Collectively, it was demonstrated that exosomes derived from Rab27a-overexpressing cancer cells elicited more potent antitumor immune effects, which may provide novel insights for the development of efficient exosome-based cancer vaccines.”
“Background: This study aimed to explore the potential association of mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) with brain metastases in patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Methods: We analyzed clinical data on 314 patients who were tested for EGFR mutation and underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging at diagnosis. The relationship between EGFR mutation status and brain metastases at

the initial presentation was analyzed. In addition, prognostic significance

of EGFR mutational Anlotinib mouse status on the risk of brain metastasis was evaluated in subgroups of surgically treated patients. Results: Of the 314 patients, 138 patients (43.9%) had EGFR mutations. The frequency of EGFR MI-503 clinical trial mutation was statistically higher for patients with brain metastases (64.7%, brain metastases; 39.8%, no metastases; 40.2%, extracranial metastases; p = 0.005). A strong association between EGFR mutation status and brain metastasis was observed (adjusted odds ratio = 3.83, p = 0.001), whereas no association was observed between EGFR mutation status and extracranial metastases (adjusted odds ratio = 1.73, p = 0.079). In addition, the number of brain metastases was significantly correlated with the EGFR mutation status (p = 0.029). Further analysis of 133 patients treated with surgical resection showed that EGFR mutation status was a poor prognostic factor for the risk of brain metastasis (hazard ratio = 4.49, p = 0.026) after adjustment for pathologic N stage. Conclusions: We found a significant association

between EGFR mutation and risk of brain metastases at the time of diagnosis and follow-up after curative resection for pulmonary Adavosertib adenocarcinoma. This result indicates the distinct clinical features of EGFR-mutated tumors in terms of brain metastases.”
“Calcium is thought to play an important role in regulating mitochondrial function. Evidence suggests that an increase in mitochondrial calcium can augment ATP production by altering the activity of calcium-sensitive mitochondrial matrix enzymes. In contrast, the entry of large amounts of mitochondrial calcium in the setting of ischemia-reperfusion injury is thought to be a critical event in triggering cellular necrosis. For many decades, the details of how calcium entered the mitochondria remained a biological mystery. In the past few years, significant progress has been made in identifying the molecular components of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter complex.

However, little is known of the general biological function of Islet-1, let alone its role in EMT of EMCs. Using rat-derived adult EMC cultures we therefore investigated the role of Isl1 expression in both non-stimulated EMCs and during TGF-beta-induced EMT. We found that Isl1 had a dual role by promoting mesenchymal features in non-stimulated EMCs, while a loss of Isl1 associated with EMT acted as a negative modulator

of EMT progression as assessed on phenotype. We furthermore found that the loss of Isl1 expression during EMT https://www.selleckchem.com/products/SB-525334.html was, in addition to transcriptional regulation by beta-catenin, mediated through direct targeting by microRNA-31 (miR-31). Through manipulations of miR-31 bioactivity in EMCs, we thus report that miR-31 is a negative modulator of cardiac fibrogenic EMT, primarily via targeting Isl1. Our data show that Isl1 is a key regulatory molecule in adult cardiac EMT. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Vaccines for important mycoplasma diseases, including contagious bovine and caprine pleuropneumonia, have been used for centuries, consisting mainly of infected tissue or fluids which are inoculated into sites at which the risk of severe infection is slight, such as the tail and bridge of the nose. Surprisingly, little

progress has been made in developing safe, defined and protective alternatives, the vaccines today check details still consisting of mildly attenuated strains serially passaged in eggs or in culture. Ill-defined temperature-sensitive Mutants are widely used for mycoplasmoses

in poultry despite uncertainty about their mode of protection. Inactivated vaccines for enzootic pneumonia appear to have improved pig health worldwide, but disease reduction has been generally modest. Ironically, attempts to develop subunit preparations have often led to exacerbation of disease, particularly in human atypical pneumonia. Promising results have been seen in DNA vaccine technology, which has been applied to the development of mycoplasma vaccines for porcine enzootic pneumonia, but NVP-LDE225 field trials still seem a long way off. No commercial vaccines exist for Mycoplasma bovis, despite evidence that this is a major cause of calf pneumonia, mastitis and arthritis. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Extracting linguistic information from locations beyond the currently fixated word is a core component of skilled reading. Recent debate on this topic is focused on the question of whether useful linguistic information can be extracted from more than one (parafoveally visible) word to the right of a fixated word (N). The current study examined this issue through the use parafoveal previews with a short and high-frequency next (N+1) word, as this should increase the opportunity for the extraction of useful information from the subsequent (N+2) word.

