BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have shown that exposure to air pollutants in the area of residence and the socio-economic status of an individual may be related. Therefore, when conducting an epidemiological study on the health effect of air pollution, socio-economy may act as a confounding factor. In this paper we examine to what extent socio-economic status and concentrations of NO2 in the county/

We determined plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in 131 patients (95 males, 36 females, mean age 71 years) 6 months after acute stroke onset. Compared to a reference population, the alterations of plasma lipid concentrations in stroke patients were moderate. However, the stroke patients had higher levels of triglyceride and lipoprotein (a) and lower concentrations of cholesterol, high den

Den övergripande målsättningen med projektet har varit att utifrån en prototyp av OE-staven ta fram ett fungerande mätsystem som håller jämförbar standard med dagens RF-mätningar. OE-metoden har visat sig uppfylla dessa krav och samtidigt vara ett kraftfullt verktyg för mätningar av RF-profiler i betongkonstruktioner. OE-metoden lämpar sig bäst att användas i svårbemästrade mätsituationer samt i s

Lumenal entry of plasma (mucosal exudation) is a key feature of airway inflammation. In airways challenged with histamine-type mediators and allergen the mucosal exudation response occurs without causing epithelial derangement and without increased airway absorption. In contrast, reactive oxygen metabolites may cause mucosal damage. In this study, involving guinea-pig airways, we have examined eff

A method for determining transition matrices for inhomogeneous dielectric shells is presented. The source can be either inside or outside the shell. The method is based upon expansions of the electric and magnetic fields in vector spherical harmonics. The expansion coefficients in the shell satisfy a system of linear ordinary differential equations in the radial direction. The expansion coefficien

Evidence-based medicine is a corner stone in treatment decision making and large randomised, clinical trials are usually designed in order-to provide highly significant results. This study was conducted in order to find out to what extend a "real life" patient population with obstructive lung disease could fit into criteria commonly used in clinical research trials. As a secondary aim of the study

Caloplaca sqtthfca Khodosovtsev & Sschting is described from Ukrainian Artemisia - Festuca steppes near the Black Sea. It grows on twigs of small shrubs of Halocnemum strobilaceum and Limonium sp.on salty soils, and is characterued by greenish grey areoles or squamules with punctiform to confluent soralia and zeorine apothecia with a conspicuous white pruina.

The objective of the CELLION project is radiation research at low doses. The main cell responses to low dose irradiation are bystander effects, genomic instability and adaptive responses. In order to study these effects it is convenient to make the cells addressable in space and time through locking the cell position. A new alternative dish has been developed for irradiation procedures at the Lund

Popular Abstract in Swedish Under de senaste åren har nödvändigheten att ta hänsyn till utsatta grupper i den svenska befolkningen och deras varierande behov lyfts fram i rapporter och utredningar om utformningen av vård och rehabilitering av äldre. En sådan utsatt grupp är äldre teckenspråkliga döva. Svårigheten att kommunicera, i kombination med åldersrelaterade sjukdomar, funktionsbegränsningarVery little is known about the consequences of aging and the wellbeing of deaf sign language users. This thesis contributes to filling this knowledge gap. The overarching aim was to gain further understanding and to increase the knowledge about quality of life, in terms of subjective wellbeing and health, activity and social contacts, among older deaf sign language users. After having established

Popular Abstract in Swedish Att klara sig trots allt: Den sociala och produktiva dynamiken hos småbönderna i de halvtorra områdena i Iringa i norra Tanzania. Det är inte lätt att överleva som småbonde i de halvtorra områdena i Iringa och på liknande platser i Afrika. Man kontrollerar knappast sin egen livssituation. Regnen är opålitliga, priser, marknadsföring och politiska ingrepp är oförutsägbaWhile much of semi-arid Africa is still sparsely populated with unused land, there are everywhere pockets of high and increasing population density in attractive locations. Small-scale farmers can respond to beginning land-scarcity in a number of ways. Through migration, through diversification of livelihoods, or through changes in their farming system. Which solution is chosen, depends not only o

The polyamine synthesis enzyme spermidine synthase (SPDS) has been cloned from the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Biochemical characterisation of the recombinantly expressed protein revealed a high degree of similarity to other eukaryotic SPDS with the exception of a low affinity towards the substrate decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine (K-m = 110 mu M) and a less pronounced feedback inhib

We have studied the reaction mechanism for the insertion of Mg2+ and Fe2+ into a porphyrin ring with density functional calculations with large basis set and including solvation, zero-point and thermal effects. We have followed the reaction from the outer-sphere complex, in which the metal is coordinated with six water molecules and the porphyrin is doubly protonated, until the metal ion is insert

The bismuth spectrum emitted from a hollow cathode discharge has been recorded with a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). Accurate wavelengths have been determined for 104 lines, and several new energy levels have been found, while the accuracy of previously known level energies have been improved. The hyperfine structure of all observed lines has been analyzed, yielding hyperfine constants A an

Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) is an esterase and lipase, which are essential for spermatogenesis. Two HSL mRNAs are expressed in human testis. A long form is encoded by a testis-specific exon and nine exons common to testis and adipocyte HSL. Here we show that the short-form 3.3-kb mRNA possesses a unique 5' end that is transcribed from a novel testis-specific exon. The corresponding protein is s

The current Spark Ignited (SI) engine equipped with three-way catalyst offers low emissions, but has low efficiency at part load, which results in unnecessarily high CO2 emissions. The Compression Ignited (CI) engines have higher efficiency and hence lower CO2 emissions, but suffer from higher Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions, and no three-way catalyst can be used. Large