| 1. |
- Bräutigam, Marcus, 1968, et al.
(författare)
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Development of Swedish winter oat with gene technology and molecular breeding
- 2006
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Ingår i: J. Seed Science. - 0039-6990. ; 116:1-2, s. 12-35
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Sweden, oat (Avena sativa) is only grown as a spring crop. A Swedish winter oat, on the other hand, would give increased yields and would secure oat in Swedish agriculture. During three consecutive winters we performed field trials with oat aiming at identifying potential winter material. More than 300 varieties, originating from breeding programs all over the world, were tested. Plants were rated according to winter survival, vigour and general performance during the following growth season and more than 20 lines were identified that were cold hardier than present commercial oat varieties. In parallel experiments a cDNA library was constructed from cold induced English winter oat (Gerald) and ca 10000 EST sequences were generated. After data mining a UniGene set of 2800 oat genes was obtained. By detailed analysis of microarray data from cold stressed Arabidopsis and by advanced bioinformatics, gene interactions in the complex cold induced signal transduction pathway were deduced. By comparison to the oat UniGene set, several genes potentially involved in the regulation of cold hardiness in oat were identified. An Agrobacterium mediated transformation protocol was developed for one oat genotype. Key regulatory genes in cold acclimation will be introduced to oat by genetic transformation or modified by TILLING. Such genes will be used as molecular markers in intogression of winter hardiness to commercial oat.
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| 2. |
- Herlitz, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Suspicion and treatment of severe sepsis : An overview of the prehospital chain of care
- 2012
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine. - : BioMed Central. - 1757-7241. ; 20:42
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundSepsis is a life-threatening condition where the risk of death has been reported to be even higher than that associated with the major complications of atherosclerosis, i.e. myocardial infarction and stroke. In all three conditions, early treatment could limit organ dysfunction and thereby improve the prognosis.AimTo describe what has been published in the literature a/ with regard to the association between delay until start of treatment and outcome in sepsis with the emphasis on the pre-hospital phase and b/ to present published data and the opportunity to improve various links in the pre-hospital chain of care in sepsis.MethodsA literature search was performed on the PubMed, Embase (Ovid SP) and Cochrane Library databases.ResultsIn overall terms, we found a small number of articles (n=12 of 1,162 unique hits) which addressed the prehospital phase. For each hour of delay until the start of antibiotics, the prognosis appeared to become worse. However, there was no evidence that prehospital treatment improved the prognosis.Studies indicated that about half of the patients with severe sepsis used the emergency medical service (EMS) for transport to hospital. Patients who used the EMS experienced a shorter delay to treatment with antibiotics and the start of early goal-directed therapy (EGDT). Among EMS-transported patients, those in whom the EMS staff already suspected sepsis at the scene had a shorter delay to treatment with antibiotics and the start of EGDT.There are insufficient data on other links in the prehospital chain of care, i.e. patients, bystanders and dispatchers.ConclusionSevere sepsis is a life-threatening condition. Previous studies suggest that, with every hour of delay until the start of antibiotics, the prognosis deteriorates. About half of the patients use the EMS. We need to know more about the present situation with regard to the different links in the prehospital chain of care in sepsis.
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| 3. |
- Joffrin, E., et al.
(författare)
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Overview of the JET preparation for deuterium-tritium operation with the ITER like-wall
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1741-4326 .- 0029-5515. ; 59:11
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- For the past several years, the JET scientific programme (Pamela et al 2007 Fusion Eng. Des. 82 590) has been engaged in a multi-campaign effort, including experiments in D, H and T, leading up to 2020 and the first experiments with 50%/50% D-T mixtures since 1997 and the first ever D-T plasmas with the ITER mix of plasma-facing component materials. For this purpose, a concerted physics and technology programme was launched with a view to prepare the D-T campaign (DTE2). This paper addresses the key elements developed by the JET programme directly contributing to the D-T preparation. This intense preparation includes the review of the physics basis for the D-T operational scenarios, including the fusion power predictions through first principle and integrated modelling, and the impact of isotopes in the operation and physics of D-T plasmas (thermal and particle transport, high confinement mode (H-mode) access, Be and W erosion, fuel recovery, etc). This effort also requires improving several aspects of plasma operation for DTE2, such as real time control schemes, heat load control, disruption avoidance and a mitigation system (including the installation of a new shattered pellet injector), novel ion cyclotron resonance heating schemes (such as the three-ions scheme), new diagnostics (neutron camera and spectrometer, active Alfven eigenmode antennas, neutral gauges, radiation hard imaging systems...) and the calibration of the JET neutron diagnostics at 14 MeV for accurate fusion power measurement. The active preparation of JET for the 2020 D-T campaign provides an incomparable source of information and a basis for the future D-T operation of ITER, and it is also foreseen that a large number of key physics issues will be addressed in support of burning plasmas.
