| 1. |
- Aberg, P., et al.
(författare)
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Skin cancer identification using multifrequency electrical impedance - A potential screening tool
- 2004
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Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. - 0018-9294 .- 1558-2531. ; 51:12, s. 2097-2102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electrical bio-impedance can be used to assess skin cancers and other cutaneous lesions. The aim of this study was to distinguish skin cancer from benign nevi using multifrequency impedance spectra. Electrical impedance spectra of about 100 skin cancers and 511 benign nevi were measured. Impedance of reference skin was measured ipsi-laterally to the lesions. The impedance relation between lesion and reference skin was used to distinguish the cancers from the nevi. It was found that it is possible to separate malignant melanoma from benign nevi with 75% specificity at 100% sensitivity, and to distinguish nonmelanoma skin cancer from benign nevi with 87% specificity at 100% sensitivity. The power of skin cancer detection using electrical impedance is as good as, or better than, conventional visual screening made by general practitioners.
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| 2. |
- Aberg, P., et al.
(författare)
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Variation of skin properties within human forearms demonstrated by non-invasive detection and multi-way analysis
- 2002
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Ingår i: Skin research and technology. - : Wiley. - 0909-752X .- 1600-0846. ; 8:3, s. 194-201
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: It is known that the properties of human skin vary locally. The purpose of this study was to investigate the properties of human volar forearms even further using advanced non-invasive techniques and numerical methods. Methods: The skin properties of human volar forearms were investigated using measurements of trans epidermal water loss and multifrequency electrical impedance. Eight sites on the forearms of 27 healthy volunteers were measured. The sites were oriented as squares, four sites on both left and right forearm, approximately 40-50 mm apart. Results: Analysis of variance showed significant differences for epidermal water loss (P < 0.01) and the skin impedance (P < 0.001) between the inner and outer sides of the arms. Additionally, parallel factor analysis of the full skin impedance spectra also showed that there are systematic differences between right and left arm (P < 0.01). Conclusions: It is crucial to design skin studies carefully in order to minimise the effects of the local skin properties of human skin.
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| 3. |
- Ahlberg, Beth Maina, et al.
(författare)
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'It's only a tradition' : making sense of eradication interventions and the persistence of female 'circumcision' within a Swedish context
- 2004
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Ingår i: Critical Social Policy. - London : Sage Publications. - 0261-0183 .- 1461-703X. ; 24:1, s. 50-78
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper questions why female circumcision (FC) persists despite eradication interventions and the migration of people to non-practising countries and discusses the reasoning of Somali immigrants on female circumcision. It is based on interviews with diverse groups and individuals in the Somali community, mostly refugees in Sweden. Paradoxes implying denial and avoidance emerged. Female circumcision was described, as just 'a tradition' that has little to do with Islam. The fear of bringing up an uncircumcised daughter in the liberal sexual morality of Sweden was mentioned as a dilemma. Circumcised women said the health care they received during pregnancy and childbirth was poor while the law failed to take account of the experiences of the Somali people. We conclude that rather than eradication, interventions seem to have silenced and stigmatized the practice due to their failure to take account of its meanings, organization and contexts, including the diasporic dynamics within which immigrants negotiate identities.
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| 4. |
- Ahlm, Clas, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Serologic evidence of Puumala virus infection in wild moose in northern Sweden
- 2000
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Ingår i: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - : American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - 0002-9637 .- 1476-1645. ; 62:1, s. 106-111
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Puumala (PUU) virus is the causative agent of nephropathia epidemica, the Scandinavian form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. The infection is acquired by airborne transmission of PUU virus from its rodent reservoir, the bank vole. Besides serologic data indicating that the virus may spread also to heterologous rodents, there is little information on the susceptibility of wild living animals to PUU virus. We studied the occurrence of antibodies to PUU virus in serum samples from 427 wild-living moose, of which 260 originated from the PUU virus-endemic northern and central parts of Sweden and 167 originated from the southern, nonendemic part of Sweden. Samples from 5 animals showed reactivity in an ELISA for recombinant PUU virus nucleocapsid protein, an immunofluorescent assay, and a neutralization test. These 5 animals all originated from the PUU virus-endemic northern part of Sweden. In conclusion, 5 of 260 moose from the endemic region showed convincing serologic evidence of past PUU virus infection. The seroprevalence was low, suggesting that the moose is subjected to endstage infection rather than being part of an enzootic transmission cycle.
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| 5. |
- Al-Otaibi, M, et al.
(författare)
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Subgingival plaque microbiota in Saudi Arabians after use of miswak chewing stick and toothbrush
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Periodontology. - 0303-6979 .- 1600-051X. ; 31:12, s. 1048-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The chewing stick, the miswak, is used in many developing countries as the traditional means for oral hygiene. It is prepared from the roots, twigs and stem of Salvadora persica or other alternative local plants. OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of the chewing stick miswak (from S. persica) and toothbrush on subgingival plaque microflora among Saudi Arabian individuals. Further, to investigate whether components extracted from S. persica may interfere with the subgingival plaque micro-organisms. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifteen healthy Saudi Arabian male volunteers aged 21-36 years were included in a single-blind, randomized cross-over study. The participants were taught how to use each device properly. Plaque sampling for DNA test was performed at the baseline, 1 week after professional tooth cleaning, and after 3 weeks of either miswak or toothbrush use. Identification and quantification of microbial species were performed by the checkerboard method, using whole genomic, digoxigenin-labelled DNA probes. Inhibition zones around miswak were examined on agar plates with Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and the leukotoxicity of this bacterium was analyzed in a bioassay with macrophages+/-extracts of miswak. RESULTS: Miswak and toothbrushing had a similar influence on the levels of the subgingival microbiota. However, A. actinomycetemcomitans was significantly more reduced by miswak (p<0.05) than by toothbrushing. These results were supported by our in vitro results which, indicated that extracts from S. persica might interfere with the growth and leukotoxicity of A. actinomycetemcomitans. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to toothbrush use, miswak use significantly reduced the amount of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the subgingival plaque.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Alfredson, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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In vivo investigation of ECRB tendons with microdialysis technique--no signs of inflammation but high amounts of glutamate in tennis elbow.
