| 1. |
- Feroci, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT)
- 2012
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Ingår i: Experimental Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 34:2, s. 415-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-time-resolution X-ray observations of compact objects provide direct access to strong-field gravity, to the equation of state of ultradense matter and to black hole masses and spins. A 10 m(2)-class instrument in combination with good spectral resolution is required to exploit the relevant diagnostics and answer two of the fundamental questions of the European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision Theme "Matter under extreme conditions", namely: does matter orbiting close to the event horizon follow the predictions of general relativity? What is the equation of state of matter in neutron stars? The Large Observatory For X-ray Timing (LOFT), selected by ESA as one of the four Cosmic Vision M3 candidate missions to undergo an assessment phase, will revolutionise the study of collapsed objects in our galaxy and of the brightest supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. Thanks to an innovative design and the development of large-area monolithic silicon drift detectors, the Large Area Detector (LAD) on board LOFT will achieve an effective area of similar to 12 m(2) (more than an order of magnitude larger than any spaceborne predecessor) in the 2-30 keV range (up to 50 keV in expanded mode), yet still fits a conventional platform and small/medium-class launcher. With this large area and a spectral resolution of < 260 eV, LOFT will yield unprecedented information on strongly curved spacetimes and matter under extreme conditions of pressure and magnetic field strength.
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| 2. |
- Kuiper, I. N., et al.
(författare)
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Agreement in reporting of asthma by parents or offspring - the RHINESSA generation study
- 2018
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Ingår i: Bmc Pulmonary Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2466. ; 18:122
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Self-report questionnaires are commonly used in epidemiology, but may be susceptible to misclassification, especially if answers are given on behalf of others, e.g. children or parents. The aim was to determine agreement and analyse predictors of disagreement in parents' reports of offspring asthma, and in offspring reports of parents' asthma. Methods: In the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia (RHINESSA) generation study, 6752 offspring (age range 18-51 years) and their parents (age range 39-66 years) reported their own and each other's asthma status. Agreement between asthma reports from offspring and parents was determined by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and Cohen's kappa. The participants' own answers regarding themselves were defined as the gold standard. To investigate predictors for disagreement logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for sex, smoking status, education, comorbidity and severity of asthma. Results: Agreement was good for parental report of offspring early onset asthma (< 10 years, Cohen's kappa 0.72) and moderate for offspring later onset asthma (Cohen's kappa 0.46). Specificity was 0.99 for both, and sensitivity was 0.68 and 0.36, respectively. For offspring report of maternal and paternal asthma the agreement was good (Cohen's kappa 0.69 and 0.68), specificity was 0.96 and 0.97, and sensitivity was 0.72 and 0.68, respectively. The positive predictive value (PPV) was lowest for offspring report of maternal asthma (0.75), and highest for parents' report of early onset asthma in the offspring (0.83). The negative predictive value (NPV) was high for all four groups (0.94-0.97). In multivariate analyses current smokers (OR = 1.46 [95% CI 1.05, 2.02]) and fathers (OR = 1.31 [95% CI 1. 08, 1.59]) were more likely to report offspring asthma incorrectly. Offspring wheeze was associated with reporting parental asthma incorrectly (OR = 1.60 [95% CI 1.21, 2.11]), both under- and over reporting. Conclusions: Asthma reports across generations show moderate to good agreement, making information from other generations a useful tool in the absence of direct reports.
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| 3. |
- Nordeide Kuiper, I., et al.
(författare)
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Lifelong exposure to air pollution and greenness in relation to asthma, rhinitis and lung function in adulthood
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 146
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: To investigate if air pollution and greenness exposure from birth till adulthood affects adult asthma, rhinitis and lung function. Methods: We analysed data from 3428 participants (mean age 28) in the RHINESSA study in Norway and Sweden. Individual mean annual residential exposures to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), black carbon (BC), ozone (O3) and greenness (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)) were averaged across susceptibility windows (0–10 years, 10–18 years, lifetime, adulthood (year before study participation)) and analysed in relation to physician diagnosed asthma (ever/allergic/non-allergic), asthma attack last 12 months, current rhinitis and low lung function (lower limit of normal (LLN), z-scores of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC below 1.64). We performed logistic regression for asthma attack, rhinitis and LLN lung function (clustered with family and study centre), and conditional logistic regression with a matched case-control design for ever/allergic/non-allergic asthma. Multivariable models were adjusted for parental asthma and education. Results: Childhood, adolescence and adult exposure to NO2, PM10 and O3 were associated with an increased risk of asthma attacks (ORs between 1.29 and 2.25), but not with physician diagnosed asthma. For rhinitis, adulthood exposures seemed to be most important. Childhood and adolescence exposures to PM2.5 and O3 were associated with lower lung function, in particular FEV1 (range ORs 2.65 to 4.21). No associations between NDVI and asthma or rhinitis were revealed, but increased NDVI was associated with lower FEV1 and FVC in all susceptibility windows (range ORs 1.39 to 1.74). Conclusions: Air pollution exposures in childhood, adolescence and adulthood were associated with increased risk of asthma attacks, rhinitis and low lung function in adulthood. Greenness was not associated with asthma or rhinitis, but was a risk factor for low lung function. © 2020 The Authors
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| 4. |
- Antonson, P., et al.
