Individuals identified in the Swedish neonatal alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) screening study were followed prospectively from their first to their eighteenth year of life. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of environmental factors, i.e. active and passive smoking, and of clinical factors on lung function and the occurrence of respiratory symptoms in AAT-deficient adolescents. The study gr

We evaluated a Swedish version of a self-administered disease-specific outcome questionnaire for carpal tunnel syndrome regarding reliability, validity and responsiveness to clinical change. It consists of multi-item scales assessing symptom severity, function, patient satisfaction and quality of life. It was given to 102 patients before and 3 months after carpal tunnel release. Test-retest reliab

X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome (X-HIM) is an immunodeficiency caused by mutations in the gene encoding the CD40 ligand (CD40L). A database (CD40Lbase) of CD40L mutations has now been established, and the resultant information, together with other mutations reported elsewhere in the literature, is presented here.

In this paper we extend Merton's (Rev. Econom. Stud. 42 (1975) 375) classic stochastic version of the Ramsey model by allowing the government to control the expected growth rate of the labor supply. We characterize the solution to this control problem for general time-separable preferences, and derive an analytical solution for the CRRA case. The results show to what extent the planner, or governm

α-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22) and β-mannosidase (EC 3.2.1.25) participate in the hydrolysis of complex plant saccharides such as galacto(gluco)mannans. Here we report on the cloning and characterization of genes encoding an α-galactosidase (AglC) and a β-mannosidase (MndA) from Aspergillus niger. The aglC and mndA genes code for 747 and 931 amino acids, respectively, including the eukaryotic signa

Clinical trials involving intrastriatal transplants of human embryonic mesencephalic tissue have provided proof-of-principle that nigral dopamine (DA) neurons can survive and functionally integrate into the host neural circuitry. However, the degree of graft-induced symptomatic relief differs significantly between the patients. This variability has led to investigations aimed at identifying factor

This report contains research summaries of the 17 PhD projects that were active at the Department of Automatic Control in June 1999.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of environmental and inherited factors influencing the progression of insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion leading to chronically elevated blood glucose levels. The aim of this thesis was to functionally and genetically characterise the species-conserved diabetes locus Niddm1i of the GK rat encoding hyperglycaemia and defect insulin secretion

Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most common reason for outpatient antimicrobial therapy. Mixed infections pose a potential problem, since the first-line drug used for the treatment of AOM, amoxicillin, can be neutralized by ß-lactamase-producing pathogens of the upper respiratory tract. To study the effects of a 5-day course of amoxicillin on a mixed middle ear infection, rats were challenged with

When evaluating drug substances, the traditional clinical study setting does not allow scope for observing real-life behaviour since all alternative actions are determined beforehand. However, a study based on prospective or retrospective databases containing real-life data can examine how patients and physicians behave in a real-world setting and can investigate the relationship between the intro

Diabasbrottet, selected by the International Subcommisson on Ordovician Stratigraphy and in 2002 ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy as the GSSP of the Second (Upper) Stage of the Lower Ordovician, is located on the Hunneberg Mountain in southwestern Sweden. The stratigraphic succession represents an outer shelf environment near the Baltic Shield margin. The shale-dominated, b

A treatment plant using conventional biological treatment combined with hydroponics and microalgae is constructed in a greenhouse in the area of Stockholm, Sweden. The treatment plant is built for research purposes and presently treats 0.559 m(3) of domestic wastewater from the surrounding area per day. The system uses anoxic pre-denitrification followed by aerobic tanks for nitrification and plan

Biosensor techniques are based on biospecific interaction between the biological parts of biosensor with the analyte. In biosensor construction, antibodies are usually used for the detection of analytes such as microorganism, because of very strong and highly specific interaction. The disadvantages of this assay are a long time needed for antibody isolation and purification as well as difficult re