The main mechanisms of immune defense against Neisseria meningitidis are serum bactericidal activity (SBA) and opsonophagocytosis. Many complement deficiencies, among them acquired partial C3 deficiency due to stabilizing autoantibodies against the alternative pathway C3 convertase (C3 nephritic factors, C3 NeF); increase the risk of meningococcal infection. SBA against meningococci in patients wi

Infiltration of eosinophils into the intestinal mucosa is a typical hallmark of antiparasite immune responses and inflammatory disorders of the intestinal tract, and eosinophils are thought to contribute to these processes by release of their cytotoxic granule content. However, utilizing novel tools to study eosinophils, it has been recognized that eosinophils are constitutively present in the gas

Aim. This article is a report of the development and psychometric testing of the Swedish version of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher evaluation scale. Background. To achieve quality assurance, collaboration between the healthcare and nursing systems is a pre-requisite. Therefore, it is important to develop a tool that can measure the quality of clinical education. T

Purpose. To assess rehabilitation, type of follow-up visits and outcome after bipolar hemiarthroplasty for femoral neck fracture. Method. Two hundred thirty-six consecutive patients with femoral neck fractures treated with hemiarthroplasty were followed for 30 months. Results. One hundred sixty-eight (71%) were women, 175 (74%) over 80 years old and 53 (22%) were demented. Of 150 patients with ava

Individuals who had a low birthweight (LBW) are at an increased risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes when exposed to high-fat overfeeding (HFO). We studied genome-wide mRNA expression and DNA methylation in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) after 5 days of HFO and after a control diet in 40 young men, of whom 16 had LBW.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to investigate the effects of volume and pressure overload and increased coronary perfusion pressure on coronary flow (CF) in congenital heart disease (CHD) patients. BACKGROUND: The effects of CHD on CF are poorly mapped. METHODS: A total of 65 patients with acyanotic CHD and 49 age-matched healthy controls were examined by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography. Posterior

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the level of agreement between the needs assessment made by professional on the one hand, and the older person's views on the other. A further aim was to explore if the estimations made by the professional were systematically lower or higher compared to the views of the older person. PARTICIPANTS: The study included 152 individuals, 65+, who recei

OBJECTIVE: In this observational longitudinal study we estimate knee joint cartilage glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content, in patients with an acute anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, with or without a concomitant meniscus injury. METHODS: 29 knees (19 men/10 women) were prospectively examined by repeat delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage (dGEMRIC), approximately 3

Abstract Objective: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine the efficacy and tolerability of tacrolimus ointment for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) compared with topical corticosteroids. Methods: Electronic searches were performed in Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library, as well as relevant conference proceedings. Two researchers independently selected trials

BACKGROUND: The inter-individual variation in exposure to methotrexate is considerable after intravenous high dose methotrexate (HDMTX) administration and both under- and over exposures may have dire consequences. Thus, optimal dose individualisation is of paramount importance. PROCEDURE: We studied how pharmacokinetic parameters were related to outcome in 340 patients with acute lymphoblastic leu

A focus on constructing regional advantage requires an 'unpacking' of what makes territorial agglomerations important for innovation and competitiveness by disclosing and revealing the contingencies, particularities and specificities of the various contexts and environments where knowledge creation, innovation and entrepreneurship take place. In order to achieve more effective regional innovation

BACKGROUND: Exhaustion is a concept of interest for both occupational health research and stress-disease theory research. The aim of the present study was to explore associations between chronic stressors, in terms of psychosocial working conditions, and exhaustion in a Swedish middle-aged population sample. METHODS: A vocationally active population sample of the Malmö Shoulder and Neck Study coho

There is a growing interest in empirical applications of rational choice theory in contemporary European Sociology. One major proponent for an explicit link between rational choice theory and large scale data analysis is John Goldthorpe. This is a critical comment on Goldthorpe's (1996a) programmatic article in the European Sociological Review, "The Quantitative Analysis of Large-Scale Data-Sets a

Hospitalisation of nursing home residents might lead to deteriorating health.