PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate, in a population-based setting, the surgical outcome in patients with rectal cancer according to the hospital volume. METHODS: Since 1995 all patients with rectal cancer have been registered in the Swedish Rectal Cancer Registry. Hospitals were classified, according to number treated per year, as low-volume, intermediate-volume, or high-volume hospit

Peatlands are important ecosystems in the context of biospheric feedback to climate change, due to the large storage of organic C in peatland soils. Nitrogen deposition and increased nutrient availability in soils following climate warming may cause changes in these ecosystems affecting greenhouse gas exchange. We have conducted an N and P fertilization experiment in two Swedish bogs subjected to

With the aim to characterize patterns in toxicological profile and manner of death in deceased users of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), a retrospective autopsy protocol study of 52 deceased users of AAS was undertaken. The AAS users were compared to 68 deceased users of amphetamine and/or heroin who were consecutively tested and found to be negative for AAS. Use of AAS was in the majority of c

Chronic or repeated stress during critical periods of human fetal brain development has been associated with various learning, behavioral and/or mood disorders in later life. In this investigation, pregnant Fischer 344 rats was individually restrained three times a day for 45 min during the last week of gestation in transparent plastic cylinders while at the same time being exposed to bright light

Objective: To evaluate the reproducibility of fetal heart rate (FHR) baseline estimation according to an objective and detailed definition presented in this article, by comparison with the FIGO guidelines' definition. Study design: Three hundred consecutively acquired FHR tracings, 150 from antepartum high-risk pregnancies and 150 from unselected intrapartum cases, were presented to nine experienc

Genetic factors influence susceptibility to multiple sclerosis but the responsible genes remain largely undefined, association with MHC class II alleles being the only established genetic feature of the disease. The Nordic countries have a high prevalence of multiple sclerosis, and to further explore the genetic background of the disease, we have carried out a genome-wide screen for linkage in 136

The present study investigated effects of short-term administration of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) on blood lipid profile and renal function in kidney transplant patients. Six patients who had kidney transplantations 2 to 10 years earlier received ACTH intramuscularly (1 mg/d) for 4 days. We analyzed serum levels of lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, blood creatinine, and other paramet

Due to their small size, nanoparticles have distinct properties compared with the bulk form of the same materials. These properties are rapidly revolutionizing many areas of medicine and technology. Despite the remarkable speed of development of nanoscience, relatively little is known about the interaction of nanoscale objects with living systems. In a biological fluid, proteins associate with nan

A gated tunnel diode has been introduced into a wave-guide oscillator circuit and the gate is used to tune the oscillation frequency and to turn the oscillator on and off. Oscillators with oscillation frequencies in the range of 9-22 GHz with a typical oscillator output power about -20 dBm have been fabricated. We found that the output power remains essentially constant over a gate bias range (abo

A convenient experimental method for thermodynamical studies based on partial-filling affinity CE is presented. The advantages of this approach are the possibility to determine binding energies from relatively weak interactions as well as the small amounts of samples consumed. In order to explore the affinity and selectivity of the cellobiolrydrolase Cel7A, a number of propranolol analogues were r

The concentration of soluble HLA class I (sHLA-I) was measured by ELISA in serum samples from 30 well-characterised SLE patients at high and low disease activity states and from 100 healthy controls. HLA-A allotypes in the patients were analysed by a PCR-based typing technique. A higher level of sHLA-I was found in SLE patient sera both at high and low disease activity than in controls (P< 0.001).

Cartilage and tendon extracellular matrices are composed of collagens, proteoglycans, and a number of noncollagenous proteins. Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a prominent such protein, structurally related to the thrombospondins. We found that native COMP binds to collagen I/II and procollagen I/II and that the interaction is dependent on the divalent cations Zn2+ or Ni2+, whereas Ca