Upsala journal of medical sciences
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Review Historical Article
From early methods for DNA diagnostics to genomes and epigenomes at high resolution during four decades - a personal perspective.
In the 1980s, my research career begun with microbial DNA diagnostics at Orion Pharmaceutica in Helsinki, Finland, where I was part of an innovative team that developed novel methods based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the biotin-avidin interaction. One of our key achievements during this time was the invention of the solid-phase minisequencing method for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In the 1990s, I shifted focus to human genetics, investigating mutations of the 'Finnish disease heritage'. ⋯ I continued as Director of the SNP&SEQ Technology Platform, which expanded rapidly during the 2010s, and became part of Science for Life Laboratory in 2013. Today (in 2024), the SNP&SEQ Technology Platform is one of the largest units of the Swedish National Genomics Infrastructure hosted by SciLifeLab. The present article provides a personal perspective on nearly four decades of research, highlighting projects and methods I found particularly exciting or important.
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The spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is an ongoing public health challenge, and awareness of risk factors is essential for designing effective preventive interventions. This study aimed to assess self-reported STI occurrences and identify risk factors and sexual behaviors associated with STIs among female university students. ⋯ Condom use was low among the respondents, and STIs were common regardless of the high level of education in this group. Contraceptive counseling needs to highlight the importance of condom use in addition to contraceptive efficacy. It is also essential to consider the specific risk factors and behaviors prevalent among young adults to reduce the spread of STIs.
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To compare statin utilization and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality trends in Lithuania and Sweden and to assess correlations between the total utilization of statins and IHD mortality. ⋯ Despite the growing statin utilization in both countries, Lithuania recorded a slight increase in IHD mortality rates unlike the situation in Sweden. This indicates room for improvement in the management of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in Lithuania including how statins are prescribed and used in clinical practice.
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Infertility along with fertility treatments has been reported to have a devastating effect on the well-being of the individuals involved as well as their relationship. So far, the studies exploring the impact on the relationship have mainly focused on heterosexual couples facing infertility and undergoing treatment. There is, therefore, a lack of data on the potential role of sexual orientation, gamete origin, as well as treatment success on the risk of separation after fertility treatment. The purpose of this study was, thus, to explore whether sexual orientation, donation treatment, and fertility success affected the relationship well-being and to explore various separation-related aspects. ⋯ The findings can be used by fertility clinics to provide relationship tools to the treated couples in order to help them nurture their relationship and decrease the risk of separation in the long run.
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Gaming disorder (GD) has been introduced as a new diagnosis in the International Classification of Disease 11 (ICD-11). Currently, there's limited understanding of how various video games may differentially contribute to the risk of developing GD. The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between individuals' game genre preferences, their preferred games' monetization strategies, and GD Symptoms. ⋯ This study reveals that game genre preference is influenced by sex, age, and certain psychiatric diagnoses. The categorizing of games into genres is increasingly complex and our research introduces a novel categorization in a developing research field. The result of this study suggests that the monetization model is important to consider while trying to understand the relationship between game characteristics and GD symptoms.