Hypothesis Chitosan and sulfated oat β-glucan are materials suitable to create a prebiotic coating for targeted delivery to gastrointestinal system, using the layer by layer technology. Experiment Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to assess the multilayer formation capacity and characterize the resultin

Phthalates and phenolic substances were investigated in urine samples from first-time mothers in Uppsala, Sweden, collected between 2009 and 2014. These substances have a comparably fast metabolism and urinary metabolites are predominantly analysed. The main aim was to investigate if measures to decrease production and use of certain phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) have resulted in decreased huma

This article presents a study on concrete alteration mechanisms due to 55 years of exposure to river water. Many hydro power structures in cold regions suffer from concrete deterioration at the waterline. Progressive disintegration of the concrete surface leads to exposure of the coarse aggregate and eventually the reinforcing steel. Concrete cylinders drilled out at four vertically different loca

The most common pediatric malignancy is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), of which T-cell ALL (T-ALL) comprises 10–15% of cases. T-ALL arises in the thymus from an immature thymocyte as a consequence of a stepwise accumulation of genetic and epigenetic aberrations. Crucial biological processes, such as differentiation, self-renewal capacity, proliferation, and apoptosis, are targeted and derange

Let N be the number of members in a population. Fix any real number A≥2. We present a sequential search algorithm to estimate the exact value of N, with an error probability of at most exp(−A)+exp(−2A)+exp(−3A), regardless of the value of N.

The introduction of distributed control systems and the high level of interconnectivity of modern process plants has caused alarm flooding to become one of the main problems in alarm management of process plants. A reduction of alarm flood periods contributes to a decrease in plant incidents. In this work, a combination of alarm log, process data and connectivity analysis is used to isolate conseq

The hysteretic behavior of flashback (FB) and flash forward (FF) in methane and natural gas flames, stabilized by a low swirl fuel injector, is investigated using high speed OH* chemiluminescence and particle image velocimetry. Due to the lack of vortex breakdown, the two mechanisms discussed are boundary layer and turbulence induced FB. Two hysteresis cycles were identified, one when FB is induce

Many species that are typical of calcareous, semi-natural grasslands (“typical grassland species”) are declining in Europe as a result of habitat-loss and -fragmentation. Whereas populations of these species are expected to be largest in old semi-natural grasslands, these species may also occur in successional grasslands on previously arable fields. We used a space-for-time approach to analyse cha

Aims and objectives To explore healthy older patients' perceptions of their own capacity to regain pre-fracture function in the acute phase following hip fracture surgery. Background The incidence of hip fractures is expected to increase. In Sweden, of the patients who sustain a hip fracture, 40 per cent are healthy and lived independently pre fracture. However, a hip fracture often results in dec

Kunskapsluckor kvar i studien av servicescapes, eftersom befintlig forskning på servicescapes tenderar att ignorera stora framsteg i förståelsen av tid och rum som sociala fenomen. En aspekt som särskilt kräver ytterligare studier är hur nya begränsningar påverkar kundernas interaktioner med organiserade serviceplatser. Tidsgeografi tillvägagångssätt därför tillämpas på nuvarande servicescape forsKnowledge gaps remain in the study of servicescapes, since existing research on servicescapes tends to ignore major advances in the understanding of space and time as social phenomena. One aspect that particularly requires further study is how emerging constraints influence customers’ interactions with organized service places. The time-geography approach was therefore applied to the current servi

Activated sludge processes (ASPs) consisting of a plug-flow reactor (PFR) and a settler are analyzed in steady-state operation using a reduced model consisting of one soluble substrate and one particulate biomass component modelling the dominating biological process. Monod biomass growth rate is assumed. Two settler models are studied. One is the commonly used ideal settler, or point settler, whic

Circulating insulin is dependent on a balance between insulin appearance through secretion and insulin clearance. However, to what extent changes in insulin clearance contribute to the increased insulin levels after glucagon administration is not known. This study therefore assessed and quantified any potential effect of glucagon on insulin kinetics in mice. Prehepatic insulin secretion in mice wa

The detailed nature of electronic states mediating ferromagnetic coupling in dilute magnetic semiconductors, specifically (Ga,Mn)As, has been an issue of long debate. Two confronting models have been discussed emphasizing host band versus impurity band carriers. Using angle resolved photoemission we show that the electronic structure of the (Ga,Mn)As system is significantly modified from that of G

Background and aims Chronic kidney disease leads to uremia and markedly accelerates atherosclerosis. Phenotypic modulation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the arterial media plays a key role in accelerating atherogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether uremia per se modulates the phenotype of aortic SMCs in vivo. Methods Moderate uremia was induced by 5/6 nephrectomy in apolipop

Background Microsatellite instability arises due to defect mismatch repair (MMR) and occurs in 10–20% of sporadic colorectal cancer. The purpose was to investigate correlations between defect MMR, prognosis and heredity for colorectal cancer in first-degree relatives. Material and methods Tumour tissues from 318 patients consecutively operated for colorectal cancer were analysed for immunohistoche

Foot problems complicating diabetes are a source of major patient suffering and societal costs. To prevent, or at least reduce, the adverse effects of foot problems in diabetes, the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF; www.iwgdf.org) was founded in 1996, consisting of experts from almost all the disciplines involved in the care of patients with diabetes and foot problems. An im

The discovery of reliable biomarkers to predict efficacy and toxicity of anticancer drugs remains one of the key challenges in cancer research. Despite its relevance, no efficient study designs to identify promising candidate biomarkers have been established. This has led to the proliferation of a myriad of exploratory studies using dissimilar strategies, most of which fail to identify any promisi

Ineffective antimicrobial therapy of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteraemia increases mortality. Recent studies have proposed the use of antimicrobial combination therapy composed of a beta-lactam with either ciprofloxacin or tobramycin. To determine if combination therapy correlates to lower mortality and is superior compared to monotherapy, we investigated the effect of antimicrobial treatment regim

Background: B-cells are essential in immunity against malaria, but which sub-sets of B-cells specifically recognize Plasmodium falciparum and when they appear is still largely unknown. Results: Using the flow cytometry technique for detection of P. falciparum specific (Pf+) B-cells, this study for the first time measured the development of Pf+ B cell (CD19+) phenotypes in Ugandan babies from birth