Aerobic granular sludge has a number of advantages over conventional activated sludge flocs, such as cohesive and strong matrix, fast settling characteristic, high biomass retention and ability to withstand high organic loadings, all aspects leading towards a compact reactor system. Still there are very few studies on the strength of aerobic granules. A procedure that has been used previously for

Objectives: Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and multiple sclerosis (MS) affect a relatively large portion of the population, leading to severe disability if left untreated. Even though pharmaceutics targeting the immune system have revolutionised the therapy of these diseases, there is still a need for novel, more effective therapeutic substances. One such substance is the ne

Most econometric methods for testing the proposition of long-run monetary neutrality rely on the assumption that money and real output do not cointegrate, a result that is usually supported by the data. This paper argues that these results can be attributed in part to the low power of univariate tests, and that a violation of the noncointegration assumption is likely to result in a nonrejection of

Background: Both insulin and thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are effective in the treatment of hyperglycaemia and amelioration of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes but have side effects including weight gain and fluid retention. The use of TZDs has been further hampered by the risk of adverse cardiovascular events including heart failure. The present study evaluated the effect of pioglitazone or ins

Due to large equilibrium fluctuations of protons at physiological pH, the orthophosphate ion as well as the imidazole group on histidine substantially regulate their charge upon approaching charged interfaces. This implies that these-and comparable-ions function as electostatic "proximity switches" when interacting with lipid membranes, DNA, proteins, etc. Using straightforward statistical thermod

Background: When performing functional and structural studies, large quantities of pure protein are desired. Most membrane proteins are however not abundantly expressed in their native tissues, which in general rules out purification from natural sources. Heterologous expression, especially of eukaryotic membrane proteins, has also proven to be challenging. The development of expression systems in

Background: Having friends is associated with more favourable clinical outcomes and a higher quality of life in mental disorders. Patients with schizophrenia have fewer friends than other mentally ill patients. No large scale studies have evaluated so far what symptom dimensions of schizophrenia are associated with the lack of friendships. Methods: Data from four multi-centre studies on outpatient

Popular Abstract in Swedish Wilms tumör eller nefroblastom är en njurtumör som drabbar 10-15 barn i Sverige varje år. Majoriteten av dessa är under sex år vid insjuknandet och 10 % av de som drabbas överlever inte sjukdomen. Tumören består oftast av tre stycken cellkomponenter: blastem, epitel och stroma. Dessa komponenter kan finnas av olika mängd i tumören. Om en tumör består av mer än 2/3 av nåThe aim of this thesis has been to establish biomarkers for the blastemal element in Wilms tumour (WT) – the most common paediatric kidney cancer. Blastema is, together with epithelium and stroma, one of the three common histological elements of WT. WTs dominated by blastema after preoperative chemotherapy are classified as high risk tumours. According to the SIOP2001 protocol used in most Europea

Magnetic properties of 20 nm thick (Ga,Mn)As layer deposited on (Ga,ln)As buffer with very large epitaxial tensile strain are investigated. Gal,In,As buffer with x=30% provides a 2% lattice mismatch, which is an important extension of the mismatch range studied so far (up to 0.5%). Evolution of magnetic anisotropy as a function of temperature is determined by magnetotransport measurements. Additio

The paper summarizes the research on cold protection of feet. There exist several conflicting requirements for the choice of the best suited footwear for cold exposure. These conflicts are related to various environmental factors, protection needs and user comfort issues. In order to reduce such conflicts and simplify the choice of proper footwear the paper suggests dividing the cold into specific

The article treats freemasonry as an integrated part of sociability among European military elites.

Aims To evaluate long-term all-cause risk of mortality in women and men hospitalized for the first time with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with matched controls. Methods and results A total of 272 186 patients (44% women)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the natural antioxidant astaxanthin in functional dyspepsia in different doses and compared with placebo. Design: The study was a controlled, prospective, randomized, and double blind trial. Participants: Patients with functional dyspepsia, divided into three groups with 44 individuals in each group (placebo, 16 mg, or 40 mg astaxan

Popular Abstract in Swedish Introduktion: Validitet handlar enkelt uttryckt om överensstämmelse med sanningen eller exempelvis om ett instrument mäter det som är avsett. Validitet kan också ses som ett mer komplext begrepp, innefattande aspekter som nytta, relevans, värderingar och sociala konsekvenser. Validitet förutsätter reliabilitet som är ett mått på tillförlitlighet, noggrannhet eller reproAbstract Introduction: Validity is important at different levels in psychiatry. Valid structured instruments are important aids in screening and diagnostics, in both research and clinical practice. An aim of the diagnostic procedure is to yield valid diagnoses. Ultimately, the validity of structured instruments (non-empirical) and clinical diagnoses depends on the validity of the diagnostic class

There are substantial differences in accessibility to biological disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) across countries. The objective of this study was to analyse the impact of patient demographics, disease characteristics and gross domestic product (GDP) on abatacept (ABA) retention in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated in clinical practice.

The soon-to-be completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will be the largest hydroelectric power plant and among the largest reservoirs in Africa, has highlighted the need for expanding traditional integrated water resources management to better include the cultural, social, and political complexities of large water infrastructure in development projects. The GERD will store a maximu

Background: The time course of regional functional recovery following revascularization with regards to the presence or absence of infarction is poorly known. We studied the effect of the presence of chronic nontransmural infarction on the time course of recovery of myocardial perfusion and function after elective revascularization. Methods: Eighteen patients (mean age 69, range 52-84, 17 men) pro