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Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has modest specificity for prostate cancer. A panel of four kallikrein markers (total PSA, free PSA, intact PSA, and kallikrein-related peptidase 2) is a highly accurate predictor of biopsy outcome. The clinical significance of biopsy-detectable cancers in men classified as low-risk by this panel remains unclear. Methods: The Malmo Diet and Cancer study
Background The metabolic syndrome (MetS) may contribute to increased cardiovascular risk in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We aimed to examine the association of demographic factors, lupus phenotype and therapy exposure with the presence of MetS. Methods The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Registry for Atherosclerosis inception cohort enrolled recently diagnosed (<15months)
Increased incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) is of major concern. However, by minimizing known risk factors, the incidence can be decreased. The aim of this investigation was to calculate the incidence and assess risk factors for CDI in our population. A 1-year prospective population-based nationwide study in Iceland of CDIs was carried out. For risk factor evaluatio
Besides bone marrow, the kidneys are often dose-limiting organs in internal radiotherapy. The effects of high-linear energy transfer (LET) radiation on the kidneys after alpha-radioimmunotherapy (alpha-RIT) with the alpha-particle emitter, At-211, were studied in nude mice by serial measurements of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The renal toxicity was evaluated at levels close to the dose l
Background: This population-based study investigated the different forms, magnitude and risk factors of men's violence against women in intimate relationships in a rural part of northern Vietnam and whether a difference in risk factors were at hand for the different forms of violence. Vietnam has undergone a rapid transition in the last 20 years, moving towards a more equal situation for men and w
High blood pressure (BP) is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Both genetic and environmental factors are implicated in BP homeostatsis and hypertension development. The aims of the present theisis were: (a) to test if ambulatory BP (ABP) is better than office BP (OBP) to capture the heritable part of BP and if BP variability (BPV) measured by ABP monitoring is a heritable tra
Background Subjective evaluation of gray-scale and Doppler ultrasound findings (i. e., pattern recognition) by an experienced examiner and preoperative serum levels of CA-125 can both discriminate benign from malignant adnexal ( i. e., ovarian, paraovarian, or tubal) masses. We compared the diagnostic performance of these methods in a large multicenter study. Methods In a prospective multicenter s
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether left atrial appendage outflow velocity alone or in relation to left atrial diameter is a superior predictor of sinus rhythm maintenance after cardioversion compared with traditional clinical or echocardiography parameters. DESIGN: Sixty-two patients with their first episode of atrial fibrillation were examined using echocardiography before DC-cardioversion. At one
The aim of this study was to investigate the microvascular responses in the skin, to local heat, iontophoretically administered acetylcholine and to sodium nitroprusside in relation to cardiovascular damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and matched controls. We also wanted to examine if the ongoing medication in SLE patients influenced this vascular response. We investigated
Objectives: Evidence regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of certolizumab pegol (CZP) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who have failed to respond to treatment with a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) is limited. The aim of this study was to describe the effectiveness and survival-on-drug of CZP in a real-life setting, both in TNFi-naive patients and in patients who had previously fa
Background: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is one of the most common neurosurgical conditions. Patients diagnosed with CSDH’s are often planned for subacute surgery. This means that time from diagnostic CT scan until actual surgery might often be prolonged. There are no previous studies that highlight the effect of delayed intervention in this population. Method: Patients that underwent surgical
