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Bleeding complications range from 0.5 to 1.6% in connection with central venous catheter insertions but are more frequent in patients with bone marrow failure and severe thrombocytopenia. Although supportive evidence is scarce, prophylactic platelet transfusion is sometimes performed in these patients before catheter insertion. Furthermore, the ideal threshold platelet count and timing of transfus

The large protein family called G Protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) has co-evolved with life throughout evolution; from single cell organisms all the way to complex beings such as us humans. The fact that GPCRs are involved in essentially every physiological event, and that ~50% of drugs on the current market are either directly or indirectly targeted towards the function of GPCRs, we can be certa

This thesis is motivated by an increasing degree of unfamiliarity and prominence of national dimensions in multinational crisis management. The research rationale rests on the argument that trust is important but may erode when roles conflict, which in turn may result when stakeholder interests diverge. The thesis describes trust and national perspectives in terms of role conflict in an EU Operati

Ett nationellt svenskt forskningsprogram HÖGPRESTERANDE BETONG finansierat av de statliga organisationerna NUTEK och BFR och ett antal företag i byggbranschen genomfördes under åren 1991‐1997. I programmet deltog forskare från de fyra tekniska högskolorna CTH, KTH, LuTH (nuvarande LTU) och LTH. Dessutom deltog forskare från Cement och Betongforskningsinstitutet, CBI, samt forskare från olika finan

Neutrophils are our most numerous and deadly white blood cells and without them we would succumb quickly to infections by pathogens. The main mechanism that the neutrophils employ for our protection is phagocytosis, where they eat and enclose their target inside a membrane-bound organelle, the phagosome. Neutrophil phagosomes are highly dynamic entities, and a large amount of antimicrobial substan

Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is a very aggressive solid tumor and is often widely metastasized by the time of diagnosis. Despite good response to the initial chemotherapy, SCLC cells often develop multidrug resistance to conventionally used chemotherapeutic drugs, which cause almost all SCLC tumors to relapse. The 5-year survival rate for patients with limited disease is around 20% while it is

Cardiovascular complications are frequent in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular death is the most common cause of death for these individuals. A region on chromosome 19 (19q13) has been indicated by several genome scans as a susceptibility locus for T2D or components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). This gene rich region contains the gene encoding muscle glycogen synthase (GYS1), earlier as

Celiac disease is a prevalent small bowel disease in children caused by permanent intolerance against gliadin, which is the alcohol-soluble fraction of the cereal protein gluten in wheat, rye and barley. Celiac disease is characterized by an inflammatory infiltrate of CD4+ T lymphocytes in the intestinal mucosa leading to damage of villous structure and loss of absorptive surface. As a consequence

Risk stratification of patients with chronic kidney disease and atherosclerotic heart disease is crucial. Microalbuminuria (MA) is associated with an increased risk of kidney and cardiovascular (CV) death, especially in patients with diabetes. However, MA in many instances is not sensitive for disease outcome; for instance, not all diabetic patients with albuminuria progress to kidney failure, and

Gastrointestinal dysmotility is common, particularly in patients with diabetes mellitus. The aim of this thesis is to explore whether gastrointestinal dysmotility and endocrine secretion are interrelated, and how the symptoms manifest themselves in these patients. Patients with diabetes mellitus and gastrointestinal symptoms underwent gastric emptying scintigraphy, esophageal manometry and deep-

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is becoming an increasingly common form of exami¬nation for both adults and children. Although it is non-invasive and considered painless, both adults and children experience anxiety during the examination. The technique is sensitive to motion and for that reason many children are anaesthetised. The aim of this thesis was to improve patient care through exploring a

Respiration relies, among other things, on the balance between regional ventilation and perfusion in the lungs. There are many cardiopulmonary diseases, such as pulmonary embolism (PE), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and left heart failure (LHF), which can affect respiration negatively. The diagnosis of PE, COPD and LHF follows separate diagnostic pathways. However, the symptoms that

Abstract: The joint diseases osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are characterized by destructive inflammatory processes that result in pathological changes of the joint tissues, including proteolytic degradation of cartilage and release of extracellular matrix proteins or fragments to the synovial fluid. The complement system, which is a part of the innate immune system, plays a central role

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the clinical term for a heterogeneous group of dementia disorders with symptoms emerging from frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). FTD encompasses the behavioural variant (bvFTD) and the progressive aphasias: progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA) and semantic dementia (SD). Neuropathological classification is based on protein pathology with three major subgrou

Delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) is a new technique to study cartilage glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content. The negatively charged contrast agent Gd-DTPA2-, injected intravenously, distributes in the cartilage inversely to the likewise negatively charged GAG. The GAG concentration is reflected by the MRI parameter T1 and the Gd-DTPA2- concentration by the MRI parameter R1 (R1=1/T

Capillary electrophoresis is characterised by high separation efficiency, applicability to a wide range of compounds, small sample and solvent consumption and simple instrumentation. To improve sensitivity using on-line absorbance detectors, which are hampered by the short optical path length, sample volumes in the microlitre range were concentrated to nanolitre volumes either off-line or on-line.

The aim of this thesis was to develop and test the feasibility of a dietary record routine, where nursing staff assess the patient’s food and fluid intake based on standardised portion sizes and household measurements. The energy intake (EI) was studied with a dietary record in 61 geriatric patients. During the 6-month follow-up 11 patients died and an EI below median (1378 kcal) was associated w