Software process simulation can be a valuable support for process analysis and improvement provided the respective model development can focus on the issues at hand without spending effort on basically modeling everything from scratch. Rather, the modeling groundwork should readily be available as building blocks for (re)use. In the domain of software engineering, the work-test-rework cycle is one

An important new development within the European ENSEMBLES project has been to explore performance-based weighting of regional climate models (RCMs). Until now, although no weighting has been applied in multi-RCM analyses, one could claim that an assumption of ‘equal weight’ was implicitly adopted. At the same time, different RCMs generate different results, e.g. for various types of extremes, and

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an inducible enzyme that drives inflammation and is the therapeutic target for widely used nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, COX-2 is also constitutively expressed, in the absence of overt inflammation, with a specific tissue distribution that includes the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, brain, and thymus. Constitutive COX-2 expression is therapeuti

In this retrospective epidemiologic study, we present pneumococcal carriage data from 109 Swedish day care centers over a period of 10 years. Aspects of season, age, personnel and group size were studied. We found a significant seasonal variation in pneumococcal carriage. Group size was a significant risk factor for pneumococcal carriage. Pneumococcal carriage was 4.5 % in personnel.

We present the calculation of the self-energy of the isolated hydrogen atom within the GW approximation starting from the noninteracting Green's function constructed from the exact wave functions of the hydrogen atom. The error in the electron removal energy of the 1s state is found to be about 0.02 eV, which is much smaller than what one would expect. This small error is explained by the cancella

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified a locus on chromosome 1p13 strongly associated with both plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and myocardial infarction (MI) in humans. Here we show through a series of studies in human cohorts and human-derived hepatocytes that a common noncoding polymorphism at the 1p13 locus, rs12740374, creates a C/EBP (CCAAT/enhancer

When a child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, it is a complex and challenging situation for the whole family. The management of the disease places substantial demands on the family and they need to change their daily life. The short- and long-term impact on the family has rarely been described; therefore, the aim of this study was to describe and compare the disease impact on parents and childre

In an effort to identify neuronal repair mechanisms of the major pelvic ganglion (MPG), we evaluated changes in the expression of nestin, an intermediate filament protein and neural stem cell marker following cavernous nerve crush injury (CNI). We utilized two groups of Sprague Dawley rats: (i) sham and (ii) bilateral CNI. Erectile responses to cavernous nerve stimulation (CNS) were determined at

The balance of intestinal microbiota, which is present in health, can be affected by severe illness and antibiotics. Pathogenic bacteria, which are usually suppressed by the commensal flora, may multiply and can cause complicating secondary infections. Administration of probiotics can help to reduce the deleterious effects of disease and antibiotics in critically ill patients: they can improve gut

The study investigates teratogenic risks with ondansetron (Zofran(®)). Data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register combined with the Swedish Register of Prescribed Drugs were used to identify 1349 infants born of women who had taken ondansetron in early pregnancy, 1998-2012. Presence of congenital malformations in the offspring was identified with three national health registers. In a Mantel-Haen

Mollusks have received increasing interest in ecotoxicological studies but so far the available scientific analyses of how their genes are affected by anthropogenic pollutants are scarce. The focus of this study is to identify an estrogen receptor (er) gene in the common prosobranch snail Bithynia tentaculata and to test a hypothesis that 17α-Ethinylestradiol (EE2) will modulate er gene expression

Abstract Objective. Most previous studies have failed to demonstrate any effect of maternal use of 5-aminosalicylates (5-ASA) on malformation risk, but the number of infants studied have, in most cases, been low. The objective of the study was to get data from a large study with prospectively ascertained exposure information. Material and methods. The study was based on data in the Swedish Medical

Cellobiose dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of various carbohydrates and is considered as a possible anode catalyst in biofuel cells. It has been shown that the catalytic performance of this enzyme immobilized on electrodes can be increased by presence of calcium ions. To get insight into the Ca2+-induced changes in the immobilized enzyme we employ surface-enhanced vibrational (SERR and SEIRA

Sustainability science is being developed in constructive tension between a descriptive-analytical and a transformational mode. The first is concerned with analyzing problems in coupled human-environment systems, whereas the second conducts research on practical solutions to those problems. Transformational sustainability research is confronted with the challenges of generating actionable knowledg

We have studied the convergence of QM/MM calculations with respect to the size of the QM system. We study a proton transfer between a first-sphere cysteine ligand and a second-sphere histidine group in [Ni,Fe] hydrogenase and use a 446-atom model of the protein, treated purely with QM methods as a reference. We have tested 12 different ways to redistribute charges close to the junctions (to avoid

To explore the possible influence of pre-eclampsia on cognitive outcome in children born very preterm after intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and abnormal umbilical artery blood flow.

This paper gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art of modelling chloride ingress and focuses on identified uncertainties and inaccuracies in the common way of applying the widely used empirical models. Examples are given in order to quantify the inaccuracies. It is also pointed out that inherent model uncertainties are likely to be of great importance due to lack of homogeneity in the da

BK virus associated nephropathy occurs in approximately 5% of renal transplant recipients. Quantitation of BKV DNA in serum/plasma early in the course of disease has been suggested to be an important diagnostic tool for polymavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN). The aim of this study was to develop a BKV real-time PCR (qPCR), which could be included in a diagnostic qPCR platform. Additionally, the