Objectives: To assess the usefulness of hand function measurements in a study of treatment effects of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blockers and to define the relationship between different hand function tests and also relate hand function to general disability and disease activity. Methods: The study group consisted of 49 patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were followed for 1

Exhaustion is hypothesised to be a risk-factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), but as such its independence from emotional states, in particular depression, has not been established in previous investigations. This study aimed to explore the unique contribution of exhaustion, independent from symptoms of depression and anxiety, to CHD development.

Radiative lifetimes were determined for three quartet states of neutral nitrogen, and sequences of Rydberg states were studied using depletion spectroscopy. Free nitrogen atoms were generated by photodissociation of N2O using frequency-tripled dye-laser radiation that was two-photon resonant with the 2p(2)3p 4S or 4D states. Further quartet states were reached by a subsequent single-photon absorpt

A chiral ligand-exchange phase for capillary electrochromatography based on continu-ous bed technology was developed. The chiral stationary phase is prepared by a one- step in situ copolymerization procedure using methacrylamide, piperazine diacryla- mide, vinylsulfonic acid and N-(2-hydroxy-3-allyloxypropyl)-L-4-hydroxyproline. These chiral continuous beds are inexpensive and easy to prepare. The

BACKGROUND: Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) contracts the wound and alters the microvascular blood flow in the wound edge, which may be crucial in promoting wound healing. The aim of the present study was to examine these biological effects in the wound edge using different types of wound fillers. METHODS: Wounds were created on the backs of pigs and filled with green foam, black foam or g

This paper presents a theoretical model of stability and coordination of posture and locomotion, together with algorithms for continuous-time quadratic optimization of motion control. Explicit solutions to the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for optimal control of rigid-body motion are obtained by solving an algebraic matrix equation. The stability is investigated with Lyapunov function theory and it is

The rd1 mouse serves as a model for inherited photoreceptor degeneration: retinitis pigmentosa. Microarray techniques were employed to compare the transcriptomes of rd1 and congenic wild-type retinas at postnatal day 11, when degenerative processes have started but most photoreceptors are still present. Of the several genes that were differentially expressed, focus was put on those associated with

Preterm birth carries a risk for impaired developmental outcome. We have previously described an association between increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines during the first 72 postnatal hours and cerebral damage as detected by ultrasound in a cohort of 74 very preterm infants. Sixty-seven of 71 surviving children with a mean (SD) GA of 27.1 (2.0) weeks were examined at 2 years corrected ag

Working as hairdressers has been associated with increased risk for cancer, particularly bladder cancer. To evaluate if current hairdressers have elevated risks of adverse health effects, we measured several biomarkers related to cancer-related DNA alterations. We enrolled 295 hairdressers and 92 non-hairdressers (all female non-smokers) from Stockholm and southern Sweden. Questionnaire data were

Air quality standards are set to protect public health. The values of the standards are often based on health effect studies, without any statistical considerations. In order to judge if a standard is met measurements of ambient air quality are taken at monitoring stations, and these measured values are used to decide whether or not the standard has been violated. In this paper we examine the stat

A devastating complication associated with negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) after cardiac surgical intervention is heart rupture resulting in serious bleeding. The benefit of a rigid barrier between the underlying organs and the sharp sternal edges has been demonstrated in pigs. In the present article, we present our first 6 patients with deep sternal wound infection treated with NPWT in com

PURPOSE:To review midterm results and morphological changes following endovascular treatment of acute complicated type B dissection and to study the relation between extent of dissection and treatment outcome. METHODS:Between February 2001 and March 2008, 52 patients (38 men; median age 67 years, range 40-82) received thoracic stent-grafts for acute complicated type B dissections. Outcome for thos

Registry based cancer incidence and mortality data are widely used for etiologic research, cancer control and health care monitoring and planning. The complete coverage of all cases is the key criteria of data quality but it is difficult to assess because the alternative sources of data may be flawed. The aim of this study was to examine, at a nationwide level, the completeness of the Swedish Canc

The secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) re-establishes homeostasis at sites of infection by virtue of its ability to exert antimicrobial activity, to suppress LPS-induced cellular immune responses, and to reduce tissue damage through inhibition of serine proteases released by polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (PMNs). Microarray analysis of bone marrow (BM) populations highly enri

The aim of this study is to investigate if self-reported activity level or knee functions are influenced by subject characteristics, level of competition and history of knee injury. Cross-Sectional study using questionnaires distributed at a personal visit. One hundred and eighty-eight (65 women) amateur football players in 10 football clubs from each division below national level participated in

Technologies to develop and evolve the function of proteins and, in particular, antibodies have developed rapidly since the introduction of phage display. Importantly, it has become possible to identify molecules with binding properties that cannot be found by other means. A range of different approaches to create general libraries that are useful for the selection of such molecules specific for e

In numerous social control settings, staff routinely write case histories on clients to assist colleagues and authorities in treatment decisions. In this article, we examine how such institutional writing constructs ‘working versions’ of youngsters, portraying their objects of care as personally troublesome. Simultaneously, the institution is portrayed as facelessly, uniformly and collectively rem