The aim of the work was to investigate the possibility to combine information from PPG and bio-acoustic technology to extract information that is related to the blood pressure. The measurements have been carried out with several different configurations. First the relation between arterial sounds and the PPG-signal was studied. After those measurements with both PPG and the bio- acoustic technique was concluded on people in different positions and after riding a bike. The goal was to vary the blood pressure.

The market offers more and more products that are claimed to have medicallypositive effects (like increased blood perfusion etc.) due to their magneticproperties. The objective of this study was to investigate if blankets containingpermanent (static) magnets have a greater impact on cutaneous blood circulationthan ordinary blankets without magnets. Eight standard bred horses were used in across-over study. The cutaneous temperature was presumed to reflect blood flowin the skin and therefore thermography and local thermistors were used to indicatechanges in circulation. Baseline values were registered before the blanket wasapplied.

Native spider silk is an attractive lightweight natural polymeric material with a unique combination of strength, extendibility and flexibility. Synthetic, recombinant spider silk is an attractive biomaterial with several possible fields of application. When a foreign material is introduced to blood, this can for example cause unwanted coagulation and complement activation. The aim of this study was to investigate if coatings of heparin or albumin could improve the blood compatibility of films of recombinant spider silk and to develop an initial method to do so. Hypothetically, objects like pacemakers, stents and dental implants could be covered with spider silk films of high blood compatibility to reduce potentially harmful foreign body reactions caused by the immune defense. Increased blood compatibility would likely lead to improvements for both the individual patients and the society thanks to reduced load on healthcare institutions. Our objective was to assess the blood compatibility of both functionalized and non-functionalized recombinant spider silk by evaluating coagulation and activation of the complement system of the immune defense. Coagulation was evaluated visually on glass slides and complement activation was analyzed by measuring the concentration of the complement system mediator C3a in blood samples that had been exposed to the different materials. This study introduces a non-toxic and easy performed method of improving the blood compatibility of recombinant spider silk films by adding a heparin coating. Heparin coated surfaces had statistically significantly higher blood compatibility than uncoated surfaces. The effects of albumin coating of films were less clear compared to the results of heparin coated films. Complement activation could not be evaluated because of high activation in all samples prior contact with the materials that were included in the study..

Incompatibility between donors and recipients can cause fatal hemolytic transfusion reactions (HTR), kidney damage and death and immunization of the recipient. Antigens on the surface of erythrocytes in the ABO blood group system and regular natural antibodies against these in the patient?s plasma must be considered. An individual always has a corresponding antibody of IgM in their plasma. Irregular antibodies acquired by transfusion or pregnancy and active in body temperature also cause the HTR incompatibility.

Erythropoiesis is a complex and carefully controlled process which is mainly regulated by erythropoietin. Using flow cytometry cells in a blood sample can be analyzed one by one. ADVIA 2120 using flow cytometry for analysis of red blood cells (RBC) and reticulocytes. Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a component of the RBC method. RDW indicates size variation on erythrocytes and is measured as a percentage of the mean cell volume (MCV). By measuring the RDW anemia can be divided into makrocytic, microcytic or normocytic. Reticulocytes refract light more strongly than red blood cells because they contain some cellular debris. The number of reticulocytes in the peripheral blood reflects erythropoiesis in the bone marrow. The purpose of this project was that by approved methods to establish reference ranges for the parameters, RDW and reticulocyte counts.The individuals who participated in the study, n=124, were considered healthy and had varying ethnicity. Reference subjects had not donated blood the last six months and participation in the study was voluntary.The statistic evaluation includes examination of distribution, and reference ranges for both men and women were established using the 2.5:t and 97.5:t percentiles. The calculated reference interval for RDW was between 12.0 ? 14.3% and the calculated reference interval for reticulocytes was between 38.0 ? 112.8 x109 cells/L. The results showed a significant difference between males and females for the parameter reticulocytes was seen. The difference indicates that different reference ranges should be established for men and women (p<0,0001). No significant difference between males and females were seen for RDW (p=0,74) indicating that the same reference ranges can be used for both men and women. .

Platelet aggregation is a major and common problem in blood samples from cats. This greatly affects the accuracy of counting of the platelets. Because of the difficulties in counting feline platelets, results for patients and reliable reference values for cat platelets are currently so inaccurate as to be almost useless in diagnosis of thrombocytopenia. In this study we used an effective method to prevent platelet aggregation. Blood was collected in CTAD test tubes and prostaglandin E1 was added to the blood sample.

