This study examined mortality and predictors of death in 1,396 primary amphetamine users (85% males) who were interviewed with the Addiction Severity Index in the Swedish criminal justice system during 2000-2006 and followed through 2008. Forty-nine clients deceased (standardized mortality ratio 4.1 [3.0-5.4]), at least 84% of deaths were violent or drug-related (12% suicides), and Cox regression

Background: When performing functional and structural studies, large quantities of pure protein are desired. Most membrane proteins are however not abundantly expressed in their native tissues, which in general rules out purification from natural sources. Heterologous expression, especially of eukaryotic membrane proteins, has also proven to be challenging. The development of expression systems in

Background: Having friends is associated with more favourable clinical outcomes and a higher quality of life in mental disorders. Patients with schizophrenia have fewer friends than other mentally ill patients. No large scale studies have evaluated so far what symptom dimensions of schizophrenia are associated with the lack of friendships. Methods: Data from four multi-centre studies on outpatient

The paper summarizes the research on cold protection of feet. There exist several conflicting requirements for the choice of the best suited footwear for cold exposure. These conflicts are related to various environmental factors, protection needs and user comfort issues. In order to reduce such conflicts and simplify the choice of proper footwear the paper suggests dividing the cold into specific

Aims To evaluate long-term all-cause risk of mortality in women and men hospitalized for the first time with atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with matched controls. Methods and results A total of 272 186 patients (44% women)

There are substantial differences in accessibility to biological disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) across countries. The objective of this study was to analyse the impact of patient demographics, disease characteristics and gross domestic product (GDP) on abatacept (ABA) retention in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated in clinical practice.

The effects on the energy situation in industry when gas fired liquid heaters replace steam have been determined by energy surveys performed in a brewery and a slaughterhouse, measurements of the performance and emissions from liquid heaters installed in these industries, and theoretical analyses of the potential energy saving. The theoretical study in the first part of the project provides infor

Vascular damage induced by trauma, inflammation, or infection results in an alteration of the endothelium from a nonactivated to a procoagulant, vasoconstrictive, and proinflammatory state, and can lead to life-threatening complications. Here we report that activation of the contact system by Salmonella leads to massive infiltration of red blood cells and fibrin deposition in the lungs of infected

Flow cytometric DNA measurements yield the amount of DNA for each of a large number of cells. A DNA histogram normally consists of a mixture of one or more constellations of G0/G1-, S-, G2/M-phase cells, together with internal standards, debris, background noise, and one or more populations of clumped cells. We have modelled typical DNA histograms as a mixed distribution with Gaussian densities fo

Mucosal exudation of nonsieved bulk plasma is a key feature of airway defense and inflammation. We have previously observed in guinea pig tracheobronchial airways that endogenous nitric oxide (NO) of the mucosa may tonically suppress the permeability of the subepithelial microcirculation, and that topical administration of the NO donor nitroprusside may reduce plasma exudation responses. The prese

Purpose: Several tumor markers have recently been applied for prostate cancer screening. We analyze the effectiveness of prostate specific antigen (PSA), age specific PSA, PSA velocity, volume adjusted PSA densities, change in PSA level following antibacterial therapy, free-to-total PSA ratio, alpha1-antichymotrypsin bound PSA, alpha2-macroglobulin bound PSA, alpha1-protease inhibitor bound PSA an

Autoignition in SI engines is an abnormal combustion mode and may lead to engine knock which is an undesired phenomenon in SI engines. It may cause damage and it is a source of noise in engines. Knock limits the compression ratio of the engine and a low compression ratio means low fuel conversion efficiency of the engine. This thesis presents a theoretical investigation about the modeling of the e