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B Eriksen

Publications and source records attributed to B Eriksen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Sequencing strategy of mitochondrial HV1 and HV2 DNA with length heteroplasmy.

We describe a method to obtain reliable mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences downstream of the homopolymeric stretches with length heteroplasmy in the sequencing direction. The method is based on the use of junction primers that bind to a part of the homopolymeric stretch and the first 2-4 bases downstream of the homopolymeric region. This junction primer method gave clear and unambiguous results using samples from 21 individuals with length heteroplasmy in the hypervariable regions HV1, HV2 or both. The method is of special value for forensic casework, because sequencing of both strands of an mtDNA region is preferable in order to reduce ambiguities in sequence determination.

DNA, Mitochondrial↗
PubMed2001

Screening method evaluated by nutritional status measurements can be used to detect malnourishment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and develop a screening method for malnutrition among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). DESIGN: Findings from a screening sheet for malnutrition were compared with results from full nutritional assessment. The screening sheet included 7 questions regarding body mass index, anorexia, loss of weight, and other variables possibly affecting nutritional status. Each answer was assigned a point value, and a total of 4 and 5 points were tested as criterion for malnutrition. Full nutrition assessment included measurements of weight and height (body mass index), serum albumin and prealbumin, total lymphocyte count, triceps skinfold thickness, mid-arm muscle circumference or area, and information on unintentional weight loss. Malnutrition was defined by 3 or more values below reference values. SUBJECTS: Randomly selected patients (n = 34) with a clinical diagnosis of COPD, 15% of eligible patients admitted to the Department of Lung Medicine at National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland, during the time of the study. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated to evaluate the screening sheet. Each of the 7 parameters used in a full nutrition assessment was similarly evaluated as an indicator to predict malnutrition. RESULTS: Full nutrition assessment identified 13 of 34 patients (38%) as malnourished. Using 4 points as a criterion for malnutrition, the screening sheet to be used for patients with COPD resulted in sensitivity of 0.69 and specificity of 0.90. CONCLUSION: The results confirm the frequent finding of malnutrition among patients with COPD and show that a simple screening sheet can be used to identify which patients need further nutrition assessment and treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Megagametophyte development in Potentilla nivea (Rosaceae) from northern Swedish Lapland.

An investigation of the embryology of Potentilla nivea was carried out using a confocal laser scanning microscope. The crassinucellate nature of the ovule as well as the presence of a multicellular archesporium was confirmed. A "nucellar cap" builds up as the result of mitotic divisions in the parietal cell tissue and the nucellar epidermis. Earlier reports that several mature megagametophytes are present in each ovule was confirmed. The processes of megasporogenesis and megagametogenesis in Potentilla turned out to differ from descriptions in previous reports, and we propose a reinterpretation. Most importantly, the "archesporium" of previous authors is here considered to be parietal cells, whereas the "chalazal cells" are here interpreted as the archesporium. Meioses commonly occur, giving rise to tetrahedral tetrads. Cytologically unreduced megagametophytes arise from generative tissue (archesporial cells or megasporocytes) only and are diplosporous. Apospory does not occur. The megagametophyte is monosporic and five-nucleate; the three antipodal nuclei normally present in eight-nucleate megagametophytes are missing.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Results of collaborative study regarding the standardization of the Y-linked STR system DYS385 by the European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) group.

Y-chromosome linked short tandem repeat (STR) loci are inherited as a closely linked haplotype, which appears to remain stable in a given paternal lineage over many generations. In forensic cases, Y-linked STRs are particularly useful for the identification of human remains as well as in rape cases with mixed male/female stain samples. DYS385 is derived from tandemly duplicated segments of the Y chromosome thus giving rise to two fragments of variable length which do not behave like alleles but genotypes. The European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) group has carried out a collaborative exercise among 14 participating laboratories using DYS385 for typing of five unknown bloodstains and a control sample. Furthermore, population data from eight different European countries with samples sizes between 91 and 150 male individuals were collected. The results confirm previous observations that DYS385 is one of the most informative Y-linked STR loci. It could also be demonstrated that reproducible results can be obtained independently from the electrophoretic separation and detection methods used. Thus DYS385 may serve as a useful complementation to the routinely used autosomal STR systems in special cases.

