Ganglion Cell Complex Thickness and Visual Function in Chronic Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between the macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness measured with manually corrected segmentation and visual function in individuals with chronic Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).

Methods: Twenty-six chronic LHON subjects (60% treated with idebenone or Q10) from the Swedish LHON registry were enrolled. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), visual field tests, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed.

Individual vs simultaneous macular and optic disc measurements with spectral domain optical coherence tomography in glaucoma and healthy eyes.

We assessed the repeatability and agreement of ganglion cell complex (GCC) in the macular area and the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (ppRNFL) with individual and combined macula and disc scans. The macular GCC and ppRNFL thicknesses from 34 control eyes and 43 eyes with glaucoma were measured with the Canon Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) HS-100. Two repeated measurements were performed with both scan modes.

Cholecystectomy and ERCP in pregnancy: a nationwide register-based study.

Objective: The objective was to examine the outcomes of cholecystectomy and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) during pregnancy and compare these outcomes with those in nonpregnant women of fertile age.

Summary Background Data: Although both laparoscopic cholecystectomy and ERCP are considered safe and feasible in pregnant patients, there is still concern and uncertainty regarding gallstone intervention during pregnancy. This study aimed to investigate outcomes in pregnant patients compared to outcomes in nonpregnant patients.

Women's sexual and reproductive health in war and conflict: are we seeing the full picture?

It is well established that women's sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) is negatively affected by war. While global health research often emphasises infrastructure and systematic factors as key impediments to women's SRHR in war and postwar contexts, reports from different armed conflicts indicate that women's reproduction may be controlled both by state and other armed actors, limiting women's choices and access to maternal and reproductive health care even when these are available. In addition, it is important to examine and trace disparities in sexual reproductive health access and uptake within different types of wars, recognising gendered differences in war and postwar contexts.

Surgery A survey of patients' perceptions and experiences of intervention for gallstone disease during pregnancy.

Background: Gallstones intervention during pregnancy might be a stressful event for both mother and fetus and stress might affect outcome. The aim of this study was to identify factors that might improve the care of pregnant patients in need of intervention for gallstone disease.

Methods: By crossmatching the Swedish Registry of Gallstone Surgery and Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (GallRiks) and the Swedish Medical Birth Registry, we identified patients with gallstone intervention during pregnancy.

Quality of care in dysphagia patients: adaptation and validation of the Swedish SWAL-CARE questionnaire.

Background: The aim of this study was to adapt the instrument and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Swallowing Quality of Care questionnaire (S-SWAL-CARE) in patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia.

Methods: Translation and adaptation of the original SWAL-CARE into Swedish was performed according to established international guidelines. Field testing was performed using 100 patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia due to multiple reasons such as head and neck cancer and neurologic/neuromuscular disease, who had undergone swallowing evaluation within 6 months prior to the study.

Cholecystectomy After Previous Bariatric Surgery with Special Focus on Pregnant Patients-Results from Two Large Nationwide Registries.

Background: Biliary complications during pregnancy is an important issue. The aim of this study was to examine if there is an increased risk to perform cholecystectomy during pregnancy in patients with previous bariatric surgery in comparison to other females subjected to cholecystectomy.

Methods: The Nationwide Swedish Registry for Gallstone Surgery (GallRiks) and the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg) were combined.

Identifying organs at risk for radiation-induced late dysphagia in head and neck cancer patients.

Background And Purpose: Dysphagia is a common, severe and dose-limiting toxicity after oncological treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC). This study aims to investigate relationships between radiation doses to structures involved in normal swallowing and patient-reported as well as clinically measured swallowing function in HNC patients after curative (chemo-) radiation therapy (RT) with focus on late effects.

Materials And Methods: Patients (n = 90) with HNC curatively treated with RT ± chemotherapy in 2007-2015 were assessed for dysphagia post-treatment by telephone interview and videofluoroscopy (VFS).

Correlations Between Patient-Reported Dysphagia Screening and Penetration-Aspiration Scores in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Post-oncological Treatment.