We used the median as the point estimate and the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles as the confidence interval. We compared case-chaos matched odds ratios with their respective case-control odds ratios in terms of statistical significance. Using Spearman’s correlation, we estimated the correlation between matched odds ratios and the proportion of cases exposed to each exposure and quantified the relationship between the 2 using a normal linear mixed model. Each case-control study identified an outbreak vehicle (odds ratios = 4.9-45).

Case-chaos methodology identified the outbreak vehicle 3 out of 5 times. It identified significant associations in 22 check details of 113 exposures that were not associated with outcome and 5 of 18 exposures that were significantly associated with outcome. Log matched odds ratios correlated with their respective proportion of cases exposed (Spearman rho = 0.91) and increased significantly with the proportion of cases exposed (b = 0.054). Case-chaos methodology missed the outbreak source 2 of 5 times and identified spurious associations between a number of exposures and outcome. Measures of association correlated with the proportion of cases exposed. We recommended against using case-chaos analysis during outbreak investigations.”
“FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYLS3 (FHY3) and FAR-RED-IMPAIRED RESPONSE1 (FARM initially identified as crucial components of phytochrome

A (phyA)-mediated far-red (FR) light signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana, are the founding members of the FAR1-related sequence (FRS) family MK 1775 of transcription factors present in most angiosperms. These proteins share extensive similarity with the Mutator-like transposases, indicative of their evolutionary history of ‘molecular

domestication’. Here we review emerging multifaceted roles of FHY3/FAR1 in diverse developmental and physiological processes, including UV-B signaling, circadian clock entrainment, flowering, chloroplast biogenesis, chlorophyll biosynthesis, programmed cell death, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, and branching. The domestication of FHY3/FAR1 may enable angiosperms to better integrate various endogenous and exogenous signals for coordinated regulation of growth and development, thus enhancing their this website fitness and adaptation.”
“The role of human Fc gamma receptors (Fc gamma R) has been recognized considerably over the last years. These receptors vary in their affinity for IgG subclasses and the intracellular signals elicited by them. Allelic variants of Fc gamma R genes may influence the biological phagocyte activity, accounting for an inherited pre-disposition to disease. The specific Fc gamma RIIa (CD32) contains a polymorphic variant (H/R131) that has been associated to a reduced risk for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF).

Among agriculture workers, pesticide application, especially using manual equipment, seems to be the major determinant

in explaining internal dose. Although the analysis of self-administered questionnaires evidenced difficulties especially related to lack and/or poor quality of reported data, biological monitoring confirms to be a selleck chemical powerful tool in assessing pesticide exposure.”
“Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is used in the treatment of human osteoarthritis as a slow-acting symptomatic drug. For this reason, we performed uptake studies with (TcCS)-Tc-99m using different chondrocyte cultures, as well as cartilage tissue in vitro. For uptake studies, adherent monolayer cultures of human chondrocytes (2.7 x 10(4) cells/well) and (TcCS)-Tc-99m (1 mu Ci) were used. In parallel, we also performed uptake studies with cell suspensions of human chondrocytes at 1 x 10(6) cells/well

incubated with (TcCS)-Tc-99m (5 mu Ci) under identical conditions. Uptake was Studied also in cartilage tissue samples and frozen tissue sections for autoradiography. The uptake was monitored for 10-240 min, every 10-30 min for cell cultures and for cartilage tissue click here up to 72 h. As the commercially available drug Condrosulf (IBSA, Lugano, Switzerland) contains magnesium (Mg) stearate as additive, we investigated the uptake with and without this additive. The washout of the tracer was assessed after the uptake experiments with PBS buffer for different time intervals (10 min-3 h). Tracer uptake in monolayer+/-additives with Torin 2 supplier low number of cells was low. With the use of chondrocytes in Culture suspensions with higher number of cells, a higher uptake of 5.9 +/- 0.65% and 1.0 +/- 0.1% (n=6) was found, with and without additive, respectively. The Saturation was achieved after 100 min. With the use of human rib cartilage, the uptake of (TcCS)-Tc-99m

