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The recently compiled Swedish Diachronic Corpus offers access to a total of approximately 16 billion words, covering texts from the 13th century onwards. The corpus contains 14 main genres, with a number of subgenres, compiled from a wide range of sources, including corpus providers and libraries as well as individual researchers and private citizens. All texts in the corpus follow a consistent format, are extensively annotated with metadata, and freely available for download. We firmly believe that the existence of a Swedish diachronic corpus among the resources offered by CLARIN will open up avenues to new, interesting research questions within humanities research, and be a valuable resource for large-scale studies of the Swedish language throughout history - studies that have previously been impossible to conduct in a thorough and consistent manner. Thanks to its embedding in the CLARIN context it also carries the potential to enable broad historical studies from a comparative European perspective.

Objectives: To assess the impact of a multifaceted educational intervention concerning treatment of infections in the nursing home setting. Methods: We used a cluster randomized controlled trial. Fifty-eight nursing homes in Sweden were randomly assigned either to educational intervention or control. The intervention consisted of small educational group sessions with nurses and physicians, feedback on prescribing, presentation of guidelines and written materials. The primary outcome was the proportion of quinolones prescribed for lower urinary tract infection (UTI) in women. Secondary outcomes were for all infections: number of UTIs per resident, proportion of recorded infections treated with an antibiotic, proportion of infections handled by physicians as ‘wait and see’, and for lower UTI in women, proportion of nitrofurantoin. Results: Of the 58 nursing homes, 46 completed the study. A total of 702 and 540 infections were recorded pre- and post-intervention. The proportion of quinolones decreased significantly in the intervention and control groups, by 20.196 (9/93 to 36/123) and 20.224 (4/66 to 31/109), respectively [95% confidence interval (CI) 20.338, 20.054 and 20.394, 20.054], but the difference between intervention and control groups was not significant, with an absolute risk reduction of 0.028 (95% CI 20.193, 0.249). The changes in proportion of infections treated with antibiotics and proportion of infections handled by physicians as ‘wait and see’ was significant in comparison with controls: 20.124 (95% CI 20.228, 20.019) and 0.143 (95% CI 0.047, 0.240). No intervention effect could be seen for the other outcomes. Conclusions: The educational intervention had no effect on the primary outcome, but decreased the overall prescribing of antibiotics.

The aim of this study was to present and assess the treatment of infections in Swedish nursing homes. It included 58 nursing homes with 3002 residents. During 3 months, nurses in the nursing homes recorded all infections requiring a physician's opinion. Of the 889 infectious episodes, 84% were treated with antibiotics. Many of the antibiotics were issued after indirect contact with the physician (38%). Indications for antibiotics were in 55% of the cases urinary tract infections (UTI), in 17% skin and soft-tissue infections and in 15% respiratory tract infections (RTI). The most common antibiotics were penicillins (38%), followed by quinolones (23%) and trimethoprim (18%). For the major indication, lower UTI in women, half of the cases were not treated according to the recommendations. The main concerns were length of treatment and overprescribing of quinolones. For the second major diagnosis, pneumonia, the high use of doxycycline could be questioned. Continuing education on infections and their treatment in nursing homes is needed. Training should preferably include both physicians and nurses as a high proportion of antibiotics is issued without direct contact with the physician.

Controlled ileal release budesonide and slow release mesalazine are both used to treat mild to moderate active Crohn's disease, although data show that budesonide is more effective in inducing remission. When comparing different treatment options, the effects of agents on health-related quality of life must be considered as well as efficacy. In this study, we sought to compare the effects of budesonide and mesalazine on the health-related quality of life of patients with active Crohn's disease.The study included 182 patients with Crohn's Disease Activity Index scores between 200 and 400. Patients were randomized in a double blind, double dummy, multicenter study to receive 9 mg of budesonide, once daily (n = 93), or 2 g of mesalazine, b.i.d. (n = 89), for 16 wk. Quality of life was assessed at baseline and after 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 wk of treatment using the Psychological General Well-Being index. In addition, a physician's global evaluation was used to assess how symptoms affected patients' normal activities.Patients treated with budesonide experienced significantly greater improvement in Psychological General Well-Being scores than the group treated with mesalazine after 2, 8, 12, and 16 wk. All components of this index showed greater improvements in the budesonide-treated group than in the mesalazine group at 12 and 16 wk. The physician's global evaluation showed significantly greater improvements in the budesonide group than in the mesalazine group at all visits.Budesonide (9 mg once daily) improves health-related quality of life to a greater extent than mesalazine (2 g b.i.d.) in patients with mild to moderate active Crohn's disease.

