The aim of this study was to evaluate MRI with contrast enhanced MR angiography (MRI/CE MRA) as imaging method before and after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). A 1.5 T scanner was used for all examinations. In this prospective study 26 consecutive patients were included. Follow-up was performed between February 1995 and May 2002 (median follow-up; 36 months, range 8-84 mon

The pro-inflammatory mediator, Leukotriene D4 (LTD4) is a product of arachidonic acid cascade and has been implicated in asthma and inflammatory bowel diseases. Prolonged inflammatory conditions like ulcerative colitis increases the risk for the development of cancer and the factors that induce the chronic immune response remain uncertain. In this context, in the present study, we examined if expo

The university programmes are basically nationally based, developed from the historical needs of specific need of a society. The Bologna process is challenging the educational market mainly at post-graduate level. The exchange of students is still limited to a reduced number of curious and ambitious persons, many with a high interest for cultural exchange – the ‘exotic dimension’. Individual caree

Median micturition volume decreased early after partial outlet obstruction, 24 hrs total obstruction and hemidenervation. Degeneration release of transmitter may explain this, assuming that bladder wall distension causes nerve degeneration. Micturition pressure decreased simultaneously in the partially denervated and 24 hrs obstructed groups, probably due to the reduced number of functionally inta

Almost all northern forest tree species live in symbioses with ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF). The trees allocate up to half of the photoassimilated carbon (C) through the roots to EMF. In return EMF deliver nutrients from both inorganic and organic sources in the soil, as well as water. Most of the nutrients trees need are assimilated through EMF, which thus play a potentially important role in reta

Purified bacterial cell wall components peptidoglycan and teichoic acid were isolated from staphylococcal species S. aureus and/or S. epidermidis and tested for their ability to induce cytokine release from plastic-adherent human monocytes. Both cell wall components dose-dependently induced TNF-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interleukin-6 release, peptidoglycan being more potent than teichoic acid.

There is little knowledge about the circulatory effects of dopamine in hypothermia. Induced hypothermia has been shown to improve outcome in various settings. Hypothermia is also used for preservation of organs that are harvested for transplantation. We evaluated lungs that were topically cooled for 6 hours in non-heart-beating donor pigs by transplanting them into recipient pigs and observing the

Over the last decades the ongoing work in the fields of Lab-on-a-Chip and Micro-Total-Analysis-Systems has led to the discovery of new or improved ways to handle and analyse small volumes of biofluids and complex biosuspensions. The benefits of working on the microscale include: miniaturization of the analysis systems with less need for large sample volumes; temporal and spatial control of suspend

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common human infections, and febrile UTI with bacteremia the most severe form. The relation between bacteria and host decides disease severity. The dominating uropathogen is Escherichia coli (E. coli). P fimbriae are the virulence factor of E. coli most clearly associated to severe disease. P fimbriated E. coli predominated in bacteremic febrile UT

The main objective of this thesis is to study the response and development of permanent deformation in unbound granular materials, theoretically and experimentally. A testing box technique is used here to more closely simulate the behaviour of unbound aggregates subjected to external vertical loading. A small box device (800×800×800 mm) is employed to test both the response and permanent deforma

This thesis deals with the combination of electrochromatography and molecular imprinting technology. Electrochromatography is characterised by high separation efficiency, simple instrumentation, and minute consumption of sample. As a novel approach to obtain unique selectivity in capillary electrochromatographic systems molecularly imprinted matrices were used. Molecular imprinting technology repr

Inflammation plays an important role in atherosclerosis. One of the most potent pro-inflammatory cytokines is tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a), a cytokine identified to have a pathogenic role in chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The major objectives of this investigation was to establish a role for TNF-a in the development of atherosclerosis and neointimal formati

Chronic atrial fibrillation (CAF), with a prevalence progressively increasing with age, is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias in man and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have shown that, in animals as well as in man, experimental atrial fibrillation is based on different types and dimensions of intra-atrial electrical re-entry. However, there is a lack of

The South American golden apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) was intentionally introduced to aquacultures in South East Asia to produce snails for human consumption, but the aquatic snails soon escaped and started to consume large amounts of rice seedlings. The aim of this thesis was to quantify the effects of this invasive herbivore on aquatic plants in natural wetlands since previous research h

Baron Erland Nordenskiöld was born on July 19th, 1877. As a son of the great explorer Adolf Nordenskiöld he was predestined to follow the road of scientific pursuit. Moving from the field of the natural sciences to anthropology, Nordenskiöld took the chair as professor of "general and comparative ethnography" in the early 1920's. This position at the University of Gothenburg marked the beginning o