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Recent reports from worldwide pulmonary hypertension registries show a new demographic picture for patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), with an increasing prevalence among the elderly. We aimed to investigate the effects of age and comorbidity on risk stratification and outcome of patients with incident IPAH. The study population (n=264) was categorised into four age gr

Objectives: The literature has highlighted the importance of identifying symptoms predictive of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in women, in addition to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The objective was to study subjective health problems, in relation to later AMI, in a large sample of women, adjusted for age, educational status, smoking, waist/hip ratio, blood pressure, total cholester

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an autoimmune bleeding disorder characterized by increased peripheral immune platelet destruction and megakaryocyte defects in the bone marrow. Although ITP was originally thought to be primarily due to antibody-mediated autoimmunity, it is now clear that T cells also play a significant role in the disease. However, the exact interplay between platelet destruction,

Plastic is a versatile material that has contributed to numerous product innovations and convenience in everyday life. However, plastic production is growing at an alarming rate, and so has the generation of plastic waste. Unsound waste management results in plastic leakage to the environment with multiple adverse effects to ecosystems. Incineration of plastic waste produces excessive greenhouse g

Background: Ventriculitis is a serious complication when using external ventricular drains (EVDs). Bactericidal silver coating has been reported to reduce risk of infection. In the clinical setting, the diagnosis is often made based on symptoms and analyses of cerebrospinal fluid, with treatment initiated before infection is verified by culture. The bactericidal effect might not correlate with a r

Aim: To determine if age is a factor influencing the type of breast cancer surgery (radical versus conservative) in Italy and to investigate the regional differences in breast cancer surgery clinical practice. Methods: Retrospective study is based on national hospital discharge records. The study draws on routinely collected data from hospital discharge records in Italy in 2010. The following excl

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to assess reproductive outcomes, especially birthweight, and the consumption of fatty fish from the Baltic Sea, contaminated with persistent organochlorine compounds, among women from the Swedish east coast.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cohorts of fishermen's wives from the Swedish east and west coasts were established and linked to the Swedish Medical Birth Regist

The Na(+)- and Cl(-)-dependent GABA-betaine transporter (BGT1) has received attention mostly as a protector against osmolarity changes in the kidney and as a potential controller of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain. Nevertheless, the cellular distribution of BGT1, and its physiological importance, is not fully understood. Here we have quantified mRNA levels using TaqMan real-time PCR, produc

This thesis consists of four papers. In the first paper, we study the isotonic regression estimator over a general countable preordered set. We obtain the limiting distribution of the estimator and study its properties. Also, it is shown that the isotonisation preserves the rate of convergence of the underlying estimator. We apply these results to the problems of estimation of a bimonotone regress

Aims: It has in recent years been established that epigenetic changes contribute to β-cell dysfunction and type 2 diabetes (T2D). For example, we have showed that the expression of histone deacetylase 7 (HDAC7) is increased in pancreatic islets of individuals with T2D and that increased levels of Hdac7 in β-cells impairs insulin secretion. The HDAC inhibitor MC1568 rescued this secretory impairmen

The effect of omega-3 fatty acids on platelet aggregation and coagulation is highly unclear. Studies both support and refute the impacts of omega-3 fatty acids on prolonged bleeding time and platelet inhibition as well as its purported positive effects on cardiovascular disease. In a previous pilot study we suggested an inhibition of platelet aggregation measured with multiple electrode aggregomet

Our everyday experiences show that the lack of needed information in various human affairs may give rise to consequences that we would like to avoid – e.g. the 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia. However, we still do not have a coherent theoretical body that addresses such experiences of information inadequacy as this changes everything in respect to the current conception of the information society,

Objectives: Enterococcal bacteremia can be complicated by infective endocarditis (IE) and when suspected, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) should be performed. The previously published NOVA score can identify patients with enterococcal bacteremia at risk for IE and we aimed to improve the score. Methods: Factors associated with IE were studied retrospectively in a population-based cohort of

Single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-A) analyses are increasingly being introduced in routine genetic diagnostics of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Despite this, only few studies that have compared the diagnostic value of SNP-A with conventional chromosome banding have been published. We here report such a comparison of 296 ALL cases, the largest series to date. Only genomic imbalances >

Objectives: Constant infusion lumbar infusion test (LIT) is an important way to find which patients, of those with signs and symptoms corresponding to normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) who will improve from shunt operation. LIT is a stress test on the ability for cerebrospinal fluid re-absorbtion. The aim of this study is to show how the information from LIT can be improved by quantitative analy