| 1. |
- Håkansson, Irene, et al.
(författare)
-
Successful autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for refractory myasthenia gravis - a case report
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Neuromuscular Disorders. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0960-8966 .- 1873-2364. ; 27:1, s. 90-93
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease, with immune reactivity against the post-synaptic endplate of the neuromuscular junction. Apart from symptomatic treatment with choline esterase blockers, many patients also require immunomodulatory treatment. Despite existing treatment options, some patients are treatment refractory. We describe a patient with severe MG refractory to corticosteroids, four oral immunosuppressants, cyclophosphamide, rituximab and bortezomib who was treated with autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Two years after this, the patient has significantly improved in objective tests and in quality of life and leads an active life. Diplopia is her only remaining symptom and she is completely free of medication for MG. We believe that autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation can be an effective therapeutic option for carefully selected cases of severe, treatment refractory MG. (c) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 2. |
- Carlson, Johan E., et al.
(författare)
-
Calibration of simulation models for ultrasonic transducers based on implicit calibration
- 2009
-
Ingår i: 2008 IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium. - Piscataway, NJ : IEEE Communications Society. - 9781424424283 ; , s. 1528-1531
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are numerous software packages available for modeling of the sound pressure fields emitted by ultrasound transducers and transducer arrays. Accurate modeling of a real-world transducer requires knowledge of several parameters that are generally not known. This paper presents an estimation principle that can be used to calibrate such models, based on measurements of the sound field. The model separates the problem into estimation of the transducer's electro-mechanical impulse response and its spatial impulse response. The latter being what the software packages generally model. We demonstrate the principle with measurements of the sound field from a non-focused 5 MHz transducer. The results show that the modeled sound field agrees well with measurements.
|
|
| 3. |
- Carlson, Johan E., et al.
(författare)
-
Characterization of thin layers in multi-layered structures : on the problem of finding starting values for numerical solutions to inverse problems
- 2010
-
Ingår i: 2009 IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium. - Piscataway, NJ : IEEE Communications Society. - 9781424443895 ; , s. 1537-1540
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several model-based techniques have been proposed for characterizing thin layers within multi-layered materials. One problem with these methods is that the models are non-linear with respect to the parameters. Hence, iterative numerical methods must be used estimating the model parameters, i.e. for solving the inverse problem based on measurements. For material structures where the propagation times through the individual layers are shorter than the duration of the transmitted ultrasound pulse, the received waveform will consist of several overlapping echoes. For the parameter estimation to work, good initial guesses of the times of flight are required, which are difficult to obtain due to the severe overlap of the echoes. In this paper we propose a filtering scheme, that compresses the transmitted pulse into a shorter pulse, thus enabling the echoes from within the material structure to be detected. The method is evaluated using simulations on a three-layered material for varying signal-to-noise conditions.
|
|
| 4. |
- Ericson, Tove, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
-
Zinc-Tin-Oxide Buffer Layer and Low Temperature Post Annealing Resulting in a 9.0% Efficient Cd-Free Cu2ZnSnS4 Solar Cell
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Solar RRL. - : Wiley. - 2367-198X. ; 1:5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Zn1−xSnxOy (ZTO) has yielded promising results as a buffer material for the full sulfur Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS), with efficiencies continuously surpassing its CdS-references. ZTO can be deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD), enabling tuning of the conduction band position through the choice of metal ratio or deposition temperature. Thus, an optimization of the conduction band alignment between ZTO and CZTS can be achieved. The ZTO bandgap is generally larger than that of CdS and can therefore yield higher currents due to reduced losses in the short wavelength region. Another advantage is the possibility to omit the toxic Cd. In this study, the ALD process temperature was varied from 105 to 165 °C. Current-blocked devices were obtained at 105 °C, while the highest open-circuit voltage and device efficiency was achieved for 145 °C. The highest fill factor was seen at 165 °C. The best efficiency reached in this study was 9.0%, which, to our knowledge, is the highest efficiency reported for Cd-free full-sulfur CZTS. We also show that the effect of heat needs to be taken into account. The results indicate that part of the device improvement comes from heating the absorber, but that the benefit of using a ZTO-buffer is clear.
|
|
| 5. |
- Greco, Raffaella, et al.
