During the past decade, polymer nanocomposites have emerged relatively as a new and rapidly developing class of composite materials and attracted considerable investment in research and development worldwide.Direct machining of polymers can be an option for personalized products and for manufacturing product samples. To obtain high quality products and reduce machining costs, it is very importa...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to compare the authors' own modification of the Staffelstein-Score against the HSS Knee Score in the assessment of early results of knee arthroplasty. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 67 patients qualified for knee arthroplasty (average age 68.5 years) were examined. 62 patients underwent a surgical procedure. A control group comprised 74 healthy patients (a...

BACKGROUND Schistosomiasis is endemic to several parts of the world. Among the species that affect humans, Schistosoma mansoni is one of the most common causes of illness. In regions where schistosomiasis mansoni is endemic, reinfection is responsible for the emergence of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis (HSS) with portal hypertension in about 10% of infected individuals. Regardless of its etiolog...

BACKGROUND to the Authors' knowledge, the associations between the life stress and losses and deficit in adulthood and the risk of breast cancer (BC) are rarely considered together in a prospective study. PATIENTS AND METHODS in an extension of the Kuopio Breast Cancer Study, 115 women with breast symptoms were semi-structurally interviewed in-depth, as well as asked to complete standardised ...

BACKGROUND The findings of a repressed expression of emotions in cancer patients contributed to the hypothesis developed by Lydia Temoshok of a type C personality ('cancer-prone'). To the Authors' knowledge, the associations between the 'cancer-prone personality' characteristics in commitment test and the risk of breast cancer (BC) have rarely been considered together in a prospective study. ...

PURPOSE After a general patterns of care study, the German Cooperative Group on Radiotherapy for Benign Diseases conducted a multicenter cohort study to analyze radiotherapy (RT) in painful heel spur syndrome (HSS). METHODS AND MATERIALS In 2001, a patterns of care study was conducted in all German RT institutions using a standardized structured questionnaire. Patient accrual, patient number,...

BACKGROUND COPD is a debilitating disease that affects patients' daily lives. One's daily physical activity (DPA) decreases due to multifactorial causes, and this decrease is correlated with a poor prognosis in COPD patients. Muscle wasting may at least be partly due to increased activity of the ubiquitin proteasome pathway and apoptosis. METHODS This study investigated the relationships amon...

BACKGROUND/AIM The relation between hopelessness/helplessness versus the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in healthy study subjects (HSS) and in patients with benign breast disease (BBD) and breast cancer (BC) has not been compared in a prospective study before. We, therefore, investigated hopelessness and helplessness versus the BDI in 115 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS In the Kuopio Breast C...

Heparan sulfates (HSs) are complex and highly active molecules that are required for synaptogenesis and long-term potentiation. A deficit in HSs leads to autistic phenotype in mice. Here, we investigated the long-term effect of heparinase I, which digests highly sulfated HSs, on the spontaneous bioelectrical activity of neuronal networks in developing primary hippocampal cultures. We found that...

The human beta-globin locus control region (LCR) consists of five erythroid-lineage-specific DNase I-hypersensitive sites (HSs) and is required for activation of the beta-globin locus chromatin domain and globin gene expression. Each DNase I-HS of the LCR consists of a highly conserved core element and flanking sequences. To analyze the functional role of the core elements of the HSs, we delete...