OBJECTIVE: Blood lead (B-Pb), one of the most used toxicological biomarker all kind, has serious limitations. Thus, the objective is to evaluate whether plasma lead (P-Pb) is more adequate. METHODS: A long-term follow-up study of five cases of lead poisoning. P-Pb was analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Kinetics after end of exposure was modelled. RESULTS: P-Pb at severe p

A method for the quantitative determination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in sewage sludge was developed and validated. The target compounds were extracted using pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) and then purified and preconcentrated by three-phase hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME) followed by LC-ESI-MS analysis. The PHWE was optimized with regard to the

Sweden has a high level of student influence. At Lund University, students are not viewed as counterparts but partners in the university’s activities. Lund University has carried out Student Satisfaction Surveys (baromoters) since the 1990s and an overview has shown that an evaluation culture has grown during the past decade. It is, however, time to pose the critical question: do we ask the right

Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is recognised as a clinically and morphologically heterogeneous group of interrelated neurodegenerative conditions. One of the subtypes within this disease spectrum is the behavioural variant FTD (bvFTD). This is known to be a varied disorder with a mixture of tau-positive and tau-negative underlying pathologies. The other subtypes include semantic dementi

Background Many public health and epidemiological studies have found differences between populations (e.g. maternal countries of birth) in average values of a health indicator (e.g. mean offspring birthweight). However, the approach based solely on population-level averages compromises our understanding of variability in individuals’ health around the averages. If this variability is high, the ex

The adsorption of octylamine on Au(111) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions is investigated. The molecules surprisingly undergo a thermally activated chemical reaction, resulting in formation of trioctylamine as confirmed both by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and by comparison to the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) signature of trioctylamine deposited directly onto the surface.

We complete the analysis of the band functions for two-dimensional magnetic Schrodinger operators with piecewise constant magnetic fields. The discontinuity of the magnetic field can create edge currents that flow along the discontinuity, which have been described by physicists. Properties of these edge currents are directly related to the behavior of the band functions. The effective potential of

Introduction. About half of all new ipsilateral events after a primary ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are invasive carcinoma. We studied tumor markers in the primary DCIS in relation to type of event (invasive versus in situ). Methods. Two hundred and sixty-six women with a primary DCIS from two source populations, all with a known ipsilateral event, were included. All new events were regarded as

Theory predicts that trophic interactions can produce cyclic dynamics of microtine rodents, but that in addition, social interactions are necessary to create the cyclicity. We tested the induced defence hypothesis as a component driving multiannual cycles by analyzing data on Siberian lemming (Lemmus sibiricus Kerr) populations and the levels of trypsin inhibitors (TI) and free proteins (SPP) in t

Background: The number of new cases of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has increased substantially in recent years and it is now one of the most common long-term endocrine disorders in childhood. In Sweden the child and family are hospitalised in accordance with the national guidelines for one to two weeks at diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to describe parents' perceptions of the educatio

Background: Phosphorylcholine is one of the major epitopes of oxidised low density lipoprotein. Low levels of IgM antibodies against phosphorylcholine (anti-PC) are associated with development of myocardial infarction and stroke. It has been shown that patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias have significantly lower serum anti-PC levels compared to controls, suggesting that low level

Background: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillation is regarded as the most effective bladder-sparing treatment for patients with high-grade T1 tumours and carcinoma in situ (CIS). The major problem with this therapy is the side-effects, making maintenance therapy difficult, even impossible, in a proportion of patients. Thus, alternative schedules and drugs have been proposed. Objective: To co

Neurons are continuously generated from stem cells in discrete regions in the adult mammalian brain. We found that ependymal cells lining the lateral ventricles were quiescent and did not contribute to adult neurogenesis under normal conditions in mice but instead gave rise to neuroblasts and astrocytes in response to stroke. Ependymal cell quiescence was actively maintained by canonical Notch sig

Nannandry is a sexual system where males ("dwarf males") are much smaller than the conspecific females. Dwarf males occur in a wide range of unrelated organisms but the evolutionary advantages of this condition are poorly understood. The dwarf male sexual system results in differences in the mode of dispersal and establishment as well as the life span between males and females. Such differences mu

Purpose - With the help of Slavoj Zizek's concept of interpassivity, this paper seeks to illustrate the frantic activities performed by employees to maintain a separation between the idea of an authentic self and the idea of a corporate self. Furthermore, this paper aims to illustrate these activities empirically. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical example is based on a case study of thre

The motivation for using a zero-dispersion monochromator as a band-pass filter with a Fourier transform spectrometer is discussed, and the design of such an instrument is presented. Benefits in performance over commercial band-pass filters are demonstrated. In addition the advantages of using the second optical output of the spectrometer are discussed, particularly with respect to absorption spect

Aggregation of the amyloid β-protein (Aβ) is believed to be involved in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Here we have investigated the importance of the aromatic rings at positions 19 and 20 for the aggregation rate and mechanism by substituting phenylalanine with leucine. Aggregation kinetics were monitored as a function of time and peptide concentration by thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence, the a