(författare)
-
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in neuromyelitis optica : A registry study of the EBMT Autoimmune Diseases Working Party
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Multiple Sclerosis Journal. - : SAGE Publications. - 1352-4585 .- 1477-0970. ; 21:2, s. 189-197
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system, hallmarked by pathogenic anti-aquaporin 4 antibodies. NMO prognosis is worse compared with multiple sclerosis.OBJECTIVE:The European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) Autoimmune Diseases Working Party (ADWP) conducted a retrospective survey to analyze disease outcome following autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).METHODS:This retrospective multicenter study assessed the efficacy and safety of ASCT in 16 patients suffering from refractory NMO reported to the EBMT registry between 2001 and 2011.RESULTS:Fifteen patients were successfully mobilized with cyclophosphamide (Cy) and G-CSF, one with G-CSF alone. All patients received an unmanipulated autologous peripheral blood stem cell graft, after conditioning with BEAM plus anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG, n = 9 patients), thiotepa-Cy (n = 3) or Cy (200 mg/kg) plus ATG (n = 4). After a median follow-up of 47 months, three of 16 cases were progression and treatment free, while in the remaining 13 patients further treatments were administered for disability progression or relapse after ASCT. Altogether, relapse-free survival at three and five years was 31% and 10%, respectively, while progression-free survival remained 48% at three and five years.CONCLUSIONS:In these NMO patients, highly resistant to conventional treatment, ASCT allows for temporary control of the disease, despite a tendency to progress or relapse in the long term.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
- Harrysson, Lars, et al.
(författare)
-
Cancer, a relational disease exploring the needs of relatives to cancer patients
- 2019
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1748-2631 .- 1748-2623. ; 14:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Syfte: I denna kvalitativa studie studerade vi erfarenheter bland familjemedlemmar till cancerpatienter. Vårt syfte var att undersöka och differentiera deras behov från de behov som cancer patienten uppvisar.Metod: Fem fokusintervjuer och sex individuella narrativa intervjuer med 17 familje medlemmar till cancerpatiener i Sverige genomfördes och jämförda med 19 intervjuer med cancerpatienter. Vår analys var inspirerad av klassisk grundad teori.Resaultat: Familjemedlemmar till cancerpatienter uppvisade egen sjukdom kopplad till höga stressnivåer och svårigheter att erkänna egen stress till följd av pågående jämförelser med cancerpatienten. Familjemedlemmar var fastlåsta i en momentan terrorlik situation där de blev den sjukes skyddsnät. En upplevd oförmåga till att förbättra den sjukes hälsa och välmående bidrog till känslor av skukld. Önskan om att allt skulle vara över var inbäddat i skam då slutet innebar möjlig död.Slutsatser: Genom att erkänna cancer som en sjukdom som påverkar både kropp och relationer kan familjemedlemmar ges kontroll över sina egna kamper skilda från patientens upplevelser. Vi definierar skillnaderi behov mellan cancer patienter och anhöriga. De anhöriga till cancerpatienter kan ges stöd i att utveckla balanserade strategier för mindre stress, ökad trygghet och stunder av förnöjsamhet.
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
| 10. |
- Hägglund, Fredrik
(författare)
-
Characterization of thin multi-layered materials using ultrasound
- 2009
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis contributes to the field of ultrasonic modeling and measurement technologies. The objective is to address the advancement of methods for ultrasonic characterization of thin multi-layered materials. The main focus of the work is on the development of a parametric model for multi-layered structures with an arbitrary number of layers, for normal incidence pulse-echo and through-transmission ultrasonic measurements using unfocused transducers.The main advantages with the model are that it can handle measured waveforms with overlapping echoes, its complexity is connected to the number of layers rather than the number of received echoes, and the estimated parameters are directly connected to the properties of the investigated media. The layer model is also valid for any kind of signal waveform and does not depend on the excited signal's appearance. The possible limitations with the model regarding the use of unfocused transducers, the assumption of normal incidence planar waveforms and parallel surfaces, and the decreasing layer thicknesses are addressed in the thesis.Estimating the parameters of the model is a highly nonlinear process and robust optimization methods are required. The connection between the measured ultrasonic data and the physical multi-layered model by a robust estimation and optimization algorithm is a main contribution of the thesis. To contribute to the industry with accurate and cost-effective diagnostic methods, all further analysis are performed on the model parameters rather than the entire ultrasonic waveforms. The model and the estimated model parameters are used for investigation of thin embedded layers, where flaw detection, estimation of properties, layer imaging, material classification, and separation of overlapping echoes are utilized. Results show that the parametric model is able to reconstruct the significant dynamics of waveforms consisting of multiple overlapping echoes by using the estimated parameter vector. This has been verified with both pulse-echo and through-transmission measurements with normal incidence waveforms. The main conclusion in this thesis is that a robust and accurate optimization algorithm, estimating the parameters in a model describing a multi-layered structure with reasonably few parameters, is found. Once the model parameters are estimated, analyzing them in the post-processing stage will enable several applications in process control.
|
|
