Operatively induced, standardized tibia fractures in 42 10-week-old male rats were fixed with intramedullary nails. 21 of the rats were fed liquid containing 15% ethanol. 5 weeks after inducing the fracture, the rats were killed and the total body bone mineral density (BMD) was analyzed with the DEXA technique, and the mechanical properties of the fractured and the unfractured tibiae as well as th

A high order accurate and fast algorithm is constructed for 2D stress problems on multiply connected finite domains. The algorithm is based on a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind with non-singular operators. The unknown quantity is the limit of an analytic function. On polygonal domains there is a trade-off between stability and rate of convergence. A moderate amount of precomputation

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a widely used marker for prostate cancer. In the literature, there are reports of nonprostatic expression of PSA that potentially can affect early diagnosis. However, the results are scattered and inconclusive, which motivated us to conduct a more comprehensive study of the tissue distribution of PSA and the closely related protein human glandular kallikrein 2 (h

The genetic polymorphism of Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia afzelii, two species that cause Lyme borreliosis, was estimated by sequence typing of four loci: the rrs-rrlA intergenic spacer (IGS) and the outer-membrane-protein gene p66 on the chromosome, and the outer-membrane-protein genes ospA and ospC on plasmids. The major sources of DNA for PCR amplification and sequencing were samples of the

The interaction between DNA and different types of amino acid-based cationic surfactants was investigated. Particular attention was directed to determine the extent of influence of surfactant head-group geometry toward tuning the interaction behavior of these surfactants with DNA. An overview is obtained by gel retardation assay, isothermal titration calorimetry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and cir

Information on the geological origin of raw garnet is a pre-requisite for the better understanding of garnet production and trade in ancient societies. The presented study is a first attempt to determine possible source rocks for the garnets found in the Sloinge excavation in southwest Sweden. It includes analyses of garnets from other excavations in Sweden and Denmark. It is also an attempt to de

beta-Cell-specific gene targeting is a widely used tool when studying genes involved in beta-cell function. For this purpose, several conditional beta-cell knockouts have been generated using the rat insulin promoter 2-Cre recombinase (RIP2-Cre) mouse. However, it was recently observed that expression of Cre alone in P-cells may affect whole body glucose homeostasis. Therefore, we investigated glu

The low specificity of screening ELISAs for antibodies to hepatitis C virus in blood donors has called for confirmatory tests. Two types of supplementary antibody assays are available, recombinant immunoblot assays (RIBA-1 and RIBA-2) and an antibody consumption test referred to as a neutralization assay. Amplification of viral nucleic acid by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) provides an antibo

The adsorption of CO on narrosized gold particles deposited on a cerium oxide substrate is strongly influenced by the roughness and concentration of oxygen vacancies of the CeOx substrate surface. Literature showed that Au nucleates at step edges on oxidized samples. For oxidized samples we found that the Au dispersion is dependent on the surface roughness. A rough CeO2 surface has a higher step d

Ferrous sulphate gel dosimetry has the potential for measurement of absorbed dose distributions in proton therapy. The chemical properties of the gel are altered according to the radiation dose and these changes can be evaluated in three dimensions using MRI. The purpose of this work was to investigate the properties of a ferrous gel used with clinical proton beams. The gel was irradiated with bot

This paper discusses different design techniques for stated preference surveys in health economic applications. In particular, we focus on different design techniques, i.e. how to combine the attribute levels into alternatives and choice sets, for choice experiments. Design is a vital issue in choice experiments since the combination of alternatives in the choice sets will determine the degree of

The colorimetric variations induced upon changes in interfacial refractive index of nanoscale noble metal structures exhibiting localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) provides a convenient means of label-free, affinity-based detection of biomolecular recognition reactions. However, despite being similar in nature to conventional SPR, LSPR has so far suffered from significantly lower data quali

Growth hormone (GH) has been used as anabolic therapy to treat catabolic patients. In a recent study, however, administration of high doses of GH to critically ill adults was associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality. Preponderance of septic shock and uncontrolled infections as causes of death in these patients suggests an immuno-modulatory effect of GH. Our hypothesis was that GH tre

In this paper, which was prepared as part of IEA Bioenergy Task XV (“Greenhouse Gas Balances of Bioenergy Systems”), we outline a standard methodology for comparing the greenhouse gas balances of bioenergy systems with those of fossil energy systems. Emphasis is on a careful definition of system boundaries. The following issues are dealt with in detail: time interval analysed and changes of carbon

The effects of Collembola grazing activities on the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis were studied in laboratory microcosms. Pinus contorta seedlings in association with Paxillus involutus were grown in a sandy soil and the Collembola Onychiurus armatus was added in different densities. To study effects on nutrient uptake by the extramatrical mycorrhizal mycelium, cups containing 15NH4+ and phytin amended

We argue that the group-centred analyses of social epidemiology should follow from theoretical considerations that take the situation of the individual as their natural starting point. In a tentative dialogue between economics and sociology, we develop a framework for the analysis of health-related behaviour. Such behaviour is modelled as a process of decision-making at the individual level. Withi

Electronic and structural properties of Sb-induced GaAs(100)(2x4) and (2x8) surfaces are studied by means of core-level and valence-band photoelectron spectroscopy utilizing synchrotron radiation and scanning tunneling microscopy. Combining these results and showing good consistency among them, we demonstrate that the Sb/GaAs(100)(2x4) surface is well compatible with the delta structural model, wh

Until recently there was no information available on the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Greenland. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in younger schoolchildren in Greenland. In the autumn of 2000 we used our previously elaborated questionnaire in a cross-sectional study of 954 schoolchildren aged 7 - 8 years, who lived in five Greenlandic towns. The findings wer