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In connection with the strengthening and enlargement of financial markets, i.e., financialization, financial services and products play a major role in the everyday lives of consumers. One drawback of this trend is the increase in the number of debt problems. The data used in this article consist of Finnish district-court judgments related to debt that in most cases was consumption-related, and register-based data on debtors. We first compare debtors to the entire population of Finland by age, gender, marital status, and education, and also in different age groups. The focus then turns to the four most common types of debt in the judgments (based on consumer credit, operator services, distance selling, and credit card debts), and how age, gender, marital status, and education related to these debt types. According to the results, consumers under 30 years of age, in particular, men, those with a basic level of education, and the divorced were over-represented in the data, compared to the overall Finnish population. Young single adults were particularly likely to have accrued smaller amounts of debt related to instant loans and operator services, whereas more extensive consumer credit as well as credit card debt tended to be a problem among retirees. Credit card debt, as well as debts to lending firms, were more common among those with tertiary education than among those with a basic education. Overall, the adverse effects of financialization focused especially on young people with a low level of education. The results also indicate that legislation could partly reduce the negative effects of financialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia are known risk factors of stroke, and altered glucose and cholesterol metabolism has been reported in patients with Huntington's disease ( HD). We investigated the incidence and risk factors of stroke in this population. Materials and methods National registries were used to identify a cohort of 192 patients with HD. Data on stroke, silent cerebral infarcts and risk factors were obtained from the patient records. Results Five patients with an ischemic stroke ( IS) were found suggesting a crude incidence of 42/100,000 person years. Silent brain infarcts were found in 13 patients and a hemorrhagic stroke in two patients, while none were found with a transient ischemic attack ( TIA). The cumulative incidence of IS was 2.7% and that of silent cerebral infarct 6.7% by age of 65 years. The CAG age product ( CAP) score, an estimate of genetic burden, was 495 ± 117 for the patients with IS or silent cerebral infarct and 568 ± 126 for the patients without ischemic events ( P = 0.025 for difference). The frequency of diagnoses of stroke risk factors was at least twofold higher among the patients with IS or silent infarcts than among those without. Conclusion Cerebrovascular disease is as common in patients with HD as in the general population, but minor cerebrovascular events and vascular risk factors may remain unrecognized. Genetic burden of the HTT mutation does not appear to increase the risk of stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have made a breakthrough in waste water reclamation for the rejection of micropollutants in multiple applications such as reuse. Since these compounds are not completely eliminated using conventional treatments. This paper offers an overview of a waste water treatment plant using RO membrane treatment to study the rejection of 75 micropollutants from different families. The 75 selected micropollutants include some emerging and persistent compounds like volatile organic compounds (52), endocrine disrupting compounds (2), odor compounds (8), fragrance allergens (10), and some pesticides (3). Experimental results indicated that secondary effluents from conventional treatments contained most of the micropollutants studied; showing that conventional treatments such as activated sludge are not able to completely eliminate them. The rejection of these organic compounds was studied after the RO system. In addition, the relation between the micropollutant’s rejection, the molecular weight, and the octanol-water partition coefficients was also evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Breakthrough reverse osmosis (RO) membrane chemistry and innovative materials of construction have been developed to achieve highest possible NaCl rejection while maintaining maximum element productivity. Novel brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) membrane element delivers to end users state-of-the-art salt rejection (99.7%) at 30% lower energy consumption compared to current high rejection BWRO membranes in addition to tailored salt passage reduction of critical solutes as nitrate, boron, silica, and ammonium. The novel module component, low differential pressure (LDP) feed spacers, provide end users with up to 15% savings in direct RO energy reductions via the lowest feed-side pressure drop available in the market. The LDP spacer outperforms other spacers by reducing pressure drop while maintaining high active area and a unique BWRO element with productivity up to 14,000 gallons per day has been achieved. A financial analysis was carried out with a refined cost model using different economic frame conditions. It shows RO plant energy costs can be reduced by up to 30% in industrial applications without compromising the product water quality. In SWRO application, the size of the BWRO pass can be reduced by 19%, resulting in an overall water cost reduction of 0.53 UScts/m³ produced water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Norwegian lake water treatment is dominated by cellulose acetate (CA) membranes, which serve approximately 3% of the population. The quality requirements for potable water are becoming stringent and Dow Water & Process Solutions has suggested nanofiltration (NF) as a suitable technology replacement in cases where CA membranes fail to meet the quality limits. This paper discusses the operating experience of the first CA plant retrofit trial in Norway, where the treatment goal was to remove color, organic matter and bacteria from surface lake water to produce potable water for the community. The project has shown that nanofiltration membranes can provide excellent water quality in terms of color, bacteria and an overall TOC rejection (98%). The end user reports a clear improvement in the water quality compared to CA membranes. The trial was executed with minimal