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Characterization of porous samples containing mesopores larger than 10 nm in size is often difficult due to limitations of standard methods. In the present work thermoporometry (TPM) was introduced to address these challenges. Various probe liquids (water, n-heptane, cyclohexane and o-xylene) were previously applied for TPM characterization of mesoporous silicon containing pores of 20–50 nm. The results, obtained with the use of calibration equations, confirmed the necessity of new probe liquid more suitable for characterization of such samples. Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane was found to be the most appropriate choice. Mesoporous silicon samples were used as model materials in order to establish an empirical equation between the pore sizes, derived from mercury porometry, and the solid-liquid transition temperature depressions derived from differential scanning calorimetry for the octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane confined inside the pores and in bulk phase. The new calibration equations obtained within this work can be successfully used for characterization of the samples with large mesopores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test various indicators for comparing the outcomes of diabetic foot care. Design: All 396,317 patients treated with hypoglycaemic medication in Finland were followed up based on nationwide registers on hospital discharges and causes of death during 1997–2007. Materials and methods: The crude and standardized incidences of lower extremity amputations (LEAs), the minor–major ratio of the first LEA and 2-year survival with a preserved leg after the first minor LEA were used as indicators for regional and temporal variation in diabetic foot care. Results: A total of 13,469 LEAs were recorded in 1997–2007. The standardized population-corrected rate of first major LEA per 100,000 person-years declined from 10.0 (95% CI 9.6–10.5) to 7.3 (6.9–7.6) (p < .001), while the minor–major LEA ratio progressed from 0.86 (0.80–0.92) to 1.35 (1.26–1.46) (p < .001). By using these indicators, variation was observed between the university hospital catchment areas. Nationwide, the 2-year survival with a preserved leg after the first minor LEA increased statistically insignificantly from 50.8% (47.3–54.6%) to 55.4% (51.9–59.0%) (p = .08). Conclusions: The standardized, population-corrected incidence of major LEA, the minor–major LEA ratio, and major-amputation-free survival proved useful as indicators in comparing the outcomes of diabetic foot care. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several linkage and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analyses suggest that the region 3p21-p26, which is a chromosomal location of MLH1, could harbour a susceptibility gene for prostate cancer (PRCA). Furthermore, in a recent candidate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis the I219V variation of the MLH1 gene was associated with PRCA. Microsatellite instability (MSI) and germ-line MLH1 mutations were originally demonstrated in hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) but MSI and loss of MLH1 function have also been detected in PRCA. To assess the contribution of MLH1 germline mutations to the development of PRCA in Finland different approaches were used. First, the samples from 11 PRCA-colon cancer patients were screened for MLH1, MSH2 and MSH6 protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC revealed one patient with a putative MLH1 aberration and sequencing of this sample revealed five sequence variants including two missense variants P434L and I219V. Second, the samples from Finnish hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) families were used for the screening of MLH1 mutations which produced twelve MLH1 sequence variants including two missense mutations, I219V, as in the PRCA-colon cancer patient, and V647M. P434L and V647 were both novel, rare variants. Carrier frequencies of the I219V mutation were compared between hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) patients, unselected PRCA cases, patients with benign prostate hyperplasia and controls, but no differences between the sample groups were found. P434L was not present in this study population and V647M was a very rare variant found only in one HPC family. According to the present results, MLH1 does not have a major role in PRCA causation in Finland. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Genetic and phenotypic correlations between milk coagulation properties (MCP: coagulation time and curd firmness), milk yield, fat content, protein content, In(somatic cell count) (SCS), casein content, and pH of milk and heritability of these traits were estimated from data consisting of milk samples of 4664 Finnish Ayrshire cows sired by 91 bulls. In addition, differences in average estimated breeding values (EBV) for the above traits between the cows with noncoagulating (NC) milk and those with milk that coagulated (CO samples) were examined. The estimations were carried out to study the possibilities of indirect genetic improvement of MCP by use of the above characteristics. The genetic and phenotypic correlations between MCP and the milk production traits were low or negligible. The genetic associations between desirable MCP and low SCS were rather strong (-0.45 to 0.29). Desirable MCP correlated both genetically and phenotypically with low pH of milk (-0.51 to 0.50). The rather high heritability estimates for curd firmness in different forms (0.22 to 0.39), and the wide variation in the proportion of daughters producing NC milk between the sires (0 to 47%) suggested that noncoagulation of milk is partly caused by additive genetic factors. Based on the genetic correlations between curd firmness and SCS and the high EBV for SCS obtained for the cows with NC-milk, it is possible that the loci causing noncoagulation of milk and increasing somatic cell count of milk are closely linked or partly the same. One means to genetically improve MCP and to reduce the occurrence of NC milk could thus be selection for low somatic cell count of milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nanometer range structure of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers was examined by wide-angle, small-angle and ultra small-angle X-ray scattering methods. The crystallinity of starch, the lattice constants of the hexagonal lattice of amylopectin, the average crystallite size in the direction [100], the lamellar distance and the thickness of lamella stacks were determined from the data. A new achievement presented in this paper is that reasonable results for these parameters of potato starch were obtained by carrying out experiments on slices and mashes of raw potato tubers. The effects of sample preparation were also investigated by doing experiments on air-dried and re-hydrated potato samples, and on isolated potato starch as well. Changes in the structure of three different cultivars grown in Finland (S. tuberosum cv. Satu, Saturna and Lady Rosetta) were studied monthly from August to May. The physiological ageing caused changes in the crystallinity and in the crystal structure. The mean values (±SD) were determined from the data measured between September and January (30 samples). The lattice constants a=18.4±0.06 and c=10.4±0.04 A˚, the crystallinity of starch 24±2% and the crystallite size 118±10 A˚ were obtained. The lamellar distance was 97±3 A˚ and the thickness of lamella stacks 513±6 A˚. The structural parameters did not vary significantly between Satu, Saturna and Lady Rosetta. For comparison, two cultivars grown in the Netherlands were studied in December. The Dutch cultivars showed the same structural parameters as the Finnish cultivars. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]