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Masteroppgave i folkehelsevitenskap – Universitetet i Agder 2013 Introduction: Approximately, half of the world population depends on biomass fuels as primary energy source. Indoor air pollutants are recently studied and considered as to be responsible for health burden in rural China. Chronic exposure to biomass combustion has been claimed to be associated with increased prevalence of respiratory symptoms, reduced lung function and the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) The present study focuses on two main indoor air pollutants produced by biomass combustion: CO (Carbon monoxide) and PM (Particulate matter). The aim of the current study is to consider the association between these two main indoor pollutants and women’s lung function in chosen rural villages of Giuzhou Province of China. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on the present study. A cluster of household survey was randomly selected to perform measurement of indoor air pollution. Sample subjects were women in the age of 30 years old or older. Spirometry was performed in all subjects. Results: There was no difference between participants with IAP measurement and those without IAP measurement. A significant association was found between CO concentration in living room and FEF50 (P=0.040). No statistically significant association was found between living-room CO concentration and FVC as well as FEV1. No significant association was found between PM2.5 concentration and lung function neither in kitchen nor in living room. Conclusion: CO concentration was negatively associated with women’s lung function, and there was no association between PM2.5 and women’s lung function.

Pseudomonas stutzeriis a rare cause of nosocomial infection. We report a pediatric case of nosocomially acquiredP. stutzeribrain abscess after subdural grid implantation before surgery for refractory epilepsy and review the literature.

Synthetic Notch (synNotch) receptors are modular synthetic components that are genetically engineered into mammalian cells to detect signals presented by neighboring cells and respond by activating prescribed transcriptional programs. To date, synNotch has been used to program therapeutic cells and pattern morphogenesis in multicellular systems. However, cell-presented ligands have limited versatility for applications that require spatial precision, such as tissue engineering. To address this, we developed a suite of materials to activate synNotch receptors and serve as generalizable platforms for generating user-defined material-to-cell signaling pathways. First, we demonstrate that synNotch ligands, such as GFP, can be conjugated to cell- generated ECM proteins via genetic engineering of fibronectin produced by fibroblasts. We then used enzymatic or click chemistry to covalently link synNotch ligands to gelatin polymers to activate synNotch receptors in cells grown on or within a hydrogel. To achieve microscale control over synNotch activation in cell monolayers, we microcontact printed synNotch ligands onto a surface. We also patterned tissues comprising cells with up to three distinct phenotypes by engineering cells with two distinct synthetic pathways and culturing them on surfaces microfluidically patterned with two synNotch ligands. We showcase this technology by co-transdifferentiating fibroblasts into skeletal muscle or endothelial cell precursors in user-defined spatial patterns towards the engineering of muscle tissue with prescribed vascular networks. Collectively, this suite of approaches extends the synNotch toolkit and provides novel avenues for spatially controlling cellular phenotypes in mammalian multicellular systems, with many broad applications in developmental biology, synthetic morphogenesis, human tissue modeling, and regenerative medicine.