Introduction: Radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with energy delivery on the posterior left atrial (LA) wall with small but significant risk of life-threatening complications. Anatomy of LA walls has been described, but wall thickness in patients with AF has not been studied systematically. The aim of the present study was to describe LA posterior wall thickness in p

In this study resonant acoustic spectroscopy was applied during static loading and unloading of three prestressed concrete beams in the context of acoustoelasticity. At each load step multiple modes of vibration were measured using an accelerometer and a small impact source. It was found that the measured resonance frequencies increased with increasing compressive stress in a manner which can be p

The aim of this study was to describe changes over time in the indications and outcomes of cataract surgery and to discuss optimal timing for the surgery.

Different classes of non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs, have recently been implicated in the process of tumourigenesis. In this study, we examined the expression and putative functions of a novel class of non-coding RNAs known as transcribed ultraconserved regions (T-UCRs) in neuroblastoma. Genome-wide expression pro. ling revealed correlations between specific T-UCR expression levels and impor

In 2001, an increase of HIV-1 diagnoses among intravenous drug users (IVDU) was reported in Sweden. In nearby countries, Finland, Russia and the Baltic states, recent outbreaks had been described. Since there was a concern that these outbreaks would carry over to Sweden a study was initiated to determine the factors leading to the Swedish increase of HIV-1 diagnosed IVDUs. HIV-1 env V3 sequences w

Protein additives have a dramatic effect on the H2O2 oxidation of hyperforin, either protecting the enolized phloroglucinol core from oxidation (human albumin) or promoting (HRP and ovalbumin) reaction pathways derived from the intermediacy of the enollactone 4, a minor component of the oxidation mixture in the absence of protein additives. To rationalize the exquisite specificity of several steps

Diastereomer discrimination was observed in the formation of a metallomacrocycle from a racemic ligand based on Tröger's base. The metallomacrocycle exhibited a dramatic increase in fluorescence intensity compared to the ligand and its fluorescence was efficiently quenched by C(60).

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy types 2E and F are characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and often cardiomyopathy and are due to mutations in the genes encoding beta- and delta-sarcoglycan. We previously demonstrated that loss of sarcoglycans in smooth muscle leads to constrictions of the microvasculature that contributes to the cardiac phenotype. It is unclear how vasculature abnormalities aff

The bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI), stored in human neutrophil granulocytes, is cytotoxic against Gram-negative bacteria. Several genes related to BPI cluster on human chromosome 20 and on mouse chromosome 2, but expression and characterization of a BPI ortholog in the mouse have not been reported. We asked whether BPI is structurally and functionally conserved between humans a

Mixtures of n-decyl beta-D-gluco-pyranoside (C(10)G(1)) and n-nonyl beta-D-gluco-pyranoside (C(9)G(1)) in water were studied to determine the location of a closed-loop liquid/liquid miscibility gap. A phase diagram including the point at which the closed loop first appeared was determined, as well as the effect of salts on the location of the consolute boundaries of the loop. The microstructure su

Background More than 1100 mutations that cause hemophilia B (HB) have been identified. At the same time, specific F9 mutations are present at high frequencies in certain populations, which raise questions about the origin of HB mutations. ObjectivesTo describe the mutation spectrum of all HB families in Sweden and investigate if mutations appearing in several families are due to independent recurr

BACKGROUND: In a postal questionnaire study, the prevalence of asthma in southern Sweden has been found to be 5.5%. However, the register prevalence of asthma obtained from the medical records in the same municipality and age groups was found to be only 2.1%. OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study were to investigate whether the low register prevalence of asthma was caused by an underdiagnosis of asthm

The main objectives of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) are to harmonise breakpoints for antimicrobial agents in Europe, and to act as the breakpoint committee for the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) during the registration of new antimicrobial agents. Detailed EUCAST procedures for harmonising and setting breakpoints for antimicrobial agents are available o

We reviewed nine patients at a mean period of 11 years ( 6 to 16) after curettage and cementing of a giant-cell tumour around the knee to determine if there were any long-term adverse effects on the cartilage. Plain radiography, MRI, delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of the cartilage and measurement of the serum level of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein were carried out. The functional outcome wa

In patches of co-occurring species in natural plant communities, there is a finely poised balance between species in the ways in which they respond to prevailing moisture and temperature regimes. However, environmental change scenarios, in which temperature, moisture and ultraviolet-B radiation are suggested to increase, may favour one of the species. The imbalance is likely to occur at the levels