Blood Protein Electrophoresis↗
PubMed1999

A randomized, open, parallel-group study on the preventive effect of an estradiol-releasing vaginal ring (Estring) on recurrent urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to detect a difference in time until the first recurrence of urinary tract infection during treatment with an estradiol-releasing silicone vaginal ring (Estring; Pharmacia & Upjohn, Inc, Uppsala, Sweden) compared with no estrogen treatment. The secondary objective was to detect any differences in improvement of urethral and vaginal mucosal atrophy and in the subjective assessment of urogenital symptoms. The study also sought to detect a difference in decrease of vaginal pH to <5.5 and to record adverse events. STUDY DESIGN: This was a multicenter, randomized, open, parallel-group study with an untreated control group. Postmenopausal women with recurrent symptomatic, bacteriologically confirmed urinary tract infections were randomly assigned to receive either Estring (2 mg estradiol) or no estrogen treatment. One ring was carried vaginally for 12 weeks. The duration of treatment was 36 weeks for the Estring group and either 36 weeks or until the first recurrence for the control group. Both intent-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were performed to evaluate efficacy, whereas the safety analysis was limited to the intent-to-treat group. The primary variable was analyzed by survival analysis with the Kaplan-Meier method for estimating the survival density function. To compare the survival curves for the 2 treatment groups a log-rank test was performed for time until first recurrence. RESULTS: A total of 108 women were randomly assigned, 53 to the Estring group and 55 to the control group. The cumulative proportion of women remaining free of urinary tract infection was significantly higher in the Estring group than in the control group (P =.008). After 36 weeks of study the cumulative likelihood of remaining free of disease was approximately 45% in the women with the vaginal ring compared with approximately 20% in the control group. Estring lowered vaginal pH, and the time to first recurrence was effectively prolonged by Estring treatment. Vaginal and, to a lesser extent, urethral mucosal cells were significantly more mature in the Estring group. No unexpected adverse events were found. CONCLUSION: Estring is useful to prolong the time to next recurrence among postmenopausal women with recurrent urinary tract infection and to decrease the number of recurrences per year. The silicone vaginal ring also has a clinically significant ability to alleviate other postmenopausal urogenital symptoms. Estring is safe and well tolerated.

Administration, Intravaginal↗
PubMed1999

Nutritional status at submission for dietetic services and screening for malnutrition at admission to hospital.

This paper presents two studies in a quality management project that aims to diminish malnutrition among hospitalized patients. The objective of study 1 was to investigate what information was available on the nutritional status of patients submitted for dietetic services for reasons other than obesity (n= 167) and of study 2 to evaluate a nine-question screening sheet for malnutrition in patients (n= 115) within 48 h of admission to the hospital. In study 1 sufficient data to evaluate nutritional status was found for 17% of the patients submitted for dietetic services. In study 2 the screening sheet identified 21% of the patients as malnourished and a full nutritional assessment of seven anthropometrical and biochemical measurements 20%. The screening sheet could be simplified to six questions and then had a sensitivity of 0.69, a specificity of 0.91 and a positive predictive value of 0.65. It is concluded that evaluation of nutritional status in hospitalized patients has been disregarded and a simple screening sheet can be used to identify patients in need of further nutritional assessment and treatment.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Report of the European DNA Profiling Group (EDNAP)--an investigation of the hypervariable STR loci ACTBP2, APOAI1 and D11S554 and the compound loci D12S391 and D1S1656.

