Objective . Intestinal ischaemia is a life-threatening condition with high mortality, and the lack of accurate and readily available diagnostic methods often results in delay in diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of different plasma biomarkers in diagnosing intestinal ischaemia. Material and methods . Prospective inclusion of patients older than 50 years

Recent studies suggest de novo mutations may involve the pathogenesis of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Based on the evidence that excessive alcohol consumption may be associated with an increased rate of de novo mutations in germ cells (sperms or eggs), we examine here whether the risks of autism and ADHD are increased among individuals with a family history of alcoho

Purpose: About half of all people with disabilities in developing countries live in extreme poverty. Focusing on the ends rather than the economic means of human development, the capability approach offers an alternative view of poverty. The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between assistive technology use and capability poverty in a low-income country. Method: Self-reported data

To assess whether recently discovered genetic loci associated with hyperglycemia also predict long-term changes in glycemic traits. Methods: Sixteen fasting glucose-raising loci were genotyped in middle-aged adults from the GLACIER Study, a population-based prospective cohort study from Northern Sweden. Genotypes were tested for association with baseline fasting and 2-hr post-challenge glycemia (N

This work introduces a novel approach to the detection of brief episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). The proposed detector is based on four parameters which characterize RR interval irregularity, P-wave absence, f-wave presence, and noise level, of which the latter three are determined from a signal produced by an echo state network. The parameters are used for fuzzy logic classificat

Background: In 2007 the World Cancer Research Fund Report concluded that there was limited and inconsistent evidence for an effect of coffee and tea consumption on the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Objective: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), we aimed to investigate whether coffee intakes, tea intakes, or both are associated with the risk of EOC

Ultrafast photoinduced electron transfer preceding energy equilibration still poses many experimental and conceptual challenges to the optimization of photoconversion since an atomic-scale description has so far been beyond reach. Here we combine femtosecond transient optical absorption spectroscopy with ultrafast X-ray emission spectroscopy and diffuse X-ray scattering at the SACLA facility to tr

We investigate experimentally and numerically the nonlinear propagation of intense BesselGauss vortices in transparent solids. We show that nonlinear Bessel-Gauss vortices preserve all properties of nonlinear Bessel-Gauss beams while their helicity provides an additional control parameter for single-shot precision micro structuring of transparent solids. For sufficiently large cone angle, a stable

Popular Abstract in Swedish Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning Målet med denna avhandling var att undersöka hur cancersjukdomar i barndomen och behandlingen av dessa påverkar olika aspekter av fortplantningsförmågan i vuxen ålder. Glädjande nog har andelen patienter som överlever cancer i barndomen de senaste decennierna ökat stadigt till nivåer som idag ligger på nästan 80%. Ökad överlevnad medfChildhood cancer (CC) survival rate has increased over the last couple of decades, today approaching 80%. Therefore more attention has been paid to late effects. One important issue for CC survivors (CCS) is impaired reproductive function. CC per se and/or its treatment can impair the reproductive ability by affecting sperm production, as well as by damaging sperm DNA. This is a matter of concern,

Industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains able to utilize xylose have been constructed by overexpression of XYL1 and XYL2 genes encoding the NADPH-preferring xylose reductase (XR) and the NAD(+)-dependent xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH), respectively, from Pichia stipitis. However, the use of different co-factors by XR and XDH leads to NAD(+) deficiency followed by xylitol excretion and reduced prod

Colloidal dispersions of anisometric particles can display dynamical arrest and ordering involving both translational and rotational degrees of freedom. We show that orientational order can develop in glassy colloidal dispersions of charged platelets when a concentration gradient is imposed through solvent evaporation. Our model system of Laponite (LRD) platelets in deionized water has been extens

The purpose of the paper is to: i) explore how the ownership-relationship between the public authority and the provider of the service is organized and managed to secure accountability in those cases the ownership remains public ii) how the purchaser-provider relationship is organized and managed so that public value are protected and iii) to what extent NPM still influences the reforms conducted

We report low-temperature transport studies of parallel double quantum dots formed in GaSb/InAsSb core-shell nanowires. At negative gate voltages, regular patterns of Coulomb diamonds are observed in the charge stability diagrams, which we ascribe to single-hole tunneling through a quantum dot in the GaSb core. As the gate voltage increases, the measured charge stability diagram indicates the appe

Prediction from time-series data is traditionally accomplished using parametric, or at least structural, methods. For example, after removing trends, arguing that the time-series is an autoregression, and estimating the autoregressive parameters, we may predict future expected values, conditional on the past. In this paper, motivated by long meteorological maximum-temperature time-series, we sugge

Traditional gold mining, using metallic mercury (Hg-0) to form gold amalgam, followed by burning to remove the Hg-0, is widely used in South America, Africa and Asia. The gold is sold to merchants who burn it again to eliminate remaining Hg-0. In Ecuador, 200 gold miners, 37 gold merchants and 72 referents were studied. The median Hg concentrations in urine (U-Hg) were 3.3 (range 0.23-170), 37 (3.

Self-assembly of peptides and bile acids has been widely investigated because of their biological role and their potential as a tool for the preparation of nanostructured biomaterials. We herein report both the synthesis and the self-association behavior of a compound that combines the aggregation properties of bile acid- and amino acid-based molecules. The derivative has been prepared by introduc

Popular Abstract in Swedish Arbetsförmåga har kommit att bli ett viktigt begrepp i samhället, men också för individen. Det saknas i dag en tydlig definition av arbetsförmåga, trots att det har en stor inverkan på hur sjukförmåner distribueras och också för den enskilde individens möjlighet att försörja sig. I västvärlden är arbetsförmåga ofta diskuterat i relation till sjukskrivning och en åldrad The overall aim of this thesis was to deepen the understanding of work ability by analyzing how different health professionals experience and perceive work ability and assessments of work ability, and also by analyzing rehabilitation outcomes that are related to work ability. The focus has been on musculoskeletal disorders with associated psychosocial factors. Method. The general approach was indu

Measurements of open charm production cross sections in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA from the H1 and ZEUS Collaborations are combined. Reduced cross sections sigma(c (c) over bar)(red) for charm production are obtained in the kinematic range of photon virtuality 2.5