Background: Earlier research describes patients with blood-bourne pathogens experiences from the healthcare system. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe how registered nurses experience taking care of patients with blood-bourne pathogens. Method: This study had a descriptive design with a qualitative method. Eight interviews where performed and analyzed with manifest content analyze. Three categories ?Comfort in their profession?, ?Support from the organization?and ?Fear of being contaminated?, and five subcategories ?Support from hygiene guidelines?, ? Thoughtfulness?, ?The own responsibility?, ?Feelings of fear and concern?and ?To meet preconceptions?, emerged.

Myxomatous mitral valve disease is a common disease in older dogs of small- to medium-size breeds. The mitral valve, and less commonly the tricuspid valve may be affected which causes them to leak blood from the ventricle to the atrium of the heart during systole. With increasing severity of mitral valve leakage the forward stroke volume ejected into the aorta decreases, which may lead to an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary vein resulting in pulmonary edema. A decrease in cardiac output may lead to a decrease in blood pressure, but the body may respond in order to normalize the blood pressure. Franzén showed in 2007 that the systolic blood pressure was increased in dogs with severe mitral insufficiency.

Involuntary childlessness is a big problem around the world. One way to solve the problem is to receive oocytes or semen from a donor. In Sweden, semen donation has been regulated by law since 1985 and oocyte donation since 2003. The aim of this study was to investigate what motivations women and men in Sweden have to donate gametes, if they feel any ambivalence to donate, and to compare if there is any difference in motivation and ambivalence between women and men. Motivation was measured with eight statements based on previous results and clinical experience.

Inledning: Sjukvården är beroende av frivilliga bloddonatorer. Det behövs alltid fler bloddonatorer då vi med dagens sjukvård kan utföra alltmer avancerad kirurgi samt rädda och hjälpa allt fler sjuka samt skadade, med hjälp av blod från frivilliga donatorer.Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka vilka skäl som anges till att inte donera blod, samt undersöka om viljan att ge blod skiljer sig beroende på kön, ålder och om man har yrkes- eller studieanknytning till sjukvård. Syftet var också att undersöka vilka faktorer potentiella blodgivare anger som motiverande till att donera blod.Metod: Denna uppsats baseras på en kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie, bestående av en webbenkät som delats av författarnas på det sociala mediet Facebook. Enkäten vände sig till personer som enligt blodcentralens kriterier får donera blod, totalt inkom 90 svar, med ett bortfall på totalt 11 personer. Enkäter analyserades sedan kvantitativt med hjälp av statistikprogrammet SPSS.Resultat: Studien visar att den vanligaste orsaken till att respondenten inte gått och donerat blod är att de tillfrågade har tänkt på det men att det inte blivit av.

Inclusion body disease (IBD) affecting boas and pythons is a serious and common disease. Boas can be clinically healthy carriers, which makes control of the disease difficult. The causative agent has not yet been confidently identified, and therefore there are no serodiagnostic tests available. Today, histopathologic examination of tissue biopsies is the recommended antemortem diagnostic method, but there are several disadvantages. The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity of two diagnostic methods ? liver biopsies and blood smears, and to evaluate ultrasoundguided needle biopsy of the liver.

Six cows were subjected to an intravenous glucose tolerance test (GTT) to evaluate the amount of glucose that is needed to stimulate the release of insulin from pancreas. Four of the cows were in early lactation and two were non-lactating and not pregnant. Series of blood-samples were collected to analyze the concentration of insulin and glucose in the blood. The cows were given lower levels of glucose than have been used in earlier glucose tolerance tests. The levels of glucose given were 7,5 mg/kg BW, 15 mg/kg BW, 30 mg/kg BW and 50 mg/kg BW.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur normalitet och avvikelse representeras i HBOs tv-serie True Blood. Fokus ligger på hur etnicitet och sexualitet representeras. Uppsatsen frågeställning är: Hur representeras normalitet och avvikelse, med fokus på etnicitet och sexualitet, i HBOs tv-serie True Blood?  Denna har operationaliserats genom ett egenkomponerat analysschema, innehållandes olika teman som utrönts genom författarens förkunskap om tv-serien och dess handling. Metoden består av ett analysschema som använts genom en semiologisk analys samt Stuart Halls representationsbegrepp.

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease, induced by an immune mediated reaction in the small intestine after ingestion of gluten and related prolamines. There is a strong genetic linkage and most important are the genes that encodes for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. The European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) has developed new guidelines for investigation of CD in children and adolescents, which include genotyping for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. Therefore, the clinical microbiological laboratory in Västmanland wants to introduce a method for analysis of these genes. Microarray is a newly developed method for determination of the alleles HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 that encodes for the ?- and ?-subunits of the HLA-molecules.

Filmanalyser med inriktning på representationen av Afrika, afrikanen och västvärlden i Blood Diamond, The Constant Gardener och Hotel Rwanda ur ett postkolonialt perspektiv..