Important aims of the study were to investigate whether an educational program (the `Asthma School') directed by a nurse led to improved knowledge of the disease, to improved self-medication and self-management and to improved, self-rated, functional status. A total of 32 patients (6 males, 26 females, mean age 43 years) was included. The following methods were used to collect the data before and one year after the Asthma School was completed; two study-specific questionnaires for collecting demographic data and measuring different aspects of the patients' knowledge of the disease and its treatment, monthly diary cards, lung-function tests (FEV 1 ) and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) questionnaire. The main results of the study were an improved knowledge of the disease and its treatment, better self-management, i.e. more frequent use of the peak expiratory flow meter (PEF-meter) and use of inhaled bronchodilators on an as-required basis, fewer patients on sick-leave and a better, self-rated, physical health status. However, in spite of these encouraging results, the lungfunction was found to be unaffected, no pronounced changes in the use of asthma drugs could be found and the patients' need for medical care remained the same.

Background Crohn's disease is often treated with glucocorticoids or mesalamine. We compared the efficacy and safety of controlled-ileal-release budesonide capsules and slow-release mesalamine tablets in patients with active Crohn's disease affecting the ileum, the ascending colon, or both. Methods In a double-blind, multicenter trial, we enrolled 182 patients with scores of 200 to 400 on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (with higher scores indicating greater disease activity) and randomly assigned 93 to receive 9 mg of budesonide once daily and 89 to receive 2 g of mesalamine twice daily for 16 weeks. The primary efficacy variable was clinical remission, defined as a score of 150 or less on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index. Results In the analysis of all patients who received at least one dose of study drug, the rates of remission after 8 weeks of treatment were 69 percent in the budesonide group and 45 percent in the mesalamine group (P=0.001); the respective rates after 16 weeks of treatment were 62...

Behavioral, biochemical, and electrophysiological studies suggest that amperozide affects mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine neurotransmission. The receptor binding profile of amperozide is discussed and related to behavioral and clinical, i.e., antipsychotic, effects of the drug. As previously reported, amperozide displayed high affinity for serotonin 5-HT 2A receptors (K i = 16 nmol/L), and moderate affinity for striatal dopamine D 2 (K i = 540 nmol/L) and cortical α 1 -adrenergic receptors (K i = 172 nmol/L). In the present study amperozide displayed low affinity for several serotonin receptor subtypes as well as for the dopamine D 4 receptor transfected in COS7 cells (K i D 4.2 = 769 nmol/L and K i D 4.4 = 384 nmol/L). Amperozide was very weak or did not interact with several other receptor species including adrenergic, histaminergic, muscarinic, benzodiazepine, γ -aminobutyric acid, amino acid, opiate, and Ca channels; however, amperozide was found to compete for [ 3 H]paroxetine binding for the serotonin transporter in the nanomolar range (K i = 49 nmol/L). In vitro and in vivo binding potency of amperozide correlates best with behavioral effects, indicating 5-HT 2A antagonism, although serotonin uptake inhibition may contribute to the effects of amperozide on dopamine neurotransmission. The metabolite of amperozide, FG5620, displayed 5–10 times lower pharmacologic activity than amperozide. These properties of amperozide may suggest that the antipsychotic effects of amperozide are mediated by 5-HT 2A receptors, although 5-HT uptake inhibition and α 1 -adrenergic receptor-mediated effects may be considered, particularly at higher doses.

Objective and background: Budesonide/formoterol 160/4.5 µg, two inhalations bd, is an effective and well-tolerated maintenance therapy for patients not controlled on inhaled corticosteroids alone. The authors assessed the efficacy and safety of a higher dose of budesonide/formoterol in patients with persistent symptomatic asthma. Methods: This was a 24-week, double-blind, double-dummy randomized study. Budesonide/formoterol 320/9 µg, two inhalations bd (1280/36 µg/day), was compared with corresponding doses of budesonide during weeks 1–12 and budesonide plus formoterol via separate inhalers during weeks 1–24. Efficacy was assessed during weeks 1–12; the primary variable was morning PEF. Safety was assessed over weeks 1–24. Results: Patients (n = 456; aged 12–79 years) had a mean reversibility in FEV1 of 28% and mean pre-study inhaled corticosteroid dose of 1038 µg/day. Mean morning PEF increased by 37 L/min and 36 L/min with budesonide/formoterol and budesonide plus formoterol, respectively, versus an increase of 5 L/min with budesonide (P

At the Department of Community Medicine at Lund University we have given courses in basic research methodology since 1989. The course has yielded 20 points of university credit, the equivalent of one full-time semester of studies, and it has been run part-time, covering one and a half years. Our aim has been to provide a large number of physicians with basic training in research methods, and to stimulate the engagement of new scientific students from the whole Southern Health Care Region. During the first ten years, 138 general practitioners (20% of the GPs of the region) and 202 specialists completed our courses. Up till now, 19 GPs (14%) and 19 specialists (9%) have begun PhD studies. During the last two years, another 100 physicians from southern Sweden have attended our courses, as well as GPs from Zealand in Denmark. We have been developing our course in basic research methods during a twelve-year period, and it is now well established in our health care region. We feel that we have succeeded in reaching the two goals we had set up: to give a large number of physicians a fundamental knowledge of research methods and to recruit and increase the number of PhD students. We believe that medical research and development must flourish also outside the traditional university settings.

