The purpose of this study was to describe the everyday activities and social contacts among older deaf sign language users, and to investigate relationships between these phenomena and the health and well-being within this group. The study population comprised deaf sign language users, 65 years or older, in Sweden. Data collection was based on interviews in sign language, including open-ended ques

We discuss an experimental investigation of Raman scattering spectroscopy in the vicinity of a simulated reacting liquid fuel spray. Spray flames are known to produce interference from droplet elastic scattering, laser-induced fluorescence, and laser-induced incandescence of soot. The goal in this work is to evaluate various experimental approaches to this challenging problem. We evaluate Raman sc

Positive patch test reactions to p-phenylenediamine (PPD) are common. PPD is used in oxidative hair dyes and is also present in dark henna temporary 'tattoos'. Cross-sensitization to other contact allergens may occur. Because subjects sensitized to PPD are at risk of clinically severe reactions upon hair dyeing, there is a need for 'current' prevalence data on PPD sensitization. To compare PPD pat

Objectives: A potential role in cancer biology is suggested for YKL-40 (CHI3L1, HC gp-39). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of serum YKL-40 (sYKL-40) in multiple myeloma (MM) and to examine YKL-40 expression in malignant plasma cells (MM PCs). Methods: sYKL-40 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 82 patients with newly diagnosed MM. YKL-40 expres

A new, fast, and automated sample pretreatment technique for determination of lipophilic organic compounds in aqueous samples has been developed and applied to the determination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in environmental river water. It is based on miniaturized microporous membrane liquid-liquid extraction coupled on-line to gas chromatography (GC) with electron capture detection. The he

Considering the frequent use of mobile phones, we have directed attention to possible implications on cognitive functions. In this study we investigated in a rat model the long-term effects of protracted exposure to Global System for Mobile Communication-900 MHz (GSM-900) radiation. Out of a total of 56 rats, 32 were exposed for 2 h each week for 55 weeks to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiati

Background Treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis with interferon beta is only partly effective, and new more effective and safe strategies are needed. Our aim was to assess the efficacy of oral methylprednisolone as an add-on therapy to subcutaneous interferon beta-1a to reduce the yearly relapse rate in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Methods NORMIMS (NORdic tr

This paper describes an architecture of a connected-cluster labeling algorithm for binary images based on contour tracing with feature extraction. The implementation is intended as a hardware accelerator in a self contained real-time digital surveillance system. The algorithm has lower memory requirements compared to other labeling techniques and can guarantee labeling of a predefined number of cl

Rhizoplaca Zopf is a genus characterized by an umbilicate thallus with an upper and a lower cortex, as well as a cupulate hypothecium. It has been considered to be related to Lecanora Ach., the type genus of the Lecanoraceae and, in particular, to the lobate species of this genus. The phylogeny of Rhizoplaca, the monotypic Arctopeltis thuleana Poelt, and a number of representatives of different gr

We have recently reported that a polymorphism in the cell division cycle (CDC2) gene, designated Ex6 + 7I/D, is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The CDC2 gene is located on chromosome 10q21.1 close to the marker D10S1225 linked to AD. Active cdc2 accumulates in neurons containing neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), a process that can precede the formation of NFT. Therefore, CDC2 is a promising

Objective. To examine whether there is an association between country of birth in first-generation immigrants and first hospitalization for a rheumatic disease, and to study whether any such association remains in second-generation immigrants. Methods. In this followup study, the Swedish MigMed database at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm was used to identify all primary hospital diagnoses of

Purpose. To compare health-related quality of life (HRQL) and-pain symptoms in patients with PD with a matched control group. To our knowledge, controlled studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients within this area are rare. Scope. Fifty-seven patients and 95 controls took part in a self-administered questionnaire study. The instruments were the SF-36, visual analogue scales, pain drawing and pa

We would like to report a case of cerebral infarction associated with anti-cardiolipin syndrome occurring 8 years after cessation of successful treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and 11 years after cranial irradiation.

A new method is presented for monitoring the conformational stability of various parts of a protein that is physically adsorbed onto nanometer-sized silica particles. The method employs hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange of amide hydrogens, a process that is extremely sensitive to structural features of proteins. The resulting mass increase is analyzed with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance

The paradigmatic task for participants in studies on deception is to assess veracity on the basis of a single statement. However, in applied contexts, lie catchers are often faced with multiple statements (reported by one or several suspects). To appreciate this mismatch, we conducted a study where each member of 10 truth-telling pairs and 10 lying pairs (reporting fabricated alibis) was interroga

Vertical movement of snowmelt water through snowpacks is modelled by applying the kinematic wave theory. Analytical solutions are obtained for moisture flux, particle velocity, time history and velocity of meltwater front and total moisture content for a single melt event assuming that the melt rate is constant. These solutions are extended to the case involving more than one event.

Type 1 diabetes in Sardinia is very common in children, and we hypothesized that Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adult (LADA) might constitute a significant proportion of diabetes in adult Sardinian subjects. Since Type 2 diabetes is a familial disorder, we tested this hypothesis by investigating the prevalence of GAD65 and IA-2 autoantibodies (Ab) in Type 2 diabetes multiplex families of Sardinian