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Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is an asymptomatic colonizer of the nasopharynx in most individuals but can progress to a pulmonary and systemic pathogen upon influenza A virus (IAV) infection. Advanced age enhances host susceptibility to secondary pneumococcal pneumonia and is associated with worsened disease outcomes. The host factors driving those processes are not well defined, in part

The ability to form biofilms is a crucial virulence trait for several microorganisms, including Klebsiella pneumoniae - a Gram-negative encapsulated bacterium often associated with nosocomial infections. It is estimated that 65-80% of bacterial infections are biofilm related. Biofilms are complex bacterial communities composed of one or more species encased in an extracellular matrix made of prot

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogen responsible for high morbidity and mortality worldwide. The polysaccharide capsule confers protection against phagocytosis and influences many aspects of pneumococcal pathogenesis. The capsular polysaccharides (CPS) are highly immunogenic and exhibit great structural variability, with more than 100 serotypes described so far. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) ar

BACKGROUND: High body mass index (BMI) and low physical fitness are risk factors for stroke, but their interactive effects are unknown. Elucidation of interactions between these modifiable risk factors can help inform preventive interventions in susceptible subgroups.METHODS: National cohort study of all 1,547,294 military conscripts in Sweden during 1969-1997 (97-98% of all 18-year-old males). St

Background: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is clinically heterogeneous. Using a large epidemiological sample ascertained via public registries, is it possible to identify clinical and historical features of AUD that reflect familial risk? Methods: Using registration in national medical, legal or pharmacy registries, we identified four kinds of relative pairs (n = 683,223) starting with a proband with

Background: Although studies have shown associations between neighbourhood quality and chronic disease outcomes, such associations are potentially confounded by the selection of different types of people into different neighbourhood environments. We sought to identify the causal effects of neighbourhood deprivation on type 2 diabetes risk, by comparing refugees in Sweden who were actively disperse

Objective: Familial risks of glomerulonephritis (acute, chronic and unspecified glomerulonephritis) have not been studied. This study aims to determine the familial risks of glomerulonephritis. Methods: Individuals born from1932 onwards diagnosed with glomerulonephritis (acute [n = 7011], chronic [n = 10,242] and unspecified glomerulonephritis [n = 5762]) were included. The familial risk (Standard

BACKGROUND: It is widely believed that autoimmune diseases affect predominantly in women, but the available evidence came from case control study with potential selection and recall bias. We aimed to examine the gender-specific incidence of autoimmune diseases by using national wide registers in Sweden.METHODS: Swedish Hospital Discharge Register and Outpatient Register were used to identify a set

BACKGROUND: Twin studies have been criticized for upwardly biased estimates that might contribute to the missing heritability problem.METHOD: We identified, from the general Swedish population born 1960-1990, informative sibships containing a proband, one reared-together full- or half-sibling and a full-, step- or half-sibling with varying degrees of childhood cohabitation with the proband. Estima

OBJECTIVE: This nationwide study aimed to determine whether venous thromboembolism (VTE) shares familial susceptibility with aortic aneurysm (AA), peripheral artery disease (PAD) and arterial thrombosis and embolisation (ATE) in locations other than the heart and brain.METHODS: Nationwide Swedish family study. Data from the Swedish Multi-Generation Register for subjects aged 0-78 years old, coveri

We present a web-based method for mapping various relations between agents that have been involved in an emergency response operation. The method is based on combining a web-questionnaire with telephone interviews and it provides an efficient way of collecting large amount of information concerning the agents. By using the resulting network of agents it is possible to perform various network analy

This paper compares all accident investigation reports covering railway accidents issued by the national investigation boards in Sweden, Norway and Denmark during a two-year period (2008-2009). By using content analysis, units of text describing attributed causes have been selected and categorized as belonging to one of three hierarchical levels; the micro level (technical malfunctioning and human

This paper includes a brief description of some closely related ongoing research activities aiming at learning from failures in order to improve the resilience of the Swedish railway system. One of these activities includes the development of a method aiming at assessing the capability for restoring the service of the railway system after strains affecting its technical, and often highly interdepe

In this paper some findings from a pilot study regarding the use of risk- and vulnerability analysis in society's management of extreme events is presented. The study consisted of two major parts. The first part was an interview study with the main objective to generate a preliminary overview of methods and procedures used by 9 selected Swedish governmental agencies in their risk- and crisis manag