Dark-field imaging is a scattering-based X-ray imaging method that can be performed with laboratory X-ray tubes. The possibility to obtain information about unresolvable structures has already seen a lot of interest for both medical and material science applications. Unlike conventional X-ray attenuation, orientation dependent changes of the dark-field signal can be used to reveal microscopic stru

What impact will the entry of a legally binding Charter of EU Fundamental Rights have on the scope of protection of the fundamental rights of the EU citizen? How will these ‘new’ rights impact on the ‘old’ human rights in Europe? This chapter address these questions by evaluating the Strasbourg and Luxembourg legal orders. It will do so by first considering the material and personal scope of the C

What understanding of freedom does the EU freedom to conduct business protect? This article distinguishes between two understandings of freedom – freedom as non-interference and freedom as non-domination, and argues that both the text of Article 16 of the Charter and the pre-Charter case law suggest an understanding of freedom as non-domination. However, in recent case law, the Court appears to haWhat understanding of freedom does the EU freedom to conduct business protect? This article distinguishes between two understandings of freedom – freedom as non-interference and freedom as non-domination, and argues that both the text of Article 16 of the Charter and the pre-Charter case law suggest an understanding of freedom as non-domination. However, in recent case law, the Court appears to ha

This chapter highlights the methodological difficulties which stand in the way of interpreting EU law as granting a human right to a healthy environment.This chapter highlights the methodological difficulties which stand in the way of interpreting EU law as granting a human right to a healthy environment.

A contribution to the Swedish National Encyclopedia (year book) on brands as symbols of our time. Definitions, examples, and reflections of the phenomenon of brands.

Background: High reproducibility and low intra- and interobserver variability are important strengths of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). In clinical practice a significant learning curve may however be observed. Basic CMR courses offer an average of 1.4 h dedicated to lecturing and demonstrating left ventricular (LV) function analysis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of init

Background: Growth hormone (GH) has been linked to cardiovascular disease but the exact mechanism of this association is still unclear. We here test if the fasting levels of GH are cross-sectionally associated with carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and whether treatment with fluvastatin affects the fasting level of GH. Methods: We examined the association between GH and IMT in 4425 individuals

Background: The use of analgesic antipyretics (ANAP) in children have long been a matter of controversy. Data on their practical use on an individual level has, however, been scarce. There are indications of possible effects on glucose homeostasis and immune function related to the use of ANAP. The aim of this study was to analyze patterns of analgesic antipyretic use across the clinical centers o

Background: When discontinuation in COPD randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is unevenly distributed between treatments (differential dropout), the capacity to demonstrate treatment effects may be reduced. We investigated the impact of the time of differential dropout on exacerbation outcomes in RCTs, in relation to study duration and COPD severity. Methods: A post hoc analysis of 2,345 patients f

BACKGROUND The instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) is an index used to assess the severity of coronary-artery stenosis. The index has been tested against fractional flow reserve (FFR) in small trials, and the two measures have been found to have similar diagnostic accuracy. However, studies of clinical outcomes associated with the use of iFR are lacking. We aimed to evaluate whether iFR is noninfe

Background Accurate estimation of prognosis in multimorbid hospital patients could improve quality of care. This study aims to determine the relative importance and added value of a performance-based activities of daily living (ADL) measure with regard to mortality prediction. Methods 200 inpatients, aged over 60 years, were recruited at the Department of General Internal Medicine at a tertiary un

Objective. To assess potential associations for the development of venous thromboembolic events in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitides (AAV). Methods. Four hundred and seventeen patients enrolled to participate in randomized controlled trials conducted by the European Vasculitis Society were identified. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to validate previously proposed and

Objective. The aim was to assess work-loss days before and after commencement of anti-TNF treatment in patients with non-radiographic axial spondylarthritis (nr-axSpA). Methods. Bionaïve nr-axSpA patients (n = 75), aged 17-62 years, fulfilling the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society criteria for axial spondyloarthritis and starting anti-TNF treatment during 2004-11, were retrieve

Objectives: Care managers and professional caregivers of home care services are sometimes unaware of the psychosocial approaches to the challenging behaviour of dementia. Therefore, we developed a Behaviour Analytics & Support Enhancement (BASE) programme. We investigated the effects of the programme on the attitudes towards dementia care among professionals. Method: Forty-six participants in

Caveolae are membrane invaginations present at high densities in muscle and fat. Recent work has demonstrated that myocardin family coactivators (MYOCD, MKL1), which are important for contractile differentiation and cell motility, increase caveolin (CAV1, CAV2, CAV3) and cavin (CAVIN1, CAVIN2, CAVIN3) transcription, but several aspects of this control mechanism remain to be investigated. Here, usi

Objective: To explore whether having long-term type 1 diabetes (>45 years) is associated with a higher prevalence of radiographic hand OA, erosive hand OA and increased hand pain, disability and stiffness. Methods: In total N = 96 persons with type 1 diabetes diagnosed before 1970 were included (mean [SD] age: 62.2 [7.4], mean [SD] HbA1c: 7.43 [0.80] and N = 49 [51%] men). Regular measurements of

Background - Small observational studies have indicated better outcome with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance when performing unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), but the overall picture remains inconclusive and warrants further investigation. We studied the impact of IVUS guidance on outcome in patients undergoing unprotected LMCA PCI in a

Objectives. The arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (ALOX5AP) regulates synthesis of leukotrienes (LTs), which are important mediators of inflammation and connective tissue remodelling. The aim of this study was to evaluate if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ALOX5AP confer risk of SSc and/ or SSc-related organ involvement. Methods. Seven SNPs of ALOX5AP (rs17222814, rs17216473