The function of cultured mast cells may depend on genetic or environmental influence on the stem cell donor. This study investigates whether asthma or atopy in the donor influenced the growth and sensitivity of mast cells cultured from patients with asthma and healthy controls under identical conditions. Mast cells were cultured from peripheral blood from twelve patients with an objectively confir

We examined small mammals as hosts for Anaplasmataceae in southern Sweden. Of 771 rodents, 68 (8.8%) were infected by Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, but no other Anaplasmataceae were found. Candidatus N. mikurensis has recently been found in human patients in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden, which suggests that this could be an emerging pathogen in Europe.

Background: Evidence has accumulated which suggests that sex steroids influence colorectal cancer development and progression. We therefore assessed the association of repeat polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor beta gene (ESR2) and the androgen receptor gene (AR) with colorectal cancer risk and prognosis. Methods: The ESR2 CA and AR CAG repeat polymorphisms were genotyped in 1798 cases (746 fem

Adelsliv i Finland under sent 1700-tal och tidigt 1800-tal, i kretsen kring Sophie Creutz.

The role of not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) and their relationships with various partners within humanitarian aid networks have hitherto been researched only to a limited extent. Formation of interdependencies between actors in humanitarian networks and the implications on societal outcomes require more research. In the nonprofit – for profit domain the former organizations are usually seen as

Background: Fragility fractures are a major health problem world wide and the numbers are growing due to ageing populations. Early identification of individuals at risk for osteoporosis and fracture, enabling preventive measures and treatment is essential. Bone strength is partly dependent on lifestyle but genetic factors account for approximately 70-80%. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is the key regul

Two mixed-phase precipitation events were observed on 21 September and 20 October 2010 over the southern part of Finland during the Light Precipitation Validation Experiment (LPVEx). These events have been simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled with spectral bin microphysics (WRF-SBM). The detailed ice-melting scheme with prognosis of the liquid water fraction during me

In this paper, the potential for the transportation sector to develop in a way that is consistent with long-term climate targets will be discussed. An important question is whether technical measures will be sufficient for reaching long-term climate targets. Although there is a large potential to significantly increase the use of bioenergy from today's level, there will be severe restrictions to i

We synthesise traditional unstructured food webs, allometric body size scaling, trait-based modelling, and physiologically structured modelling to provide a novel and ecologically relevant tool for size-structured food webs. The framework allows food web models to include ontogenetic growth and life-history omnivory at the individual level by resolving the population structure of each species as a

Background: Even though ovarian tumors are not generally considered estrogen-sensitive, estrogens may still have an impact on ovarian tumor progression. The recently identified trans-membrane estrogen receptor GPER is involved in rapid estrogen signaling. Furthermore, it binds selective estrogen receptor modulators with agonistic effect, which could explain tamoxifen controversies. Methods: GPER m

Context: This review focuses on the prevention and management of complications following radical cystectomy (RC) for bladder cancer (BCa). Objective: We review the current literature and perform an analysis of the frequency, treatment, and prevention of complications related to RC for BCa. Evidence acquisition: A Medline search was conducted to identify original articles, reviews, and editorials a

MIMO systems ideally achieve linear capacity gain proportional to the number of antennas. However, the compactness of terminal devices limits the number of spatial degrees of freedom (DOFs) in such systems, which motivates efficientantenna design techniques to exploit all available DOFs. In this contribution, we present a compact six-port dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) array which utilizes spa

The Swedish actress and singer Zarah Leander's (1907-81)dark voice, travestie-like persona and her schlager repertoire made her a major gay icon in the 1950s, and she remains an icon in the gay community even today. This essay discusses some aspects of queer feelings and camp aesthetics connected with gay diva worship in the way the 'phenomen Leander' emerged in the postwar period in Sweden and Ge

Open source software has been gaining popularity, especially among commercial organizations. The broad industry acceptance is in large part due to the demonstrated ability of open source solutions to compete with proprietary alternatives. Using open source software components enables companies to reduce their own development costs, and thus improve software development efficiency. Many open source

Pairing of halide anions with ammonium, as well as with trialkylated and tetraalkylated ammonium cations in water, is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations, which are verified by ab initio calculations and experimental excess chemical potentials. We find that ammonium prefers to pair with smaller halides over the larger ones, while the order is reversed for tetraalkylated ammonium cations

Many flying animals use both flapping and gliding flight as part of their routine behaviour. These two kinematic patterns impose conflicting requirements on wing design for aerodynamic efficiency and, in the absence of extreme morphing, wings cannot be optimised for both flight modes. In gliding flight, the wing experiences uniform incident flow and the optimal shape is a high aspect ratio wing wi

We have experimented with different SOM-based architectures for bio-inspired self-organizing texture and hardness perception systems. To this end we have developed a microphone based texture sensor and a hardness sensor that measures the compression of the material at a constant pressure. We have implemented and successfully tested both monomodal systems for texture and hardness perception, bimoda