Analysis of the draft genome sequence of the opportunistic pathogen Propionibacterium acnes type strain NCTC 737 (=ATCC 6919) revealed five genes with sequence identity to the co-haemolytic Christie-Atkins-Munch-Peterson (CAMP) factor of Streptococcus agalactiae. The predicted molecular masses for the expressed proteins ranged from 28 to 30 kDa. The genes were present in each of the three recently identified recA-based phylogenetic groupings of P. acnes (IA, IB and II), as assessed by PCR amplification. Conserved differences in CAMP factor gene sequences between these three groups were also consistent with their previous phylogenetic designations. All type IA, IB and II isolates were positive for the co-haemolytic reaction on sheep blood agar. Immunoblotting and silver staining of SDS-PAGE gels, however, revealed differential protein expression of CAMP factors amongst the different groups. Type IB and II isolates produced an abundance of CAMP factor 1, detectable by specific antibody labelling and silver staining of SDS-PAGE gels. In contrast, abundant CAMP factor production was lacking in type IA isolates, although larger amounts of CAMP factor 2 were detectable by immunoblotting compared with type II isolates. While the potential role of the abundant CAMP factor 1 in host colonization or virulence remains to be determined, it should be noted that the type strain of P. acnes used in much of the published literature is a type IA isolate and is, therefore, lacking in this attribute.

Stroke is one of the most complex diseases, with several subtypes, as well as secondary risk factors, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, which, in turn, have genetic and environmental risk factors of their own. Here, we report the results of a genomewide search for susceptibility genes for the common forms of stroke. We cross-matched a population-based list of patients with stroke in Iceland with an extensive computerized genealogy database clustering 476 patients with stroke within 179 extended pedigrees. Linkage to 5q12 was detected, and the LOD score at this locus meets the criteria for genomewide significance (multipoint allele-sharing LOD score of 4.40, P=3.9 x 10(-6)). A 20-cM region on 5q was physically and genetically mapped to obtain accurate marker order and intermarker distances. This locus on 5q12, which we have designated as "STRK1," does not correspond to known susceptibility loci for stroke or for its risk factors and represents the first mapping of a locus for common stroke.

Patients with prior poliomyelitis may experience muscle function deterioration decades after onset of disease. The present study is aimed at describing electromyographic and morphometric evidence of muscular compensation and of on-going muscular instability. Ten subjects 42-62 years of age with onset of polio 25-52 years earlier were studied with macro EMG, single-fiber EMG (SFEMG), muscle strength measurement, and morphometrical analysis of muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis muscle. SFEMG revealed increased fiber density (FD) and large macro-MUP potentials indicating pronounced reinnervation as compensation to loss of motor neurons. From electrophysiological data of motor unit size, morphometric measures of fiber size, and muscle strength data, the minimal degree of motor neuron loss was estimated to be greater than 70%.

The advent of high-throughput multi-omics technologies has underpinned the expansion in lung microbiome research, increasing our understanding of the nature, complexity and significance of the polymicrobial communities harbored by people with CF (PWCF). Having established that structurally complex microbial communities exist within the airways, the focus of recent research has now widened to investigating the function and dynamics of the resident microbiota during disease as well as in health. With further refinement, multi-omics approaches present the opportunity to untangle the complex interplay between microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions in the lung and the relationship with respiratory disease progression, offering invaluable opportunities to discover new therapeutic approaches for our management of airway infection in CF.

The aim of this study was to test the applicability of the guidance levels for patient doses cooperatively set by the radiation protection authorities in the five Nordic countries. The kerma-area product (KAP) for five conventional radiological examination types was obtained from several hospitals in each of the Nordic countries. The number of radiographic images and fluoroscopy time were also registered, and the mean values for each examination type and hospital were established based on a representative number of patients (40-100 kg). The results indicate that the situation is very similar in the five Nordic countries, even though some differences were identified. Most of the hospitals demonstrated lower doses than the proposed guidance levels for chest, probably explained by use of faster film/screen combinations during the past decade. An increased use of fluoroscopy for positioning was observed for radiographic examinations of lumbar spine and urography. Large variations in patient doses were found for barium enema depending on the use of fluorospot or 100-mm camera vs full-format film, the range in fluoroscopy times, dose rate, and field size. The guidance levels for lumbar spine (10 Gy x cm2), pelvis (4 Gy x cm2), urography (20 Gy x cm2), and barium enema (50 Gy x cm2) seem to reflect the present quality of X-ray equipment and examination techniques in the Nordic countries. The guidance levels for chest (1 Gy x cm2) should be lowered to 0.6 Gy x cm2.

The Nordic radiation protection authorities have already published recommended guidance levels for patient doses for six conventional radiological examinations. Over the past two years a similar protocol has been in progress for three interventional procedures. Measurements have been performed in 22 different hospitals in the Nordic countries on patients in the weight range 40-100 kg. The selected procedures are percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and endoscopic retrograde cholangio- and pancreatio-graphy (ERCP). A total of 281 PTCA procedures, 304 PTA procedures and 147 ERCP procedures are included in the study. The results from this survey are presented as a first attempt to set guidance levels.

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