BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence that traffic-related air pollution is a risk factor for allergic conditions. Few studies have investigated this in adults. In adults, a high proportion of asthma, rhinitis and eczema is triggered by non-allergic factors. We investigated traffic as a risk factor for allergic versus non-allergic asthma and rhinitis, and eczema, in adults. A questionnaire fro

Peri-urban development has in recent years been given increasing attention in different regions all over the world. Peri-urban areas are defined as zones of conflict or competition where new and traditional land uses collide with outer reaches demarcated by daily commuting distances based on common modes of transport into urban cores. In this article an effort to compare peri-urban development in

Background and purpose Prosthetic joint infections can be caused by bacteria derived from the patient's skin. The aim of the study was: (1) to determine which bacteria colonize the nose and groin in patients planned for primary hip or knee arthroplasty, (2) to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns, and (3) to monitor changes in bacterial colonization and resistance patterns connected to

The development of a miniaturised silicon wafer integrated enzyme reactor is described. The reactor was micromachined by anisotropic wet etching of (110) silicon. The enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx) was coupled to the reactor surface with standard methods of immobilising enzyme to silica. The glucose turn-over rate was monitored following a colourimetric assay. The advantage, in terms of high surface

Most songbirds depart from stopover sites after sunset and migrate during the night. Several recent studies have reported larger variation in departure time than previously thought; yet, it is still unclear which factors govern departure timing. We investigated the departure timing of four species of nocturnally migrating songbirds using an automated radiotelemetry system at Falsterbo peninsula in

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Proper patient selection is of outmost importance in surgical treatment of degenerative disc disease (DDD) with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Among other factors gender was previously found to influence lumbar fusion surgery outcome.PURPOSE: This study investigates whether gender affects clinical outcome after lumbar fusion.STUDY DESIGN: National registry cohort study PATIENT S

BACKGROUND: While psychosocial theory claims that socioeconomic status (SES), acting through social comparisons, has an important influence on susceptibility to disease, materialistic theory says that socioeconomic position (SEP) and related access to material resources matter more. However, the relative role of SEP versus SES in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk has still not been

Vägen till en ätstörning, som exempelvis anorexia nervosa eller hetsätningsstörning leder alltid förbi ett gränsland där energiintaget stegvis förändras. Kanske stoppar man i sig aningen mindre mat på måndagen än man gjorde på söndagen och på tisdagen lite mindre än på måndagen. Eller kanske man frivilligt stoppar fingrarna i halsen någon gång när man känner att man har ätit för mycket. Detta gränThe path to an eating disorder (ED) always leads through a borderland, which, in this thesis, is referred to as disordered eating (DE) (Neumark-Sztainer, Wall, Eisenberg, Story, & Hannan, 2006; Waaddegaard, Thoning, & Petersson, 2003). In this borderland, people tend to make unhealthy eating choices, such as greatly reducing their food intake, self-inducing vomiting, or engaging in binge e

Stress-laminated-timber (SLT) bridge decks are a valid alternative to conventional short- and medium-span bridges in terms of cost and performance. SLT decks are made from a number of planks or glulam beams positioned side by side and stressed together using high-strength steel bars. A concentrated load can therefore be distributed from the loaded beams onto adjacent beams due to the resisting fri

Consumers of services that are financed by a third party, such as publicly financed health care or firm-sponsored health plans, are often allowed to freely choose provider. The rationale is that consumer choice may improve the matching of consumers and providers and spur quality competition. Such improvements are contingent on consumers having access to comparative information about providers and