was continuously increasing with time and was very high with additive amounting to 101.8 +/- 5.2% vs. 53.0 +/- 8.3% (n=6) without after 72 It and showing delayed saturation up to 30 It. Thus, not only the resorption of the drug is enhanced by Mg-stearate, but also the uptake. The washout of the tracer from cartilage after 3 h of uptake amounted to 3.75 +/- 1.5% with additive vs. 13.1 +/- 2.1% without. After 24 h, washout was lower amounting to 1.75 +/- 0.15% vs. 3.25 +/- 0.25%, respectively. The autoradiographic studies paralleled the results of in vitro cartilage tissue uptake. These data show that (TcCS)-Tc-99m accumulates in cartilage tissue, either by acting as a substrate for proteoglycan synthesis or by adsorption to cartilage. (TcCS)-Tc-99m could therefore be a possible agent to target and radioimage osteoarthritis. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Cancer in the 21st century has become the number one cause of death in developed countries. Although much progress has been made in improving patient survival, tumour relapse is one of the important causes of cancer treatment failure.

The robustness and the generality of the methodology is tested on controlled YAP-TEAD Inhibitor 1 chemical structure simulations, reporting a good agreement between theoretically expected and identified values. The assumptions behind the underlying theoretical framework make the method

readily applicable to biological preparations like culture neuron networks and in vitro brain slices.”
“Copper-iron spinel (CuFe2O4) in cubic phase was prepared via a simple citrate sol-gel method and was, transformed into tetragonal phase of high crystallinity by calcining in air at 900 degrees C. Composites of CuFe2O4 spinel and gamma-Al2O3 were investigated for catalytic production of hydrogen from dimethyl ether steam reforming (DME SR). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed Cu1+-rich surface species (Cu1+/Cu-0 approximate to ca. 3/2 with negligible Cu2+) over

the calcined CuFe2O4 subjected to in situ H-2 reduction. The spinel-oxides with lower content of reducible Cu species possessed higher amount of Cu1+ species under the reducing atmosphere, corresponding selleck kinase inhibitor to higher DME SR activity. Copper clusters highly dispersed in the matrix of iron oxides were reduced from the spinel structure, and the strong interaction between them should result in the high activity and durability. The degraded catalysts after DME SR were regenerated by calcining in air in the temperature range of 350-800 degrees C. Slow deactivation of the composites observed during DME SR at 375 degrees C was mainly attributable to non-graphitic carbonaceous species deposited on the catalyst surface. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Prior studies have shown age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to be associated Angiogenesis inhibitor with falls. The purpose of this study is to determine if (AMD) and AMD-related vision

loss are associated with fear of falling, an important and distinct outcome. Methods: Sixty-five persons with AMD with evidence of vision loss in one or both eyes and 60 glaucoma suspects with normal vision completed the University of Illinois at Chicago Fear of Falling questionnaire. Responses were Rasch analyzed. Scores were expressed in logit units, with lower scores demonstrating lesser ability and greater fear of falling. Results: Compared to glaucoma suspect controls, AMD subjects had worse visual acuity (VA) (median better-eye VA = 20/48 vs. 20/24, p smaller than 0.001) and worse contrast sensitivity (CS) (binocular CS = 1.9 vs. 1.5 log units, p smaller than 0.001). AMD subjects were also older, more likely to be Caucasian, and less likely to be employed (p smaller than 0.05 for all), but were similar with regards to other demographic and health measures. In multivariable models controlling for age, gender, body habitus, strength, and comorbid illnesses, AMD subjects reported greater fear of falling as compared to controls (beta = -0.77 logits, 95% CI = -1.5 to -0.002, p = 0.045). In separate multivariable models, fear of falling increased with worse VA (beta = -0.

