| 1. |
- Fuzzi, Sandro, et al.
(author)
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Overview of the Po valley fog experiment 1994 (CHEMDROP)
- 1998
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In: Contributions to Atmospheric Physics. - 0005-8173. ; 71:1, s. 3-19
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The paper presents an outline of the CHEMDROP field experiment, carried out in November 1994 at the field station of S. Pietro Capofiume in the Po Valley, Italy. The main objective of the project was to address the issue of the size-dependent chemical composition of fog droplets, by experimentally investigating the following processes, which are expected to affect (or be affected by) the chemical composition of fog droplets as a function of size: a) the connection of the size-dependent chemical composition of CCN to the size-dependent composition of fog droplets; b) the gas/liquid partitioning of the gaseous species NH3, SO2, HCHO, HNO3 in fog; c) the Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox cycle in fog water. Some general results and overall conclusions of the experiment are reported in this paper, while more specific scientific questions are discussed in other companion papers in this issue. CHEMDROP results show that several processes concur in determining the size-dependence of fog droplets chemical composition: nucleation scavenging of pre-existing CCN, fog dynamical evolution and gas/liquid exchange between interstitial air and fog droplets. Chemical transformations in the liquid phase can cause further changes in the chemical composition of the droplets. Only by taking into account the combination of all these processes, is it possible to explain the inhomogeneities in fog droplet chemical composition.
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| 2. |
- Kim, S.K., et al.
(author)
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Binding Geometries of Triple Helix Selective Benzopyrido [4,3-b]indole Ligands Complexed with Double- and Triple-Helical Polynucleotides
- 1997
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In: Biopolymers. - 0006-3525 .- 1097-0282. ; 42:1, s. 101-111
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The binding modes of three benzopyrido[4,3-b]indole derivatives (and one benzo[f]pyrido[4-3b]quinoxaline derivative) with respect to double helical poly(dA) . poly(dT) and poly[d(A-T)](2) and triple-helical poly(dA) . 2poly(dT) have been investigated using linear dichroism (LD) and CD: (I) 3-methoxy-11-amino-BePI where BePI = {7H-8-methyl-benzo[e]pyrido[4,3-b]indole}, (II) 3-methoxy-11-[(3'-amino)propylamino]-BePI, (III) 3-methoxy-7-[(3'diethylamino)propylamino]BgPI where BgPI = {benzo[g]pyrido[4,3-b]indole}, and (IV) 3-methoxy-11-[(3'amino)propylamino]BfPQ where BfPQ = {benzo[f]pyrido[4-3b]quinoxaline}. The magnitudes of the reduced LD of the electronic transitions of the polynucleotide bases and of the bound ligands are generally very similar, suggesting an orientation of the plane of the ligands' fused-ring systems preferentially perpendicular to the helix axis. The LD results suggest that all of the ligands are intercalated for all three polynucleotides. The induced CD spectrum of the BePI chromophore in the (II-BePI)-poly[d(A-T)](2) complex is almost a mirror image of that for the (I-BePI)-poly(dA) . poly(dT) and (I-BePI)-poly(dA) . 2poly(dT) complexes, suggesting an antisymmetric orientation of the BePI moiety upon intercalation in poly[d(A-T)]2 compared to the other polynucleotides. The induced CD of I-BePI bound to poly(dA) . 2poly(dT) suggests a geometry that is intermediate between that of its other two complexes. The concluded intercalative binding as well as the conformational variations between the different BePI complexes are of interest in relation to the fact that BePI derivatives are triplex stabilizers.
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| 3. |
- Adami, Johanna, et al.
