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Background Influenza and other respiratory viruses promote Streptococcus pneumoniae proliferation in the upper respiratory tract. We sought to investigate for what we believe is the first time, the effect of intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) on nasopharyngeal S pneumoniae density in a low-income to middle-income country population with high pneumococcal carriage rates. Methods I
This thesis focuses on describing the concept of creative activities as intervention (CaI) and the occupational values experienced in doing CaI. Creative activities are frequently used as interventions in occupational therapy and are associated with subjective health and wellbeing. There is a lack of clarity in the definitions of the concept and there is no research presented regarding the experie
Paravalvular leak (PVL) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement is associated with worse long-term outcomes. The Lotus Valve incorporates an innovative Adaptive Seal designed to minimize PVL. This analysis evaluated the incidence and predictors of PVL after implantation of the Lotus transcatheter aortic valve. The REPRISE II (REpositionable Percutaneous Replacement of Stenotic Aortic Valve th
Background: Whether age at onset influences Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression and the effectiveness of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) therapy is not clear. We aimed to compare longitudinal cognitive and global outcomes in ChEI-treated patients with early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) versus late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) in clinical practice. Methods: This 3-year, prospective, observ
This thesis addresses how verbal comprehension is affected by seeing the speaker and in particular when the speaker is an animated virtual speaker. Two people visually co-present – one talking and the other listening, trying to comprehend what is said – is a central and critical scenario whether one is interested in human cognition, communication or learning. Papers I & II are focused on the e
Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is highly prevalent in older adults and a growing cause of disability. Easily accessible first-line treatment of OA is increasingly important. Digital self-management programs have in recent years become available. Evidence of short-term effects of such programs are abundant, yet reports on long-term benefits and adherence to treatment are scarce. The current study’s
Background: Young women in India continue to face diverse challenges that threaten their health and wellbeing. The reproductive health and rights of newly married women, who are often expected to begin childbearing soon after marriage, are often neglected. The present study aims to understand some of the factors associated with the desire to delay the first childbirth in young, married women in In
This thesis deals with epitaxial growth and optical properties of semiconductor nanowires with implications and insights about materials for solar cells. The chapters leading up to the papers give a broader background and an introduction to the field and include nanowires and their synthesis, semiconductor properties, solar cell operational principles, light interaction with a nanowire array, and
Cancer är den näst vanligaste dödsorsaken i världen idag och en tredjedel av Sveriges befolkning blir diagnosticerade med cancer under sin livstid. Av alla cancerfall i Sverige, så är prostatacancer den vanligaste och bröstcancer den näst vanligaste, medan hos enbart kvinnor så är bröstcancer den vanligaste med 29,2 % av cancerfallen. Överlevnaden efter en cancerdiagnos har i Sverige ökat sedan 70Cells are commonly used in research to evaluate toxicity and efficiency of drugs. However, to further increase the usefulness of cells as well as the understandings of effects of different interventions, new methods must constantly be developed and refined. Today, many assays use end-point analysis of large populations of cells, to evaluate the research question. However, there are many cases when
BACKGROUND: Many studies have indicated that colon and rectal cancers differ in etiology and histology. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the associations of colon and rectal cancers with any other (discordant) cancer were site specific. DESIGN: A novel approach was implemented in which cancer risks were analyzed in families with increasing numbers of family members diagn
Previous studies in the rat have shown that a serotonergic depletion greatly potentiates the learning and memory impairments produced by pharmacological or lesion-induced cholinergic blockade in the forebrain. The impairment produced by combined serotonergic-cholinergic lesions is reminiscent of that seen in memory-impaired aged rats. In the present experiment, we investigated whether grafts of ch
Design requires thoughtful application of methods to broaden ones understanding of the task and to generate alternative solutions in the form of possible futures in relation to the task. These kind of activities implies learning. In an interaction design course for undergraduate engineering students, we noticed that students gave little effort to the usage of the design methodologies taught, and n
Navigation is the ability of animals to move through their environment in a planned manner. Different from directed but reflex-driven movements, it involves the comparison of the animal’s current heading with its intended heading (i.e., the goal direction). When the two angles don’t match, a compensatory steering movement must be initiated. This basic scenario can be described as an elementary nav
Objective: Extended anticoagulation therapy should always be considered after standard treatment of an unprovoked episode of venous thromboembolism (VTE). It can also be considered for selected patients with provoked VTE. However, the evidence-based protocols suggested by some clinical guidelines and risk assessment tools to guide this practice are limited and ambiguous. The goal of the present su
Surtsey island was formed in a volcanic eruption south of Iceland in 1963 – 1967 and has since then been protected and monitored by scientists. It is the youngest island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago. The archipelago is of volcanic origin, but the other islands are ca. 5 000 to 40 000 yrs old. The first two moss species were found on Surtsey as early as 1967 and several new bryophyte species w
The last decades have seen frequent calls for a more extended evolutionary synthesis (EES) that will supposedly overcome the limitations in the current evolutionary framework with its intellectual roots in the Modern Synthesis (MS). Some radical critics even want to entirely abandon the current evolutionary framework, claiming that the MS (often erroneously labelled “Neo-Darwinism”) is outdated, a
Background: Environmental noise is an important environmental exposure that can affect health. An association between transportation noise and breast cancer incidence has been suggested, although current evidence is limited. We investigated the pooled association between long-term exposure to transportation noise and breast cancer incidence. Methods: Pooled data from eight Nordic cohorts provided
Alpha-synuclein phosphorylated at serine 129 (S129) is highly elevated in Parkinson's disease patients where it mainly accumulates in the Lewy bodies. Several groups have studied the role of phosphorylation at the S129 in alpha-synuclein in a rat model for Parkinson's disease using recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors. The results obtained are inconsistent and accordingly the role of
The speed and intensity of modern sports puts the athlete at risk for impacts to the head, or to the body when the impact force is transmitted to the head. Rapid head rotation caused by these impact forces may lead to a sports-related concussion (SRC), defined as a mild traumatic brain injury, typically resulting in short-lived disturbance of the central nervous system function. The diagnosis of S
