AbstractObjective: To study trough levels of metformin in serum and its intra individual variation in patients using a newly developed assay. Research Design and Methods: Trough serum levels of metformin was measured once using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LcMSMS) in 137 type 2 diabetes patients with varying renal function (99 men) and followed repeatedly during two months in 20

Objectives. There is a need for an observation scale for assessment and monitoring of acutely psychotic patients. Milestones based on such ratings should be defined, similar to the PANSS-based Remission criteria. FAST-O is such an instrument (11 items and a CGI rating). Methods. Reliability, validity and factor structure were analyzed in four separate studies-most importantly in one study of 33 ch

Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are surrogate measures of central adiposity that are associated with adverse cardiovascular events, type 2 diabetes and cancer independent of body mass index (BMI). WC and WHR are highly heritable with multiple susceptibility loci identified to date. We assessed the association between SNPs and BMI-adjusted WC and WHR and unadjusted WC in up to

Prevalence estimates of ankylosing spondylitis vary considerably, and there are few nationwide estimates. The present study aimed to describe the national prevalence of clinically diagnosed ankylosing spondylitis in Sweden, stratified according to age, sex, geographical, and socio-economic factors, and according to subgroups with ankylosing spondylitis-related clinical manifestations and pharmacol

Air traffic control activities demand a high level of safety performance. Methods for identifying and monitoring work and situational factors to enable safety performance improvements are rare. This paper reports on the development of such a questionnaire-based tool for the Swedish air navigation services provider. Results from interviews specified eight aspects to be assessed by the questionnaire

Background. Angiogenesis has a key role in several conditions and is regulated by several factors such as the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) or the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The goal of this study was to investigate the possible role of PDGF and VEGF in a group of patients with severe food allergy. Methods. We design a prospective longitudinal study (n = 30) with patients w

Histomorphometry is commonly applied to study bone remodeling. Histological definitions of cortical bone boundaries have not been consistent. In this study, new criteria for specific definition of the transitional zone between the cortical and cancellous bone in the femoral neck were developed. The intra- and inter-observer reproducibility of this method was determined by quantitative histomorphom

Despite advances in targeted therapies, the treatment of advanced melanoma remains an exercise in disease management, hence a need for biomarkers for identification of at risk primary melanoma patients. In this study we aimed to assess the prognostic value of TERT promoter mutations in primary melanomas. DNA from 300 patients with stage I/II melanoma was sequenced for TERT promoter and BRAF/NRAS m

The antibody microarrays have become widespread, but their use for quantitative analyses in clinical samples has not yet been established. We investigated an immunoassay based on nanoporous silicon antibody microarrays for quantification of total prostate-specific-antigen (PSA) in 80 clinical plasma samples, and provide quantitative data from a duplex microarray assay that simultaneously quantifie

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers a potential cure for a variety of diseases but is also associated with significant risks. With HSCT the donor is either a relative, most often a sibling, or an unrelated registry donor.

Based on a realist conceptualization of interests, this paper explores how commercial and scientific priorities appear to have converged and diverged during the development of the antidepressant Zelmid. The drug represents the first of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to reach the market. Zelmid was synthesized in 1971 and launched by the Swedish firm Astra in 1982, but subseque

Microcalcifications are one feature of interest in mammography and breast tomosynthesis (BT). To achieve optimal conditions for detection of microcalcifications in BT imaging, different acquisition geometries should be evaluated. The purpose of this work was to investigate the influence of acquisition schemes with different angular ranges, projection distributions and dose distributions on the vis

During very long self-rating sessions there is a risk that respondents will be tired and/or lose interest. Is this a concern for users of long personality inventories, such that the reliability becomes threatened in the latter half when respondents have made hundreds of personality self-ratings? Two thousand three hundred and fifty two volunteers completed long (≈ 500 items) personality inventorie

Background: Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells central to the immune system. They activate and orchestrate the innate and the adaptive immune systems. This phenotypically diverse group can be further divided into 2 subsets, the CD11c(+) myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) and the CD123(+) plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of allergen expos

Measurements of differential production cross-sections of a Z boson in association with b-jets in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV are reported. The data analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Particle-level cross-sections are determined for events with a Z boson decaying into an electron or muon pair, and contain

To be able to evaluate recovery, effects of rehabilitation interventions and changes over time, reliable and valid outcome measures are needed. The ABILHAND Questionnaire is a measure of self-reported ability to perform complex daily hand activities. It is commonly used in stroke rehabilitation, but data about the measurement variability are missing.

To determine if myocardial perfusion (MP) during hyperaemia is decreased in young patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Also, to determine if an MP decrease is associated with diastolic dysfunction, and to investigate if young subjects at risk of HCM show differences in MP compared with controls.