modifications to the existing plant. This paper focuses on evaluating the feasibility of the current set up and gives recommendations on further process optimization in terms of improving pre-treatment and cleaning, as well as the cost evaluation of the recommended modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study insulin sensitivity and perfusion in skeletal muscle together with the beta-cell function in subjects with the m.3243A>G mutation in mitochondrial DNA, the most common cause of mitochondrial diabetes.Research Design and Methods: We measured skeletal muscle glucose uptake and perfusion using positron emission tomography and 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose and [15O]H2O during euglycemic hyperinsulinemia in 15 patients with m.3243A>G. These patients included five subjects with no diabetes as defined by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) (group 1), three with GHb <6.1% and newly found diabetes by OGTT (group 2), and seven with a previously diagnosed diabetes (group 3). Control subjects consisted of 13 healthy individuals who were similar to the carriers of m.3243A>G with respect to age and physical activity. Beta-cell function was assessed using the OGTT and subsequent mathematical modeling.Results: Skeletal muscle glucose uptake was significantly lower in groups 1, 2, and 3 than in the control subjects. The glucose sensitivity of beta-cells in group 1 patients was similar to that of the control subjects, whereas in group 2 and 3 patients, the glucose sensitivity was significantly lower. The insulin secretion parameters correlated strongly with the proportion of m.3243A>G mutation in muscle.Conclusions: Our findings show that subjects with m.3243A>G are insulin resistant in skeletal muscle even when beta-cell function is not markedly impaired or glucose control compromised. We suggest that both the skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and the beta-cell function are affected before the onset of the mitochondrial diabetes caused by the m.3243A>G mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Enzyme deficiencies of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system may be caused by mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or in the nuclear DNA. Objective: To analyse the sequences of the mtDNA coding region in 25 patients with OXPHOS system deficiency to identify the underlying genetic defect. Results: Three novel non-synonymous substitutions in protein-coding genes, 468 1T→C in MT-ND2, 9891T→C in MT-C03 and 141 22A→.G in MT-ND5, and one novel substitution in the 12S rRNA gene, 686A→G, were found. The definitely pathogenic mutation 3460G→A was identified in an 18-year-old woman who had severe isolated complex I deficiency and progressive myopathy. Conclusions: Bioinformatic analyses suggest a pathogenic role for the novel 468 1T→.C substitution found in a boy with Leigh's disease. These results show that the clinical phenotype caused by the primary Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy mutation 3460G→A is more variable than has been thought. In the remaining 23 patients, the role of mtDNA mutations as a cause of the OXPHOS system deficiency could be excluded. The deficiency in these children probably originates from mutations in the nuclear genes coding for respiratory enzyme subunits or assembly factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract An association between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations 11778G>A and 14484T>C and mtDNA haplogroup J suggests that this haplogroup harbors substitutions capable of modifying the phenotype of Leber's disease. Our knowledge of the compilation of substitutions in haplogroup J is based on only a small number of complete mtDNA sequences, however. We constructed phylogenetic networks for mtDNA haplogroup TJ that were based on the sequence of the complete coding region and the hypervariable segment I, respectively, in 28 Finnish samples. The networks revealed a subdivision of the haplogroup into subclusters Ti, T2, J1, and J2, while comparison of the two networks suggested nine fast evolving nucleotide sites in the hypervariable segment I. Genotypes of patients harboring 11778G>A or 14484T>C were obtained from the literature and were then placed in the network. Only four substitutions were found to be common to the patients, but none of these was unique to haplogroup J. If increased penetrance of the 11778G>A and 14484T>C mutations in patients belonging to haplogroup J is assumed, combinations of ancient substitutions must be implicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study whether meningeal collagen synthesis under normal conditions is reflected in the CSF and whether a meningeal fibroproliferative reaction or fibrosis after subarachnoid haemorrhage can be detected by measuring markers of collagen synthesis in the CSF.Methods: Serum samples and CSF were collected from 56 patients with various neurological symptoms and from nine patients with a recent subarachnoid haemorrhage. The concentrations of the carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP) and the aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP) were measured using radioimmunoassays.Results: The mean(SD) concentration of PICP was 75.2 (SD 13.6) microgram/l and that of PIIINP 3.56 (SD 0.91) microgram/l in the CSF of the controls, and the CSF/serum ratios were 0.74 (SD 0.24) for PICP and 1.34 (SD 0.48) for PIIINP. A 1.4-fold increase in both the PICP (p=0.001) and the PIIINP (p=0.001) concentration was found in patients with a neurological disease and with an abnormal CSF leucocyte count or protein concentration. In eight patients with a recent subarachnoid haemorrhage the PICP was 5.9-fold higher (p<0.001) and the PIIINP concentration 7.7-fold higher (p<0.001) than that in the controls, whereas no difference was found in the serum values. Similar high concentrations were also found in a patient from whom the CSF sample was obtained before operation for aneurysm.Conclusions: The intrathecal compartment is a site for active collagen synthesis under normal conditions. The synthesis rate is markedly increased in patients with a recent subarachnoid haemorrhage, suggesting a fibroproliferative reaction or fibrosis. Assays of procollagen propeptides may be useful in the clinical diagnosis of meningeal fibrosis and their use may enable the identification of diseases and symptoms aetiologically related to meningeal fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]