Possible measures for prevention of neonatal group B streptococcal (GBS) septicemia include active or passiv immunoprophylaxis and administration of penicillin to mothers and infants. In a previous study we have found GBS to be extremely sensitive to chlorhexidine. Furthermore vaginal washing with chlorhexidine diminished the recovery of GBS from parturients. In order to study the effect of chlorh

A study is presented of the impact on science data from extremely large telescopes of a transformation of wavelength base for optimization of actuator architecture from 2 200 to 1250 nm. From the optical path difference (OPD) data for Euro50, we transform to E-ELT OPDs. We compute the corresponding power spectrum, in which we simulate a higher actuator density via high-pass filtering to convert fr

Properties of polyelectrolyte gels in equilibrium with a reservoir of salt solution described within the primitive model have been investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. The polyelectrolyte gel was modeled as a charged defect-free three-dimensional network of diamondlike topology with explicit simple ions. The deswelling upon addition of salt was investigated for gels with different charge de

Background: The survival for patients with atrioventricular septal defect has improved markedly over the last decades and, during the same period, the survival of children with Down's syndrome has also increased. The aim of our study was to investigate long-term survival in patients having atrioventricular septal defect with common valvar orifice, but without associated significant congenital hear

To model aerosol-cloud interactions in general circulation models (GCMs), a prognostic cloud scheme of cloud liquid water and amount is expanded to include droplet number concentration (N(d)) in a way that allows them to be calculated using the same large-scale and convective updraft velocity field. In the scheme, the evolution of droplets fully interacts with the model meteorology. An explicit tr

Background: Local pain at the site of intravenous (iv) injection of propofol remains a considerable problem in clinical anaesthesiology, and particularly so in infants. The aim of the present study was to compare the influence of two different emulsions of propofol on local pain following iv administration. Methods: Eighty adult patients (ASA I-II) scheduled for ear-nose-throat or plastic surgery

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We examined to what extent visual acuity and perimetric sensitivity as measures of central and paracentral visual function would be useful for evaluating the presence and severity of diabetic macular oedema.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 59 eyes of 59 diabetic patients by identifying the presence (n=20) or absence (n=39) of macular oedema on stereo fundus photographs. The are

The effects of long-term heavy metal deposition on microbial community structure and the level of bacterial community tolerance were studied along two different gradients in Scandinavian coniferous forest soils. One was near the Harjavalta smelter in Finland, and one was at Ronnskar in Sweden. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis revealed a gradual change in soil microbial communities along bot

Motivation: The most common approach to estimate microbial diversity is based on the analysis of DNA sequences of specific target genes including ribosomal genes. Commonly, the sequences are grouped into operational taxonomic units based on genetic distance (sequence similarity) instead of genetic change (patristic distance). This method may fail to adequately identify clusters of evolutionary rel

The objective was to investigate the relation between serum levels of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha), the activity of an endogenous IFN-alpha inducing factor (SLE-IIF), clinical and immunological disease activity as well as serum levels of antiretroviral antibodies in SLE. Serum levels of IFN-alpha were measured in serial sera from 30 patients sampled at different stages of disease activity (SLEDAI

We study the stable attractors of a class of continuous dynamical systems that may be idealized as networks of Boolean elements, with the goal of determining which Boolean attractors, if any, are good approximations of the attractors of generic continuous systems. We investigate the dynamics in simple rings and rings with one additional self-input. An analysis of switching characteristics and puls

Dysphagia is a common symptom from the oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus, and its causes may be morphological or functional. A biphasic barium swallow is the best way of evaluating these patients. Using a careful clinical history, and by tailoring the examination to the individual case, the radiologist is usually able to pinpoint the cause of the patient's complaints and suggest further diagnosti

Several hundred specimens of a tiny olenid trilobite, Ctenopyge ceciliae sp. nov., have been found in stinkstone nodules in the upper Cambrian Peltura scarabaeoides Zone in southern Sweden. This exceptionally spinose form is known only from disarticulated specimens, but is quite well preserved, and all growth stages are represented. The early ontogenetic stages are exceptionally small, the protasp

In the wood-to-ethanol process, pretreatment of the material is necessary prior to enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain high overall yields of sugar and ethanol. Steam pretreatment of fast-growing Salix either with or without SO2 impregnation has been investigated by varying different parameters. Overall glucose yields of above 90% and overall xylose yields higher than 80% were obtained both with and wi

The aims are to study personality characteristics of patients with memory complaints and to assess the presence of objective (OMI) versus subjective (SMI) memory impairment, the affective status, as well as potential gender differences. The patients were assessed by means of a neuropsychiatric examination and a neuropsychological test-battery. The Swedish version of the revised NEO Personality Inv

The aim of this study was to develop, adjust and test two different methods for the estimation of drainage area and potential wetness in ridged fields. The methods were applied to a gridded digital elevation model (DEM) of a potato field in central Sweden. Elevation data were registered by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. A high-precision real time kinematic (RTK) system was used to rec