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Pericardial adhesions after cardiac operations are a widely known phenomenon. They may severely complicate reoperations, making reentry hazardous, increasing bleeding, and prolonging the operation time. The anatomic orientation and visibility of both bypass grafts and coronary arteries are also impaired. With the aim of minimizing pericardial adhesions after cardiac operations, we studied the cour
Hypertrophic scars (HTS) and keloids are forms of aberrant cutaneous healing with excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Current therapies still fall short and cause undesired effects. We aimed to thoroughly evaluate the ability of growth hormone releasing peptide 6 (GHRP6) to both prevent and reverse cutaneous fibrosis and to acquire the earliest proteome data supporting GHRP6's acute i
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of color Doppler ultrasound (CDU) after stenting of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) stenosis using mean arterial pressure (MAP) gradients as a reference method. Methods: This is a prospective study. Thirty-one patients underwent 51 paired measurements of MAP gradients and CDU after endovascular intervention with endopros
Although endometriosis is considered an inflammatory disease, no reliable diagnostic biomarkers exist for use in clinical practice. The aim was to investigate the inflammatory profile in endometriosis using an exploratory approach of inflammation-related proteins. Patients with laparoscopy-verified endometriosis (N = 172), women with microscopic colitis (N = 50), healthy controls (N = 31), and age
Purpose: Global megatrends such as urbanization and ageing of the population result in fast-paced demographic changes, which pose different types of challenges for different regions. While many rural municipalities bear the burden of under-used buildings, cities are in a hurry to develop new ones to meet new space demands. The purpose of this paper is to assess the potential of relocatable modular
The healthcare industry is facing various challenges due to global megatrends, such as increasing average life expectancy, ageing population, technological advancements, urbanization and globalization. Currently, outdated hospital facilities are being thoroughly renovated in large and costly projects to meet contemporary operational requirements. Renovation work in hospital environments is particu
Background: Treatment of patients with late-stage parkinsonism is often sub-optimal. Objective: To test the effectiveness of recommendations by a movement disorder specialist with expertise in late-stage parkinsonism. Methods: Ninety-one patients with late-stage parkinsonism considered undertreated were included in apragmatic a pragmatic multi-center randomized-controlled trial with six-month foll
Remote sensing has evolved to become a key tool for various fields of environmental analysis, thus actively informing policy across areas and domains. To evaluate the degree to which remote sensing is contributing to the science of ecologically-oriented urban planning, we carried out a systematic literature review using the SCOPUS database, searching for articles integrating knowledge in urban pla
Woodlands are a core component of urban green infrastructure in terms of both ecosystem service provision and areal cover, with particular relevance and potential for engaging citizens in co-management approaches. Despite widespread agreement on the importance of user participation, there is still a lack of comprehensive knowledge on the underlying drivers. Extending existing knowledge is importan
Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) have increased risk of acquiring blood-transmitted chronic viral infections such as Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) as well as increased risk of acquiring bacterial infections. We aimed to identify and describe bacteraemic episodes, their recurrence rates, predictive and prognostic factors amongst hospitalised P
The overall purpose of this thesis was to reduce brain tissue responses around implanted microelectrodes using a pharmacological strategy. One of the main aims was to develop and evaluate drug delivery systems that allow local administration of anti-inflammatory pharmaceutics. The drug Minocycline was therefore encapsulated into biodegradable poly (D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles and th
Background: Management of schizophrenia is sub-optimal in many patients. Targeting negative symptoms, among the most debilitating aspects of schizophrenia, together with positive symptoms, can result in significant functional benefits and dramatically improve quality of life for patients and their carers. Cariprazine, a partial agonist of the dopamine receptors D2/D3 has demonstrated effectiveness
Warm periods in Earth's history offer opportunities to understand the dynamics of the Earth system under conditions that are similar to those expected in the near future. The Middle Pliocene warm period (MPWP), from 3.3 to 3.0 My B.P, is the most recent time when atmospheric CO2levels were as high as today. However, climate model simulations of the Pliocene underestimate highlatitude warming that
Objective: Previous studies of the consequences of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) on the functional-structural organization of the brain has included subjects with various degrees of UHL. We suggest that the consequences of a total loss of hearing in one ear might differ from those seen in subjects with residual hearing in the affected ear. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to compare the
The establishment of introduced species in new environments is today widely acknowledged as a potential threat to biodiversity, and many plants that are known to be invasive have obviously spread from gardens. Thus, in the context of biosecurity, we need to consider how contemporary gardeners think about which plants and animals are welcome in their gardens. In this chapter we look at vegetation i
In order to assess the non-evaporative components of the reduced thermal insulation of wet clothing, experiments were performed with a manikin and with human subjects in which two layers of underwear separated by an impermeable barrier were worn under an impermeable overgarment at 20 °C, 80% RH and 0.5 ms-1 air velocity. By comparing manikin measurements with dry and wetted mid underwear layer, th
Evolutionary change in response to natural selection will occur only if a trait confers a selective advantage and there is heritable variation. Positive connections between pollen traits and fitness have been found, but few studies of heritability have been conducted, and they have yielded conflicting results. To understand better the evolutionary significance of pollen competition and its potenti
The influence of pH on the relative importance of the two principal decomposer groups in soil, fungi and bacteria, was investigated along a continuous soil pH gradient at Hoosfield acid strip at Rothamsted Research in the United Kingdom. This experimental location provides a uniform pH gradient, ranging from pH 8.3 to 4.0, within 180 m in a silty loam soil on which barley has been continuously gro
Aims/hypothesis: Mutations in hepatic nuclear factor 1alpha cause a monogenic form of diabetes, maturity onset diabetes of the young type 3 (MODY3). Our aim was 1) to assess the uptake of genetic testing for MODY3 and to determine factors affecting it, and ( 2) to compare attitudes to predictive genetic testing between families with MODY3 and a previously studied group at risk of hereditary nonpol
Objective: To compare the efficacy of adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) taking concomitant methotrexate (MTX) by calculating the number needed to treat (NNT) using three different methods. Methods: A systematic literature search of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and EMBASE was conducted from inception to 30 June 2006. Two pairs of investi