(författare)
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aP2-Cre-Mediated Inactivation of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Causes Hydrometra
- 2014
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Ingår i: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study we describe the reproductive phenotypes of a novel mouse model in which Cre-mediated deletion of ER alpha is regulated by the aP2 (fatty acid binding protein 4) promoter. ER alpha-floxed mice were crossed with transgenic mice expressing Cre-recombinase under the control of the aP2 promoter to generate aP2-Cre/ER alpha(flox/flox) mice. As expected, ER alpha mRNA levels were reduced in adipose tissue, but in addition we also detected an 80% reduction of ER alpha levels in the hypothalamus of aP2-Cre/ER alpha(flox/flox) mice. Phenotypic analysis revealed that aP2-Cre/ER alpha(flox/flox) female mice were infertile. In line with this, aP2-Cre/ER alpha(flox/flox) female mice did not cycle and presented 3.8-fold elevated estrogen levels. That elevated estrogen levels were associated with increased estrogen signaling was evidenced by increased mRNA levels of the estrogen-regulated genes lactoferrin and aquaporin 5 in the uterus. Furthermore, aP2-Cre/ER alpha(flox/flox) female mice showed an accumulation of intra-uterine fluid, hydrometra, without overt indications for causative anatomical anomalies. However, the vagina and cervix displayed advanced keratosis with abnormal quantities of accumulating squamous epithelial cells suggesting functional obstruction by keratin plugs. Importantly, treatment of aP2-Cre/ER alpha(flox/flox) mice with the aromatase inhibitor Letrozole caused regression of the hydrometra phenotype linking increased estrogen levels to the observed phenotype. We propose that in aP2-Cre/ER alpha(flox/flox) mice, increased serum estrogen levels cause over-stimulation in the uterus and genital tracts resulting in hydrometra and vaginal obstruction.
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| 5. |
- Carmont, Michael R, 1972, et al.
(författare)
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Tendon end separation with loading in an Achilles tendon repair model: comparison of non-absorbable vs. absorbable sutures.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of experimental orthopaedics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2197-1153. ; 4:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rupture of the Achilles tendon often leads to long-term morbidity, particularly calf weakness associated with tendon elongation. Operative repair of Achilles tendon ruptures leads to reduced tendon elongation. Tendon lengthening is a key problem in the restoration of function following Achilles tendon rupture. A study was performed to determine differences in initial separation, strength and failure characteristics of differing sutures and numbers of core strands in a percutaneous Achilles tendon repair model in response to initial loading.Nineteen bovine Achilles tendons were repaired using a percutaneous/minimally invasive technique with a combination of a modified Bunnell suture proximally and a Kessler suture distally, using non-absorbable 4-strand 6-strand repairs and absorbable 8-strand sutures. Specimens were then cyclically loaded using phases of 10cycles of 100N, 100cycles of 100N, 100cycles of 190N consistent with early range of motion training and weight-bearing, before being loaded to failure.Pre-conditioning of 10cycles of 100N resulted in separations of 4mm for 6-strand, 5.9mm for 4-strand, but 11.5mm in 8-strand repairs, this comprised 48.5, 68.6 and 72.7% of the separation that occurred after 100cycles of 100N. The tendon separation after the third phase of 100cycles of 190N was 17.4mm for 4-strand repairs, 16.6mm for 6-strand repairs and 26.6mm for 8-strand repairs. There were significant differences between the groups (p<0.0001). Four and six strand non-absorbable repairs had significantly less separation than 8-strand absorbable repairs (p=0.017 and p=0.04 respectively). The mean (SEM) ultimate tensile strengths were 4-strand 464.8N (27.4), 6-strand 543.5N (49.6) and 8-strand 422.1N (80.5). Regression analysis reveals no significant difference between the overall strength of the 3 repair models (p=0.32) (4 vs. 6: p=0.30, 4 vs. 8: p=0.87; 6 vs. 8: p=0.39). The most common mode of failure was pull out of the Kessler suture from the distal stump in 41.7% of specimens.The use of a non-absorbable suture resulted in less end-to-end separation when compared to absorbable sutures when an Achilles tendon repair model was subject to cyclical loading. Ultimate failure occurred more commonly at the distal Kessler suture end although this occurred with separations in excess of clinical failure. The effect of early movement and loading on the Achilles tendon is not fully understood and requires more research.
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| 6. |
- Kuiper, I. N., et al.
(författare)
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Associations of Preconception Exposure to Air Pollution and Greenness with Offspring Asthma and Hay Fever
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1660-4601 .- 1661-7827. ; 17:16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated if greenness and air pollution exposure in parents' childhood affect offspring asthma and hay fever, and if effects were mediated through parental asthma, pregnancy greenness/pollution exposure, and offspring exposure. We analysed 1106 parents with 1949 offspring (mean age 35 and 6) from the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe, Spain and Australia (RHINESSA) generation study. Mean particulate matter (PM(2.5)and PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black carbon (BC), ozone (O-3) (mu g/m(3)) and greenness (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)) were calculated for parents 0-18 years old and offspring 0-10 years old, and were categorised in tertiles. We performed logistic regression and mediation analyses for two-pollutant models (clustered by family and centre, stratified by parental lines, and adjusted for grandparental asthma and education). Maternal medium PM(2.5)and PM(10)exposure was associated with higher offspring asthma risk (odds ratio (OR) 2.23, 95%CI 1.32-3.78, OR 2.27, 95%CI 1.36-3.80), and paternal high BC exposure with lower asthma risk (OR 0.31, 95%CI 0.11-0.87). Hay fever risk increased for offspring of fathers with medium O(3)exposure (OR 4.15, 95%CI 1.28-13.50) and mothers with high PM(10)exposure (OR 2.66, 95%CI 1.19-5.91). The effect of maternal PM(10)exposure on offspring asthma was direct, while for hay fever, it was mediated through exposures in pregnancy and offspring's own exposures. Paternal O(3)exposure had a direct effect on offspring hay fever. To conclude, parental exposure to air pollution appears to influence the risk of asthma and allergies in future offspring.
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