The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of intravascular ultrasound to diagnose tumor involvement of the portal and the superior mesenteric veins using the preoperative percutaneous, transhepatic approach, and to compare the findings with those made at concomitant direct portography, surgery, and histopathological examination. Ten patients with a preoperative diagnosis of a resectable tu

Objectives: To investigate the degree of bacterial contamination in the sternal wound during cardiac surgery and the sternal skin flora after operation in order to increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of sternal wound infections. Design: Prospective study where cultures were taken peri- and postoperatively from sternal wounds and skin. Setting: University Hospital. Patients: 201 cardiac

The molecular basis of the three major alleles (Fy(a)/Fy(b)/Fy) of the Duffy (FY) blood group system has recently been established but the Fy(x) phenotype associated with weak expression of the Fy(b) and other FY antigens is poorly understood. In the Fy(x) genes of five unrelated British and Swedish donors with the Fy(a+b+weak) phenotype we found two missense mutations predicting amino acid change

We show that the governing equations for two-dimensional water waves with constant vorticity can be formulated as a canonical Hamiltonian system, in which one of the canonical variables is the surface elevation. This generalizes the well-known formulation due to Zakharov [32] in the irrotational case.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the management of women with abnormal cytology in terms of subsequent risk of invasive cervical cancer. STUDY DESIGN: The screening histories of all invasive cervical cancer cases diagnosed in Sweden 1999-2001 and of 5 population-based controls per case were reviewed. In all, 159 patients and 258 control subjects aged < 67 years had an abnormal smear result 0.5-6.5

We demonstrated previously that leukotriene D-4 (LTD4) regulates proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells through a CysLT receptor by protein kinase C (PKC)epsilon-dependent stimulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK1/2. Our current study provides the first evidence that LTD4 can activate 90-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase (p90(RSK)) and cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB) via

Results of calorimetric measurements are easily impaired by different kinds of systematic errors. Isothermal micro- and nanocalorimeters are particularly sensitive to such errors, as the measured thermal powers are very low. In this paper the occurrence and effects of such errors are discussed: calibration errors, baseline errors, problems with evaporation/condensation, sorption, pV-work, gaseous

EPIC-Heart is the cardiovascular component of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition ( EPIC), a multi-centre prospective cohort study investigating the relationship between nutrition and major chronic disease outcomes. Its objective is to advance understanding about the separate and combined influences of lifestyle ( especially dietary), environmental, metabolic and genet

The brightness discrimination ability of a mate harbor seal was investigated at an ambient illumination of 0.9 lx. The visual stimuli consisted of circular gray discs that were presented on a black background on a TFT monitor. Eight standard intensities were tested against sets of lower comparison intensities. In accordance with Weber's law we observed a constant gain of the just noticeable intens

Background: Impairment of sinus ostial function is considered an important factor in the pathophysiology of sinus disease. The use of the decongestants such as alpha2-agonists is thought to improve sinus ostial function. Previous studies have shown an effect of alpha2-agonists on maxillary sinus ostial function only when administered in nasal bellows, but not as a nasal spray or nasal drops. The e

Purpose. To describe activity level, operationalized as ADL capacity and performance of occupations, and occupational balance, operationalized as time use and satisfaction with occupations, in women with limited systemic sclerosis, and to investigate the relationship between these occupational factors and disease characteristics, demographic variables and well-being. Method. Forty-four women of w

Aims/hypothesis: The HLA class II DQB1*0602 allele confers strong dominant protection against type 1 diabetes but protection is not absolute. The aim of this study was to identify markers within the HLA region that differentiate DQB1*0602 haplotypes and show different associations with disease risk. Methods: We defined alleles at eight microsatellite markers spanning the HLA region in a case-contr

The present study aimed to explore secondary school students' needs in relation to sexual and reproductive health in order to inform efforts to improve the quality of health services available to young people. The study involved data collection from 716 11-22-year-old students in four secondary schools in an urban area in Zambia. Students completed a questionnaire and were invited to write down an

Stamp fabrication for nanoimprinting can be significantly simplified, when specialized crosslinking polymers are applied to pattern definition. The polymer patterns can be used as stamps themselves. Two possibilities are reported: (1) An e-beam sensitive resist was developed, which enables the fabrication of polymer-on-silicon stamps. Patterns with a feature size of 70 nm could be created. (2) Ful

Objective: The aim was to translate, test, and describe aspects of reliability and validity of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) in Swedish (FSS-Swe) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: Patients with stable SLE, low or moderate disease activity, and low organ damage were included. Forward and back translations of the FSS were performed. Construct validity was tested with 3

When the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine was introduced in the 1920s, it was suggested that BCG occasionally had nonspecific beneficial effects on mortality beyond the specific protection against tuberculosis. Considering that BCG has since then become the most used vaccine in the world, surprisingly few studies have been undertaken into the effect of BCG on general mortality and morbidity.

We have previously described the efficient guidance and unidirectional sliding of actin filaments along nanosized tracks with adsorbed heavy meromyosin (HMM; myosin II motor fragment). In those experiments, the tracks were functionalized with trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and surrounded by hydrophilic areas. Here we first show, using in vitro motility assays on no