Objective: To assess whether a genetic risk score that was previously shown to be associated with myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease is also associated with markers of carotid atherosclerosis. Design: A total of 4022 middle-aged subjects from the general Swedish population were genotyped and individually assigned a genetic risk score based on 13 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs

OBJECTIVE: /st> To investigate the effect of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on sick leave (SL) and disability pension (DP) in a population-based setting in southern Sweden. METHODS: /st> All patients with RA in the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group register living in the county of Skåne (population 1.2 million), who started their

Electricity must be produced at the same time as it is used. This necessitates flexibility in the electricity production and electricity networks. Until recently, the increase in electricity demand and peak power demand has been met by expansion of the electricity production. Today, due to the deregulation of the electricity market, the production capacity is decreasing. Therefore, there is a nati

BACKGROUND: Kodecytes bearing synthetic blood group A and B antigens are increasingly being used in transfusion laboratories as serologic mimics of red blood cell (RBC) A(weak) and B(weak) subtypes. The aim of this study was to compare the flow cytometry profile of kodecytes with native ABO subgroups. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A series of A/B kodecytes, each with decreasing A or B antigen express

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in neuronal survival through activation of TrkB receptors. The trkB gene encodes a full-length receptor tyrosine kinase (TrkB.FL) and its truncated (T1/T2) isoforms. We investigated the changes in TrkB protein levels and signaling activity under excitotoxic conditions, which are characteristic of brain ischemia, traumatic brain injur

The field of identification and process-parameter estimation has developed rapidly during the past decade. In this survey paper the state-of-the-art/science is presented in a systematic way. Attention is paid to general properties and to classification of identification problems. Model structures are discussed; their choice hinges on the purpose of the identification and on the available a priori

BACKGROUND: Treating pulmonary valve stenosis with balloon valvuloplasty (BV) is a good model to study the effect of right ventricular (RV) pressures on coronary flow. METHODS: Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography was used to register coronary flow in 10 age-matched healthy controls and 7 neonates before and 1 day after BV. RESULTS: Left ventricular fractional shortening and cardiac output incre

Despite significant reductions in acute-rejection rates with the introduction of calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based immunosuppressive therapy, improvements in long-term graft survival in renal transplantation have been mixed. Improving long-term graft survival continues to present a major challenge in the management of kidney-transplant patients. CNIs are a key component of immunosuppressive therap