| 1. |
- Razavi-Shearer, Devin M., et al.
(författare)
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Adjusted estimate of the prevalence of hepatitis delta virus in 25 countries and territories
- 2024
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY. - 0168-8278 .- 1600-0641. ; 80:2, s. 232-242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a satellite RNA virus that requires the hepatitis B virus (HBV) for assembly and propagation. Individuals infected with HDV progress to advanced liver disease faster than HBV-monoinfected individuals. Recent studies have estimated the global prevalence of anti-HDV antibodies among the HBV-infected population to be 5-15%. This study aimed to better understand HDV prevalence at the population level in 25 countries/territories. Methods: We conducted a literature review to determine the prevalence of anti-HDV and HDV RNA in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive individuals in 25 countries/territories. Virtual meetings were held with experts from each setting to discuss the findings and collect unpublished data. Data were weighted for patient segments and regional heterogeneity to estimate the prevalence in the HBV-infected population. The findings were then combined with The Polaris Observatory HBV data to estimate the anti-HDV and HDV RNA prevalence in each country/territory at the population level. Results: After adjusting for geographical distribution, disease stage and special populations, the anti-HDV prevalence among the HBsAg+ population changed from the literature estimate in 19 countries. The highest anti-HDV prevalence was 60.1% in Mongolia. Once adjusted for the size of the HBsAg+ population and HDV RNA positivity rate, China had the highest absolute number of HDV RNA+ cases. Conclusions: We found substantially lower HDV prevalence than previously reported, as prior meta-analyses primarily focused on studies conducted in groups/regions that have a higher probability of HBV infection: tertiary care centers, specific risk groups or geographical regions. There is large uncertainty in HDV prevalence estimates. The implementation of reflex testing would improve estimates, while also allowing earlier linkage to care for HDV RNA+ individuals. The logistical and economic burden of reflex testing on the health system would be limited, as only HBsAg+ cases would be screened.
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| 2. |
- Razavi, Homie A., et al.
(författare)
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Hepatitis D double reflex testing of all hepatitis B carriers in low-HBV- and high-HBV/HDV-prevalence countries
- 2023
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY. - : Elsevier. - 0168-8278 .- 1600-0641. ; 79:2, s. 576-580
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection occurs as a coinfection with hepatitis B and increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, decompensated cirrhosis, and mortality compared to hepatitis B virus (HBV) monoinfection. Reliable estimates of the prevalence of HDV infection and disease burden are essential to formulate strategies to find coinfected individuals more effectively and efficiently. The global prevalence of HBV infections was estimated to be 262,240,000 in 2021. Only 1,994,000 of the HBV in-fections were newly diagnosed in 2021, with more than half of the new diagnoses made in China. Our initial estimates indicated a much lower prevalence of HDV antibody (anti-HDV) and HDV RNA positivity than previously reported in published studies. Ac-curate estimates of HDV prevalence are needed. The most effective method to generate estimates of the prevalence of anti-HDV and HDV RNA positivity and to find undiagnosed individuals at the national level is to implement double reflex testing. This re-quires anti-HDV testing of all hepatitis B surface antigen-positive individuals and HDV RNA testing of all anti-HDV-positive in-dividuals. This strategy is manageable for healthcare systems since the number of newly diagnosed HBV cases is low. At the global level, a comprehensive HDV screening strategy would require only 1,994,000 HDV antibody tests and less than 89,000 HDV PCR tests. Double reflex testing is the preferred strategy in countries with a low prevalence of HBV and those with a high prevalence of both HBV and HDV. For example, in the European Union and North America only 35,000 and 22,000 cases, respectively, will require anti-HDV testing annually.
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| 3. |
- Esposito, B., et al.
(författare)
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Progress of Design and Development for the ITER Radial Neutron Camera
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of fusion energy. - : Springer. - 0164-0313 .- 1572-9591. ; 41:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The paper presents an overview of the design status of the Radial Neutron Camera (RNC), that, together with the Vertical Neutron Camera, will provide, through reconstruction techniques applied to the measured line-integrated neutron fluxes, the time resolved measurement of the ITER neutron and alpha-source profile (i.e. neutron emissivity, neutrons emitted per unit time and volume). The RNC is composed of two subsystems, the In-Port RNC and Ex-Port RNC located, respectively, inside and outside the Plug of Equatorial Port #01. The In-Port subsystem is in a more advanced design stage since it has recently undergone the Final Design Review in the ITER procurement process. The paper describes the diagnostic layout, the interfaces, the measurement capabilities and the main challenges in its realization. Prototyping and testing of neutron detectors and electronics components were carried out and led to the choice of the component solutions that can match the environmental and operational constraints in terms radiation hardness, high temperature and electromagnetic compatibility. The performance of the RNC in terms of neutron emissivity measurement capability was assessed through 1D and 2D reconstruction analysis. It is proven that the neutron emissivity can be reconstructed in real-time within the measurement requirements: 10% accuracy, 10 ms time resolution and a/10 (a = plasma minor radius) space resolution.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Haloi, Nandan, et al.