Additionally, when W-CGH was performed using DNAs from the Iberian breeds Castellana and Ojalada, chromosomal pericentromeric regions revealed quantitatively and qualitatively a presence of DNA families similar to that obtained from any of

the above-cited breeds. On the contrary, when the DNA used in W-CGH experiments was obtained from Assaf, as compared to either Castellana or Ojalada, two different pericentromeric DNA families of highly repetitive sequences could be detected. Lastly, sex chromosomes were shown to be homogeneous among all breeds and thus revealed no detectable constitutive heterochromatin. W-CGH results were confirmed using DNA breakage detection-FISH experiments (DBD-FISH) carried out on lymphocytes. As a whole, the results showed that two different repetitive DNA families are present in the pericentromeric heterochromatin of the learn more sheep breeds studied here. Additionally, they suggest a differential presence of these distinct find protocol repetitive DNA families in Castellana and Ojalada breeds as compared to the Assaf breed. Finally, the results of W-CGH after using mouflon as the targeted chromosomes also

show that the two DNA families are present in the ancestor. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel”
“In this study, we identified two Haemaphysalis species present at the Khao Yai National Park in Thailand and investigated the presence of rickettsia in these ticks. A total of 166 Haemaphysalis specimens were collected randomly under leaves along visitor paths at five locations in the park. Male and female adults of two different Haemaphysalis species, H. shimoga and H. lagrangei, were identified. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis revealed

Rickettsia bacteria in these two Haemaphysalis species; this study represents the first time STI571 manufacturer such presence has been reported in Thailand. The infection rates of Rickettsia were in both H. shimoga (7.41%) and H. lagrangei (10.17%) at these locations in addition to two pools of Haemahysalis nymphs (28.57%). Furthermore, 25.93% of H. shimoga showed positive results that matched Haemaphysalis longicornis symbionts (92% sequence identity) and the Coxeilla burnetti 16S ribosomal RNA gene (90% sequence identity). We propose that this is a novel H. shimoga symbiont bacterium in Thailand and might be a novel Coxeilla-like agent or Coxeilla sp. found in H. shimoga. In contrast, we did not observe any Wolbachia bacteria, which also belong to the order Rickettsiales, in the same group of Haemaphysalis ticks. Furthermore, PCR was used to detect three other genera of bacteria, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Borrelia, none of which were identified in the Haemaphysalis ticks studied.

Furthermore, the white blood cell counts of the chick and the adults, the plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride of the adults, and the plasma uric acid levels of the chicks were lower than those of the young pheasants. buy PRIMA-1MET However, thrombocyte count of the chicks was higher than that of the young pheasants.

The other parameters investigated, such as mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, the percentages of heterophils and eosinophils, and the plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, creatinine, and creatine kinase did not show significant differences related to age. Based on the results, it was concluded that some haematological and biochemical values were influenced by age differences of the pheasants and the data obtained in this ERK animal study study could be useful to establish some baseline values about haematological and biochemical parameters in pheasants.”
“One subgenus and one genus of Pseudothelphusidae described by Gilberto Rodriguez and Alfred E. Smalley from Mexico have been erroneously referred to for over 40 years as variously described in 1968 and 1969. The review of the original publication indicates that these taxa were published

in a journal dated 1969 that became available for distribution only in 1972. Smalley (1970), who believed that the original manuscript had been previously published, referred to some of these new taxa (i.e., Epithelphusa,

E. mixtepensis, Tehuana and T. veracruzana) and provided sufficient information to make these names available Prexasertib in 1970, thus becoming the correct authorship for these four taxa. Therefore they must be referred to as “Rodriguez & Smalley in Smalley 1970″. A list of all affected taxa with the correct publication date and authorship is given. A list of publications in which the taxa authored by Rodriguez and Smalley were erroneously referred to as published in 1969 is also provided.”
“The non-random chromosomal translocations t(10;11)(p13;q23) and t(10;11)(p13;q14-21) result in leukemogenic fusion proteins comprising the coiled coil domain of the transcription factor AF10 and the proteins MLL or CALM, respectively, and subsequently cause certain types of acute leukemia. The AF10 coiled-coil domain, which is crucial for the leukemogenic effect, has been shown to interact with GAS41, a protein previously identified as the product of an amplified gene in glioblastoma. Using sequential synthetic peptides, we mapped the potential AF10/GAS41 interaction site, which was subsequently be used as scaffold for a library targeting the AF10 coiled-coil domain. Using phage display, we selected a peptide that binds the AF10 coiled-coil domain with higher affinity than the respective coiled-coil region of wild-type GAS41, as demonstrated by phage ELISA, CD, and PCAs.

