Background. The development of fluid and salt retention is a potential problem for all peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Sodium removal by the peritoneum is predominantly determined by convective fluid loss but influenced by diffusion and sieving due to free water transport as predicted by the three-pore model (TPM). The aim of the study was to establish the effect of transport status, dwell leng

After the initial reports of free-floating cultures of neural stem cells termed neurospheres (1,2), a wide array of studies using this promising culture system emerged. In theory, this was a near-perfect system for large-scale production of neural cells for use in cell replacement therapies and to assay for and characterize neural stem cells. More than a decade later, after rigorous scrutiny and a

A novel calcium-independent serine protease from an alkaliphilic bacterium, Nesterenkonia sp. AL20, has been purified and crystallized at 296 K using sodium formate as the main precipitant. This enzyme is optimally active at pH 10, exhibits high stability towards autolytic digestion and its stability is not affected by the presence of EDTA or detergents. The triangular prism-shaped crystals diffra

In this article, the author discusses the implications of a 6+6-hour model for the production economy of the Finnish Company Essilor Oy. The theory of returns to scale has been used to analyse the results of the change from one 8-hour shift to the 6+6-hour-shift system. It is shown that the company Essilor attained a better production economy and increased profit by introducing a 6+6-hour-shift sy

In this thesis we focus on four problems in computational geometry: In the first four chapters we consider the problem of covering an arbitrary polygon with simpler polygons, i.e., rectangles. We present several approximation algorithms for this problem, and also some lower bounds on the number of rectangles needed in a covering of a hole-free polygon and on the time-complexity for this and relate

CpG dinucleotides are efficiently methylated in vertebrate genomes except in the CpG islands having a high C+G content. Methylated CpGs are the single most mutated dinucleotide. Sequences surrounding disease causing CpG mutation sites were analyzed from locus-specific mutation databases. Both tetra- and heptanucleotide analyses indicated clear overall sequence preference for having pyrimidines 5'

Objective: To examine annual weight-development in a sample of 215 psychotic patients treated with risperidone over 5 years. Method: Naturalistic longitudinal study. Results: The sample was more obese than the general population at baseline, but also increased much more in mean body mass index over approximately the same time period, while patients off medication seemed to remain weight stable. Ex

Popular Abstract in Swedish Typ 2 diabetes är en sjukdom som ökar lavinartat i västvärlden. Dess främsta kännetecken är insulinresistens och defekter i insulinsekretion. Insulinresistens är kopplat till fetma, och framträder ofta långt innan man utvecklar typ 2 diabetes. När man blir insulinresistent kompenseras detta av att betacellerna i de langerhanska öarna i bukspottskörteln producerar mer inType 2 diabetes is a disease that increases tremendously in the western world. It is characterized by insulin resistance and defects in insulin secretion. Insulin resistance is tightly linked to obesity, and usually precedes the onset of type 2 diabetes. When insulin resistance develops, the pancreatic beta-cells compensate by in¬creasing their secretion of insulin, causing hyperinsulinemia. This

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate platelet and leukocyte activation during aortoiliac angiography and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). METHODS: an observational study of 14 patients with aortoiliac atherosclerotic disease, nine of whom underwent PTA. The proportion of fibrinogen-, and P-selectin positive platelets, P-selectin expression on platelets, intraplatelet cGMP and cAMP, CD18 positive gra

The outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza of the H5N1 subtype in Asia, which has subsequently spread to Russia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, has put increased focus on the role of wild birds in the persistence of influenza viruses. The ecology, epidemiology, genetics, and evolution of pathogens cannot be fully understood without taking into account the ecology of their hosts. Here,

Since a psychiatric reform came into effect in Sweden in January 1995, municipalities have been responsible for the care of people with psychiatric illness who are no longer supposed to be in need of continuous medical care. In particular, the responsibility for assistance in independent or supported living and meaningful daily occupations was assigned to the municipalities. This reform implied th

Thermotoga maritima ribosome recycling factor (RRF) is one of the proteins catalyzing the fourth step in prokaryotic protein synthesis, ribosome recycling. The RRF protein was crystallized with ammonium sulfate. Native diffraction data to 2.55 Å resolution were obtained at the MAX II synchrotron from a flash-frozen crystal at 100 K. The crystals belong to space group P41212 or P43212, with unit-ce