The History and Rationale of Swedish Prostitution Policies

This article analyses the history and rationale behind “the Swedish model” of regulating prostitution. The most controversial and debated part of this model is the 1999 ban on purchases of sexual services. To be fully understood the ban and the comprehensive policy regime of which it is a part, the new model has to be placed within a broader framework of policy areas such as gender, sexuality, and social welfare. Thus, the contemporary policy regime will be traced back to the mid-1970s when gender norms and sexual mores were renegotiated in Sweden, which in turn led to a radical reconsideration of men’s role and responsibility in heterosexual prostitution. Also, the outcomes, critiques, and controversies of “the Swedish model” will be discussed. A reduction of demand for prostitution implies changes on many levels, both societal and individual. From a normative point of view, it has been women who have played a leading role when it comes to working for such a change. A radical change would presuppose men’s participation in the process. If so, the crucial question is: Is there reason to believe that men are prepared to engage in anti-sexist politics that can challenge existing beliefs about gender difference and the idea of men’s rights to use women in prostitution for their sexual purposes

Detection of Crosslinks within and between Proteins by LC-MALDI-TOFTOF and the Software FINDX to Reduce the MSMS-Data to Acquire for Validation

Lysine-specific chemical crosslinking in combination with mass spectrometry is emerging as a tool for the structural characterization of protein complexes and protein-protein interactions. After tryptic digestion of crosslinked proteins there are thousands of peptides amenable to MSMS, of which only very few are crosslinked peptides of interest. Here we describe how the advantage offered by off-line LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry is exploited in a two-step workflow to focus the MSMS-acquisition on crosslinks mainly. In a first step, MS-data are acquired and all the peak list files from the LC-separated fractions are merged by the FINDX software and screened for presence of crosslinks which are recognized as isotope-labeled doublet peaks. Information on the isotope doublet peak mass and intensity can be used as search constraints to reduce the number of false positives that match randomly to the observed peak masses. Based on the MS-data a precursor ion inclusion list is generated and used in a second step, where a restricted number of MSMS-spectra are acquired for crosslink validation. The decoupling of MS and MSMS and the peptide sorting with FINDX based on MS-data has the advantage that MSMS can be restricted to and focused on crosslinks of Type 2, which are of highest biological interest but often lowest in abundance. The LC-MALDI TOF/TOF workflow here described is applicable to protein multisubunit complexes and using 14N/15N mixed isotope strategy for the detection of inter-protein crosslinks within protein oligomers

Hyperpolarized Nuclei for NMR Imaging and Spectroscopy – Methodology and model studies of lung and vascular function

Based on the principle of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are widely used methods in medical diagnostic imaging and biological research. Clinical MRI has been restricted to imaging of protons, for reasons of sensitivity. In recent years, hyperpolarization techniques have emerged that can increase the NMR signal by 5–6 orders of magnitude. The increased signal from hyperpolarized substances enables investigation of non-proton nuclei, and thus makes novel kinds of examinations possible, e.g., imaging of the lungs and respiratory airways after inhalation of hyperpolarized gas. In this work, applications related to vascular imaging and lung function were investigated, using three hyperpolarized nuclei: 129Xe, 13C, and 3He. In addition, practical aspects regarding the handling and utilization of hyperpolarized substances were evaluated. The potential of angiography using echo-planar imaging (EPI) was investigated using dissolved 129Xe in a phantom model. Long relaxation times were achieved in the in vitro experiments, allowing images of reasonable quality to be acquired within a scan time of 44 ms. Under in vivo conditions, severe limitations are expected, which are mainly due to short transverse relaxation times. A novel 13C substance with favorable properties for angiography was investigated using an optimized true fast imaging with steady-state precession (trueFISP) pulse sequence. Long relaxation times were obtained also under in vivo conditions (T1 ~ 40 s, T2 ~ 2 s), which permitted the acquisition of angiograms in live rats with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as high as ~500. To investigate regional pulmonary ventilation, a technique was developed in an initial study, that was based on inhalation of 3He gas. A quantitative measurement of gas replacement was calculated from the signal buildup after repeated inspirations of 3He. The relative replacement of gas was close to 1 in the trachea and the major airways, and decreased to ~0.15 in the most peripheral parts of the lung. In a second study, regional ventilation was found to be increased in the inferior parts of the lung as compared with the superior parts, with the subject in supine position, whereas a uniform ventilation was measured in prone position. From measurements of the dynamic uptake of 129Xe from the alveolar gas spaces to the pulmonary blood vessels, several physiological parameters could be derived, including the thickness of the respiratory membrane and the pulmonary perfusion. The method was employed to compare healthy control animals with animals with inflammatory lung injury. A significantly increased membrane thickness (10.0 µm vs. 8.6 µm) was measured in the latter group, whereas the pulmonary perfusion remained unaltered. By using hyperpolarized substances, novel possibilities of gaining physiological information arise, which may comple-ment existing MRI and MRS techniques