An exploratory multivariate analysis of their habitat conditions discriminated five guilds, differentially distributed in habitats with different quantities of environmental water and three guilds corresponding to different levels of salinity. A partial correspondence between phylogenetic and ecological selleck screening library categories suggested the presence of parallel adaptive radiations within different genera. In particular, the species found in the most terrestrial habitats (P. weberi) was also found in the widest range of conditions, suggesting that colonization of extreme semi-terrestrial and freshwater habitats by this species was facilitated by eurytypy. It is proposed that these findings provide insight into convergent adaptations

for the vertebrate eco-evolutionary transition from sea to land.”
“Large-bodied fish are critical for sustaining coral reef fisheries, but little is known about the vulnerability of these fish to global warming. This study examined the effects of elevated temperatures on the movement and activity patterns of the common coral trout Plectropomus leopardus (Serranidae), which is an important fishery species in tropical Australia and throughout the Indo West-Pacific. Adult fish were collected

from two locations PF-04929113 chemical structure on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (23 degrees S and 14 degrees S) and maintained at one of four temperatures (24, 27, 30, 33 degrees C). Following >4weeks acclimation, the spontaneous swimming speeds and activity patterns of individuals were recorded over a period of 12days. At 24-27 degrees C, spontaneous swimming speeds of common coral trout were 0.43-0.45 body lengths per second (bls(-1)), but dropped

sharply to 0.29bls(-1) at 30 degrees C and 0.25bls(-1) at 33 degrees C. Concurrently, individuals spent 9.3-10.6% of their time resting motionless on the bottom at 24-27 degrees C, but this behaviour increased to 14.0% at 30 degrees C and 20.0% of the time at 33 degrees C (mean +/- SE). The impact of temperature was greatest for smaller individuals (<45cm TL), showing significant changes to AR-13324 mw swimming speeds across every temperature tested, while medium (45-55cm TL) and large individuals (>55cm TL) were first affected by 30 degrees C and 33 degrees C, respectively. Importantly, there was some indication that populations can adapt to elevated temperature if presented with adequate time, as the high-latitude population decreased significantly in swimming speeds at both 30 degrees C and 33 degrees C, while the low-latitude population only showed significant reductions at 33 degrees C. Given that movement and activity patterns of large mobile species are directly related to prey encounter rates, ability to capture prey and avoid predators, any reductions in activity patterns are likely to reduce overall foraging and energy intake, limit the energy available for growth and reproduction, and affect the fitness and survival of individuals and populations.

. Their structures were identified using spectral methods (UV, IR, 1D- and 2D-NMR, and ESI-MS).”
“BACKGROUND: The next-generation, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assays can measure quantifiable concentrations of cTn in a majority BTSA1 supplier of individuals, but there are few studies assessing these assays for risk stratification. The present study was undertaken to determine if a research hs-cTnI assay can be useful for predicting

death/myocardial infarction (MI), both short- and long-term, in an emergency department acute coronary syndrome (ACS) population.\n\nMETHODS: In a cohort of 383 subjects, originally recruited in 1996, presenting to the emergency department with symptoms suggestive of ACS, the heparin plasma obtained at initial presentation was thawed and measured in 2007 with a research hs-cTnI assay. AccuTnI (Beckman Coulter) measurements were made on these same samples in 2003. The population was divided into 4 groups by hs-cTnI: <5.00, 5.00-9.99, 10.00-40.00, and >40.00 ng/L. Kaplan-Meier, Cox proportional hazards, ROC curves, and logistic regression analyses were this website used to identify which hs-cTnI concentrations were predictive of death/MI within 10 years after presentation.\n\nRESULTS: There were significant differences between the hs-cTnI groups for the probability of death/MI