(author)
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Maternal and perinatal factors associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma among children
- 1996
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 65:6, s. 774-777
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This nested case-control study based on 1.7 million live births in Sweden explores the associations between maternal and perinatal factors and the occurrence of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The National Swedish Cancer Registry ascertained 168 cases in successive birth cohorts from 1973 through 1989 recorded in the Swedish Medical Birth Registry. From the nationwide Birth Registry, 5 controls without NHL and alive at the date the case was diagnosed were randomly selected from the pool of children, with each case matched by gender, birth year and birth month. Standardized information on selected maternal and perinatal factors up to one month after delivery were recorded in the Medical Birth Registry. Mothers of children with NHL were more likely than mothers of controls to have undergone Cesarean section [Odds ratio (OR) 1.6] and to have been exposed to paracervical anesthesia during delivery (OR 1.8). Children with NHL were more likely than controls to have endocrine-metabolic disorders (OR 3.3). This study is one of the largest focusing on the etiology of childhood NHL. Most of the maternal and perinatal characteristics studied did not markedly affect risk for childhood NHL, which may be due to maternal and perinatal factors not included in these data or to exposures later in life.
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| 4. |
- Ahlström, Håkan, et al.
(author)
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Positron emission tomography in the diagnosis and staging of urinary bladder cancer
- 1996
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In: Acta Radiologica. - 0284-1851 .- 1600-0455. ; 37:2, s. 180-185
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: Evaluation of positron emission tomography (PET) using (18)fl 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG) and L-methyl-11C-methionine in the diagnosis and staging of urinary bladder carcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients with biopsy-proven urinary bladder carcinoma were examined with PET after intravenous injection of 11C-methionine; 2 were also examined with 18FDG. The results from the PET investigations were compared with CT or MR findings and TNM classification before and after treatment. RESULTS: The urinary excretion of 18FDG prevented distinction of the primary tumour from the surrounding tracer. With 11C-methionine it was possible to detect 18/23 primary tumours. A trend was seen, suggesting that the higher the uptake values of 11C-methionine in the tumour, the greater the tumour stage. CONCLUSION: It is possible to visualize urinary bladder tumours larger than 1 cm in diameter with PET using (11)C-methionine, but the value of the method in the staging of the lesions is not superior to conventional methods.
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| 5. |
- Berg, Olle H., et al.
(author)
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Comparison of observed and modeled hygroscopic behavior of atmospheric particles
- 1998
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In: Contributions to Atmospheric Physics. - 0005-8173. ; 71:1, s. 47-64
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The hygroscopic behavior of sub-micrometer atmospheric aerosol particles was studied with a Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (TDMA) at a field site in the Po Valley, Italy. The measurements were done in a continental polluted aerosol during the CHEMDROP fog and haze field experiment at San Pietro di Capofiume in November 1994. In this study, hygroscopic diameter growth factors of individual particles were measured when taken from a dry state, to a relative humidity of 90 %. The aerosol consisted of two groups of particles with different hygroscopic properties, as also seen in an earlier field experiment at the same location in 1989 and at other continental sites. The present work is a closure study on the hygroscopic behavior of sub-micrometer aerosol particles and their mass. Ammonium sulfate was used to model the hygroscopic growth with a model based on thermodynamic data for non-ideal aqueous solutions at water vapor subsaturation. The study was made in two steps: The first step is a comparison between hygroscopic active aerosol volume fractions derived from TDMA measurements on individual particles integrated over the particle size distributions, and collected volume fractions of major ions sampled by size resolved cascade impactors. The model of hygroscopic growth was also used, in the second step, to calculate ambient sizes of individual aerosol particles. These sizes were then compared to the actual ambient sizes as measured by the Droplet Aerosol Analyzer. The result shows agreement, within the estimated errors, between the integrated hygroscopic active volume fractions and the collected volume fractions of inorganic salts, for five events out of six studied. A mass balance could also be obtained between the masses collected with the impactors and the integrated volume distributions, by attributing reasonable densities to the hygroscopically active and inactive fractions. The differences between the calculated and measured ambient sizes were within measurement errors, when Raoult's law was used to model the occasions with relative humidities larger than 95 %.
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| 6. |
- Eklind, H, et al.
