| 71. |
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| 72. |
- Kaneryd, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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Species-rich ecosystems are vulnerable to cascading extinctions in an increasingly variable world
- 2012
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 2045-7758. ; 2:4, s. 858-874
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global warming leads to increased intensity and frequency of weather extremes. Such increased environmental variability might in turn result in increased variation in the demographic rates of interacting species with potentially important consequences for the dynamics of food webs. Using a theoretical approach, we here explore the response of food webs to a highly variable environment.We investigate how species richness and correlation in the responses of species to environmental fluctuations affect the risk of extinction cascades. We find that the risk of extinction cascades increases with increasing species richness, especially when correlation among species is low. Initial extinctions of primary producer species unleash bottom-up extinction cascades, especially in webs with specialist consumers. In this sense, species-rich ecosystems are less robust to increasing levels of environmental variability than species-poor ones. Our study thus suggests that highly speciesrich ecosystems such as coral reefs and tropical rainforests might be particularly vulnerable to increased climate variability.
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| 73. |
- Karlsson, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring user participation approaches in public e-service development
- 2012
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Ingår i: Government Information Quarterly. - : Elsevier. - 0740-624X .- 1872-9517. ; 29:2, s. 158-168
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has been argued that user participation is important when public authorities develop e-services. At the same time there is limited research on the usefulness of existing user participation approaches in public e-service development. In this paper we, therefore, analyze how the three user participation approaches participatory design, user-centered design, and user innovation - meet the strategic e-service goals of the EU and the US. In doing so, we identify three challenges that need to be considered when choosing among these approaches: 1) unclear user target segments can impede the fulfillment of usability and relevance goals, 2) the nature of participation can impede the fulfillment of democracy goals. and 3) lack of adequate skills can impede the fulfillment of efficiency goals. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 74. |
- Kertat, Khadija, et al.
(författare)
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The Gln/Gln genotype of XPD codon 751 as a genetic marker for melanoma risk and Lys/Gln as an important predictor for melanoma progression : A case control study in the Swedish population
- 2008
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Ingår i: Oncology Reports. - : Spandidos Publications. - 1021-335X .- 1791-2431. ; 20:1, s. 179-183
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group D (XPD) is a critical protein in the nucleotide excision repair system for DNA damage. Genetic variations in XPD exert an important effect on the capacity of DNA repair. In this study, we examined Lys751Gln polymorphism at the XPD gene in 244 melanoma patients and 251 healthy individuals (as controls) from the south-eastern region of Sweden. The associations of polymorphism with melanoma risk, as well as with melanoma features and pigment phenotypes of the melanoma patients were analysed. DNA was extracted from the mononuclear cells of venous blood of the melanoma patients and controls. XPD codon 751 was genotyped by the PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Results showed that there was no difference in the distribution of the XPD codon 751 genotypes between the melanoma patients and healthy controls. However, the Gln/Gln genotype was found to be associated with melanoma risk in the male population. Furthermore, the frequency of the Gln/Gln genotype was significantly higher in the early stages of melanomas, whereas Lys/Gln was more frequent in the later stages and in the patients with melanoma located on intermittently UV-exposed areas. No correlations between the polymorphisms and phenotypes of the patients were found. In conclusion, Gln/Gln was a useful genetic marker for melanoma risk in the males, while Lys/Gln was an important predictor for melanoma progression.
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| 75. |
- Kiryazov, Kiril, et al.
(författare)
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The role of arousal in embodying the cueXdeficit model in multi-resource human robot interaction
- 2013
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Ingår i: Advances in Artificial Life, ECAL 2013, Proceedings of the Twelfth European Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living System. - : MIT Press. ; , s. 19-26, s. 19-26
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper is investigated the problem of managing limited resources in human-robot interaction with a computational architecture of emotion. The architecture is based on the appraisal theory of affect and an ethological motivational model of task selection. Key variables and performance criteria for robotic energy autonomous behaviour in interaction with humans are discussed. The role of arousal for modulating effort of movement is explored. It is shown that the architecture can manage task selection and the effort of the movement and offers sustainable basic-cycles in exemplar "two-resource problem" test-bed scenarios for an iCub robot. An extension of the architecture with a third "resource"—safety—is presented and how the architecture is able to solve the new "three-resource" problem is demonstrated.
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| 76. |
- Kiryazov, Kiril, et al.
(författare)
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The role of arousal in two-resource problem tasks for humanoid service robots
- 2013
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Ingår i: IEEE RO-MAN 2013. - : IEEE. - 9781479905096 ; , s. 62-69
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A computational architecture of emotion is presented which grounds a component of an appraisal cognitive model into the homeostatic processes of a humanoid robot. The focus of the present work entails a `grounding' of the arousal component of the Pleasure Arousal Dominance emotion space into the electrical energy processes of an iCub robot. Key variables and performance criteria for robotic energy autonomous behavior in interaction with human are discussed. We show that our bio-inspired affective architecture offers viable basic cycles in exemplar “two-resource problem” testbed scenarios for a real iCub robot. The expression of the robot's emotional state and its role for the efficient interaction in the proposed two-resource problem task is discussed and experimental designs are presented.
