| 1. |
- Glimelius, Bengt, et al.
(författare)
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U-CAN : a prospective longitudinal collection of biomaterials and clinical information from adult cancer patients in Sweden.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0284-186X .- 1651-226X. ; 57:2, s. 187-194
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Progress in cancer biomarker discovery is dependent on access to high-quality biological materials and high-resolution clinical data from the same cases. To overcome current limitations, a systematic prospective longitudinal sampling of multidisciplinary clinical data, blood and tissue from cancer patients was therefore initiated in 2010 by Uppsala and Umeå Universities and involving their corresponding University Hospitals, which are referral centers for one third of the Swedish population.Material and Methods: Patients with cancer of selected types who are treated at one of the participating hospitals are eligible for inclusion. The healthcare-integrated sampling scheme encompasses clinical data, questionnaires, blood, fresh frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens, diagnostic slides and radiology bioimaging data.Results: In this ongoing effort, 12,265 patients with brain tumors, breast cancers, colorectal cancers, gynecological cancers, hematological malignancies, lung cancers, neuroendocrine tumors or prostate cancers have been included until the end of 2016. From the 6914 patients included during the first five years, 98% were sampled for blood at diagnosis, 83% had paraffin-embedded and 58% had fresh frozen tissues collected. For Uppsala County, 55% of all cancer patients were included in the cohort.Conclusions: Close collaboration between participating hospitals and universities enabled prospective, longitudinal biobanking of blood and tissues and collection of multidisciplinary clinical data from cancer patients in the U-CAN cohort. Here, we summarize the first five years of operations, present U-CAN as a highly valuable cohort that will contribute to enhanced cancer research and describe the procedures to access samples and data.
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| 2. |
- Mekonnen, Muluneh Admass, 1974-
(författare)
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Modeling flow and sediment transport in water bodies and watersheds
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The research focus is on the various modeling aspects of flow and sediment transport in water bodies and watersheds. The interaction of flow with a mobile bed involves a complex process in which various turbulent scales characterized by coherent structures cause a chaotic sediment motion. In many rivers and natural waterways secondary flows that are dominating flow struc-tures bring about more complications. In estuaries and open waterbodies thermal stratification and internal mixing control the flow structure besides the flow interaction with the mobile bed. To adequately model these processes 3D coupled flow and transport models are needed. The research is based on use and adaptation of open source codes for 3D hydrodynamic and sediment transport model known as Estuarine Coastal Ocean Model (ECOMSED) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. A bed load transport model was developed and coupled to ECOMSED. The flow and sediment transport characteristics in a curved channel and a river reach were successfully captured by the model. Improvements in ECOMSED were made to study the effect of wind and basin bathymetry on mixing and flow exchange between two estuaries. Using spectral analysis the hydrological component of SWAT model was investigated for its applicability under limited data conditions in three Ethiopian catchments.
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| 3. |
- Rönnqvist, Hans, 1977-
(författare)
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Predicting surfacing internal erosion in moraine core dams
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Dams that comprise broadly and widely graded glacial materials, such as moraines, have been found to be susceptible to internal erosion, perhaps more than dams of other soil types. Internal erosion washes out fine-grained particles from the filling material; the erosion occurs within the material itself or at an interface to another dam zone, depending on the mode of initiation. Whether or not internal erosion proceeds depend on the adequacy of the filter material. If internal erosion is allowed, it may manifest itself as sinkholes on the crest, increased leakage and muddy seepage once it surfaces, which here is called surfacing internal erosion (i.e. internal erosion in the excessive erosion or continuation phase). In spite of significant developments since the 1980s in the field of internal erosion assessment, the validity of methods developed by others on broadly graded materials are still less clear because most available criteria are based on tests of narrowly graded granular soils. This thesis specifically addresses dams that are composed of broadly graded glacial soils and investigates typical indicators, signs and behaviors of internal erosion prone dams. Based on a review of 90+ existing moraine core dams, which are located mainly in Scandinavia as well as North America and Australia/New Zealand, this thesis will show that not only the filter’s coarseness needs to be reviewed when assessing the potential for internal erosion to surface (i.e., erosion in the excessive or continuing phase); in addition, the grading stability of the filter and the core material as well as non-homogeneities that are caused by filter segregation need to be studied. Cross-referencing between these aspects improves the assessment of potential for internal erosion in dams of broadly graded soils and furthermore it provides aid-to-judgment.
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| 4. |
- Yanamandra, Kiran, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Amyloid formation by the pro-inflammatory S100A8/A9 proteins in the ageing prostate.
- 2009
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Ingår i: PloS one. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 4:5, s. e5562-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The conversion of soluble peptides and proteins into polymeric amyloid structures is a hallmark of many age-related degenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, type II diabetes and a variety of systemic amyloidoses. We report here that amyloid formation is linked to another major age-related phenomenon--prostate tissue remodelling in middle-aged and elderly men. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By using multidisciplinary analysis of corpora amylacea inclusions in prostate glands of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer we have revealed that their major components are the amyloid forms of S100A8 and S100A9 proteins associated with numerous inflammatory conditions and types of cancer. In prostate protease rich environment the amyloids are stabilized by dystrophic calcification and lateral thickening. We have demonstrated that material closely resembling CA can be produced from S100A8/A9 in vitro under native and acidic conditions and shows the characters of amyloids. This process is facilitated by calcium or zinc, both of which are abundant in ex vivo inclusions. These observations were supported by computational analysis of the S100A8/A9 calcium-dependent aggregation propensity profiles. We found DNA and proteins from Escherichia coli in CA bodies, suggesting that their formation is likely to be associated with bacterial infection. CA inclusions were also accompanied by the activation of macrophages and by an increase in the concentration of S100A8/A9 in the surrounding tissues, indicating inflammatory reactions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings, taken together, suggest a link between bacterial infection, inflammation and amyloid deposition of pro-inflammatory proteins S100A8/A9 in the prostate gland, such that a self-perpetuating cycle can be triggered and may increase the risk of malignancy in the ageing prostate. The results provide strong support for the prediction that the generic ability of polypeptide chains to convert into amyloids could lead to their involvement in an increasing number of otherwise apparently unrelated diseases, particularly those associated with ageing.
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