(författare)
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Interactive computational and experimental approaches improve the sensitivity of periplasmic binding protein-based nicotine biosensors for measurements in biofluids
- 2024
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Ingår i: Protein Engineering Design & Selection. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1741-0126 .- 1741-0134. ; 37
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We developed fluorescent protein sensors for nicotine with improved sensitivity. For iNicSnFR12 at pH 7.4, the proportionality constant for ∆F/F0 vs [nicotine] (δ-slope, 2.7 μM−1) is 6.1-fold higher than the previously reported iNicSnFR3a. The activated state of iNicSnFR12 has a fluorescence quantum yield of at least 0.6. We measured similar dose-response relations for the nicotine-induced absorbance increase and fluorescence increase, suggesting that the absorbance increase leads to the fluorescence increase via the previously described nicotine-induced conformational change, the ‘candle snuffer’ mechanism. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations identified a binding pose for nicotine, previously indeterminate from experimental data. MD simulations also showed that Helix 4 of the periplasmic binding protein (PBP) domain appears tilted in iNicSnFR12 relative to iNicSnFR3a, likely altering allosteric network(s) that link the ligand binding site to the fluorophore. In thermal melt experiments, nicotine stabilized the PBP of the tested iNicSnFR variants. iNicSnFR12 resolved nicotine in diluted mouse and human serum at 100 nM, the peak [nicotine] that occurs during smoking or vaping, and possibly at the decreasing levels during intervals between sessions. NicSnFR12 was also partially activated by unidentified endogenous ligand(s) in biofluids. Improved iNicSnFR12 variants could become the molecular sensors in continuous nicotine monitors for animal and human biofluids.
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| 6. |
- Mazur, Mikael, 1990, et al.
(författare)
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Real-Time MIMO Transmission over Field-Deployed Coupled-Core Multi-Core Fibers
- 2022
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Ingår i: 2022 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition, OFC 2022 - Proceedings. - 9781943580071
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We perform parallel continuous measurements of deployed SDM fibers using real-time coherent receivers implemented on FPGAs. Fast readouts enabling real-time tracking of the DSP implementation, showing that coupled-core fibers are compatible with real-time DSP implementations.
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| 7. |
- Amora-Nogueira, Leonardo, et al.
(författare)
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Linking centennial scale anthropogenic changes and sedimentary records as lessons for urban coastal management
- 2023
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : ELSEVIER. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 902
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coastal eutrophication and urban flooding are increasingly important components of global change. Although increased seawater renewal by barrier openings and channelizing are common mitigation measures in coastal lagoons worldwide, their effects on these ecosystems are not fully understood. Here, we evaluated the re-lationships between human interventions in the watershed, artificial connections to the sea, and the sediment burial rates in an urban coastal lagoon (Maric & PRIME;a lagoon, Southeastern Brazil). Sediment accretion along with nutrient and carbon burial rates were determined in two sediment cores representing the past-120 years (210Pb dating) and associated with anthropogenic changes as indicated by historical records and geoinformation ana-lyses. Lagoon infilling and eutrophication, expressed by the average sediment accretion, TP, TN, and OC burial rates, respectively, increased-9-18, 13-15, 11-14 and 11-12-fold from the earliest (<1950) to the most recent (2000-2017) period. These multi-proxy records confirm mechanistic links between deforestation, urbanization, and untreated sewage discharges. In addition, our findings reveal artificial connections to the sea may contribute to lagoonal eutrophication and infilling, particularly when not integrated with sewage treatment and forest conservation or reforestation in the watershed. Therefore, increased seawater renewal by physical interventions commonly considered as mitigation measures may in contrast cause severe degradation in coastal lagoons, causing harmful consequences that should be not neglected when implementing management practices.
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| 8. |
- Thull, Charles, 1994-
(författare)
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On squashed spheres and warm strings : Applications of supersymmetric localization and integrability in gauge and string theory
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Non-perturbative aspects of quantum field theories are notoriously hard to explore. In this thesis we study applications of two different techniques that give non-perturbative results for supersymmetric quantum field theories.The first exact technique we use is supersymmetric localization which allows for the exact computation of partition functions on compact manifolds and squashed spheres of various dimensions are the manifolds of our choice. In three dimensions we use the squashed sphere partition functions to test dualities of N=4 gauge theories. For a squashed sphere preserving six supercharges we lift analytic results from the round sphere. On a squashed sphere preserving 4 supercharges we numerically evaluate the ABJM and N=8 super Yang-Mills (SYM) partition functions at low rank and find equality within estimated error margins. In four dimensions we present a framework to obtain partially integrated correlators of 4d N=2 gauge theories from their localized partition functions. Moreover we discuss the general form of the free energy of N=2 superconformal field theories on deformed four-dimensional spheres and use localization in N=4 SYM for an explicit example. In seven dimensions we study the super Yang-Mills on a sphere and propose a contribution of three-dimensional membrane instantons to its localized partition function. We then outline an approach to study the weak negative coupling limit of the SYM theory on the seven-sphere.As the second approach to exact results we use the integrability of N=4 SYM and ABJM theory in the planar limit. Using the quantum spectral curve we compute the Hagedorn temperature for finite coupling both in N=4 SYM and ABJM theory. On the dual AdS side we use an effective model to compute subleading terms in the curvature expansion of the Hagedorn temperature. We use the numeric CFT calculation to conjecture the analytic form of an unfixed coefficient in the effective model.
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