Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a widely used tool for studying brain function in vivo. The technique is based on acquiring brain images sensitive to the physiological response following neural activation, and hence, allows brain activity to be examined and documented. In this thesis, methods for fMRI mapping of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) are optimised and subsequent

Objectives: This paper describes the dietary intake of total fat, saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and cholesterol of participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) in 27 centres across 10 countries. Methods: Between 1995 and 2000, a stratified random sample of 36 034 participants (age range 35-74 years) complet

Recent genome-wide association studies have described many loci implicated in type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathophysiology and beta-cell dysfunction but have contributed little to the understanding of the genetic basis of insulin resistance. We hypothesized that genes implicated in insulin resistance pathways might be uncovered by accounting for differences in body mass index (BMI) and potential interact

This issue of RIG has its starting point in a colloqium in Stockholm, held in october 2008 concerning the futures av ethnology. The participants discussed several problems and opportunities. One problem is fewer and fewer applications to basic education, another the question of employability. Ethnologists are well suited for different jobs but we have difficulties communicating it. On the other ha

Popular Abstract in Swedish Ungefär 22 000 svenskar lever i dag med Parkinsons sjukdom som är en hjärnsjukdom där särskilda nervceller som normalt producerar signalsubstansen dopamin dör av okänd anledning. Dessa nervceller har en viktig funktion eftersom de möjliggör vår rörelseförmåga och brist på dopamin leder till rörelsenedsättning där patienten uppvisar symptomen långsamhet, skakningar, muskParkinson’s disease is a brain disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, resulting in the characteristic motor symptoms: resting tremor, rigidity, akinesia and postural instability. Symptomatic treatment is based on reconstituting the loss of dopamine in the brain, primarily by oral administration of its precursor L-DOPA. Although this drug is effective in the early y

Background: Epidemiological studies that assess the health effects of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution are used to inform public policy. These studies rely on exposure models that use data collected from pollution monitoring sites to predict exposures at subject locations. Land-use regression (LUR) and universal kriging (UK) have been suggested as potential prediction methods. We evalua

NILE ("New Improvements for Lignocellulosic Ethanol") was an integrated European project (2005-2010) devoted to the conversion of lignocellulosic raw materials to ethanol. The main objectives were to design novel enzymes suitable for the hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose and new yeast strains able to efficiently converting all the sugars present in lignocellulose into ethanol. The project also in

We describe RosettaRemodel, a generalized framework for flexible protein design that provides a versatile and convenient interface to the Rosetta modeling suite. RosettaRemodel employs a unified interface, called a blueprint, which allows detailed control over many aspects of flexible backbone protein design calculations. RosettaRemodel allows the construction and elaboration of customized protoco

microRNAs (miRNAs) are widespread regulators of gene expression, but little is known of their potential roles in congenital muscular dystrophy type 1A (MDC1A). MDC1A is a severe form of muscular dystrophy caused by mutations in the gene encoding laminin α2 chain. To gain insight into the pathophysiological roles of miRNAs associated with MDC1A pathology, laminin α2 chain-deficient mice were evalua

The last several decades have seen an increase in male infertility concomitant with a decline in the birth sex ratio. The conditions are believed to be linked to increased exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), including the persistent organic pollutants or lifestyle factors e.g. smoking. The mechanism behind the lowered birth sex ratio is unknown, but might be due to an EDC-induced sk

The connection between the electronic polarizability and the decrease of the system size from macroscopic solid to nanoscale clusters has been addressed in a combined experimental and model-calculation study. A beam of free neutral potassium chloride clusters has been probed using synchrotron-radiation-based photoelectron spectroscopy. The introduction of "effective" polarizability for chlorine, l

Personal cooling systems (PCS) have been developed to mitigate the impact of severe heat stress for humans working in hot environments. It is still a great challenge to develop PCSs that are portable, inexpensive, and effective. We studied the performance of a new hybrid PCS incorporating both ventilation fans and phase change materials (PCMs). The cooling efficiency of the newly developed PCS was

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a highly disabling disease affecting all structures of the joint. Understanding the pathology behind the development of RA is essential for developing targeted therapeutic strategies as well as for developing novel markers to predict disease onset. Several molecules normally hidden within the cartilage tissue are exposed to complement components in the synovial fluid u

Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Contractile receptor changes have been observed in several vascular diseases. The intracellular mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways are suggested to be associated with receptor upregulation. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the status of vascular and bronchial receptor chang

Background: Overweight is reported as a side effect of SDR. The aims were to study the development of weight, height and body mass index (BMI) during five years after SDR. Methods: This prospective, longitudinal and practice-based study included all 56 children with CP spastic diplegia undergoing SDR from the start in March 1993 to April 2003 in our hospital. The preoperative Gross Motor Function

We present an extensive experimental and theoretical study of the proximity effect in InAs nanowires connected to superconducting electrodes. We fabricate and investigate devices with suspended gate-controlled nanowires and nonsuspended nanowires, with a broad range of lengths and normal-state resistances. We analyze the main features of the current-voltage characteristics: the Josephson current,