(author)
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Characterization of the interphase in PPO/PMMA blends compatibilized by P(S-g-EO)
- 1996
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In: Macromolecules. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0024-9297 .- 1520-5835. ; 29:3, s. 984-992
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The influence of a poly(styrene-graft-ethylene oxide) (P(S-g-EO)) copolymer on poly(2,6-dimethyl-p-phenylene oxide)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PPO/PMMA) blends was studied by a number of different techniques in order to characterize the properties of the interphase. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the copolymer reduces the dispersed phase size, and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy (DMS) reveals a new micromechanical transition in the ternary blends. These effects are shown to be caused by a copolymer-rich interphase with a certain volume fraction and with its own characteristic properties. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation times indicate that the poly(ethylene oxide) side chains of the copolymer are partially miscible with PMMA in the ternary blends, which suggests that the interphase does not only consist of pure copolymer.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Kim, H. K., et al.
(author)
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Interactions of intercalative and minor groove binding ligands with triplex poly(dA)•[poly(dT)]2and with duplex poly(dA)•poly(dT) and poly[d(A-T)]2studied by CD, LD, and normal absorption
- 1996
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In: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-4995 .- 0006-2960. ; 35:4, s. 1187-1194
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The binding of 9-aminoacridine and one bis-acridine compound to double helical poly(dA). poly(dT) and poly[d(A-T)](2) and triple helical poly(dA).[poly(dT)](2) has been investigated using linear dichroism (LD) and circular dichroism (CD). A close examination of the negative reduced LD and the induced CD for the first pi --> pi* transition absorption region leads us to conclude that the acridine moiety of the 9-aminoacridine and bis-acridine molecule intercalates with both duplex and tripler DNA. Binding geometries of the acridine moieties in the examined polynucleotides are similar to those found for the ligands with DNA (Hansen et al. (1984) J. Chem. Sec., Chern. Commun., 509-511). It is also found that both 9-aminoacridine and bis-acridine effectively enhance the thermal stability of the tripler DNA. The corresponding spectra for the complexes of the minor groove binders DAPI and Hoechst with poly(dA).[poly(dT)](2) were studied for comparison. They both show a positive LD and a mixing ratio dependent positive CD in the ligand absorption region, similar to those of their duplex complexes. This indicates that these ligands bind in the grooves of the tripler, probably to the one corresponding to the minor groove of the template duplex.
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| 9. |
- Linet, Martha S., et al.
(author)
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Maternal and perinatal risk factors for childhood brain tumors (Sweden)
- 1996
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In: Cancer Causes and Control. - 0957-5243 .- 1573-7225. ; 7:4, s. 437-448
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Childhood brain tumors (CBT) include a diversity of rare neoplasms of largely unknown etiology. To assess possible maternal and perinatal risk factors for CBT according to subtype, we carried out a nested (within Swedish birth-cohorts, 1973-89) case-control study, utilizing data from the nationwide Birth Registry. We ascertained incident brain tumor cases through linkage of the nationwide Birth and Cancer Registries and randomly selected five living controls from the former, matching each case on gender and birthdate. There were 570 CBT cases, including 205 low grade astrocytomas, 58 high grade astrocytomas, 93 medulloblastomas, 54 ependymomas, and 160 'others.' Risks for all brain tumors combined were elevated in relation to: (i) three maternal exposures-oral contraceptives prior to conception (odds ratios [OR] = 1.6, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-2.8), use of narcotics (OR = 1.3, CI = 1.0-1.6), or penthrane (OR = 1.5, CI = 1.1-2.0) during delivery); (ii) characteristics of neonatal distress (a combined variable including low one-minute Apgar score, asphyxia [OR = 1.5, CI = 1.1-2.0]) or treatments for neonatal distress (use of supplemental oxygen, ventilated on mask, use of incubator, scalp vein infusion, feeding with a jejunal tube [OR = 1.6, CI = 0.9-2.6]); and (iii) neonatal infections (OR = 2.4, CI = 1.5-4.0). Higher subtype-specific risks, observed for a few risk factors, did not differ significantly from the risk estimates for all subtypes combined for the corresponding risk factors. Childhood brain tumors were not associated significantly with other maternal reproductive, lifestyle, or disease factors; perinatal pain, anesthetic medications, birth-related complications; or with birthweight, birth defects, or early neonatal diseases. These findings suggest several new leads, but only weak evidence of brain tumor subtype-specific differences.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Moon, J. H., et al.