Popular Abstract in Swedish Ett nytt EU-direktiv om uttjänta fordon har nyligen antagits. Direktivet kräver att från och med 2006 skall 85% av bilens vikt återvinnas och 95% från och med år 2015. Idag återvinns cirka 80%. Bildemonteringsindustrin har valts som studieobjekt i denna avhandling. De höjda återvinningskraven förväntas leda till att bildemonteringsindustrin genomgår omfattande rationaliA new EU directive on used vehicles has recently been introduced. It demands that for every scrapped car, at least 85% by weight must be recycled by the year 2006 and 95% by 2015. The current level is about 80%. The car disassembly industry was chosen as the study object of this thesis. Due to the increased demands on recycling, the disassembly industry may undergo comprehensive rationalizations a
Pure cGMP-inhibited cAMP phosphodiesterase (cGI-PDE) in micrograms quantities was isolated from bovine aortic smooth muscle after more than 5000-fold purification using DEAE ion-exchange and affinity chromatography with a derivative of the specific cGI-PDE inhibitor cilostamide conjugated as a ligand to aminoethyl agarose (CIT-agarose). The cGI-PDE, which constituted about half of the high affinit
Manager och Civil Servant är en utforskning av aktörers förgivet tagna antaganden vilka styr uppfattningar kring hur offentlig förvaltning ska ske i samtida välfärdsstater. Det hävdas att mer än 30 år av pågående och riktade reformer gentemot den offentliga förvaltningen har orsakat dilemman att uppstå. Dessa dilemman har resulterat i en förskjutning av balansen kring några fundamentala pelare inoManager and Civil Servant is an exploration of actors’ taken-for-granted assumptions that govern perceptions concerning how public administration should be undertaken within contemporary welfare states. It is argued that more than 30 years of continuous reforms directed towards public administration have caused dilemmas to arise. These dilemmas have resulted in a shifting of balances regarding the
Popular Abstract in Swedish Blåsexstrofi är en ovanlig och mångfasetterad missbildning. I hela Sverige föds cirka tre barn om året med blåsexstrofi. Bukvägg och urinblåsa är öppna nedanför naveln, så att man ser blåsans insida samt rinnande urin. Flickorna har en delad clitoris, framflyttad och trång slidöppning samt framflyttad ändtarmsöppning. Pojkarna har en kort, öppen penis, som ligger uppfälBladder exstrophy is a complex malformation seen in 1/30 000. Most children are subject to repeated operations, including pelvic osteotomy, genital and bladder neck reconstruction and sometimes bladder augmentation or a urinary reservoir, to achieve continence and a normal genital function. A retrospective study of all Swedish children born 1970-89 showed a low continence rate, 17% , and a high r
Popular Abstract in Swedish Förändring av kroppsprotein hos cancerpatienter under behandling Bakgrund Det är välkänt att patienter med cancer ofta drabbas av nedsatt aptit, viktminskning, orkeslöshet och ämnesomsättningsrubbningar under sin sjukdom. Denna samlade symptombild kallas kakexi. Detta tillstånd minskar toleransen för olika behandlingar, som cytostatika- och strålbehandling, försämrar The purpose of this study was to investigate how total body protein and its fraction of body weight (body protein fraction) change in cancer patients during different anti-tumor treatments, and to see if these changes have any clinical significance in the form of prognostic value or correlation with disease course and tumor response. In 84 patients, 28 with lung cancer, 24 with gastrointestinal t
The prognostic impact of karyotypic patterns in a consecutive series of 389 adult myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) was investigated. Time period did not significantly influence the survival times. In the analyses, the MDS cases were subdivided into the cytogenetic subgroups used in the International Prognostic Scoring System, i.e. favourable [-Y, del(5q) or del(20q) as single aberrations or normal
Background: Erectile dysfunction is associated with, and may be the first sign of coronary artery disease. We aimed to assess whether men with erectile dysfunction but without cardiovascular disease have reduced coronary flow reserve, as a sign of early coronary atherosclerosis. Methods: We investigated 12 men aged 68-73 years with erectile dysfunction, and 12 age-matched controls. Erectile functi
Research on air travellers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for climate change mitigation has focussed on voluntary emissions offsetting so far. This approach overlooks policy relevant knowledge as it does not consider that people may value public goods higher if they are certain that others also contribute. To account for potential differences, this study investigates Swedish adults’ WTP for a mandatory
The aim of this study was to investigate long-term outcome following first line therapy in consecutive chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in a well defined geographic area (Sweden). All patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (2007-2013) (n=3672) were identified from national registries, screening of patient files identified all (100%) first line treated (n=1053) and for those, dep
