OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of cutaneous field stimulation of C fibers for the treatment of itchy skin and its effect on peripheral nerve fibers as shown in skin biopsy specimens. DESIGN: We conducted an open-label uncontrolled study of 19 patients with itching. Each patient applied a flexible plate containing electrodes to the itchy area for 20 minutes at a time once daily for 5 weeks to

We report relativistic multiconfiguration Dirac-Hartree-Fock calculations of oscillator strengths and hyperfine structures for a large number of electric dipole transitions in Ga II. Results for the 4s(2) S-1(0)-4s4p 3P(0)(o) hyperfine-induced transition are also given. Core polarization is accounted for by means of explicit CI. To describe spin and orbital polarization, which are important for th

To contribute to the body of empirical research on fault distributions during development of complex software systems, a replication of a study of Fenton and Ohlsson is conducted. The hypotheses from the original study are investigated using data taken from an environment that differs in terms of system size, project duration, and programming language. We have investigated four sets of hypotheses

High-resolution laser spectroscopy measurements have been performed in the wavelength region around 4000 Å using a pulsed dye laser acting on a collimated atomic beam. Extra-cavity Fabry-Pérot filtering was used to achieve a narrow line-width of the laser light. Isotope shifts were measured in the 4216 Å and 4202 Å rubidium lines with the result ?s(87, 85)=124.3(4)MHz, and?s(87, 85) = 124.2(7)MHz,

For at least a decade, no new drug principles have been added to the therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with or suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Theoretically, there seem to be several possibilities to improve the current treatment, which is based mainly on alpha1-adrenoceptor (AR) antagonists, 5alpha-reductase inhibitors

Protein structural flexibility is important for catalysis, binding, and allostery. Flexibility has been predicted from amino acid sequence with a sliding window averaging technique and applied primarily to epitope search. New prediction parameters were derived from 92 refined protein structures in an unbiased selection of the Protein Data Bank by developing further the method of Karplus and Schulz

How we initially formulate our decision problems may have a strong influence on our decisions and we often take the presented problems and alternatives for granted. When facing difficult decisions it is important to consider things as: ”am I considering the right decision”, ”are there other decisions with other alternatives that are more relevant”, etc. Also when considering a previously made deci

A rational, analytical approach to a fire engineering design of load bearing steel structures is described. The method of design is directly based on the natural compartment fire concept and on strictly defined functional requirements and performance criteria. The method is permitted to be generally applied in Sweden, as one a1ternative;since more than ten years. For facilitating the practical app

When pricing public utility services Swedish municipalities are not allowed to charge more than their full cost. A dominant cost component in operations such as energy distribution or handling water and wastewater is the cost of fixed assets-depreciation plus interest, here referred to as "capital service cost" (CSC). The maximum acceptable price for the services is the full cost, i.e., variable c

To increase the overall ethanol yield from softwood, the steam pretreatment stage can be carried out in two steps. The two-step pretreatment process was evaluated from a techno-economic standpoint and compared with the one-step pretreatment process. The production plants considered were designed to utilize spruce as raw material and have a capacity of 200 000 tons/year. The two-step process result

A collection of Cladosporium has been recovered from common reed growing at Lake Constance (Germany). High-resolution cryo-scanning electron microscopy revealed that Cladosporium isolates from reed are diverse. Morphologically, we distinguished three species, viz. C. herbarum, C. oxysporum, and Cladosporium sp. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis supported these results and, moreov

The optimal dosage of anaesthetic agents may be difficult. Not only does the intensity of surgical stimuli vary during a surgical procedure, but drug sensitivity varies between subjects exposed to comparable stimuli. Moreover, clinically monitored body reactions do not always reflect the balance between central nervous system effects of the surgical stimuli and of the anaesthetic agent. Therefore,

Popular Abstract in Swedish Normal hjärnaktivitet är beroende på en delikat balans mellan inhibitorisk och excitatorisk nervcellssignallering. Om denna balans störs och lutar mer åt en ökad excitering uppstår epileptiska anfall. Ungefär 1 % av befolkningen i västvärldens drabbas av epilepsi, framförallt av temporallobs-epilepsi (TLE) vilket är den vanligast förekommande formen av epilepsi bland vuTemporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common form of epilepsy among adult patients, and the most problematic one as seizures cannot be controlled by currently available drugs in 30 % of patients. Gene therapy based on overexpression of endogenous anti-epileptic agents such as the neuropeptide galanin and the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) represents a promising new approach