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The aim of this descriptive and exploratory study was to compare the female nursing staff's subjectively experienced health and well-being in two different types of welfare system. This is achieved through demonstrating the possible differences between Swedish and Spanish female nursing staff with regard to living environment, health and satisfaction with general social conditions. For data collection we used a questionnaire answered by 293 nurses and assistant nurses in Spain and 464 in Sweden. The results show significant differences in health. In all aspects Swedish women experience a better health situation. For Spanish women dissatisfaction with their work situation and leisure is strongly significant (p<0.001) and correlates negatively with their health. For Swedish women dissatisfaction with home and family situation, social intercourse, work situation and leisure (p<0.001) has a negative influence on their health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that the nanoscale adhesion geometry controls the spreading and differentiation of epidermal stem cells. We find that cells respond to such hard nanopatterns similarly to their behavior on soft hydrogels. Cellular responses were seen to stem from local changes in diffusion dynamics of the adapter protein vinculin and associated impaired mechanotransduction rather than impaired recruitment of proteins involved in focal adhesion formation.

Monoglyceride esters of fatty acids occur naturally and encompass a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. Monocaprylate is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) and can function both as an emulsifier and as a preservative in food. However, knowledge about its mode of action is lacking. The aim of this study was therefore to elucidate the mechanism behind monocaprylate's antimicrobial effect. The cause of cell death in Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus xylosus, and Zygosaccharomyces bailii was investigated by examining monocaprylate's effect on cell structure, membrane integrity, and its interaction with model membranes. Changes in cell structure were visible by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and propidium iodide staining showed membrane disruption, indicating the membrane as a site of action. This indication was confirmed by measuring calcein leakage from membrane vesicles exposed to monocaprylate. AFM imaging of supported lipid bilayers visualized the integration of monocaprylate into the liquid disordered, and not the solid ordered, phase of the membrane. The integration of monocaprylate was confirmed by quartz crystal microbalance measurements, showing an abrupt increase in mass and hydration of the membrane after exposure to monocaprylate above a threshold concentration. We hypothesize that monocaprylate destabilizes membranes by increasing membrane fluidity and the number of phase boundary defects. The sensitivity of cells to monocaprylate will therefore depend on the lipid composition, fluidity, and curvature of the membrane.

We have developed and characterized novel biomimetic membranes, formed at nanostructured sensor substrates with controlled curvatures, motivated by the many biological processes that involve membrane curvature. Model systems with convex nanostructures, with radii of curvatures (ROCs) of 70, 75, and 95 nm, were fabricated utilizing colloidal assembly and used as substrates for supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). The SLBs were formed via vesicle adsorption and rupture, and the vesicle deposition pathway was studied by means of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and fluorescence microscopy. SLBs conforming to the underlying nanostructured surfaces, which exhibit increased surface area with decreased ROC, were confirmed from excess mass, monitored by QCM-D, and excess total fluorescence intensities. The formation of SLBs at the nanostructured surfaces was possible, however, depending on the ROC of the structures and the lipid vesicle charge the quality varied. The presence of nanostructures was shown to impair vesicle rupture and SLB formation was progressively hindered at surfaces with structures of decreasing ROCs. The introduction of a fraction of the positively charged lipid POEPC in the lipid vesicle membrane allowed for good quality and conformal bilayers at all surfaces. Alternatively, for vesicles formed from lipid mixtures with a fraction of the negatively charged lipid POPS, SLB formation was not at all possible at surfaces with the lowest ROC. Interestingly, the vesicle adsorption rate and the SLB formation were faster at surfaces with nanostructures of progressively smaller ROCs at high ratios of POPS in the vesicles. Development of templated SLBs with controlled curvatures provides a new experimental platform, especially at the nanoscale, at which membrane events such as lipid sorting, phase separation, and protein binding can be studied.

The effects of protein type and pattern size on cell adhesion, spreading, and focal adhesion development are studied. Fibronectin and vitronectin patterns from 0.1 to 3 μm produced by colloidal lithography reveal important differences in how cells adhere to and bridge focal adhesions across protein nanopatterns versus micropatterns. Vinculin and zyxin in focal adhesions but not integrins are seen to bridge ligand gaps. Differences in protein mechanical properties are implicated as important factors in focal adhesion development.

The importance of the lipid phase on the formation of supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) via vesicle fusion and on the resulting SLB homogeneity at SiO(2) surfaces has been studied by the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring technique. Physiologically relevant lipid compositions were chosen to correspond to different regions (l(d), l(o) and coexistence of phases) in established phase diagrams of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), N-palmitoyl-D-erythro-sphingosylphosphorylcholine (PSM) and cholesterol. For most compositions, SLBs formed through vesicle rupture in a critical-surface-coverage dependent manner. Inclusion of PSM and cholesterol into POPC vesicles significantly impaired the vesicle rupture process such that a higher critical concentration of vesicles on the surface was needed before the rupture process started. When increasing the cholesterol content the vesicles formed SLBs containing more defects in the form of intact vesicles adsorbed on the surface up to a point (l(o) phase) where vesicles did not break at all but formed supported vesicular layers. The hampering of vesicle rupture is interpreted in terms of the ability of cholesterol to accommodate vesicle deformation. Experiments using elevated temperatures to alter the lipid membrane into a more fluid phase significantly improved the quality of the SLB showing the importance of both cholesterol content and the lipid phase on SLB homogeneity.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to analyse changes in smoking habits among adolescents in three regions of Sweden following the introduction in 1997 of a law prohibiting sales of tobacco to persons under 18 years: the minimum-age law., Methods: The analysis is based on data collected among adolescents in compulsory school years 7 and 9 (about 13-14 and 15-16 years respectively), in 1996, 2000, and 2005, in three regions of Sweden. The samples comprise 43,857 students who completed a self-administered questionnaire anonymously in the classroom. The data were subjected to contingency-table analysis and logistic regression analysis., Results: The rates of smoking among students in year 9 were significantly lower in 2005 than in 1996 in two regions and unchanged in one region. This pattern held even after control for sex, parents' smoking habits, and academic orientation. In year 7 there were no changes over time (boys) or any clear pattern (girls)., Conclusions: Based on outcomes from test purchases of tobacco products that were carried out in parallel to the collection of the questionnaire data, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the regional differences described may at least in part be due to differences in the availability of cigarettes. In 2005 it was significantly easier for adolescents to purchase tobacco products at retailers in the city of Malmö than at those in the counties of Värmland and Västernorrland.

Aims: The purpose of the study is partly to compare the possibility of adolescents purchasing tobacco before and after the introduction of the minimum age law of 18 years, respectively, and partly to examine the factors that characterize the situations in which adolescents may or may not purchase tobacco, respectively., Methods: Under controlled conditions, adolescents of varying ages carried out test purchases of tobacco. A total of 1,500 attempted purchases were made with the help of 24 adolescents in three regions of Sweden. In 1996, the year before a minimum-age law of 18 for tobacco purchases went into effect, 750 attempted purchases were made, followed by 750 attempted purchases in 1999., Results: In 1996, 91% of the attempted purchases of tobacco were successful. In 1999, the corresponding proportion was 82%. The attempted purchases in 1996 and 1999 show a very strong relationship between whether an age check was made and the result of the attempted purchase., Conclusions: The study shows that the introduction of a minimum-age law apparently has had a certain effect on the possibility of adolescent purchasing tobacco but that there are obvious shortcomings in the enforcement of the minimum age. The most apparent shortcoming concerns the lack of age controls. This article discusses measures for strengthening age controls in the sale of tobacco to adolescents.