Background: Intranasal budesonide aqueous nasal spray (BANS) is recognized as an efficacious treatment for seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), but the time to onset of action is not known. Objective: The primary objective was to evaluate the time at which the onset of action of BANS in the symptomatic relief of seasonal allergic rhinitis becomes evident within 12 hours after a single dose in a controlled ragweed pollen exposure setting. Methods: The study was of a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group design, testing BANS (64 μg and 256 μg) and placebo on ragweed-sensitive subjects with symptoms for at least 1 year by using a controlled pollen challenge system (Environmental Exposure Unit). The efficacy variables were the combined nasal score (the sum of blocked nose, runny nose, and sneezing-itchy nose), individual nasal symptoms, overall evaluation of treatment efficacy reported by participants on diaries, and peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF). Results: A total of 217 participants were treated with BANS or placebo. At 7 to 12 hours, BANS was better than placebo in reducing combined nasal and blocked nose symptoms. For PNIF, the time to onset of action was shortest for 256 μg of BANS relative to placebo (3 hours, P = .003). BANS 64 μg was better than placebo in reducing the individual scores of blocked nose, runny nose, and sneezing-itchy nose from 3 to 5 hours after administration. Treatment efficacy was higher for those receiving BANS compared with placebo starting at 5 hours. All treatments were well tolerated, and no specific adverse events occurred. Conclusions: The onset of action of intranasal BANS was 7 hours according to combined nasal and blocked nose symptom scores. Evidence of earlier response was observed at 3 hours for runny nose and PNIF. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000;105:489-94.)

Four novel diphenylbutylpiperazinepyridyl derivatives (FG5865 (2-[4-[4,4-bis(4-fluorophenyl)butyl]-1-piperazinyl]-3-pyridinecarboxamide), FG5891 (2-[4-[4,4-bis(4-fluorophenyl)butyl]-1-piperazinyl]- N -methyl-3-pyridinecarboxamide), FG5893 (2-[4-[4,4-bis(4-fluorophenyl)butyl]-1-piperazinyl]-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid methyl ester) and FG5909 (2-[4-[4,4-bis(4-fluorophenyl)butyl]-1-piperazinyl]-3-hydroxypyridine) were tested concerning their effects on in vitro release and reuptake of neurotransmitters. Serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine were those considered, with rat synaptosomes prepared respectively from frontal cortex, cortex and striatum. FG5865, FG5891, FG5893 and FG5909 were found to potently inhibit the uptake of all three neurotransmitters. In addition, FG5865, FG5891 and FG5893 increased the release of serotonin and dopamine from perfused frontal cortical and striatal tissue; FG5865 was most potent in this regard. The release induced by the FG compounds was, however, much less than that induced by e.g. fenfluramine or amphetamine. All four FG compounds were also found to inhibit glutamate-stimulated release of dopamine from striatal tissue; for FG5893 this inhibition occurred at nanomolar concentrations.

The effect of 2.45 GHz microwave radiation on the permeability of unilamellar phosphatidylcholine liposomes has been studied. Leakage of 5(6)-calboxyfluorescein from the liposomes was measured using spectrofluorimetry after exposure to either microwaves or thermal heating for 5-20 min intervals. The exposure temperature, 37.6 +/- 0.5 degrees C, was well above the phase transition temperature of the lipid membrane. The microwave exposure did not result in any non-thermal increase in permeability above that produced by thermal heating. This study refutes the results reported by Saalman et al. [1] in which an increased liposome permeability due to microwave exposure was reported. The refined analysis in the present study shows that this increased liposome permeability was not a non-thermal microwave effect.

Analyzing pain behavior in three response modes illustrates the lack of synchronism among overt, covert, and physiological components. The pain of patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders was studied during a standardized 2.5 hour test of maximum stomach acid output. The acid secretion of 23 patients (7 with duodenal ulcers and 16 with “non ulcus dyspepsia” (NUD)) was measured concurrently with the patients' reports of subjective discomfort. No correlation was found between degree of acidity or acid output and pain reports. However, patients with NUD showed a significantly higher level of subjective discomfort throughout the test as compared to ulcer patients.