Sökresultat

BACKGROUND: Factor affecting sperm retrieval rate (SRR) or pregnancy rates (PR) after testicular sperm extraction (TESE) in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) have not been systematically evaluated. In addition, although micro-TESE (mTESE) has been advocated as the gold standard for sperm retrieval in men with NOA, its superiority over conventional TESE (cTESE) remains conflicting. OB

The problem of antibiotic resistance is rising continuously, creating a warning signal that calls for finding alternatives. Not only that, but there is also a rising demand for natural food preservatives. The pharmaceutical and food industry sectors are working on fulfilling these needs. This thesis is exploring possible solutions to these issues. The research studies presented here introduce the

Every cell is surrounded by a thin plasma membrane, protecting it from its surrounding. Specialized protein channels and transporters are embedded in this membrane, ensuring selective transport of molecules in and out of the cells. To maintain optimal hydration, water channels called aquaporins (AQPs) are present in every cell of our body. Thirteen isoforms of aquaporins exist in humans of which t

Doctoral education in the technical fields has several distinct features, such as, the research is often projectbased, interdisciplinary, dependent on external funding, and affiliated with an industry. In other words, the epitome of a “modern doctorate” (Fillery-Travis, 2017; Lee, 2018). While literature on doctoral supervision in general is abundant (see e.g. Gatfield, 2005; Gurr, 2001; Ives &

Grading based on histopathologic features is used to predict survival in soft‐tissue sarcoma. However, variations in clinical behavior between tumors of the same grade motivate a search for additional factors that correlate with prognosis. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is expressed in proliferating cells during the G 1 S and G 2 ‐phases. To evaluate a prognostic implication of PCNA, t

We have evaluated a method for synthesizing mammograms by comparing the texture of clinical and synthetic mammograms. The synthesis algorithm is based upon simulations of breast tissue and the mammographic imaging process. Mammogram texture was synthesized by projections of simulated adipose tissue compartments. It was hypothesized that the synthetic and clinical texture have similar properties, a

Stroke är en mycket vanlig sjukdom och idag räknar man med att det finns över 140 000 drabbade i Sverige som lever med varierande grad av funktionell nedsättning. Prognosen efter stroke påverkas av många olika faktorer varav flera tidigare inte fått så mycket uppmärksamhet. Den här avhandlingen ämnar ge en heltäckande bild av långtidsprognosen och varje delarbete fokuserar på olika viktiga aspekteBackground: Stroke is a major cause of mortality and disability. Prognosis is constantly evolving and is affected by multiple factors, many of which have not previously been thoroughly analyzed. This thesis aims to provide an updated and comprehensive description of long-term prognosis after stroke, specifically exploring key factors such as comorbidity (Study II), pre-stroke functional dependency

AbstractBackground: Assessing critically ill patients is demanding because their clinical signs are not always easy to interpret. This is particularly true for pediatric patients, due to their small size and robust circulatory compensatorymechanism. Physicians working in pediatric intensive care settings seldom use invasive monitoring, due to possible complications and the risks involved. Instead,

Eyeblink conditioning, finger tapping, and prism adaptation are three tasks that have been linked to the cerebellum. Previous research suggests that these tasks recruit distinct but partially overlapping parts of the cerebellum, as well as different extra-cerebellar networks. However, the relationships between the performances on these tasks remain unclear. Here we tested eyeblink conditioning, fi

Co-feeding of renewable feedstocks in general, and lignin streams in particular, in petroleum refineries is an attractive means of increasing the proportion of renewable fuel. Four separate units in an integrated refinery can be envisioned using lignin as a feedstock: the hydrotreater, the fluidised catalytic cracker, the hydrocracker and the slurry hydrotreater. A conceptual process design study,

Occupation can be defined as all activities that occupy a person’s time. The Satisfaction with Daily Occupations and Occupational Balance instrument evaluates the perceived satisfaction with performance and the balance in time dedicated to different occupations. The main aim was to translate the original instrument to Spanish and examine and establish the psychometric properties. This is a quantit

We measured the Coulomb dissociation of 16O into 4He and 12C at the R3B setup in a first campaign within FAIR Phase 0 at GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt. The goal was to improve the accuracy of the experimental data for the 12C(a,?)16O fusion reaction and to reach lower center-ofmass energies than measured so far. The experiment required beam intensities of 109 16O ions pe

Antibodies can neutralize the infectious properties of human cytomegalovirus (CMV). In vivo, the major neutralization determinants are located on glycoprotein B (gB). Recombinant human antibodies, that carry different constant regions (IgG1, IgG3 and the synthetic variant IgG3mA) against two of these epitopes were investigated for their ability to recruit the complement cascade for destruction of

About one-third of all women treated for breast cancer develop arm lymphedema. In addition to the worry of the cancer itself, the swollen and heavy arm is both a physical and a psychosocial handicap for the patients. Previous surgical and conservative treatments have not always given satisfactory and permanent results, conceivably because lymphedema causes hypertrophy of the subcutaneous adipose t

Bohemia and Moravia, today part of the Czech Republic, was the first territory with a majority of non-German speakers occupied by Hitler’s Third Reich on the eve of the World War II. Tens of thousands of Jewish inhabitants in the so called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia soon felt the tragic consequences of Nazi racial politics. Not all Czechs, however, remained passive bystanders during the g

Functional analysis and Monte Carlo simulation were used to quantify uncertainties in model simulation of pollution behaviour and effects. The first-order part of the functional analysis method provides a measure of uncertainties in dependent variables in terms of uncertainties in independent variables. The procedure is based on first-order terms in the Taylor series expansion of the dependent var

Ever since the first three-dimensional computer graphics appeared half a century ago, the goal has been to model and simulate how light interacts with materials and objects to form an image. The ultimate goal is photorealistic rendering, where the created images reach a level of accuracy that makes them indistinguishable from photographs of the real world. There are many applications ñ visualizati

Hippocampal extracellular levels of noradrenaline (NA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were monitored with the microdialysis technique in freely moving rats. In one experiment 30 min samples were collected during 24 h of continuous perfusion, and the monoamine output was compared to the behavioural activity state, as arbitrarily classified in three categories:

Purpose: Multimodal imaging has not been documented for CABP4-related retinopathy. In this study, we describe optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fundus autofluorescence findings for five genetically confirmed cases. Methods: Retrospective case series. Results: Four patients with the previously described homozygous Saudi CABP4 founder mutation c.81_82insA (p.Pro28ThrfsX44) and one patient with

Almost half of all lower leg amputations are performed in patients with diabetes. In over 70 per cent of these cases, amputation is precipitated by progression of foot ulceration to deep gangrenous infection. Most foot ulcers are preceded by trauma, usually due to ill-fitting shoes, and are precipitated by sensory motor neuropathy with varying degrees of peripheral vascular disease. The Swedish Me