Radiella lösningar till en klass av semilineära elliptiska ekvationer

In this thesis we consider the boundary value problem (*) u''+((n-1)/r)u'+f(u)=0,(r > 0, n > 1), u'(0)=0, lim(r->infinity)u(r)=0, where f satisfies a number of appropriate conditions. Under these assumptions, a theorem states that for every nonnegative integer m, (*) has a solution u(r) with exactly m zeros in (0,infinity). A proof, using a scaling argument and a shooting method is presented. It is also shown that this theorem holds for a class of modified coefficients for u'. A uniqueness theorem that applies for another class of f states that (*) has at most one solution u(r) such that u(r) > 0 in (0,infinity). We present the main part of the proof and give some examples of functions f satisfying the hypothesis of the theorem. In the last part we discuss a few similar results and also what progress has been made in this field until today.Detta arbete handlar om en viss typ av differentialekvationer, så kallade Shrödingerekvationer, som bl.a. har tillämpningar inom kvantmekanik. Genom att studera lösningarna (vågfunktionerna) till sådana ekvationer kan man erhålla information om olika atomära tillstånd. Lite förenklat kan man säga att lösningarna beskriver olika rörelsemönster för elektronerna runt en atomkärna. I det här arbetet studeras vågfunktioner som endast beror på det radiella avståndet från atomkärnan. Ett problem är att lösningarna till den här typen av ekvationer oftast inte går att uttrycka på något enkelt sätt med hjälp av formler utan man måste använda sig av indirekta metoder. Jag har studerat några metoder som kan användas för att besvara frågor som rör existens och entydighet av lösningar. Dvs. finns det överhuvudtaget några lösningar som har vissa givna egenskaper, och om svaret är ja, finns det då mer än en sådan lösning? En egenskap hos en lösning kan t.ex. vara att den ska ha ett visst antal nollställen eller att den ska konvergera mot noll då avståndet från atomkärnan ökar obegränsat

Nature-assisted rehabilitation for reactions to severe stress and/or depression in a rehabilitation garden: long-term follow-up including comparisons with a matched population-based reference cohort.

Objective: To determine the effect of a nature-assisted rehabilitation programme in a group of patients with reactions to severe stress and/or mild to moderate depression. Changes in sick-leave status and healthcare consumption in these patients were compared with those in a matched population-based reference cohort (treatment as usual). Design: Retrospective cohort study with a matched reference group from the general population. Subjects: A total of 118 participants referred to a nature-assisted rehabilitation programme, and 678 controls recruited from the Skane Health Care Register. For both groups, information on sick leave was extracted from the National Social Insurance Register and on healthcare consumption data from the Skane Health Care Register. Methods: The interventional rehabilitation programme was designed as a multimodal programme involving professionals from horticulture and medicine. The programme was conducted in a rehabilitation garden, designed especially for this purpose. Results: A significant reduction in healthcare consumption was noted among participants in the programme compared with the reference population. The main changes were a reduction in outpatient visits to primary healthcare and a reduction in inpatient psychiatric care. No significant difference in sick-leave status was found. Conclusion: A structured, nature-based rehabilitation programme for patients with reactions to severe stress and/or depression could be beneficial, as reflected in reduced healthcare consumption

Investigation into reversed phase chromatography peptide separation systems part II : an evaluation of the robustness of a protocol for column characterisation

The robustness of the Peptide Reversed Phase Chromatography (RPC) Column Characterisation Protocol was evaluated using reduced factorial design, to ascertain the degree of control required for parameters including temperature, flow rate, dwell volume, a systematic shift in the gradient, amount of formic acid in the aqueous and organic, pH of the ammonium formate and amount of acetonitrile (%MeCN) in the strong solvent, where a loss of MeCN resulted in an unacceptable variation. Mitigations have been introduced to ensure the integrity of the data to allow RPC columns to be characterised using peptides as probes, with the definitive protocol described. In addition, the instrument and column batch to batch variability were assessed with good reproducibility

Investigation into reversed phase chromatography peptide separation systems part I : development of a protocol for column characterisation

A protocol was defined which utilised peptides as probes for the characterisation of reversed phase chromatography peptide separation systems. These peptide probes successfully distinguished between differing stationary phases through the probe's hydrophobic, electrostatic, hydrogen bonding and aromatic interactions with the stationary phase, in addition, to more subtle interactions such as the phase's ability to separate racemic or isomeric probes. The dominating forces responsible for the chromatographic selectivity of peptides appear to be hydrophobic as well as electrostatic and polar in nature. This highlights the need for other types of stationary phase ligands with possibly mixed mode functionalities / electrostatic / polar interactions for peptide separations rather than the hydrophobic ligands which dominate small molecule separations. Selectivity differences are observed between phases, but it appears that it is the accessibility differences between these phases which play a crucial role in peptide separations i.e. accessibility to silanols, the hydrophobic acetonitrile / ligand layer or a thin adsorbed water layer on the silica surface

