Objectives: Few studies have examined how lifestyle factors affect functional gastrointestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to see if leisure time physical inactivity, dietary habits or body mass index (BMI) were associated with increased risk of functional abdominal pain, functional bloating, functional constipation or functional diarrhea. Methods and materials: This study was based on a

Background: Prescribing of antibiotics for common infections varies widely, and there is no medical explanation. Systematic reviews have highlighted factors that may influence antibiotic prescribing and that this is a complex process. It is unclear how factors interact and how the primary care organization affects diagnostic procedures and antibiotic prescribing. Therefore, we sought to explore an

Objective: We aimed to test whether in vivo levels of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) metabolites myo-inositol (mI), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and choline are abnormal already during preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD), relating these changes to amyloid or tau pathology, and functional connectivity. Methods: In this cross-sectional multicenter study (a subset of the prospective Swedish BioFIND

Successful optimization of a given lead scaffold requires thorough binding-site mapping of the target protein particular in regions remote from the catalytic center where high conservation across protein families is given. We screened a 361-entry fragment library for binding to the aspartic protease endothiapepsin by crystallography. This enzyme is frequently used as surrogate for the design of re

Protein-lipid complexes have broad and specific effects against cancers of different origins. HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made LEthal to Tumor cells) is a complex of partially unfolded α-lactalbumin and oleic acid that kills a wide range of tumor cells but leaves healthy differentiated cells unaffected. Therapeutic efficacy of HAMLET has been demonstrated in several animal models, without appa

This thesis analyses how the capital structures of financial and non-financial firms affect each other and how shocks in the financial sector affect investments in non-financial firms. The thesis consists of three self-contained essays.The first essay provides new evidence on the capital structure determinants of non-financial firms and contributes to the discussion concerning the effect of a regu

We propose an end-to-end approach to describe the energy usage of video delivery within a content delivery framework, and use this to investigate the energy usage behavior of two popular coding schemes, namely, H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC. Our study based on the proposed model is backed up by measurements of encoding and decoding energy usage of a sample video and shows that, from an end-to-end persp

A common experimental problem with rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) is undesired spectral interference that is due to stray light from the primary laser beams. Also, for the most developed approach, dual-broadband rotational CARS, practical measurements often suffer from stray light interference from the narrow-band laser, inasmuch as the CARS signal is produced inherently

Strategies for spatially resolved soot volume-fraction measurements have been investigated in sooting laboratory flames with known soot characteristics. Two techniques were compared: Laser-Induced Fluorescence in C2 from Laser-Vaporized Soot (LIF(C2)LVS), and Laser-Induced Incandescence of soot (LII). The LII signal is the increased temperature radiation from soot particles which have been heated

Laser diagnostic techniques have during the last decade been successfully applied for diagnostics of combustion processes. The main advantages with these techniques are that they are inherently non-intrusive and that spatially as well as temporally resolved information can be achieved. The current paper will exemplify two different laser spectroscopic techniques. Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF),

Swan band emission of C2. which had been produced and excited (d3∏x←a 3∏u, Δ v = 0) by focused, tunable, visible laser radiation, was studied in sooting ethylene flames. The C2signal from the sooting regions of the flames was found to be proportional to the measured volume fractions of soot, indicating laser-vaporized soot to be the source of the signal, and as such it can be used as a diagnostic

Background: On-going climate change is predicted to result in a growing number of extreme weather events - such as heat waves - throughout Europe. The effect of high temperatures and heat waves are already having an important impact on public health in terms of increased mortality, but studies from an Estonian setting are almost entirely missing. We investigated mortality in relation to high summe

Background: Little is known about the social and political factors that influence priority setting for different health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet these factors are integral to understanding how national health agendas are established. We investigated factors that facilitate or prevent surgical care from being prioritized in LMICs. Methods and Findings: We undertook

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) reduces mortality and morbidity in selected patients with heart failure (HF), but up to 1/3 of patients are nonresponders. Sum absolute QRST integral (SAI QRST) recently showed association with mechanical response on CRT. However, it is unknown whether SAI QRST is associated with all-cause mortality and HF hospitalizations in patients undergoing CRT. The stu

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was twofold: (i) to evaluate the air levels of N-nitrosamines in the Swedish rubber industry and (ii) to estimate the risk of symptoms and changed levels of immunologic markers in relation to these levels.METHODS: Using adsorption tubes, we collected samples of N-nitrosamines in the breathing zone of 96 rubber workers and analyzed them with liquid chromatography t

A century after its inception, agroecology has entered mainstream development debates as a more sustainable alternative to conventional agricultural modernization of relevance not least for improving smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Agroecology is a broad concept considered to have transformative potential, yet as a research field it has often been technology-centred and focused at t

Omfattande forskning pekar på att en förälders psykiska ohälsa kan utgöra enriskfaktor för barnens psykiska utveckling och hälsa, inte minst när den psykiska ohälsan gör det svårt för föräldern att fullt ut fungera som förälder. Sedan år2010 finns ett tillägg i hälso- och sjukvårdslagen om att vården ska beakta barnensbehov av information, råd och stöd och det finns idag ett flertal insatser att v

Contactin genes CNTN5 and CNTN6 code for neuronal cell adhesion molecules that promote neurite outgrowth in sensory-motor neuronal pathways. Mutations of CNTN5 and CNTN6 have previously been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but very little is known on their prevalence and clinical impact. In this study, we identified CNTN5 and CNTN6 deleteriousvariants in individuals

Overweight and obesity is associated with lower rates of suicide. However, little is known about the association with different suicide methods. We studied the association between groups of body mass index and suicide methods. We identified all medicolegal autopsy cases with a cause of death due to external causes in Sweden during 1999-2013 (N = 39,368) and included 11,715 suicides and 13,316 acci

To evaluate hypotheses explaining intraspecific variation in migratory behavior in partial migrants, a local population of Blue Tits (Parus caeruleus) was studied in southern Sweden. Birds born in the study area and recaptured there in winter were compared with birds recaptured at a nearby bird station where a large number of migrant Blue Tits were passing. By comparing sex ratios among migrants a