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| 4. |
- Nilsson, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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The grade of individual prostate cancer lesions predicted by magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography
- 2023
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Ingår i: Communications Medicine. - : Springer Nature. - 2730-664X. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) are widely used for the management of prostate cancer (PCa). However, how these modalities complement each other in PCa risk stratification is still largely unknown. We aim to provide insights into the potential of mpMRI and PET for PCa risk stratification.Methods: We analyzed data from 55 consecutive patients with elevated prostate-specific antigen and biopsy-proven PCa enrolled in a prospective study between December 2016 and December 2019. [68Ga]PSMA-11 PET (PSMA-PET), [11C]Acetate PET (Acetate-PET) and mpMRI were co-registered with whole-mount histopathology. Lower- and higher-grade lesions were defined by International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade groups (IGG). We used PET and mpMRI data to differentiate between grades in two cases: IGG 3 vs. IGG 2 (case 1) and IGG ≥ 3 vs. IGG ≤ 2 (case 2). The performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.Results: We find that the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) for PSMA-PET achieves the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC), with AUCs of 0.72 (case 1) and 0.79 (case 2). Combining the volume transfer constant, apparent diffusion coefficient and T2-weighted images (each normalized to non-malignant prostatic tissue) results in AUCs of 0.70 (case 1) and 0.70 (case 2). Adding PSMA-SUVmax increases the AUCs by 0.09 (p < 0.01) and 0.12 (p < 0.01), respectively.Conclusions: By co-registering whole-mount histopathology and in-vivo imaging we show that mpMRI and PET can distinguish between lower- and higher-grade prostate cancer, using partially discriminative cut-off values.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Sandgren, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Histopathology-validated lesion detection rates of clinically significant prostate cancer with mpMRI, [68Ga]PSMA-11-PET and [11C]Acetate-PET
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nuclear medicine communications. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0143-3636 .- 1473-5628. ; 44:11, s. 997-1004
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: PET/CT and multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) are important diagnostic tools in clinically significant prostate cancer (csPC). The aim of this study was to compare csPC detection rates with [68Ga]PSMA-11-PET (PSMA)-PET, [11C] Acetate (ACE)-PET, and mpMRI with histopathology as reference, to identify the most suitable imaging modalities for subsequent hybrid imaging. An additional aim was to compare inter-reader variability to assess reproducibility.Methods: During 2016–2019, all study participants were examined with PSMA-PET/mpMRI and ACE-PET/CT prior to radical prostatectomy. PSMA-PET, ACE-PET and mpMRI were evaluated separately by two observers, and were compared with histopathology-defined csPC. Statistical analyses included two-sided McNemar test and index of specific agreement.Results: Fifty-five study participants were included, with 130 histopathological intraprostatic lesions >0.05 cc. Of these, 32% (42/130) were classified as csPC with ISUP grade ≥2 and volume >0.5 cc. PSMA-PET and mpMRI showed no difference in performance (P = 0.48), with mean csPC detection rate of 70% (29.5/42) and 74% (31/42), respectively, while with ACE-PET the mean csPC detection rate was 37% (15.5/42). Interobserver agreement was higher with PSMA-PET compared to mpMRI [79% (26/33) vs 67% (24/38)]. Including all detected lesions from each pair of observers, the detection rate increased to 90% (38/42) with mpMRI, and 79% (33/42) with PSMA-PET.Conclusion: PSMA-PET and mpMRI showed high csPC detection rates and superior performance compared to ACE-PET. The interobserver agreement indicates higher reproducibility with PSMA-PET. The combined result of all observers in both PSMA-PET and mpMRI showed the highest detection rate, suggesting an added value of a hybrid imaging approach.
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| 7. |
- Sandgren, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Registration of histopathology to magnetic resonance imaging of prostate cancer
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology. - : Elsevier. - 2405-6316. ; 18, s. 19-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and purpose: The diagnostic accuracy of new imaging techniques requires validation, preferably by histopathological verification. The aim of this study was to develop and present a registration procedure between histopathology and in-vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the prostate, to estimate its uncertainty and to evaluate the benefit of adding a contour-correcting registration.Materials and methods: For twenty-five prostate cancer patients, planned for radical prostatectomy, a 3D-printed prostate mold based on in-vivo MRI was created and an ex-vivo MRI of the specimen, placed inside the mold, was performed. Each histopathology slice was registered to its corresponding ex-vivo MRI slice using a 2D-affine registration. The ex-vivo MRI was rigidly registered to the in-vivo MRI and the resulting transform was applied to the histopathology stack. A 2D deformable registration was used to correct for specimen distortion concerning the specimen's fit inside the mold. We estimated the spatial uncertainty by comparing positions of landmarks in the in-vivo MRI and the corresponding registered histopathology stack.Results: Eighty-four landmarks were identified, located in the urethra (62%), prostatic cysts (33%), and the ejaculatory ducts (5%). The median number of landmarks was 3 per patient. We showed a median in-plane error of 1.8 mm before and 1.7 mm after the contour-correcting deformable registration. In patients with extraprostatic margins, the median in-plane error improved from 2.1 mm to 1.8 mm after the contour-correcting deformable registration.Conclusions: Our registration procedure accurately registers histopathology to in-vivo MRI, with low uncertainty. The contour-correcting registration was beneficial in patients with extraprostatic surgical margins.