This paper describes the results of three collaborative exercises which continues the EDNAP theme to explore whether uniformity of DNA profiling results could be achieved between European laboratories using STRs. In an earlier exercise, complex hypervariable AAAG-repeat STR loci were investigated, but reproducibility was found to be poor because of the variation of techniques used by participating laboratories. In the exercise reported here, an internal allelic ladder composed of ACTBP2 and D11S554 fragments was distributed. This ladder was used to size ACTBP2 analysed by a "singleplex" PCR amplification and D11S554 combined with APOAI1 in a separate "duplex" reaction. Laboratories were asked to test 7 blood stains, one of which was a known control, and to report the results to the co-ordinating laboratory. The exercise demonstrated that ACTBP2 showed good reproducibility between laboratories, whereas further testing would be needed to validate APOAI1 and D11S554 for interlaboratory comparisons. In separate exercises, the simple loci D12S391 and D1S1656 were tested; both of these showed excellent reproducibility between laboratories.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Report on the third EDNAP collaborative STR exercise. European DNA Profiling Group.

This report describes an inter-laboratory exercise completed on behalf of the European DNA Profiling (EDNAP) group. The exercise is one in a series designated to identify STR loci which could be used for harmonisation between participating European forensic science laboratories. Participants were asked to identify the alleles present in five bloodstains at the STR loci HUMTHO1 and HUMVWFA31/A. Two of the stains were prepared from mixtures of two different blood samples. There were no special instructions and each laboratory was requested to use the methodology normally employed for crime case investigations. All participating laboratories achieved the same results for both loci. In addition, the laboratories were also requested to report the results obtained from any other loci which would normally be used in crime case investigations. A comparison of these results showed some inter-laboratory variation.

Alleles↗
PubMed1995

GEDNAP IV and V. The 4th and 5th Stain Blind Trials using DNA technology.

In the collaborative exercise GEDNAP IV one EDTA blood sample (2 ml) and 5 bloodstains (0.5 ml on cotton) were investigated and in GEDNAP V, a total of 8 bloodstains (0.5 ml on cotton), including 2 mixed bloodstains. DNA typing was carried out using the RFLP systems YNH24/Hinf I and MS43a/Hinf I and the PCR systems HLA DQ alpha, D1S80, ApoB and YNZ22. In both exercises approximately 20 laboratories obtained results using the RFLP systems. Of the PCR systems, D1S80 was the most commonly used (14 labs in GEDNAP IV; 18 labs in GEDNAP V). The interlaboratory standard deviation for YNH24 in both exercises was approx. 0.6%, for MS43a 0.7-2.2% (GEDNAP IV) and 0.4-1.4% (GEDNAP V), depending on the fragment size. The fragment size calculation performed in each laboratory yielded a standard deviation twice that obtained when the fragment size calculation was performed centrally (IfR, Münster). In GEDNAP III, a system-specific corridor was developed to define the limits of deviation; this was modified for the present study by combining the fragment size ranges of YNH24 and MS43a. In both studies a subgroup of laboratories was involved in preliminary exercises using three PCR VNTRs and the system HLA DQ alpha. Owing to the substantial variation in experience of the participating laboratories with PCR typing the results obtained in these two studies do not fulfil the basic quality criteria of the GEDNAP studies.

Apolipoproteins B↗
PubMed1995

Routine use of ultraviolet light in medicolegal examinations to evaluate stains and skin trauma.

The use of ultraviolet light induced fluorescence as an aid in forensic medical examinations of rape victims was evaluated preliminarily in a retrospective, non-consecutive study. In a four-month period, 17 cases were referred by the police for examinations at the Institute of Forensic Pathology. Ultraviolet light illumination (UVI) was used in seven cases, and in six cases fluorescent skin areas were observed. The fluorescence was due to lesions in four cases and stainings with saliva and semen in other two cases. In at least two cases, skin trauma detected with UVI were unobserved in ordinary light. It is concluded that UVI should be a routine part of forensic medical examinations. It may assist the forensic medical examiner in finding skin trauma and in locating stains, thus enabling retrieval of material for serological analyses. UVI is simple to carry out, requiring only a small, portable ultraviolet light source.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

The effect of sample size on the estimation of the frequency of DNA-profiles in RFLP-analysis.

Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP-analysis) was carried out on blood samples from 616 unrelated Danish Caucasians. DNA was restricted with Hinf I and analyzed with the single locus variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) probes MS1, MS31, MS43a and YNH24. The effect of the sample size on the estimates of the frequencies of DNA-profiles was investigated using reference samples of 50-1200 bands for each probe. The effects of using the upper confidence limit and a minimum default allele frequency in the calculation of the frequency of the DNA-profile were investigated. It is concluded that very small samples, e.g. 50 individuals, may be used as reference samples in the estimation of the frequency of a DNA-profile. The use of an upper confidence limit was without significant effect, whereas the use of a minimum default allele frequency prevented large underestimates.

Alleles↗
PubMed1994

DNA polymorphism in Greenland. Allele and profile frequencies in a Greenland population sample using the VNTR probes MS1, MS31, MS43a and YNH24.

Allele frequencies obtained by RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) analysis using the VNTR (Variable Number Tandem Repeats) single locus probes MS1, MS31, MS43a and YNH24 on HinfI-restricted DNA in a Greenland Eskimo (155 individuals) and a Danish Caucasian (616 individuals) population sample are reported. For MS1 the frequency distributions were almost identical whereas minor but significant differences were seen for the other 3 probes. The distribution of the frequencies of 139 Greenland complete DNA profiles was estimated using the Greenland and the Danish database. The average profile frequencies obtained with the Greenland database were approximately 10 times higher than the estimates obtained with the Danish database.

Alleles↗
PubMed1993

Metastatic renal tumor presenting as ovarian clear cell carcinoma.

Patients with clear cell adenocarcinoma of the kidney often present with metastatic disease, in some cases involving organs in which primary clear cell tumors occur. Under these circumstances, diagnosis of the renal primary tumor may be delayed. Herein we present a case of renal cell carcinoma metastatic to the ovaries initially treated as primary ovarian disease, until the appearance of other metastases prompted the discovery of its true origin. A high index of suspicion and the histologic characteristics of these tumors may allow earlier diagnosis and treatment of a renal primary tumor.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1993

Analysis of a Danish Caucasian population sample of single locus DNA-profiles. Allele frequencies, frequencies of DNA-profiles and heterozygosity.

The frequency distributions of the length of restriction fragments (HinfI) revealed by RFLP-analysis (restriction fragment length polymorphism) of blood samples from 482 Danish Caucasians using the single locus VNTR (variable number of tandem repeats) probes MS1, MS31, MS43a and YNH24 are reported. From two blood samples three fragments were obtained with MS1. The consistency of the characteristic allele frequency distribution for each probe is exemplified by comparing the accumulated frequency curves obtained with MS43a in samples consisting of 50 and 920 bands, respectively. The distribution of the differences in migration distance for the two fragments of a bandpair was investigated. The results suggest that the high frequency of apparent homozygotes observed is due mainly to coalescence of close heterozygotes. The distribution of frequencies of 437 DNA-profiles is reported.

Bias↗
PubMed1993

DNA-profiling of stains in criminal cases: analysis of measurement errors and band-shift. Discussion of match criteria.

DNA-profiling was performed on approximately 600 stains (blood, semen/vaginal secretion, tissue samples and saliva) deriving from criminal investigations. The restriction enzyme was HinfI, and the VNTR (variable number of tandem repeats) probes were MS1, MS31, MS43a and YNH24. DNA-profiles were obtained from 60% of the stains, and matches were seen for 65% of the profiles. The measurement errors and the differences between corresponding fragment lengths of blood and stain profiles were analysed statistically. Distinct band-shifts were observed for approximately 65% of the profiles. For 50% of the profiles, the fragments derived from the stain fragments migrated faster than those from the blood sample, and for 15% of the profiles the stain fragments migrated slower. The difference between the migration distance of the stain and the blood fragments of a given pair of profiles increased with increasing migration distance, i.e. with decreasing fragment length. After correction for this slope the measurement errors were independent of the fragment length, and of the same order of size as for duplicate determinations of fragments from blood samples. The differences between the fragment lengths of corresponding profiles were highly correlated (rho = 0.8). Based on the statistical analysis, different match criteria are discussed and an ellipsoid accept-area is suggested.

Blood Stains↗