Column classification/characterisation of strong cation exchange phases for the liquid chromatographic analysis of small molecular weight bases

A simple, rapid and robust protocol for the characterisation of strong cation exchange columns for the analysis of small molecular weight bases is described. A range of ten different phases were characterised, and the resultant selectivity and retention factors analysed using Principal Component Analysis. The score plots for the first and second principal components described 83% of the variability within the dataset. Score plots highlighted the large chromatographic differences observed between the phases, the validity of which was established using a larger range of bases. All the strong cation exchange materials demonstrated a synergistic mixed mode (i.e. ion exchange and hydrophobic) retention mechanism. Principal Component Analysis also highlighted the potential difficulty in locating suitable strong cation exchange “back-up” columns for the analysis of small molecular weight bases in that the characterised columns all displayed very different selectivities. The robustness of the protocol was confirmed by a factorial design experiment

Sensitization to secretoglobin and lipocalins in a group of young children with risk of developing respiratory allergy

Background: Multiple sensitizations in early age have been reported to be a risk for development of asthma. This study evaluates the emergence and evolution of IgE to aeroallergens among a cohort of children with physician-diagnosed atopic dermatitis and/or showing food allergy symptoms and to examine the relation to asthma development. Methods: Three-hundred and four children (median age 13.4 months at entry) with food allergy symptoms and/or atopic dermatitis without asthma at inclusion were analysed for IgE antibodies against food-, indoor- and outdoor-allergens and pet allergen components and correlated to the individuals’ outcome on asthma inception. Results: At 2 years of follow-up, physician-diagnosed asthma was 19.7% (n = 49) and asthma diagnosed any time was 24% (n = 67). History of persistent cough and asthma of father, combination of milk- and wheat-allergy symptoms and dual sensitization to house dust mite and Japanese cedar were independent risk factors for asthma. Sensitization to dog was the most prevalent inhalant allergen at entry. Asthma children had a higher proportion of sensitization to dog, cat and horse allergens at entry compared with non-asthma children. Being sensitized to both food, house dust mite and pet allergens was strongly associated with asthma (p = 0.0006). Component resolved diagnosis for dog and cat allergens showed that IgE antibodies to Can f 1 and Fel d 1 was common even at very young age. Conclusions: Early sensitization to inhalant allergens increases the risk of developing asthma as well as having milk and wheat allergy symptoms. Sensitization to dog, was common at an early age despite dog ownership. Sensitization to secretoglobin and lipocalins and less to serum albumins explained the pet sensitization

Naturunderstödd rehabilitering på landsbygden i Region Skåne

Projektet Naturunderstödd rehabilitering på landsbygden består av en intervention där Region Skåne, Försäkringskassan, Arbetsförmedlingen, Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund (LRF) samt Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) samarbetat för att utveckla en ny rehabiliteringsmodell, där medicinska och ickemedicinska kompetenser samverkat. Målgruppen för projektet har varit personer som sökt primärvården på grund av utmattningssyndrom, mild till måttlig depression samt ångest. Projektet har bedrivits på gårdar på landsbygden i Skåne där natur och djur används som komplement i rehabiliteringen. Elva gårdar har deltagit i projektet och varit anslutna till vårdcentralerna. Vårdcentralen har ansvarat för den medicinska kompetensen medan landsbygdsföretaget ansvarat för naturbaserade aktiviteter. Deltagare har remitterats under 2012-2013 och har sedan fritt fått välja någon av de anslutna gårdarna. Under åtta veckor, tre gånger per vecka och ungefär fyra timmar per tillfälle, har deltagarna fått vistas på gården och efter egen förmåga tagit del av olika aktiviteter. På varje gård har det funnits flera deltagare och samtliga deltagare har deltagit i olika aktiviteter efter egen förmåga. I denna rapport har vi gjort en sammanställning av självrapporterad data som samlats in i samband med att deltagarna påbörjat Naturunderstödd rehabilitering på landsbygden, när de slutat samt vid sex respektive 12-månaders uppföljning. Resultaten baserar sig på 127 deltagare. Underlaget har, efter studiens slut, kompletterats med data från det patientadministrativa systemet (PASIS) på 67 deltagare som fått Naturunderstödd rehabilitering på landsbygden under perioden 2014-2016.Studien är genomförd utan kontrollgrupp. Därför kan vi inte uttala oss om huruvida den genomförda interventionen har haft effekt överstigande den effekt som hade upplevts utan interventionen. Vi har kunnat se att deltagarna i genomsnitt förbättras över tid avseende hälsorelaterad livskvalitet, arbetsförmåga, sömn, ångest och depression samt aktivitet. 28 % av deltagarna hade en kliniskt relevant förbättring avseende hälsorelaterad livskvalitet och/eller självskattad arbetsförmåga vid 12- månaders uppföljning av interventionen. Det är dock viktigt att notera att det är ett stort bortfall i uppföljningarna, vilket innebär att vi saknar information om ett stort antal deltagar