Dysphagia is a common and severe toxicity after oncological treatment of head and neck cancer (HNC). The study aim was to investigate relationships between patient-reported dysphagia and clinically measured swallowing function in HNC after modern curative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy to identify possible alarm symptoms for clinically manifest dysphagia. Patients with tumors of the tonsil, base of tongue, hypopharynx, and larynx treated in 2007-2015 were assessed for dysphagia post-treatment by telephone interview and videofluoroscopy (VFS).

Changing management of gallstone-related disease in pregnancy - a retrospective cohort analysis.

Objectives: Gallstone-related disease is the second most common non-obstetric cause, following appendicitis, for acute abdomen in pregnancy. This study aimed to investigate treatment strategies, changes over time and outcome.

Materials And Methods: All consecutive patients with symptomatic gallstone-related disease during pregnancy admitted to Skane University hospital in Lund and Malmö 2001-2015 were analysed retrospectively.

Within-Bolus Variability of the Penetration-Aspiration Scale Across Two Subsequent Swallows in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer.

To compare two consecutive swallowing attempts to study if there is a difference in Rosenbek's penetration-aspiration scale (PAS) scores between the first and second swallowing attempt of the same bolus type in videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing (VFS). Additional aims include reflecting on which bolus sizes and consistencies are the most relevant to include in further studies for head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. The VFS for 38 patients curatively treated for HNC was studied.

Temporal patterns of patient-reported trismus and associated mouth-opening distances in radiotherapy for head and neck cancer: A prospective cohort study.

Objectives: To identify temporal patterns of patient-reported trismus during the first year post-radiotherapy, and to study their associations with maximal interincisal opening distances (MIOs).

Design: Single institution case series.

Setting: University hospital ENT clinic.

Swallowing Quality of Life After Zona Incerta Deep Brain Stimulation.

Objectives: The management of Parkinson's disease (PD) has been improved, but management of signs like swallowing problems is still challenging. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) alleviates the cardinal motor symptoms and improves quality of life, but its effect on swallowing is not fully explored. The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported swallowing-specific quality of life before and after caudal zona incerta DBS (cZI DBS) in comparison with a control group.

Visual flow scene effects on the somatogravic illusion in non-pilots.

Introduction: The somatogravic illusion (SGI) is easily broken when the pilot looks out the aircraft window during daylight flight, but it has proven difficult to break or even reduce the SGI in non-pilots in simulators using synthetic visual scenes. Could visual-flow scenes that accommodate compensatory head movement reduce the SGI in naive subjects?

Methods: We investigated the effects of visual cues on the SGI induced by a human centrifuge. The subject was equipped with a head-tracked, head-mounted display (HMD) and was seated in a fixed gondola facing the center of rotation.

Quantification of electroporative uptake kinetics and electric field heterogeneity effects in cells.

We have conducted experiments quantitatively investigating electroporative uptake kinetics of a fluorescent plasma membrane integrity indicator, propidium iodide (PI), in HL60 human leukemia cells resulting from exposure to 40 mus pulsed electric fields (PEFs). These experiments were possible through the use of calibrated, real-time fluorescence microscopy and the development of a microcuvette: a specialized device designed for exposing cell cultures to intense PEFs while carrying out real-time microscopy. A finite-element electrostatic simulation was carried out to assess the degree of electric field heterogeneity between the microcuvette's electrodes allowing us to correlate trends in electroporative response to electric field distribution.

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and pharynx: association to p53 and clinical outcome.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression is up-regulated in transformed cells and in malignant tissues, including tumours of the head and neck, and it has prognostic significance in many types of cancer. COX-2 expression is suppressed by the wild-type but not by the mutant tumour suppressor gene TP53. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the expression of COX-2 and the clinical outcome in patients with oral and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and to examine its relationship to p53.

Pore morphologies in disordered nanoporous thin films.

Materials with nanometer size heterogeneities are commonplace in the chemical and biological sciences (e.g, polymer blends, microemulsions, gels) and often exhibit complex morphologies. Although this morphology has a dramatic effect on the materials' properties, it is often difficult to accurately characterize.

Tenascin-C expression and its prognostic significance in oral and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Tenascin-C (Tn-C) is an extracellular matrix protein with growth-, invasion- and angiogenesis-promoting activities. It is up-regulated in tumorigenesis and has been suggested to correlate with prognosis in various carcinomas, but its significance in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the prognostic significance of Tn-C expression in oral and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.