| 1. |
- Adolfsson, Ann-Sofie, et al.
(författare)
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Applicability of general grief theory to Swedish women’s experiences after early miscarriage, with factor analysis of Bonanno´s taxonomy, using the Perinatal Grief Scale.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. - : Uppsala Medical Society. - 0300-9734 .- 2000-1967. ; 115:3, s. 201-209
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background. Grief is a normal phenomenon but showing great variation depending on cultural and personal features. Bonanno and Kaltman have nonetheless proposed five aspects of normal grief. The aim of this study was to investigate if women with miscarriage experience normal grief. Material and methods. Content analyses of 25 transcribed conversations with women 4 weeks after their early miscarriages were classified depending on the meaning-bearing units according to Bonanno and Kaltman's categories. In the factor analyses, these categories were compared with the Perinatal Grief Scale and women's age, number of children and number of miscarriages, and gestational weeks. Results. Women with miscarriage fulfill the criteria for having normal grief according to Bonanno and Kaltman. All of the 25 women had meaning-bearing units that were classified as cognitive disorganization, dysphoria, and health deficits, whereas disrupted social and occupational functioning and positive aspects of bereavement were represented in 22 of 25 women. From the factor analysis, there are no differences in the expression of the intensity of the grief, irrespective of whether or not the women were primiparous, younger, or had suffered a first miscarriage. Conclusion. Women's experience of grief after miscarriage is similar to general grief after death. After her loss, the woman must have the possibility of expressing and working through her grief before she can finish her pregnancy emotionally. The care-giver must facilitate this process and accept that the intensity of the grief is not dependent on the woman's age, or her number of earlier miscarriages.
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| 2. |
- Dalal, Koustuv, et al.
(författare)
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Economic empowerment of women and utilization of maternal delivery care in Bangladesh
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Preventive Medicine. - : Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS). - 2008-7802 .- 2008-8213. ; 3:9, s. 628-636
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Maternal mortality is a major public health problem in low-income countries, such as Bangladesh. Women's empowerment in relation to enhanced utilization of delivery care is underexplored. This study investigates the associations between women's economic empowerment and their utilization of maternal health care services in Bangladesh. Methods: In total, 4925 women (15-49 years of age) with at least one child from whole Bangladesh constituted the study sample. Home delivery without skilled birth attendant and use of institutional delivery services were the main outcome variables used for the analyses. Economic empowerment, neighborhood socioeconomic status, household economic status, and demographic factors were considered as explanatory variables. The chi square test and unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyses were applied at the collected data. Results: In the adjusted model, respondent's and husband's education, household economic status, and residency emerged as important predictors for utilization of delivery care services. In the unadjusted model, economically empowered working and microfinanced women displayed more home delivery. Conclusion: The current study shows that use of delivery care services is associated with socioeconomic development and can be enhanced by societies that focus on general issues such as schooling, economic wellbeing, and gender-based discrimination.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Katarina, et al.
(författare)
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The prevalence of BV in the population on the Åland Islands during a 15-year period
- 2010
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Ingår i: Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica (APMIS). - Malden, USA : John Wiley & Sons. - 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463. ; 118:11, s. 903-908
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence and age distribution of bacterial vaginosis (BV) during an observation period of 15 years in a population study with cross-sectional samples of adult women living on the Åland Islands. The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea and are a province of Finland. Every fifth year, specific age groups in the adult female population are invited to participate in a screening program for early diagnosis of cervical cancer using a papanicolaou (PAP)-stained vaginal smear. Women in the age groups of 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 years are called each year. BV diagnosis of the PAP-stained smears uses the classification according to Nugent. The PAP-stained smears from the screening program of cervical cancer 1993, 1998, 2003, and 2008 were used in this study. A total of 3456 slides were investigated and 271 women could be followed for the 15-year observation period. The prevalence of BV declined from 15.6% in 1993 to 8.6% in 2008. The highest prevalence occurred among the age groups of 35 and 50 years. Among the 271 women who could be followed for the 15-year observation period, two-third showed normal/intermediate flora and one-third were infected with BV at least once. As this is a cross-sectional population study spanning 15 years, the prevalence of BV in the female adult population of the Åland Islands can be estimated. The prevalence has declined between 1993 and 2008 from 15.6% to 8.6%.
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| 4. |
- 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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| 5. |
- Lövfors, William, 1991-, et al.
(författare)
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A comprehensive mechanistic model of adipocyte signaling with layers of confidence
- 2023
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Ingår i: npj Systems Biology and Applications. - : Springer Nature. - 2056-7189. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adipocyte signaling, normally and in type 2 diabetes, is far from fully understood. We have earlier developed detailed dynamic mathematical models for several well-studied, partially overlapping, signaling pathways in adipocytes. Still, these models only cover a fraction of the total cellular response. For a broader coverage of the response, large-scale phosphoproteomic data and systems level knowledge on protein interactions are key. However, methods to combine detailed dynamic models with large-scale data, using information about the confidence of included interactions, are lacking. We have developed a method to first establish a core model by connecting existing models of adipocyte cellular signaling for: (1) lipolysis and fatty acid release, (2) glucose uptake, and (3) the release of adiponectin. Next, we use publicly available phosphoproteome data for the insulin response in adipocytes together with prior knowledge on protein interactions, to identify phosphosites downstream of the core model. In a parallel pairwise approach with low computation time, we test whether identified phosphosites can be added to the model. We iteratively collect accepted additions into layers and continue the search for phosphosites downstream of these added layers. For the first 30 layers with the highest confidence (311 added phosphosites), the model predicts independent data well (70–90% correct), and the predictive capability gradually decreases when we add layers of decreasing confidence. In total, 57 layers (3059 phosphosites) can be added to the model with predictive ability kept. Finally, our large-scale, layered model enables dynamic simulations of systems-wide alterations in adipocytes in type 2 diabetes.