up to 10 years after presentation (P<0.05). At 6 months, patients with hs-cTnI >= 10.00 ng/L were at higher risk for death/MI (hazard ratio >3.7; P<0.05) compared with those having hs-cTnI <5.00

ng/L. ROC curve analysis for death/MI at 30 days with the hs-cTnI assay had an area under the curve of 0.74 (95% CI 0.65-0.82), with logistic models yielding an optimal assay threshold Selleck SHP099 of 12.68 ng/L.\n\nCONCLUSIONS: This research hs-cTnI assay appears useful for risk stratification for death/MI in an ACS population. (C) 2009 American Association for Clinical Chemistry”
“PURPOSE. Hereditary retinal dystrophies (HRDs) are a group of monogenic diseases characterized by an irreversible loss of photoreceptors. HRDs exhibit significant genetic and clinical heterogeneities challenging traditional techniques for determining disease-causal mutations. This study aims to develop an efficient molecular diagnostic platform for HRDs, and to determine the genetic basis for 25 randomly collected Chinese families with a variety of HRDs.\n\nMETHODS. We designed a high throughput sequence capture microarray targeting 179 genes associated with HRDs and 10 candidate genes. We combined sequence capture with next-generation sequencing (NGS) to screen for mutations in the cohort of Chinese families. Variants detected by NGS were filtered, validated, and prioritized by pathogenicity analysis. Genotypes and phenotypes were correlated.\n\nRESULTS.

“
“Tumor necrosis factor a antagonist therapies represent an increased risk of reactivation of tuberculosis. We report two cases of life-threatening disseminated tuberculosis in patients undergoing treatment with infliximab for Crohn’s disease including one case of a patient with cerebral tuberculomas.\n\nWe discuss the implication of tumor

necrosis factor a in the genesis of tuberculosis infection and the features of tuberculosis under infliximab.\n\nTuberculosis screening and eventually preventive chemotherapy should become the standard of care for individual undergoing tumor necrosis factor a antagonist therapies. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of European Crohn’s and Selleckchem 5-Fluoracil Colitis Organisation.”
“There is an urgent need to develop biomimetic bone

tissue engineering AZD9291 scaffolds for the repair of criticalsized calvarial defect. In this study, we developed a new nanoparticle-embedded electrospun nanofiber scaffold for the controlled dual delivery of BMP-2 and dexamethasone (DEX). The scaffold was achieved by (1) the encapsulation of BMP-2 into bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles to maintain the bioactivity of BMP-2 and (2) the co-electrospinning of the blending solution composed of the BSA nanoparticles, DEX and the poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-co-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCE) copolymer. The in vitro studies showed that the bioactivity of find more DEX and BMP-2 was preserved in the dual-drug-loaded nanofiber scaffold, and a sequential release pattern in which most of the DEX was released in the original eight days and the BMP-2 release lasted up to 35 days was achieved. The in vitro osteogenesis study demonstrated that the drug-loaded groups exhibited a strong ability to induce differentiation toward osteoblasts. In vivo osteogenesis studies also revealed that the degrees of repair of rat calvarial defect achieved with the drug-loaded nanofiber scaffolds were significantly better than those obtained with the blank materials; in

particular, the dual-drug-loaded nanofiber scaffold manifested the best repair efficacy due to a synergistic effect of BMP-2 and DEX. Therefore, the dual-drug-loaded nanofiber scaffold is deemed a strong potential candidate for the repair of bone defects in bone tissue engineering. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Aim: To study the relations between postnatal maternal morbidity, child morbidity and welfare interventions in families with prenatal alcohol or substance abuse. Methods: A register-based longitudinal retrospective cohort study. The exposed cohort included 638 children born to 524 women followed-up during pregnancy for alcohol or substance abuse 19922001. Non-exposed children (n = 1914) born to control women were matched for maternal age, parity, number of foetuses, month of birth and delivery hospital of the index child.