Objective: Fontan surgery is performed in children with univentricular heart defects. Previous data regarding permanent pacemaker implantation frequency and indications in Fontan patients are limited and conflicting. We examined the prevalence of and risk factors for pacemaker treatment in a consecutive national cohort of patients after Fontan surgery in Sweden. Methods: We retrospectively reviewe

As transport properties of doped ceria electrolytes depend significantly on the nature of the dopant and the defectivity, the design of new materials and devices requires proper understanding of the defect structure. Among lanthanide dopants, Yb shows some peculiar characteristics that call for a possible different defect structure compared to Gd and Sm conventional dopants, which could be linked

En signal är en fysisk kvantitet som varierar med någon oberoende variabel, t.ex. tid eller rum, som förmedlar information. En signal vars statistiska egenskaper är konstant i tid kallas stationär, medan signaler vars egenskaper varierar med tiden kallas icke-stationära, vilket är de vanligaste i naturen. Denna avhandling fokuserar på statistiska metoder för icke-stationära signaler. De applikatioThis thesis focuses on statistical methods for non-stationary signals. The methods considered or developed address problems of stochastic modeling, inference, spectral analysis, time-frequency analysis, and deep learning for classification. In all the contributions, an example of a biomedical application of the proposed method is provided, either to electroencephalography (EEG) data or to Heart Ra

Artificial breeding of Rapana venosa has been attempted in China, but the high mortality rate of rapa whelk juveniles (10–40 mm) seriously restricts the breeding success of this species in artificial cultivation and the overall aquaculture industry, and thus the scale of industrialization is far from being realized. One main factor was found to contribute to this high mortality rate: the low preda

We propose a model for the axial growth rate of nanowires grown by means of the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. Our model is based on deposition-desorption-incorporation kinetics in steady state, and using this model we discuss nanowire growth in two experimentally relevant limits: mass transport limited growth and incorporation limited growth. We discuss our modeling results in view of experimental

Exotic plants can compete well with native species because many invasive species are considered better nutrient users in both low- and high-resource environments. However, whether invasive plants can outperform native plants at all stages of invasion is not very clear. We investigated the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and N:P homeostasis of an invasive Eupatorium adenophorum and a co-occurring nati

This study examines the geopolitical role of 14 metals and metalloids needed for renewable energy technologies. The analysis focuses on three factors with potential geopolitical importance: the geographic concentration of resources, potential revenues of resources rich countries and the size of total global markets. The geographic concentration of most of the fourteen studied metals and metalloids

Class Ib ribonucleotide reductases (RNR) utilize a di-nuclear manganese or iron cofactor for reduction of superoxide or molecular oxygen, respectively. This generates a stable tyrosyl radical (Y·) in the R2 subunit (NrdF), which is further used for ribonucleotide reduction in the R1 subunit of RNR. Here, we report high-resolution crystal structures of Bacillus anthracis NrdF in the metal-free form

There is a wide-spread concern that technical change may spur social conflicts, especially if workers are replaced with machines. To empirically analyze whether job destruction drives protests, we study a historical example of a revolutionary new technology: the adoption of electricity. Focusing on the gradual roll-out of the Swedish electricity grid between 1900 and 1920 enables us to analyze 2,4

Aim: To evaluate pattern of change in periodontal variables and tooth loss in a twelve-year follow-up study of older adults living in Sweden. Methods: In a prospective population study of older adults, a clinical examination and radiographic dental examination were performed at baseline (2001–2003) and after 12 years (2013–2015). In 375 individuals, the number and proportion of sites with a distan

Background: Preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction share some pathophysiologic features and are both associated with placental insufficiency. Fetal cardiac remodeling has been described extensively in fetal growth restriction, whereas little is known about preeclampsia with a normally grown fetus. Objective: To describe fetal cardiac structure and function in pregnancies complicated by preeclam

The independent effects of different brain pathologies on age-dependent cognitive decline are unclear. We examined this in 300 cognitively unimpaired elderly individuals from the BioFINDER study. Using cognition as outcome we studied the effects of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for amyloid-β (Aβ42/40), neuroinflammation (YKL-40), and neurodegeneration and tau pathology (T-tau and P-tau) as well a

BACKGROUND: People with intellectual disability (ID) have high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, but even higher rates of prescription of psychotropic drugs. METHODS: Using Swedish national registers, we identified a group of older people with ID and diagnosis of mood disorders (ICD-10 codes F32-F39) and/or anxiety (ICD-10 code F4) during 2006-2012 (n = 587) and a referent group of people from

Galectins are a family of galactoside-recognizing proteins involved in different galectin-subtype-specific inflammatory and tumor-promoting processes, which motivates the development of inhibitors that are more selective galectin inhibitors than natural ligand fragments. Here, we describe the synthesis and evaluation of 3-C-methyl-gulopyranoside derivatives and their evaluation as galectin inhibit

To provide a consistent database for all important classes of hydrocarbons considered as components of surrogate mixtures, laminar burning velocities of n-decane, p-xylene and methylcyclohexane blended with ethanol were determined using the heat flux method at atmospheric pressure and initial temperatures of 318–400 K. The results obtained at Samara University and Lund University are within overla

In a regulatory context, skin sensitization hazard and risk evaluations of manufactured products and their ingredients (e.g. cosmetics) are mandatory in several regions. Great efforts have been made within the field of 21st Century Toxicology to provide non-animal testing approaches to assess the skin allergy potential of materials (e.g. chemicals, mixtures, nanomaterials, particles). Mechanistic

Upcycling is a process in which used or waste products and materials are repaired, reused, repurposed, refurbished, upgraded and remanufactured in a creative way to add value to the compositional elements. It has been part of human life throughout history, and the past few years have seen its revival, driven by multiple factors including growing concern for the environment and resource scarcity. U