BACKGROUND: Gastrectomy (Gx) causes osteopenia. The hypothesis tested in the present study is that Gx affects Ca homeostasis and that an impaired ability to handle Ca contributes to the Gx-evoked osteopenia. METHODS: SHAM-operated and Gx rats were compared with respect to changes in blood Ca2+ after oral or intravenous loads of CaCl2 1-2 weeks or 2-4 months after the operations. RESULTS: Different

Aquaporins are water channel proteins belonging to the major intrinsic protein (MIP) superfamily of membrane proteins. More than 150 MIPs have been identified in organisms ranging from bacteria to animals and plants. In plants, aquaporins are present in the plasma membrane and in the vacuolar membrane where they are abundant constituents. Functional studies of aquaporins have hitherto mainly been

A theory of a strained p-Ge resonant-state THz laser is developed. A comprehensive study of the processes leading to the stimulated THz emission in strained p-Ge under an electric field applied is presented. The distribution functions of light and heavy holes are found. The scattering by optical and acoustic phonons, as well as resonant scattering by charged impurities are taken into account. The

Popular Abstract in Swedish Den offentliga sektorn har vuxit drastiskt under det senaste århundradet och utgör idag en stor del av ekonomin i många västländer. Givet storleken på den offentliga sektorn och dess potentiella inflytande över såväl enskilda individer som samhälle är studier som dokumenterar effekterna av den offentliga sektorn värdefulla. Denna avhandling "Den Offentliga Sektorns BegrThe size of government has increased dramatically over the last century. Given the magnitude of government involvement in the economy and the potential influence it has on individuals as well as the economy, studies documenting the effects of government size may offer particularly timely insights. This thesis addresses some of these issues. Chapter two and three deal with welfare reform. Welfare

Cost-of-illness studies have shown diabetes to be associated with substantial direct and indirect costs, accounting for 5-6 percent of total health care expenditure. In a Swedish study, where total costs were divided into costs due to management of diabetes and costs due to complications, the total annual cost to the community was estimated to be SEK 5.7 billion in 1994, costs due to complications

In 1996, national guidelines for the care and treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus were drawn up by specialists, in collaboration with representatives of the patient organisation, diabetes nurses, the professional associations of various medical specialties and central authorities. The national programme is divides into three parts: summarised information for decision-makers, clinical guid

An ABO genotype screening method discriminating the common alleles A1, A2, B, O1 and O2 at the ABO locus was made possible by the discovery of a novel nucleotide substitution (G1096A) present only in B and O2 alleles. A rapid and reliable single-tube approach using multiplex PCR with four primers amplifying exons 6 and 7 of the ABO genes followed by simultaneous addition of two restriction enzymes

A quadrature voltage controlled oscillator (QVCO) topology exhibiting low power consumption and high phase noise performance at low supply voltages is presented. The QVCO buffer includes varactors to maximize the output voltage and minimize the current consumption. Microstrip theory and the principle of conservation of energy have been used to evaluate the distributed capacitances of symmetrical i

Adiponectin is a hormone secreted from adipose tissue, and serum levels are decreased with obesity and insulin resistance. Because prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) can affect insulin sensitivity, we investigated the effects of these hormones on the regulation of adiponectin in human adipose tissue in vitro and in rodents in vivo. Adiponectin secretion was significantly suppressed by PRL and

Popular Abstract in Swedish Chefskap och ledarskap hos sjuksköterskor i högre chefsbefattningar inom hälso- och sjukvården. I dagens hälso- och sjukvård har sjuksköterskor i chefsposition en förändrad och utökad roll, bland annat till följd av decentraliserade organisationer och utökade ansvarsområden. Utvecklingen av omvårdnaden kommer till en del att vara beroende av chefernas förmåga och skickThe aim of this thesis was to illuminate the management and leadership of nurse managers within Swedish health care organizations and to recognize influencing factors of importance for the nurse managers in exercising and developing their management. The interviewees were all active in their positions at the time of the interviews. The nurse managers served at top management levels in either execu

Breast cancer incidence has markedly increased in Western countries for reasons that are not entirely understood. We characterized periodic and age-specific incidence trends of breast cancer in immigrants who migrated from low incidence areas to Sweden. The incidence in immigrants was compared to that in native Swedes and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated, based on the Swedish F

The ECM exerts great effects on cells, and changed composition may therefore have profound impact. Small leucine-rich proteoglycans, e.g. fibromodulin, are essential in collagen assembly. Our aim was to investigate the role of fibromodulin in healthy and fibrotic lung parenchyma, theorizing that fibromodulin-deficient animals would be protected against fibrosis. Repeated subcutaneous bleomycin-inj

It can be said that literary texts do not have any obligation to reality, and that literature destabilises our relations to the everyday use of words and to established perspectives. Literature stands in relation to something that cannot be explained or conceptualised, and in this respect it is close to religion. I argue that many of these characteristics of literature are also features of philoso

The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and. Nutrition (EPIC) is an ongoing multi-centre prospective cohort study designed to investigate the relationship between nutrition and cancer, with the potential for studying other diseases as well. The study currently includes 519 978 participants (366 521 women and 153457 men, mostly aged 35-70 years) in 23 centres located in 10 European count

This report demonstrates that in vitro activation of murine spleen cells with interleukin-2 (IL-2) or the bacterial superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) results in different patterns of activation and function of cytotoxic cells. Lymphokine-activated killer activity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) are mainly mediated by IL-2 activated natural killer (NK) cells. SEA i

Most nitrogen and phosphorus transported by world rivers to the oceans is associated with dissolved organic matter. However, organic matter as a potential source of N and P has hitherto been largely neglected in studies of coastal microbial food webs. We examined 50 rivers, draining a major part of the Baltic Sea watershed, with respect to summer concentrations, chemical composition, and biologica