Using an animal model, the thesis explores how the initial ventilation of the lungs, and surfactant therapy, should best be managed after premature birth. Material and measurements: The studies were made in newborn lambs delivered by cesarean section. Spread of exogenous surfactant was analysed by mixing it with technetium-labelled macroaggregated human serum albumin and imaging the radioactivity

Since soluble fibre in the form of the cereal beta-glucans found in oats and barley has been shown to have a positive effect on lipid and glucose metabolism, people at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases or diabetes might benefit from that a variety of palatable food products containing beta-glucans being available to them. The aim of the papers presented in the thesis was to evaluate the m

Patients waiting for cardiac surgery often consider the period from the decision for surgery to the time for the operation as long, heavy and dreary. Therefore, it is important that patients are supplied with structured oral and written information regarding their disease and its treatment, so that they are able to understand and discuss the forthcoming operation, the risk of complications and the

A new method, where a tendon segment – a tendon autograft – was used as graft material for peripheral nerve reconstruction, was developed. Defects, 10-15 mm long, in rat sciatic nerves were bridged by various modifications of tendons. A piece of an intact tendon and a tendon, that had been teased into a membrane and then rolled to form a loose “collagen roll”, supported axonal regeneration over a

1. During incubation of platelets with 3H-arachidonic acid (20:4, n-6) and 14C-cholesterol doubly labelled and colloidal gold labelled chylomicrons (CMs) and chylomicron remnants (CMRs) CMs were taken up more efficiently than CMRs. Addition of unlabelled CMs, VLDLs, LDLs and HDLs decreased the uptake of labelled CMs. Electron microscopic studies demonstrated an accumulation of CM-Au's both in the

For a long time microorganisms were assumed to have unlimited dispersal due to their small size and high cell numbers. Most microbial species can be transported by water currents, in water droplets by wind and attached to other organisms. Environmental conditions alone were supposed to affect the distribution of species and the community composition. Therefore, microorganisms were assumed to consi

The aim was to study the epidemiology of chronic pain (> 3 months duration) and factors associated to pain prevalence, prognosis, health care and medication in a general population. A cross-sectional mailed survey to a random population sample (n = 1806) was followed by a clinical examination and a prospective study of three selected groups. Pain related diagnoses from primary health care was moni

This thesis is based on data from a large glaucoma screening, comprising 32, 918 elderly citizens of Malmö and data from retrospective analysis of glaucoma patients’ charts from the Eye Department of Malmö University Hospital. The definition of glaucoma was based on reproducible visual field defects and/or glaucomatous optic nerve head damage in both groups. In paper I, including screened individ

The importance of early detection of brain changes during ageing has been recognised. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a method used for estimation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in clinical work and in research. The aim of thesis was to study CBF in demented and non-demented elderly persons with special reference to blood pressure changes. Elderly women with senile dementia of

The North Atlantic region has experienced significant climate fluctuations during the Holocene. It has been shown that these fluctuations affected the terrestrial environment in Iceland, including its glaciers and ice caps. However, the full Holocene development of Icelandic glaciers, including the large Vatnajökull ice cap and its outlet glaciers, is not fully known. In this thesis, a sediment se

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease where improperly cleared apoptotic cells and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) induce an autoimmune response. Complement is crucial to prevent SLE by tailoring immune responses and opsonizing dead cells but may also induce inflammation and tissue damage once the disease is initiated. Complement C1q binds to apoptotic cells and ensures

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that directly transform chemical energy into electricity. They are promising for future energy systems, since they are energy efficient, able to use renewable fuels and, when hydrogen is used as fuel, there are no direct emissions of greenhouse gases. Various improvements are made during the recent years, however the technology is still in the early phases of

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains a controversial entity. Specific clusters of MetS components - rather than MetS per se - are associated with accelerated arterial ageing and with cardiovascular (CV) events. To investigate whether the distribution of clusters of MetS components differed cross-culturally, we studied 34,821 subjects from 12 cohorts from 10 European countries and one coho

A dysregulation in the metabolism of lipids may be an early marker of autoimmunity in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). It would be of general importance to identify metabolic patterns that would predict the risk for T1D later in life. The aim of this study was to perform a prospective evaluation of glutamine and phospholipids levels in Brazilian first degree relatives (FDR) of patients with T1D in a mean in

Background: Physical activity on prescription (PAP) is a successful intervention for increasing physical activity among patients with a sedentary lifestyle. The method seems to be sparsely used by general practitioners (GPs) and there is limited information about GPs' attitudes to counselling using PAP as a tool. The aim of the study was to explore and understand the meaning of prescribing physica

Abstract: In this thesis the questions “do enteric neurons adapt to survive in conditions of obesity/type 2-diabetes (T2D) related metabolic imbalances? Or do they die?” are asked. Obese and T2D patients have high rates of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. The GI tract comprises the body’s largest surface to the outside environment; it performs diverse and complex roles in an ever changing external