- 2000
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Ingår i: Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica. - : Medical Journals Sweden AB. - 0001-6470. ; 71:5, s. 475-479
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We used the microdialysis technique to study concentrations of substances in the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) tendon in patients with tennis elbow. In 4 patients (mean age 41 years, 3 men) with a long duration of localized pain at the ECRB muscle origin, and in 4 controls (mean age 36 years, 2 men) with no history of elbow pain, a standard microdialysis catheter was inserted into the ECRB tendon under local anesthesia. The local concentrations of the neurotransmitter glutamate and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were recorded under resting conditions. Samplings were done every 15 minutes during a 2-hour period. We found higher mean concentrations of glutamate in ECRB tendons from patients with tennis elbow than in tendons from controls (215 vs. 69 micromoL/L, p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the mean concentrations of PGE2 (74 vs. 86 pg/mL). In conclusion, in situ microdialysis can be used to study certain metabolic events in the ECRB tendon of the elbow. Our findings indicate involvement of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, but no biochemical signs of inflammation (normal PGE2 levels) in ECRB tendons from patients with tennis elbow.
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| 8. |
- Andersson, Christer, 1945-, et al.
(författare)
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The W198X and R173W mutations in the porphobilinogen deaminase gene in acute intermittent porphyria have higher clinical penetrance than R167 : a populations-based study
- 2000
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0036-5513 .- 1502-7686. ; 60:7, s. 643-648
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The biosynthesis of porphyrins is one of the most conserved parthways known, about the same sequence of reactions taking place in all species. By associating different metals, porphyrins give rise to the “pigments of life”: chlorophyll, haem and cobalamin. The unique tetrapyrrolic structure enables it to function in an array of reactions as a single electron carrier and as a catalyst for redox reactions. In this capacity, it constitutes the prosthetic group of enzymes participating in cellular respiration, in conversion reactions involving steroids and lipophilic xenobiotics, in protective mechanisms directed against oxidative stress and in pathways providing central messenger molecules. The formation of haem is accomplished by a sequence of eight dedicated enzymes encoded by different genes, some being active in ubiquitous as well as in erythroid isoforms. Large differences between the participating enzymes with regard to catalytic power, with low capacity steps positioned early in the catalytic chain, constitute a bar against substrate overloading of enzymes processing porphyrins, thus preventing accumulation in the body of these phototoxic compounds under physiological conditions. Most of the haem in the body is produced by the liver and bone marrow, but the mechanisms applied for the control of the synthesis differ between the two organs. The extremely potent hemeprotein enzymes formed in the liver are rapidly turned over in response to current metabolic needs. They have half-lives in the order of minutes or hours and are restored by fast-acting mechanisms for the de novo synthesis, when needed. Uninterrupted and instant availability of the compound is secured by acute deinhibition of the initial enzyme of the synthetic chain, ubiquitous 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS-1), in response to drain of the free cellular haem pool caused by prevailing demands for hemeproteins or by increased catabolism of the compound. In contrast, in the erythroid progenitor cell the haem synthetic machinery is designed for uninterrupted production of huge amounts of haem for combination with globin chains to form hemoglobin at a steady rate. In the erythron the synthesis of the enzymes participating in the formation of haem is under control of erythropoietin, formed under hypoxic conditions. In the absence of iron, to be incorporated in the porphyrin formed in the last step of the synthesis, the mRNA of erythroid 5-aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS-2) is blocked by attachment of an iron-responsive element (IRE) binding cytosolic protein, and transcription of this key enzyme is inhibited. In humans, the genes for each of the haem synthetic enzymes may become the target of mutations that give rise to impaired cellular enzyme activity. Seven of the enzyme deficiencies are associated with accumulation of toxic intermediaries and with disease entities termed porphyrias. The acute porphyrias are characterized by attacks of neuropsychiatric symptoms, which may be due to a toxic surplus of the porphyrin presursor 5-aminolevulinic acid, or a consequence of a deficit of vital hemeproteins resulting from impaired synthesis of haem. In the cutaneous porphyrias, impairment of enzymatic steps where porphyrins are processed gives rise to solar hypersensitivity due to accumulation of phototoxic porphyrins in the skin. Early diagnosis, information to the patient regarding the nature of the illness and counselling aimed at avoidance of triggering factors are cornerstones in the handling of the porphyric diseases. Gene analysis is of incomparable diagnostic reliability in carrier detection, but biochemical methods must be applied in the important task of monitoring porphyric disease activity. In most forms of porphyria the gene carriers run the risk of development of associated diseases in liver or kidneys, a circumstance that prompts application of well-structured surveillance programs.
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