Behavior in a stressful situation, personality factors, and disease severity in patients with acute myocardial infarction: baseline findings from the prospective cohort study SECAMI (The Secondary Prevention and Compliance following Acute Myocardial Infarction-study)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Psychosocial stress has been identified as a risk factor in association with cardiovascular disease but less attention has been paid to heterogeneity in vulnerability to stress. The serial Color Word Test (CWT) measures adaptation to a stressful situation and it can be used to identify individuals that are vulnerable to stress. Prospective studies have shown that individuals with a maladaptive behavior in this test are exposed to an increased risk of future cardiovascular events. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether maladaptive behavior in the serial CWT alone or in combination with any specific personality dimension was associated with severity of myocardial infarction (MI).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>MI-patients (n = 147) completed the test and filled in a personality questionnaire in close proximity to the acute event. The results were analyzed in association with four indicators of severity: maximum levels above median of the cardiac biomarkers troponin I and creatine kinase-MB (CKMB), Q-wave infarctions, and a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 50%.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Maladaptive behavior in the serial CWT together with low scores on extraversion were associated with maximum levels above median of cardiac troponin I (OR 2.97, CI 1.08-8.20, p = 0.04) and CKMB (OR 3.33, CI 1.12-9.93, p = 0.03). No associations were found between the combination maladaptive behavior and low scores on extraversion and Q-wave infarctions or a decreased LVEF.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Maladaptive behavior in combination with low scores on extraversion is associated with higher cardiac biomarker levels following an MI. The serial CWT and personality questionnaires could be used to identify individuals vulnerable to the hazardous effects of stress and thereby are exposed to an increased risk of a more severe infarction.</p

The impact of personality factors on delay in seeking treatment of acute myocardial infarction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early hospital arrival and rapid intervention for acute myocardial infarction is essential for a successful outcome. Several studies have been unable to identify explanatory factors that slowed decision time. The present study examines whether personality, psychosocial factors, and coping strategies might explain differences in time delay from onset of symptoms of acute myocardial infarction to arrival at a hospital emergency room.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Questionnaires on coping strategies, personality dimensions, and depression were completed by 323 patients ages 26 to 70 who had suffered an acute myocardial infarction. Tests measuring stress adaptation were completed by 180 of them. The patients were then categorised into three groups, based on time from onset of symptoms until arrival at hospital, and compared using logistic regression analysis and general linear models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No correlation could be established between personality factors (i.e., extraversion, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness) or depressive symptoms and time between onset of symptoms and arrival at hospital. Nor was there any significant relationship between self-reported patient coping strategies and time delay.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found no significant relationship between personality factors, coping strategies, or depression and time delays in seeking hospital after an acute myocardial infraction.</p

Mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke : Consensus statement by ESO-Karolinska Stroke Update 2014/2015, supported by ESO, ESMINT, ESNR and EAN

The original version of this consensus statement on mechanical thrombectomy was approved at the European Stroke Organisation (ESO)-Karolinska Stroke Update conference in Stockholm, 16-18 November 2014. The statement has later, during 2015, been updated with new clinical trials data in accordance with a decision made at the conference. Revisions have been made at a face-to-face meeting during the ESO Winter School in Berne in February, through email exchanges and the final version has then been approved by each society. The recommendations are identical to the original version with evidence level upgraded by 20 February 2015 and confirmed by 15 May 2015. The purpose of the ESO-Karolinska Stroke Update meetings is to provide updates on recent stroke therapy research and to discuss how the results may be implemented into clinical routine. Selected topics are discussed at consensus sessions, for which a consensus statement is prepared and discussed by the participants at the meeting. The statements are advisory to the ESO guidelines committee. This consensus statement includes recommendations on mechanical thrombectomy after acute stroke. The statement is supported by ESO, European Society of Minimally Invasive Neurological Therapy (ESMINT), European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR), and European Academy of Neurology (EAN).Peer reviewe