, the highest numbers of apoptotic cells were scored in stages VIIab and VIIcd (74.7 +/- 23.8 and 61.3 +/- 16.0 cells/mm, respectively). The effects were suppressed by testosterone (T) supplementation, except in stages II-III and VIIcd. An opposite effect was found in stage XII, where the number of apoptotic cells decreased 1, 3, and 7 days after EDS treatment and returned to control levels in T-supplemented rats. Electrophoretic analysis of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation revealed a biphasic apoptotic process after 1 and 5-7 days due to Leydig and germ cell apoptosis, respectively. The spe...
Journal Article•
TL;DR: This triple-label hybridization assay proved to be suitable even for detection of a large number of samples, and cross-reactions were not found among samples containing 14 common DQB1 alleles.
Abstract: We describe a method for the detection of two type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes susceptibility ( * 0201, * 0302) alleles and two protective ( * 0301, * 0602/0603) alleles of the HLA-DQB1 gene on the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The test is based on DNA amplification with PCR followed by simultaneous, allele-specific triple-label hybridization performed in microtitration wells. In the hybridization, very short allele-specific oligonucleotides labeled with europium (Eu), terbium (Tb) or samarium (Sm) are used. The labeled probes could be detected using time-resolved fluorometry with sensitivities of 1×10 7 , 3×10 8 and 3×10 8 molecules, respectively. Cross-reactions were not found among samples containing 14 common DQB1 alleles. To test the utility of the developed assay, 100 DNA and 14 dried blood spot samples with known DQB1 alleles were analyzed. A 100% agreement with the reference method was reached. Thus, this triple-label hybridization assay proved to be suitable even for detection of a large number of samples
TL;DR: A simple one-step dual-label immunoassay for simultaneous measurement of the free, noncomplexed form of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and total PSA and the discrimination between benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer patients increased.
Abstract: We developed a simple one-step dual-label immunoassay for simultaneous measurement of the free, noncomplexed form of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and total PSA. The assay is based on time-resolved fluorescence and includes a stable fluorescent chelate of Eu to label a monoclonal antibody (mAb) that detects only free PSA, whereas a second mAb labeled with a fluorescent chelate of Tb provides equimolar detection of both free PSA and PSA complexed to alpha 1-antichymotrypsin. A third mAb on a solid phase captures the free and complexed forms of PSA in an equimolar fashion. The simultaneous measurement of the free-to-total PSA ratio (F/T) with the one-step dual assay is not sensitive to variations in the sample volume. The discrimination between benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer patients, i.e., the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, increased from 0.64 (total PSA assay) to 0.78 and 0.81 when the F/T ratio was measured with single and dual assays, respectively.
TL;DR: GraphROC for Windows is a program for clinical test evaluation designed for the handling of large datasets obtained from clinical laboratory databases and employs a new method, developed by us, for the indirect estimation of health-related limits and change limits from mixed distributions of clinical laboratory data.
Abstract: GraphROC for Windows is a program for clinical test evaluation. It was designed for the handling of large datasets obtained from clinical laboratory databases. In the user interface, graphical and numerical presentations are combined. For simplicity, numerical data is not shown unless requested. Relevant numbers can be "picked up" from the graph by simple mouse operations. Reference distributions can be displayed by using automatically optimized bin widths. Any percentile of the distribution with corresponding confidence limits can be chosen for display. In sensitivity-specificity analysis, both illness- and health-related distributions are shown in the same graph. The following data for any cutoff limit can be shown in a separate click window: clinical sensitivity and specificity with corresponding confidence limits, positive and negative likelihood ratios, positive and negative predictive values and efficiency. Predictive values and clinical efficiency of the cutoff limit can be updated for any prior probability of disease. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves can be generated and combined into the same graph for comparison of several different tests. The area under the curve with corresponding confidence interval is calculated for each ROC curve. Numerical results of analyses and graphs can be printed or exported to other Microsoft Windows programs. GraphROC for Windows also employs a new method, developed by us, for the indirect estimation of health-related limits and change limits from mixed distributions of clinical laboratory data.
TL;DR: The DEPS seems to improve the recognition of depression in primary care and may also be suitable for screening depression in the general population and for identifying high‐risk groups.
Abstract: Depression is a common mental disorder; effective methods for treating it are also available. Its recognition and diagnosis are prerequisite to effective treatment. A majority of depressed patients are generally managed in the primary care setting; only a half of the cases, however, are identified at their first visit. Screening instruments to improve recognition of depression have therefore been developed. The Depression Scale (DEPS), consisting of 10 items, was developed and tested in primary care patients aged 18 to 64 years. Clinical assessments were made on the basis of Present State Examination interviews with 436 patients. The DEPS proved to be satisfactory. Increasing age and poor education had an adverse effect on the screening process, however. The sensitivity of the DEPS for clinical depression was 74% and the specificity for non-depression 85%. The sensitivity for severe depression was 84% and the specificity for symptom-free patients 93%. The DEPS seems to improve the recognition of depression in primary care and may also be suitable for screening depression in the general population and for identifying high-risk groups.
TL;DR: In untreated non-Hodgkin's lymphomas high FDG uptake is associated with high histologic grade of malignancy and a high proliferation rate, and this minimally invasive method may find application in assessing lymphoma lesions in patients who are poor candidates for surgery.