Growth factors control cellular growth, proliferation, and differentiation and may have therapeutic applications. In this study, we focus on Meteorin which is a member of a largely uncharacterized evolutionary conserved two-member growth factor family. Our analysis shows that Meteorin is expressed in the central nervous system both during development and in adult mice. Detailed immunohistological

Increased incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs) is of major concern. However, by minimizing known risk factors, the incidence can be decreased. The aim of this investigation was to calculate the incidence and assess risk factors for CDI in our population. A 1-year prospective population-based nationwide study in Iceland of CDIs was carried out. For risk factor evaluatio

In 2001 the Bhutanese State took an important step in its process of state formation, as the country embarked on a journey that would turn it into a constitutional monarchy in 2008. This process is typically described by academics and the international media as one in which the King gave the constitution as a ‘gift’ to the people. However, there are some puzzling issues connected to this represent

We have carried out quantum mechanical (QM) and QM/MM (combined QM and molecular mechanics) calculations, as well as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the binding of a series of six RAPTA (Ru(II)-arene-1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphatricyclo-[3.3.1.1] decane) complexes with different arene substituents to cathepsin B. The recently developed QM/MM-PBSA approach (QM/MM combined with Poisson-Boltzm

Popular Abstract in Swedish Nervsystemet är sannolikt en av de mest vidunderliga strukturer som skapats i detta universum - denna avhandling hade till exempel varken kunnat skrivas eller läsas utan det. Som av en slump handlar den också om just nervsystemet och läsande och skrivande är två exempel på olika funktioner som möjliggjorts på grund av det. Även om dessa utgör funktioner som är ovanliga Bodies with multiple limbs and joints have endless possibilities to move around in their surrounding space. How the nervous system controls this amount of degrees of freedom in motor execution is a question under vigorous debate. In an ambition to explore related aspects of motor control we conducted parallel electrophysiological recordings of motor circuits in the cortex and basal ganglia in the

Transmitted drug resistance (TDR) is a clinical and epidemiological problem because it may contribute to failure of antiretroviral treatment. The prevalence of TDR varies geographically, and its prevalence in Sweden during the last decade has not been reported. Plasma samples from 1,463 patients newly diagnosed with HIV-1 infection between 2003 and 2010, representing 44% of all patients diagnosed

Andersson U, Henriksson E, Strom K, Alenfall J, Goransson O, Holm C. Rose hip exerts antidiabetic effects via a mechanism involving downregulation of the hepatic lipogenic program. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 300: E111-E121, 2011. First published October 19, 2010; doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00268.2010.-The aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic effects of a dietary supplement of powdered ro

Cell-free foetal haemoglobin (HbF) has been shown to play a role in the pathology of preeclampsia (PE). In the present study, we aimed to further characterize the harmful effects of extracellular free haemoglobin (Hb) on the placenta. In particular, we investigated whether cell-free Hb affects the release of placental syncytiotrophoblast vesicles (STBMs) and their micro-RNA content.

Fibrinogen is a key player in the blood coagulation system, and is upon activation with thrombin converted into fibrin that subsequently forms a fibrin clot. In the present study, we investigated the role of fibrinogen in the early innate immune response. Here we show that the viability of fibrinogen-binding bacteria is affected in human plasma activated with thrombin. Moreover, we found that the

Combining x-ray tomography and three-dimensional (3D) image analysis has finally opened the way for experimental micro-(geo)mechanics, allowing access to different scales of interest. When these correspond to a scale that has been imaged at high spatial resolution, high-quality measurements can be obtained (e.g. 3D displacements and rotations of individual grains of sand sample under load). Howeve

Recension av Ingrid Carlberg, ”Det står ett rum här och väntar på dig…” Berättelsen om Raoul Wallenberg och Bengt Jangfeldt, Raoul Wallenberg – en biografi.

The dissertation deals with the construction of norms of academic excellence in the Swedish discipline of history 1900-1945. The area of focus is the competition for professorial chairs in history. The legacy of the discipline viewed history as a holistic concept, binding together most humanistic disciplines. From the perspective of this legacy, the view of empirical specialization was becoming in

This paper describes various examples of blatant attempts to suppress and censor parapsychology research and those who are doing it. The examples include raising false accusations, barring access to journals, suppressing papers and data, and ostracizing and persecuting scientists interested in the topic. The intensity of fear and vituperation caused by parapsychology research is disproportionate e

The present article discusses the Central Swedish word accents – Accent 1 and Accent 2 – and their productive association to suffixes from the point of view of prediction theories of speech processing. Based on recent neurophysiological findings, we propose that both word accents are used predictively, but that Accent 1 is more ‘predictively useful’ than Accent 2, due to the fact that Accent 1 ste

The high spin states in the Ce-139 nucleus have been studied by in-beam gamma-spectroscopic techniques using the reaction Te-130(C-12,3n)Ce-139 at E-beam=65 MeV. A gamma detector array, consisting of five Compton-suppressed Clover detectors was used for coincidence measurements. 15 new levels have been proposed and 28 new gamma transitions have been assigned to Ce-139 on the basis of gamma gamma c

In Skaraborg, Sweden, the economic responsibility for tax-financed prescription drug costs was transferred from the regional administrative level to the local level (health care centre; HCC) in 2003. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of this decentralization of economic responsibility on adherence to guidelines for prescribing lipid-lowering drugs. Data from all 24 public HCCs in

If we know that certain ways of making decisions are associated with real-life success, is this then how we should decide? In this paper the relationship between normative and descriptive theories of decision-making is examined. First, it is shown that the history of the decision sciences ensures that it is impossible to separate descriptive theories from normative ones. Second, recent psychologic

Sjögren's syndrome is a systemic autoimmune disease that frequently presents concomitantly with other systemic connective tissue or organ-specific autoimmune diseases. This association is well described for systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. The presence of Sjögren's syndrome influences the expression of the other autoimmune disease to some degree, for instance by increasing fa