Background Contact sensitisation has been identified as a factor associated with poor prognosis for patients with hand eczema. Objectives To study implications of contact sensitisation with respect to severity, quality of life (QoL) and subdiagnosis of hand eczema. Methods The study was performed as a multi-centre, cross-sectional study from 10 European clinics. All patients were patch tested, and

The strain distribution along wood adhesive bonds was studied using a contact-free measurement system based on a white-light digital image correlation (DIC) technique. Two different specimen geometries and three different adhesives were investigated. The specimen geometries were according to the standards EN302-1 and ASTM D905. The adhesives tested were a phenolic resorcinol (PRF), a one-component

Background Cervical cancer and its obligate precursors, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 2 and 3 (CIN2/3), and adenocarcinona in situ (AIS), are caused by oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV). In this combined analysis of four clinical trials we assessed the effect of prophylactic HPV vaccination on these diseases. Methods 20 583 women aged 16-26 years were randomised to receive quadrival

The Sugar Experiments In 1942, 99.99 percent of the Swedish population had dental caries. Public Dental Health Care system, which had only been established in 1938, was struggling to cope with the task of providing care to all. The solution proposed by the Swedish Government was research. This thesis examines a medical experiment on the interface between medical science, public health policy, men

Linear pentadecamer and cyclic hexamer peptide phage libraries were used to isolate phage clones with binding affinity toward lactoferrins purified from human and bovine milk. Phage clones with high specificity toward lactoferrin were selected with different binding strengths depending on the sequence of the peptide displayed by the phage. Phages coated to a microtiterplate were able to capture la

Smoking is the main risk factor for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) but genetic factors are of importance, since only a subset of smokers develops the disease. Sex differences have been suggested both in disease prevalence and response to environmental exposures. Furthermore, it has been shown that acquisition of 'addiction' to smoking is partly genetically mediated. Disease cases and

OBJECTIVE: Based on the hypothesis that blood flow in the inflamed joint is inadequate to maintain aerobic glycolysis, we sought to estimate the correlation between blood flow, glucose metabolism, and cellular proliferation rate in the arthritic joint. METHODS: Experiments were performed on rats with antigen induced arthritis (AIA). Regional blood flows (RBF) were measured with the microsphere tec

The Mediterranean peninsulas constitute important areas for endemism and intraspecific variation, and are likely places for cryptic biodiversity. We assessed the phylogeographic pattern of field voles ( Microtus agrestis) in southern and central Europe by sequence analysis of a 385-bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene in 74 specimens from 44 localities. The majority of samples consis

Swirling lean premixed flames are of practical relevance due to their potential for low nitric oxide (NOx) emissions. Unfortunately, these flames have various drawbacks. One critical attribute is the possibility for flashback of the reacting flow into the nozzle. Advanced numerical simulations should be able in the future to predict the transition from stable flames to flashback. For a better unde

Lignocellulose is a potential substrate for ethanol production. However, high cellulose conversion requires high enzyme loading, which makes the process less economically feasible. Addition of surfactants to enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose increases the conversion of cellulose into soluble sugars. The mechanism is not known for the increase of lignocellulose hydrolysis by surfactant additio

Screening for cervical cancer precursors by cytology has been very successful in countries where adequate resources exist to ensure high quality and good coverage of the population at risk. Mortality reductions in excess of 50% have been achieved in many developed countries; however the procedure is generally inefficient and unworkable in many parts of the world where the appropriate infrastructur

We have tested the importance of genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class IIB in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) for survival after challenge with a highly virulent bacterial pathogen. Forty juvenile full siblings from each of 120 families were infected with the bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida, which causes high mortality in salmon due to furunculosis. Fishes from high-r

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of thromboxane A2 in bradykinin-induced airflow obstruction in guinea pig in vivo. Airway insufflation pressure (Pi) was measured to assess airflow obstruction and the thromboxane B2 (a stable metabolite of thromboxane A2) concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was determined by radioimmunoassay. The animals were pretreated with propranolol (1

We present a novel method for tracking multiple objects in video captured by a non-stationary camera. For low quality video, RANSAC estimation fails when the number of good matches shrinks below the minimum required to estimate the motion model. This paper extends RANSAC in the following ways: (a) Allowing multiple models of different complexity to be chosen at random; (b) Introducing a conditiona

A differential scanning calorimetric and sorption calorimetric study of two alkyl maltosides, C(8)G(2) and C(10)G(2), was performed. In the dry state, C(8)G(2) and C(10)G(2) do not form solid crystals but undergo a glass transition upon temperature change. The glass is partly ordered and has the same lamellar structure as the liquid crystals formed by the two maltosides. To reflect the presence of

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis may be at least in part due to the increased apoptosis of osteocytes. To study the role of osteocyte apoptosis in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, we isolated primary osteocytes from murine calvaria for the analysis of the effects of dexamethasone in in vitro culture. The cells were identified by morphology, cytochemical staining, immunocytochemical staining

A laser diode structure realizing internal gain switching is suggested for high-power picosecond optical pulse generation. A thin wideband barrier layer is incorporated in the active region of this structure, in order to provide additional control of the carrier distribution and the gain dynamics. The dynamic laser output response to the nanosecond pumping current pulses is modeled and analyzed. T