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Background. Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-coinfected individuals is challenging. We hypothesized that combinations of inflammatory markers could facilitate identification of active TB in HIV-positive individuals. Methods. Participants were HIV-positive, treatment-naive adults systematically investigated for TB at Ethiopian health centers. Plasma samples from

Background: The 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-16) is a well-validated and widely-used measure of cognitive changes (CCs) among older adults. This study aimed to use Rasch methodology to establish psychometric properties of the IQCODE-16 and validate the existing ordinal-to-interval transformation algorithms across multiple large samples. Methods: A Par

We have estimated free energies for the binding of eight carboxylate ligands to two variants of the octa-acid deep-cavity host in the SAMPL6 blind-test challenge (with or without endo methyl groups on the four upper-rim benzoate groups, OAM and OAH, respectively). We employed free-energy perturbation (FEP) for relative binding energies at the molecular mechanics (MM) and the combined quantum mecha

In this thesis focus is on two aims: 1) to investigate the emergence and establishment of medieval rural archaeology as an archaeological field of study, from the 1930’s up until today and 2) based on the results made in this study, to discuss generally how new subject areas are incorporated and maintained within the humanities. Thus, the scope of the thesis does not lie on the medieval period wit

This thesis deals mainly with biocatalysed methods for stereoselective reduction. D-(S)-chlorolactic acid was produced by both microbial and electromicrobial reduction of chloropyruvate using whole cells of Proteus vulgaris and an artificial electron mediator. The electron donor was formate, hydrogen gas or the cathode in an electrochemical cell. Since chloropyruvate was susceptible to mediator de

BACKGROUND: Health-economic models of diabetes are complex since the disease is chronic, progressive and there are many diabetic complications. External validation of these models helps building trust and satisfies demands from decision makers. We evaluated the external validity of the IHE Cohort Model of Type 2 Diabetes; the impact of using alternative macrovascular risk equations; and compared t

Background: Tibial osteotomy is a treatment for younger and/or physically active patients suffering from uni-compartmental knee osteoarthritis. The open wedge osteotomy by the hemicallotasis technique includes the use of external fixation. The use of external fixation has several advantages, as early mobilization and the opportunity for optimal correction. However, the hemicallotasis technique has

With the exponential growth of the World Wide Web, automated subject classification of Web pages has become a major research issue in information and computer sciences. Organizing Web pages into a hierarchical structure for subject browsing is gaining more recognition as an important tool in information-seeking processes. In this thesis, different automated classification approaches, focusing on

OBJECTIVE: Umbilical cord acid-base analysis is fundamental for assessing intrapartum hypoxia. The accuracy of arterial umbilical cord blood lactate, pH and base deficit to reflect a low 5-minute Apgar score and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) stage 2-3 was assessed, and new gestational age-adjusted reference standards were compared with traditional stationary reference values. DESIGN AND SA

Background: In a microarray experiment the difference in expression between genes on the same slide is up to 103 fold or more. At low expression, even a small error in the estimate will have great influence on the final test and reference ratios. In addition to the true spot intensity the scanned signal consists of different kinds of noise referred to as background. In order to assess the true spo

Drought is a significant natural hazard that severely challenges water resource management and agricultural sustainability. This study aims to propose a novel approach for predicting streamflow drought indices (SDI-3, SDI-6, and SDI-12) in humid continental (Stockholm) and semi-arid (ELdiem) climates at different time-steps. The approach utilizes a Quantile Regression Neural Network (QRNN) coupled

In 2015 the EU introduced Directive 2015/720 on the reduction of the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags creating the first transnational agreement on plastic bag issue in the world. This Directive sets the scope within which Member States will design their own policies in order to reach a significant reduction in the plastic bag consumption over the following years. Greece is one of t

After more than a century of colonial subjugation by the United States, Puerto Rico’s stunted development model has finally collapsed. As a result, the island is currently facing one of the worst economic crises in its history. Despite the United States’ continued affirmation of its political dominance over Puerto Rico, it has largely placed the blame for the crisis on Puerto Ricans themselves, ac

Children who witness violence against a parent falls victim to a form of mental abuse. The children often react in fear, anxiety and sadness. Children who witness violence are as much in need of help and support as those children who are themselves victims of violence. A person who is subjected to violence by their partners in Sweden have an opportunity to seek protection. With the help of social

In recent years, Deep Learning has proven to be an outstanding tool in the field of computer vision showing promising results in different fields such as the analysis of medical images, obstacle detection for self-driving cars, automatic image caption generation, etc. In the case of Archaeology, the adoption of these methods in the detection of archaeological structures from aerial images has been

Kan risk för benbrott spås med artificiell intelligens? Höftfrakturer, framförallt benbrott av lårbenshalsen, är ofta ett resultat av benskörhet. Benbrotten drabbar främst äldre personer och leder till sämre livskvalitet; de är även förknippade med högre dödlighet, så hög som 18-33% första året. Även om benskörhet ökar risken för benbrott, är inte alla drabbade bensköra. För att kunna förhindra eOsteoporosis is a bone disease that is defined as low bone mineral density (BMD) and results in an increased risk of bone fracture. It is a serious public health problem that causes excess mortality and major economical and social impact. Today there are more than 8.9 million fractures connected to low bone mineral density worldwide. Hip fractures are of particular concern since they are associate

I denna kandidatuppsats undersöks rättsläget i Sverige gällande surrogatmoderskap med det huvudsakliga syftet att granska hur surrogatarrangemangets centralt berörda intressen återspeglas i befintlig lagstiftning och SOU 2016:11. Surrogatmoderskap är en form av assisterad befruktning och innebär att en kvinna genomgår graviditet och förlossning med avsikten att sedan lämna ifrån sig barnet. I svThis bachelor thesis examines the legal situation regarding surrogacy in Sweden, with the main purpose to review how the key interests of a surrogacy arrangement are reflected in current legislation and the public investigation SOU 2016:11. Surrogacy is a form of assisted fertilization and means that a woman goes through pregnancy and childbirth with the intention to hand over the child. Swedish

Ett av livets största beslut är beslutet om föräldraskap. Det är dessutom ett beslut som i slutändan görs av modern, eftersom det är hon som tar beslutet om abort. Härigenom uppstår en situation som inte är jämställd, vilket har orsakat en viss debatt den senaste tiden. Debatten gäller huruvida det bör finnas en rätt för fadern att göra en så kallad juridisk abort, alltså en möjlighet att avsäga sThe choice to become a parent is not an easy one to make, moreover it is today a choice more likely to be made by the mother. She has the opportunity of abortion, whereas the father can’t affect his becoming a parent after the moment of conception. This constitutes a situation of inequality between the sexes, which this year has caused a debate to arise in social media as well as in news papers. I