Popular Abstract in Swedish Komplementsystemet ingår i vårt naturliga immunförsvar och bidrar till det förvärvade immunförsvaret bl. a. genom att aktiveras av specifika antikroppar. Komplementsystemets viktigaste skyddsfunktioner är att försvara oss mot bakteriella infektioner, förhindra uppkomst av autoimmuna sjukdomar genom att eliminera immunkomplex och döende celler samt att fungera som en förThe complement system is critically involved in defence against bacterial infection. C2 deficiency is, apart from mannan-binding lectin (MBL) deficiency, the most common homozygous complement deficiency among Caucasians. The classical pathway of complement activation is not functional in C2 deficiency and the condition is associated with invasive infections caused by the encapsulated bacteria Stre

Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by an uninhibited, clonal growth of plasma cells. While first-degree relatives of patients with MM show an increased risk of MM, the genetic basis of inherited MM susceptibility is incompletely understood. Here we report a genome-wide association study in the Nordic region identifying a novel MM risk locus at ELL2 (rs56219066T; odds ratio (OR)=1.25; P=9.6 × 1

The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) has been implicated in several pathophysiological processes relevant to Alzheimer's disease (AD), including transport and synaptotoxicity of AD-associated amyloid beta (A beta) peptides. A recent Chinese study (Li et al. in J Neural Transm 117:97-104, 2010) suggested an association between the 82S allele of the functional single nucleotide po

We compared eelgrass Zostera marina communities in 3 regions in Sweden believed to be affected by eutrophication and overfishing, to determine whether bottom-up or top-down processes control the biomass of epiphytic macroalgae and grazers. Nitrogen and carbon isotope signatures were analyzed to explore the food webs and to identify the grazing species feeding on filamentous algae and/or eelgrass.

Background: The etiologies of glioma and meningioma tumors are largely unknown. Although reproductive hormones are thought to influence the risk of these tumors, epidemiologic data are not supportive of this hypothesis; however, few cohort studies have published on this topic. We examined the relation between reproductive factors and the risk of glioma and meningioma among women in the European Pr

We examined the distribution of quantitative heel ultrasound (QUS) parameters in population samples of European men and looked at the influence of lifestyle factors on the occurrence of these parameters. Men aged between 40 and 79 years were recruited from eight European centers and invited to attend for an interviewer-assisted questionnaire, assessment of physical performance, and quantitative ul

Global warming and energy shortage have aroused a great interest in climate responsive strategies of vernacular dwellings during recent years. This study focuses on a qualitative analysis of ancient dwellings located in the village of Xinye, in the hot summer and cold winter region of China. Furthermore, a typical ancient dwelling located in the village was selected for assessment of its indoor th

In this study, we compare two evolving techniques for obtaining high-resolution 3D anatomical data of a mouse specimen. On the one hand, we investigate cryotome-based planar epi-illumination imaging (cryo-imaging). On the other hand, we examine X-ray phase-contrast micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) using synchrotron radiation. Cryo-imaging is a technique in which an electron multiplying charge

Context Agile software development has become popular in the past decade without being sufficiently defined. The Agile principles can be instantiated differently which creates different perceptions of Agility. This has resulted in several frameworks being presented in the research literature to evaluate the level of Agility. However, the evidence of their actual use in practice is limited. Objec

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia among patients scheduled for open heart surgery and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. According to international guidelines, symptomatic and selected asymptomatic patients should be offered concomitant surgical AF ablation in conjunction with valvular or coronary surgery. The gold standard in AF surgery is the Cox Maze III ("cut-a

Hösten 2013 gjorde Ulf en inventering runt badorten Mölle i nordvästra Skåne. Här rapporterar han om den överraskande intressanta lavfloran i området.

HAMLET, a complex of α-lactalbumin and oleic acid, preferentially kills cancer cells and is also effective in vivo. HAMLET causes apoptosis but cells die even if this pathway is inhibited. Thus, the role of autophagy, an alternative cell death pathway, was examined. During autophagy double membrane-enclosed autophagosomes form around cellular material and deliver it to the lysosomes for degradatio

Background: Epidemiological studies on the association between maternal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and fetal growth alteration report inconsistent findings which weights in favor of additional studies. Methods: Blood samples were collected from interviewed pregnant women in Greenland (572), Kharkiv (611) and Warsaw (258) and were analyzed for CB-153 and p,p'-DDE by gas chroma

We synthesized 3D macroporous silicon through a simple electrochemical dissolution process and systematically estimated its protein adsorption and effect on fluorescence emission. Compared with conventional 2D polystyrene plate, the macroporous silicon showed a superior protein adsorption capacity and significant fluorescence quenching effect. We developed a 3D macroporous silicon-based adenosine

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability and the validity of the self-reported questionnaire Olerud-Molander Ankle Score (OMAS) in subjects after an ankle fracture. Methods: When evaluating the test-retest reliability of the OMAS, 42 subjects surgically treated due to an ankle fracture participated 12 months after injury. OMAS was completed by the patients on t

The first part of the thesis deals with adaptive CPU resource management for multicore platforms. The work was done as a part of the resource manager component of the adaptive resource management framework implemented in the European ACTORS project. The framework dynamically allocates CPU resources for the applications. The key element of the framework is the resource manager that combines feedfor