(author)
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DNA structural features responsible for sequence-dependent binding geometries of Hoechst 33258
- 1996
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In: Biopolymers. - 0006-3525 .- 1097-0282. ; 38:5, s. 593-606
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The complexes of Hoechst 33258 with poly[d(A-T)(2)], poly[d(I-C)(2)], poly[d(G-C)(2)], and poly[d(G-m(5)C)(2)] were studied using linear dichroism, CD, and fluorescence spectroscopies. The Hoechst-poly[d(I-C)(2)] complex, in which there is no quanine amino group protruding in the minor groove, exhibit spectroscopic properties that are very similar to those of the Hoechst-poly[d(A-T)(2)] complex. When bound to both of these polynucleotides, Hoechst exhibits an average orientation angle of near 45 degrees relative to the DNA helix axis for the long-axis polarized low-energy transition, a relatively strong positive induced CD, and a strong increase in fluorescence intensity-leading us to conclude that this molecule also binds in the minor groove of poly[d(I-C)(2)]. By contrast, when bound to poly[d(G-C)(2)], Hoechst shows a distinctively different behavior. The strongly negative reduced linear dichroism in the ligand absorption region is consistent with a model in which part of the Hoechst chromophore is intercalculated between DNA bases. From the low drug:base ratio onset of excitonic effects in the CD and fluorescence emission spectra, it is inferred that another part of the Hoechst molecule may sit in the major groove of poly[d(G-C)(2)] and poly[d(G-m(5)C)(2)] and preferentially stacks into dimers, though this tendency is strongly reduced for the latter polynucleotide. Based on these results, the importance of the interactions of Hoechst with the exocyclic amino group of guanine and the methyl group of cytosine in determining the binding modes are discussed.
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| 12. |
- Nettelbladt, Otto S, et al.
(author)
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Combined fluorine-18-FDG and carbon-11-methionine PET for diagnosis of tumors in lung and mediastinum
- 1998
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In: Journal of Nuclear Medicine. - 0161-5505 .- 1535-5667. ; 39:4, s. 640-647
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We evaluated the value of PET using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 11C-methionine, individually or in combination, to distinguish malignant from benign tumors and to identify or exclude mediastinal metastases.METHODS:Seventeen patients with a tumor in the lung or mediastinum were evaluated with 18F-FDG and 11C-methionine PET. For morphological comparison, we used CT, and all findings were confirmed by histology of surgical resection specimens (n = 16) or by cytology (n = 1).RESULTS:All tumors were visualized equally well with both tracers, and there were no false-positive results. In 2 patients with a malignant tumor, coexisting pneumonia was correctly diagnosed as an inflammatory lesion because of its wedge-like shape. PET correctly excluded hilar invasion and mediastinal lymph node metastases in 10 of 14 patients with primary lung tumor. PET identified mediastinal metastases in 4 of 4 patients. CT failed to detect mediastinal tumor spread in 2 patients and gave a false-positive reading in 2 others. Significantly higher uptake (SUV) and transport rate (slope) values were obtained from malignant than benign lesions with both tracers. No major differences were seen in either the levels of significance or accuracy when the two tracers were compared. Slope values did not add further information to what was obtained with SUV. Density correction of SUV and slope values, to avoid the influence of surrounding air as well as tumor heterogeneity, increased these differences somewhat. Both tracers distinguished malignant from benign lesions with a 93% sensitivity and an accuracy of 89%-95%, but sensitivity improved to 100% when values from both tracers were combined.CONCLUSION:Fluorine-18-FDG and 11C-methionine PET visualized all tumors equally well and detected mediastinal spread better than CT. For differentiation purposes, the problems of false-positive and false-negative PET findings could not be safely overcome in a limited number of cases either by the use of both tracers, by the additional use of slope values or by lesion density correction.
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