BACKGROUND Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a birth cohort study within which the Project to Enhance ALSPAC through Record Linkage (PEARL) was established to enrich the ALSPAC resource through linkage between ALSPAC participants and routine sources of health and social data. PEARL incorporated qualitative research to seek the views of young people about data linkage, ...

INTRODUCTION Simultaneous use of contraceptive hormones and anti-retroviral therapy (ART) may theoretically lessen the effectiveness of both. Women on ART need assurance that hormonal contraception is safe and effective. The sub-dermal implant is an ideal product to study: low and steady progestin release and no adherence uncertainties. We sought to determine if the medications' effectiveness i...

conclusions this study demonstrated the detection of hcv-specific ifn-γ responses in hcv antibody and rna negative individuals, with a tendency for hcv-specific ifn-γ responses to be associated with hcv exposure. the potential role of hcv-specific ifn-γ responses in those who remained hcv rna negative is of value for the development of novel hcv therapeutics. objectives in a cohort of hcv antib...

conclusions treating obesity, increasing physical activity and quality of married life are proposed as practical solutions to reduce bp. background hypertension is considered as a major public health problem in most countries due to its association with ischemic heart disease which causes cerebrovascular disease and death. objectives the purpose of the present study was to study factors affecti...

BACKGROUND AND AIM COPD is a progressive and irreversible disease, thus assessing the impact of the disease on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is important in the management of COPD. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between HRQOL, lung function and dyspnea rating in patients with stable COPD. METHODS One hundred COPD patients (mean age = 64.76 +/- 11.43 years) were...

BACKGROUND In the course of therapy of patients with COPD, non-pharmacologic treatment, such as rehabilitation, plays an important role. Although some studies have provided concrete evidence of the effectiveness of rehabilitation in improving functional outcomes in subjects with COPD, evidence of its mortality-reducing effect has been insufficient. In the present study, we examined whether reha...

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays an important role in immune response. Avian MHCs are not well characterized, only reporting highly compact Galliformes MHCs and extensively fragmented zebra finch MHC. We report the first genomic structure of an endangered Pelecaniformes (crested ibis) MHC containing 54 genes in three regions spanning ~500 kb. In contrast to the loose BG (26 loci...