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| 6. |
- Lööf, Jasmine, 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of PINCH expression on survival in colorectal cancer patients
- 2011
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Ingår i: BMC CANCER. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2407. ; 11:103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The adaptor protein PINCH is overexpressed in the stroma of several types of cancer, and is an independent prognostic marker in colorectal cancer. In this study we further investigate the relationship of PINCH and survival regarding the response to chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. Results: Paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 251 primary adenocarcinomas, 149 samples of adjacent normal mucosa, 57 samples of distant normal mucosa and 75 lymph node metastases were used for immunohistochemical staining. Stromal staining for PINCH increased from normal mucosa to primary tumour to metastasis. Strong staining in adjacent normal mucosa was related to worse survival independently of sex, age, tumour location, differentiation and stage (p = 0.044, HR, 1.60, 95% Cl, 1.01-2.52). PINCH staining at the invasive margin tended to be related to survival (p = 0.051). In poorly differentiated tumours PINCH staining at the invasive margin was related to survival independently of sex, age and stage (p = 0.013, HR, 1.90, 95% Cl, 1.14-3.16), while in better differentiated tumours it was not. In patients with weak staining, adjuvant chemotherapy was related to survival (p = 0.010, 0.013 and 0.013 in entire tumour area, invasive margin and inner tumour area, respectively), but not in patients with strong staining. However, in the multivariate analysis no such relationship was seen. Conclusions: PINCH staining in normal adjacent mucosa was related to survival. Further, PINCH staining at the tumour invasive margin was related to survival in poorly differentiated tumours but not in better differentiated tumours, indicating that the impact of PINCH on prognosis was dependent on differentiation status.
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| 7. |
- Verma, Deepti, et al.
(författare)
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Two Adult Siblings with Atypical Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome (CAPS) due to a Novel M299V Mutation in the NLRP3 Gene.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : American College of Rheumatology. - 0004-3591 .- 1529-0131. ; 62:7, s. 2138-2143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The NALP3 inflammasome is a multiprotein complex that triggers caspase 1–mediated interleukin-1β (IL-1β) release. Mutations in the gene encoding NALP3 (NLRP3) underlie the cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). The aim of this study was to report a novel NLRP3 mutation in 2 siblings of Swedish descent in whom symptoms first presented in adulthood.Methods: Mutation analysis of NLRP3 was performed on DNA from patients with CAPS and 100 control subjects. For assessment of caspase 1 and IL-1β, blood was collected from patients and age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. Genetic constructs containing mutant or wild-type NLRP3 were transduced into THP-1 cells, followed by assessment of IL-1β levels in cell supernatant.Results: Both siblings carried a novel M299V mutation in NLRP3, which was not present in the control population. The samples obtained from the patients displayed increased caspase 1 activity and elevated IL-1β levels at basal conditions as compared with healthy control subjects. THP-1 cells expressing mutated M299V revealed almost 10-fold higher IL-1β production compared with the wild-type construct.Conclusion: M299V is an activating mutation in NLRP3 resulting in elevated spontaneous caspase 1 activity and IL-1β levels. The classic CAPS phenotype was lacking in these adult siblings. Whereas one sibling displayed a milder phenotype that has so far responded satisfactorily to oral nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in combination with low-dose corticosteroids, the inflammatory symptoms in the sibling with the more severe case responded well to IL-1β blockade. Understanding the pathogenic mechanism underlying such disorders can be helpful for the physician. Our study reinforces the importance of genetic testing and laboratory investigations in combination with careful phenotypic evaluation for the diagnosis of such patients.
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| 8. |
- Wegman, Pia, et al.
(författare)
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Expression of the forkhead transcription factor FOXL2 correlates with good prognosis in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Oncology. - : Spandidos Publications. - 1019-6439 .- 1791-2423. ; 38:4, s. 1145-1151
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aromatase is an important enzyme in the local synthesis of oestrogens and its expression has been shown to be increased in breast cancer through the activation of multiple promoters. However, the mechanisms behind this are not yet fully understood. A novel candidate in this context is the transcription factor forkhead box L2 (FOXL2), which has been recognised to be co-expressed with aromatase and transcriptionally active promoter 11 in developing goat and chicken ovaries. We propose that FOXL2 could be involved in the increased expression of aromatase in breast cancer. We examined FOXL2 and its relation to aromatase in 132 postmenopausal breast cancer patients by immunohistochemistry. Using in silico analysis, we further searched for FOXL2 binding-elements in the aromatase gene promoters. The results demonstrate that FOXL2 is expressed in breast cancer and influences clinical outcome with improved recurrence-free survival in cases with nuclear expression. In a multivariate Cox model, nuclear FOXL2 was a significant prognostic factor in ER-positive patients treated with tamoxifen (HR=0.18, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.04-0.81, P=0.03). Tumours expressing nuclear FOXL2 were also more likely positive for stromal and/or cytoplasmic aromatase (P=0.03 and P=0.008, respectively). In silico analyses revealed binding elements of FOXL2 in promoters 1.3, 11 and 17 of the aromatase gene of which promoter 1.7 was most significant. In conclusion, this is the first study to report that FOXL2 is expressed in breast cancer and correlates with aromatase as well as with clinical outcome. The results further strengthen a possible binding of FOXL2 to aromatase promoter 1.7. Nevertheless, whether FOXL2 is a direct activator of aromatase requires further investigation.
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