This paper is a critique of analytical sociology as presented in Peter Hedström’s book Dissecting the Social. Our critique has two main targets. First, we believe that too little attention is being paid to the macro-to-micro link, and we argue for the importance of macro-level entities such as culture, social categories, and groups – all of which have so far been largely omitted from analytical so

Multiple mechanisms contribute to tissue demise and functional recovery after stroke. We studied the involvement of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in cell death and development of neurologic deficits after experimental stroke. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor is upregulated in the brain after cerebral ischemia, and disruption of the Mif gene in mice leads to a smaller infarct v

Chronic mitral regurgitation is often accompanied by left atrial and ventricular remodeling and elevated natriuretic peptide levels. Our aim was to examine the relation between severe preoperative left atrial enlargement and changes in hemodynamics and natriuretic peptide levels after mitral valve surgery.

Background Family history is a strong risk factor for prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate whether increased diagnostic activity is related to the incidence of prostate cancer among brothers of men with prostate cancer. Methods Data were from the nationwide population-based Prostate Cancer Database Sweden (PCBaSe Sweden), which includes data from the National Prostate Cancer R

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the compression force used with conventional mammography can be reduced with breast tomosynthesis (BT), without adversely affecting the visualisation of normal and pathological structures. Forty-five women were examined with BT using full (same as for 2D mammography) and half compression force. Both examinations were performed with the same acquisit

The polyamines are essential for a variety of functions in the mammalian cell. Although their specific effects have not been fully elucidated, it is clear that the cellular polyamines have to be kept within certain levels for normal cell function. Polyamine homoeostasis in mammalian cells is achieved by a complex network of regulatory mechanisms affecting synthesis and degradation, as well as memb

An ensemble of (J, K) -regular low-density parity-check (LDPC) convolutional codes is introduced and existence-type lower bounds on the minimum distance dL, of code segments of finite length L and on the free distance dfree are derived. For sufficiently large constraint lengths v, the distances are shown to grow linearly with v and the ratio dL/v approaches the ratio dfee/v for large L. Moreover,

Sphingolipids are abundant in the microvillar membrane of intestinal epithelial cells where they are essential for structural integrity and may act as receptors for toxins, virus and bacteria. Metabolism of dietary and membrane sphingolipids in the intestine generates ceramide, sphingosine, sphingosine-1-phosphate, and ceramide-1-phosphate, via the action of alkaline sphingomyelinase, neutral cera

Laser spectroscopic techniques constitute powerful tools for chemical sensing. Atoms and molecules can be identified and quantified by their specific spectral signatures and the strength of the signals. A wide variety of methods for establishing spectroscopic contact with the species exist: absorption, emission, fluorescence, Raman scattering, acousto-optic, and opto-galvanic phenomena can be empl

Objective: Recent developments of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) systems have focused on making pumps smaller, lighter, and more portable. The recently introduced PICO system manages wound fluid through a highly breathable film within the dressing, thereby negating the need for a canister, which allows greater mobility and patient concordance. The aim of this study is to compare the biolog