Publications

Normal maternal thyroid function is important for fetal development. No knowledge exists on how maternal thyroid function and thyroid antibodies during early pregnancy affect thyroid function of the offspring.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between maternal and adolescent thyroid function parameters.A total of 3673 mother-child pairs from the prospective, population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 participated in the study. Maternal serum samples were drawn in early pregnancy (<20th gestational week), and children's samples were drawn at the age of 16 years and analyzed for TSH, free T4 (fT4), and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Abs).TSH, fT4, and TPO-Ab concentrations were measured at the age of 16 years. Children of mothers with thyroid dysfunction (hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or hypothyroxinemia) or TPO-Ab positivity were compared to those of euthyroid or TPO-Ab-negative mothers. The distributions are expressed as medians with 5th to 95th percentiles.Boys of hypothyroid mothers had higher TSH concentrations than those of euthyroid mothers: 2.0 (0.9-4.0) vs 1.7 (0.8-3.3) mU/L; P = .001. Children of hyperthyroid mothers had lower TSH concentrations than those of euthyroid mothers: 1.3 (0.6-4.2) vs 1.7 (0.8-3.3) mU/L, P = .013, for boys; and 1.3 (0.5-3.5) vs 1.6 (0.7-3.4) mU/L, P = .034, for girls. There were no differences in TSH or fT4 concentrations between children of hypothyroxinemic and euthyroid mothers. TPO-Ab-positive mothers more often had TPO-Ab-positive children (prevalence, 9.0 vs 3.7% among boys, and 22.7 vs 7.5% among girls).Maternal thyroid dysfunction and TPO-Ab positivity during pregnancy seem to modify thyroid function parameters of offspring even in adolescence. Whether this increases the thyroid disease risk of the children is still unknown.

Linguistic and motor abilities among low‐birthweight 8‐y‐old children in the northern Finland Birth Cohort for 1985‐1986 ( n = 9322) were studied using parental and teacher evaluations. The parents of 8370 (90%) and teachers of 8525 (92%) children returned a mailed questionnaire concerning the children's speech, language, learning and motor abilities. Low‐birthweight (LBW, &lt;2500 g) children ( n = 279) appeared to have experienced more difficulties than normal‐birth‐weight (NBW, ≥2500g) children ( n = 8091). The parents evaluated the LBW boys to be the poorest in linguistic and motor skills compared with the other boys or any of the groups of girls. They are therefore presumably at risk of having problems at school, which was confirmed by the teachers' reports. There was also a clear relationship between speech/linguistic and motor disabilities. Conclusion : Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the lower birthweight and some sociodemographic factors, for example the mother's age being between 20 and 24 y, having more than four children in the family, a reconstructed family, as well as hearing impairment and male gender were the most important determinants of poor speech and language abilities at 8 y of age, with and without adjustment for neonatal risk factors (asphyxia, convulsions, respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, patent ductus arteriosus). Smallness for gestational age was also a risk factor for poor speech and language skills. Preterm birth was associated with poor skills only after adjustment for the neonatal risk factor. The parental and teacher evaluations were concordant concerning the LBW children's outcome.

Six derivatives of 2-benzimidazolone, disubstituted in the 4 and 5 positions, have been synthesized, and their structures have been determined in the solid state. Four of these compounds crystallize as molecular tapes. Compounds 1-(CH3)2, 1-Cl2, and 1-Br2 form tapes that pack with their long axes parallel; compounds 1-H2 and 2-H2 form tapes that pack with their long axes at an angle to one another. Compounds 1-F2 and 1-I2 crystallize with a three-dimensional network of hydrogen bonds. The packing arrangement of molecular tapes is rationalized on the basis of closest packing and electrostatic interactions between aromatic rings. The occurrence of the network motif rather than the tape motif for 1-F2 and 1-I2 is rationalized on the basis of secondary interactions involving the halogen atoms.

Variation at the insulin gene (INS-)VNTR (variable number of tandem repeats) minisatellite polymorphism has been reported to be associated with both early growth and adult metabolic phenotypes. However, the samples studied have been small and the relationship between INS-VNTR variation and parameters of early growth inconsistent, with four previous studies producing conflicting results. We have studied the relationship between INS-VNTR class (measured by genotyping the nearby −23HphI variant with which it is in tight linkage disequilibrium) and early growth in 5,646 members of the Northern Finnish Birth Cohort of 1966. Comparing class III homozygotes with other genotypes using multivariate linear regression analysis, we found no significant associations with any early growth measure (birth weight, birth length, ponderal index, and head circumference at 1 year), even after stratifying subjects by growth trajectory during infancy and/or birth order. For example, among infants with limited postnatal growth realignment (n = 2,470), class III/III infants were no heavier at birth (difference [±SE] in the means [fully adjusted], 58 ± 51 g; P = 0.26) than class I/− infants. No significant associations were detected following reanalysis with an additive model (for example, for birth weight, β = 20 g [95% CI −3 to 44], P = 0.09). Studies of this large population-based cohort have failed to generate convincing evidence that INS-VNTR variation influences early growth.

This paper describes measurements of charge transport by tunneling through molecular junctions comprising a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) supported by a template-stripped metal bottom electrode (MTS), which has been immersed in an organic liquid and contacted by a conical Ga2O3/EGaIn top electrode. These junctions formed in organic liquids are robust; they show stabilities and yields similar to those formed in air. We formed junctions under seven external environments: (I) air, (II) perfluorocarbons, (III) linear hydrocarbons, (IV) cyclic hydrocarbons, (V) aromatic compounds, (VI) large, irregularly shaped hydrocarbons, and (VII) dimethyl siloxanes. Several different lengths of SAMs of n-alkanethiolates, S(CH2)n-1CH3 with n = 4-18, and two different kinds of bottom electrodes (AgTS or AuTS) are employed to assess the mechanism underlying the observed changes in tunneling currents. Measurements of current density through junctions immersed in perfluorocarbons (II) are comparable to junctions measured in air. Junctions immersed in other organic liquids show reductions in the values of current density, compared to the values in air, ranging from 1 (III) to 5 orders of magnitude (IV). We interpret the most plausible mechanism for these reductions in current densities to be an increase in the length of the tunneling pathway, reflecting the formation of thin (0.5-1.5 nm) liquid films at the interface between the SAM and the Ga2O3/EGaIn electrode. Remarkably, the thickness of the liquid film─estimated by the simplified Simmons model, measurements of electrical breakdown of the junction, and simulations of molecular dynamics─is consistent with the existing observations of structured liquid layers that form between two flat interfaces from measurements obtained by the surface force apparatus. These results suggest the use of the EGaIn junction and measurements of charge transport by tunneling as a new form of surface analysis, with the applications in the study of near-surface, weak, molecular interactions and the behavior of liquid films adjacent to non-polar interfaces.

'Plasma Polymerization' published in 'Encyclopedia of Nanotechnology'

Although self-assembly (SA) in two dimensions (2D) is highly developed (especially using surfaces as a templates), SA in three dimensions (3D) has been more difficult. This paper describes a strategy for SA in 3D of diamagnetic plastic objects (mm- to cm-sized in this work, but in principle in sizes from ∼10 μm to m) supported in a paramagnetic fluid by a non-uniform magnetic field. The magnetic field and its gradient levitate the objects, template their self-assembly, and influence the shape of the assembled cluster. The structure of the 3D assembling objects can be further directed using hard mechanical templates—either the walls of the container or co-levitating components—which coincide spatially with the soft template of the magnetic field gradient. Mechanical agitation anneals the levitating clusters; the addition of photocurable adhesive, followed by UV illumination, can permanently fuse components together.