Search results

Background: Amyloidoses are a heterogeneous group of progressive diseases caused by tissue deposition of misfolded proteins. According to the International Classification of Diseases, hereditary amyloidosis is divided into neuropathic and non-neuropathic forms. In Sweden, neuropathic heredofamilial amyloidosis has been identified as familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP), a fatal disease that i

This thesis presents models and methods for feedback-based resource management for cyber-physical systems. Common for the scenarios considered are severe resource constraints, uncertain and time-varying conditions and the goal of enabling flexibility in systems design rather than restricting it. A brief survey on reservation-based scheduling, an important enabling technology for this thesis, is pr

BACKGROUND: Knowledge regarding characteristics and transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium and antibiotic resistance in N gonorrhoeae in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, is entirely lacking. OBJECTIVES: To characterise N gonorrhoeae, C trachomatis and M genitalium samples from Guinea-Bissau and to define bacterial populations, possible transmission chains

Fracture Liaison Services are the best model to prevent secondary fractures. The International Osteoporosis Foundation developed a Best Practice Framework to provide a quality benchmark. After a year of implementation, we confirmed that a single framework with set criteria is able to benchmark services across healthcare systems worldwide. Introduction Despite evidence for the clinical effectivenes

Background: Infection is a serious adverse effect of prostate biopsy (P-Bx), and recent reports suggest an increasing incidence. Objective: The aim of this multinational multicentre study was to evaluate prospectively the incidence of infective complications after P-Bx and identify risk factors. Design, setting, and participants: The study was performed as an adjunct to the Global Prevalence Study

Microbial decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) is the source of most of the terrestrial carbon dioxide emission. Consequently, our ability to predict how climate warming will affect the global carbon (C) budget relies on our understanding of the temperature relationship and adaptability of microbial processes. We exposed soil microcosms to temperatures between 0 and 54 degrees C for 2 months

Neurosin is a protease that in vitro degrades α-synuclein, the main constituent of Lewy bodies found in brains of patients with synucleinopathy including Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Several studies have reported reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of α-synuclein in synucleinopathy patients and recent data also proposes a significant role of α-synuclein in the

Gangliosides (G) are sialic acid-containing cell surface glycosphingolipids capable of forming lactones, i.e. inner esters. Some gangliosides are tumor-associated antigens, and they may serve as immunogens in their lactone form, where the latter is comparatively more abundant on the surface of malignant cells. Due to improved hydrolytic stability, lactam (inner amide) analogues of gangliosides sho

With the ultimate goal to study milk folate bioavailability, a reverse-phase HPLC technique was developed and compared with a radioprotein binding assay. All methods showed similar ranges for folates in cow’s milk, with the variation attributed to seasonal variations and the use of different starter cultures. Most cheese varieties contained slightly higher values for whey cream cheese. Studies usi

The objectives of this dissertation are 1) to describe what child protection services actually do when assessing risk and deciding on interventions, and 2) to analyze this practice in the light of institutional expectations, organizational demands and professional technology. The field work was carried out in two Danish municipal social service agencies. Data consist of records on families subject

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: To date, the molecular function of most of the reported type 2 diabetes-associated loci remains unknown. The introduction or removal of cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) dinucleotides, which are possible sites of DNA methylation, has been suggested as a potential mechanism through which single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can affect gene function via epigenetics. The aim of this

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has a well-documented positive effect on mortality and heart failure morbidity. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term survival and the predictive value of self-assessed functional status on the long-term prognosis of patients treated with CRT-pacemaker (CRT-P).METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were retrospectively collected from medical records of 446 co

The frequency of obesity has risen dramatically in recent years but only few effective and safe drugs are available. We investigated if green-plant membranes, previously shown to reduce subjective hunger and promote satiety signals, could affect body weight when given long-term. 38 women (40-65 years of age, body mass index 25-33 kg/m(2)) were randomized to dietary supplementation with either gree

Background: High plasma copeptin (copeptin), the C-terminal fragment of arginine vasopressin pro-hormone, has been associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetS), diabetes mellitus (DM) development and nephropathy. Here we tested whether elevated copeptin level is associated with later development of the MetS, its individual components and microalbuminuria. Methods: We analysed copeptin at baselin

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are known to biosynthesise single-domain magnetite (Fe3O4) for geomagnetic navigation and their relict magnetosomes (called magnetofossils) can control the magnetic properties of lake and marine sediments. Magnetotactic bacteria also produce greigite (Fe3S4) magnetosomes but, compared to those made of magnetite, relatively little is known about the sedimentary environm

BACKGROUND: Situational needs of health care facilities inform the optimal allocation of resources and quality improvement efforts. This study examines surgical care delivery metrics at a tertiary care institution in Liberia. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed operative and ward logbooks from January 1 to December 31, 2012. Data parameters included patients' age, diagnosis, procedure, mortality,

Objectives: First, to outline the theoretical and practical framework for geriatric rehabilitation in the Nordic countries and second, to survey the scientific medical publications for evidence-based geriatric rehabilitation. Methods: Brainstorming on geriatric rehabilitation in a working group of Nordic teachers in geriatric medicine. Papers on scientific programmes for geriatric rehabilitation f

Human cancers are often associated with numerical and structural chromosomal instability. Structural chromosomal aberrations (CAs) in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) arise as consequences of direct DNA damage or due to replication on a damaged DNA template. In both cases, DNA repair is critical and inter-individual differences in its capacity are probably due to corresponding genetic variations

Male breast cancer is poorly understood with a large proportion arising in the familial context particularly with the BRCA2 germline mutation. As phenotypic and genotypic differences between sporadic and familial male breast cancers have been noted, we investigated the importance of a hypoxic drive in these cancers as this pathway has been shown to be of importance in familial female breast cancer

Background Limited information is available regarding genetic contributions to valvular calcification, which is an important precursor of clinical valve disease. Methods We determined genomewide associations with the presence of aortic-valve calcification (among 6942 participants) and mitral annular calcification (among 3795 participants), as detected by computed tomographic (CT) scanning; the stu