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| 77. |
- Kjellsdotter, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Associations Between Sleep and Personality Factors Among Patients Living With Coronary Artery Disease
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. - : LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. - 0889-4655 .- 1550-5049. ; 35:6, s. 568-575
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Insomnia symptoms have become increasingly common in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Increasing evidence suggests comorbidity between personality traits and health status. Considering personality traits may act as a predisposition for future illness; this state may influence sleep quality and it appears to precipitate cardiac events in high-risk patients. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported sleep deficiency in relation to vicious cycle of sleeplessness (VCS) behavior, hyperarousal behavioral trait (H-personality), and type D personality traits in patients with CAD and in a population-based group. Furthermore, our aim was to explore the association of VCS behavior with H-personality trait and type D personality. Finally, we investigated to what extent type D personality can explain self-reported too little sleep in patients with CAD. Methods An observational case-control design was applied comprising 859 patients in cardiac outpatient care and 859 participants from a population-based group. Questionnaires assessing VCS behavior, H-personality, type D personality, and perceptions of too little sleep were used. Results Statistically significant higher scores of a hyperarousal and sleeplessness behavior were revealed for those with too little sleep compared with those with sufficient sleep in both the patient and the population-based group. Age, female gender, or sleeplessness behavior significantly predicted too little sleep (P < .001). Conclusions The current study highlights the advantage of studying heterogeneity in patients with CAD from a person-centered perspective with focus to identify distressed individuals in order to prevent or treat sleep deficiency. A cluster of factors may be a more accurate predictor of patient-reported outcomes than a single psychosocial factor.
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| 78. |
- Klaeson, Kicki, et al.
(författare)
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Talking about sexuality : desire, virility, and intimacy in the context of prostate cancer associations
- 2013
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Ingår i: American Journal of Men's Health. - : Sage Publications. - 1557-9883 .- 1557-9891. ; 7:1, s. 42-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prostate cancer and its outcomes are a real threat for health and well-being for men living in the Western world. The number of men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer, before the age of 65 years, has increased in recent decades. The aim of this study was to explore how some of these Swedish men experienced and talked about their sexuality. Four focus group discussions were performed in the context of associations for prostate cancer. Using qualitative content analysis, it was identified how the diagnosis was a threat to their male identity; the men's vulnerability as a group in society was made explicit. Their sexuality was diminished by their illness experiences. These experiences were difficult to share and talk about with others and therefore connected with silence and sorrow. As a result of this, the informants often played a passive role when or if they discussed issues related to sexuality with someone in the health care organizations. The possibility of voluntarily joining a cancer association was probably highly beneficial for these men. During the sessions, several men expressed the opinion that "it is always great to talk."
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| 79. |
- Larsson, Per-Göran, et al.
(författare)
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Extended antimicrobial treatment of bacterial vaginosis combined with human lactobacilli to find the best treatment and minimize the risk of relapses
- 2011
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Ingår i: BMC Infectious Diseases. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2334. ; 11:223
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The primary objective of this study was to investigate if extended antibiotic treatment against bacterial vaginosis (BV) together with adjuvant lactobacilli treatment could cure BV and, furthermore, to investigate factors that could cause relapse. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanMethods: In all, 63 consecutive women with bacterial vaginosis diagnosed by Amsel criteria were offered a much more aggressive treatment of BV than used in normal clinical practice with repeated antibiotic treatment with clindamycin and metronidazole together with vaginal gelatine capsules containing different strains of lactobacilli both newly characterised and a commercial one (10(9) freeze-dried bacteria per capsule). Oral clindamycin treatment was also given to the patients sexual partner. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults: The cure rate was 74.6% after 6 months. The patients were then followed as long as possible or until a relapse. The cure rate was 65.1% at 12 months and 55.6% after 24 months. There was no significant difference in cure rate depending on which Lactobacillus strains were given to the women or if the women were colonised by lactobacilli. The most striking factor was a new sex partner during the follow up period where the Odds Ratio of having a relapse was 9.3 (2.8-31.2) if the patients had a new sex partner during the observation period. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions: The study shows that aggressive treatment of the patient with antibiotics combined with specific Lactobacillus strain administration and partner treatment can provide long lasting cure. A striking result of our study is that change of partner is strongly associated with relapse of BV.
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| 80. |
- Lee, Gauss, et al.
(författare)
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Modelling Early Infant Walking : Testing a Generic CPG Architecture on the NAO Humanoid
- 2011
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Ingår i: IEEE International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL), 2011. - : IEEE conference proceedings. - 9781612849898 ; , s. 1-6
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article, a simple CPG network is shown to model early infant walking, in particular the onset of independent walking. The difference between early infant walking and early adult walking is addressed with respect to the underlying neurophysiology and evaluated according to gait attributes. Based on this, we successfully model the early infant walking gait on the NAO robot and compare its motion dynamics and performance to those of infants. Our model is able to capture the core properties of early infant walking. We identify differences in the morphologies between the robot and infant and the effect of this on their respective performance. In conclusion, early infant walking can be seen to develop as a function of the CPG network and morphological characteristics.
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