Trimellitic anhydride (TMA) is a low molecular weight chemical which can cause occupational asthma. We studied the role of eicosanoids in airway responses to TMA at different times after sensitization in actively sensitized guinea-pigs. Sensitization was performed by two intradermal injections of free TMA (0.1 ml of 0.3% TMA in corn oil). At 3 and 8 weeks after sensitization, the guinea-pigs were

In order to find some guidelines for adequate examination of the often very large amount of tissue removed at reduction mammoplasties, a thorough macro- and microscopic study of a total of 400 specimens from 200 consecutive cases of bilateral breast reductions was done. The majority of patients were younger than 30 years of age. In these cases no abnormalities were found and a thorough macroscopic

Porous media can be characterized by studying the kinetics of liquid rise within the pore spaces. Although porous media generally have a complex structure, they can be modeled as a single, vertical capillary or as an assembly of such capillaries. The main difficulties lie in separately estimating the effective mean radius of the capillaries and the contact angle between the liquid and the pore. In

We studied the effect of apatite amendment on ectomycorrhizal (EM) mycelial biomass production and species composition in a phosphorus-poor spruce forest using sand-filled mesh bags. Control and apatite-amended bags were buried in pairs in the lower part of the organic horizon for one growth season. DNA extraction, PCR of the ITS region, cloning and random sequencing were used to examine the funga

A two-period, career-concerns model with symmetric information but uncertainty about each worker's ability is analyzed. Contracts are unobservable, but incomes are observable. It is shown that effort is distorted upward by contracts being unobservable and that the distortion depends positively on turnover.

BACKGROUND: It is generally argued that variations in cerebral blood flow create concomitant changes in the cerebral blood volume (CBV). Because nitrous oxide (N(2)O) inhalation both increases cerebral blood flow and may increase intracranial pressure, it is reasonable to assume that N(2)O acts as a general vasodilatator in cerebral vessels both on the arterial and on the venous side. The aim of t

To reassess earlier suggested type I diabetes (T1D) associations of the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) and the paired domain 4 gene (PAX4) genes, the Type I Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC) evaluated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering the two genomic regions. Sixteen SNPs were evaluated for IRS1 and 10 for PAX4. Both genes are biological candidate genes for T1D. Genotyping wa

In boreal and nemoboreal forests, tree frost hardiness is modified in reaction to cues from day length and temperature. The dehardening processes in Norway spruce, Picea abies, could be estimated to start when the daily mean temperature is above 5 degreesC for 5 days. Bud burst will occur approximately after 120-170 degree-days above 5 degreesC. dependent on genetic differences among provenances.

Data from measurements on the body burden Of (CS)-C-134, Cs-137 and K-40 in various Swedish populations between 1959 and 2001 has been compiled into a national database. The compilation is a co-operation between the Departments of Radiation Physics in Malmo and Goteborg, the National Radiation Protection Authority (SSI) and the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI). In a previous study the effecti

We use metal - organic vapour phase epitaxy for growth investigations of epitaxial nanowires in III - V materials, such as GaAs, GaP, InAs, and InP. In this paper we focus on gold assisted growth of nanowires. The nature of the metal particle - whether it is in the solid or liquid state - is discussed. For InAs and InP we have demonstrated that gold assisted wires can only grow at temperatures whe

This study has evaluated the sampling density for creation of high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) for precision agriculture purposes. The relationships between yield and topographical factors were investigated in a study area located in the central Sweden province of Dalarna. The DEM data sampling was carried out with a RTK-GPS system. A dense sampling scheme was employed and data was

Haemophilia management is not uniform among countries, even within western Europe, that have close economic, social and cultural relationship. The European Paediatric Network PedNet aims to share experiences in the field of the care of boys with haemophilia. In 1998, a PedNet survey has shown significant disparities in 20 centres from 16 countries, particularly as regards the implementation of pro

Hip fracture is associated with high early mortality. Little is known about long-term survival and subsequent fracture risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate survival and fracture risk after hip fracture in women at different ages. All women suffering a hip fracture during 1984-1985 in Malmo, Sweden, were identified (n = 766) and followd up to 22 yr or death. All new radiographic examinations

The airway resistance, compliance of the respiratory system, transfer factor, and alveolar volume of 33 healthy rabbits were studied before and after exposure to diluted diesel exhaust generated in an experimental motor. Three diesel fuels and two particle traps were tested. Subsequent to the post-exposure lung function measurements, the animals were sacrificed and the lungs were processed for mor

The apparent permeability index is widely used as part of a general screening process to study drug absorption, and is routinely obtained from in vitro or ex vivo experiments. A classical example, widely used in the pharmaceutical industry, is the in vitro Caco-2 cell culture model. The index is defined as the initial flux of compound through the membrane (normalized by membrane surface area and d

Components that propagate inflammation in joint disease may be derived from cartilage since the inflammation resolves after joint replacement. We found that the cartilage component fibromodulin has the ability to activate an inflammatory cascade, i.e. complement. Fibromodulin and immunoglobulins cause comparable deposition of C1q, C4b, and C3b from human serum. Using C1q and factor B-deficient ser

Movement data on articulator gestures in West Greenlandic are presented in order to elucidate principles of articulator coordination, especially the domain of coarticulation (as distinct from the domain of assimilation), the handling of conflicting demands on articulators, and the relation of vowels to consonants. The present data are consistent with results previously obtained from Swedish and Bu

This paper describes the implementation of a real-time Maximally Stable Extremal Region (MSER) detector. In order to reach real-time performance, both algorithmic and memory issues have been addressed. The Union-find algorithm, which is the heart of the MSER detector, is extended to create linked regions that significantly decrease the time to extract MSERs. Hash indexed memory structures are used