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| 8. |
- Adjeiwaah, Mary, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Dosimetric Impact of MRI Distortions : A Study on Head and Neck Cancers
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. - : Elsevier. - 0360-3016 .- 1879-355X. ; 103:4, s. 994-1003
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To evaluate the effect of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI) geometric distortions on head and neck radiation therapy treatment planning (RTP) for an MRI-only RTP. We also assessed the potential benefits of patient-specific shimming to reduce the magnitude of MR distortions for a 3-T scanner.Methods and Materials: Using an in-house Matlab algorithm, shimming within entire imaging volumes and user-defined regions of interest were simulated. We deformed 21 patient computed tomography (CT) images with MR distortion fields (gradient nonlinearity and patient-induced susceptibility effects) to create distorted CT (dCT) images using bandwidths of 122 and 488 Hz/mm at 3 T. Field parameters from volumetric modulated arc therapy plans initially optimized on dCT data sets were transferred to CT data to compute a new plan. Both plans were compared to determine the impact of distortions on dose distributions.Results: Shimming across entire patient volumes decreased the percentage of voxels with distortions of more than 2 mm from 15.4% to 2.0%. Using the user-defined region of interest (ROI) shimming strategy, (here the Planning target volume (PTV) was the chosen ROI volume) led to increased geometric for volumes outside the PTV, as such voxels within the spinal cord with geometric shifts above 2 mm increased from 11.5% to 32.3%. The worst phantom-measured residual system distortions after 3-dimensional gradient nonlinearity correction within a radial distance of 200 mm from the isocenter was 2.17 mm. For all patients, voxels with distortion shifts of more than 2 mm resulting from patient-induced susceptibility effects were 15.4% and 0.0% using bandwidths of 122 Hz/mm and 488 Hz/mm at 3 T. Dose differences between dCT and CT treatment plans in D-50 at the planning target volume were 0.4% +/- 0.6% and 0.3% +/- 0.5% at 122 and 488 Hz/mm, respectively.Conclusions: The overall effect of MRI geometric distortions on data used for RTP was minimal. Shimming over entire imaging volumes decreased distortions, but user-defined subvolume shimming introduced significant errors in nearby organs and should probably be avoided.
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| 9. |
- Adjeiwaah, Mary, 1980-
(författare)
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Quality assurance for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in radiotherapy
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the radiotherapy (RT) treatment planning workflow is increasing. MRI offers superior soft-tissue contrast compared to Computed Tomography (CT) and therefore improves the accuracy in target volume definitions. There are, however concerns with inherent geometric distortions from system- (gradient nonlinearities and main magnetic field inhomogeneities) and patient-related sources (magnetic susceptibility effect and chemical shift). The lack of clearly defined quality assurance (QA) procedures has also raised questions on the ability of current QA protocols to detect common image quality degradations under radiotherapy settings. To fully implement and take advantage of the benefits of MRI in radiotherapy, these concerns need to be addressed.In Papers I and II, the dosimetric impact of MR distortions was investigated. Patient CTs (CT) were deformed with MR distortion vector fields (from the residual system distortions after correcting for gradient nonlinearities and patient-induced susceptibility distortions) to create distorted CT (dCT) images. Field parameters from volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment plans initially optimized on dCT data sets were transferred to CT data to compute new treatment plans. Data from 19 prostate and 21 head and neck patients were used for the treatment planning. The dCT and CT treatment plans were compared to determine the impact of distortions on dose distributions. No clinically relevant dose differences between distorted CT and original CT treatment plans were found. Mean dose differences were < 1.0% and < 0.5% at the planning target volume (PTV) for the head and neck, and prostate treatment plans, respectively. Strategies to reduce geometric distortions were also evaluated in Papers I and II. Using the vendor-supplied gradient non-linearity correction algorithm reduced overall distortions to less than half of the original value. A high acquisition bandwidth of 488 Hz/pixel (Paper I) and 488 Hz/mm (Paper II) kept the mean geometric distortions at the delineated structures below 1 mm. Furthermore, a patient-specific active shimming method implemented in Paper II significantly reduced the number of voxels with distortion shifts > 2 mm from 15.4% to 2.0%.B0 maps from patient-induced magnetic field inhomogeneities obtained through direct measurements and by simulations that used MR-generated synthetic CT (sCT) data were compared in Paper III. The validation showed excellent agreement between the simulated and measured B0 maps.In Paper IV, the ability of current QA methods to detect common MR image quality degradations under radiotherapy settings were investigated. By evaluating key image quality parameters, the QA protocols were found to be sensitive to some of the introduced degradations. However, image quality issues such as those caused by RF coil failures could not be adequately detected.In conclusion, this work has shown the feasibility of using MRI data for radiotherapy treatment planning as distortions resulted in a dose difference of less than 1% between distorted and undistorted images. The simulation software can be used to produce accurate B0 maps, which could then be used as the basis for the effective correction of patient-induced field inhomogeneity distortions and for the QA verification of sCT data. Furthermore, the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses in current QA tools for MRI in RT contribute to finding better methods to efficiently identify image quality errors.
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