| 1. |
- Winkler, M., et al.
(författare)
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The rich sides of mountain summits - a pan-European view on aspect preferences of alpine plants
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 0305-0270. ; 43:11, s. 2261-2273
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim In the alpine life zone, plant diversity is strongly determined by local topography and microclimate. We assessed the extent to which aspect and its relatedness to temperature affect plant species diversity, and the colonization and disappearance of species on alpine summits on a pan-European scale. Methods Vascular plant species and their percentage cover were recorded in permanent plots in each cardinal direction on 123 summits in 32 regions across Europe. For a subset from 17 regions, resurvey data and 6-year soil temperature series were available. Differences in temperature sum and Shannon index as well as species richness, colonization and disappearance of species among cardinal directions were analysed using linear mixed-effects and generalised mixed-effects models, respectively. Results Temperature sums were higher in east-and south-facing aspects than in the north-facing ones, while the west-facing ones were intermediate; differences were smallest in northern Europe. The patterns of temperature sums among aspects were consistent among years. In temperate regions, thermal differences were reflected by plant diversity, whereas this relationship was weaker or absent on Mediterranean and boreal mountains. Colonization of species was positively related to temperature on Mediterranean and temperate mountains, whereas disappearance of species was not related to temperature. Main conclusions Thermal differences caused by solar radiation determine plant species diversity on temperate mountains. Advantages for plants on eastern slopes may result from the combined effects of a longer diurnal period of radiation due to convection cloud effects in the afternoon and the sheltered position against the prevailing westerly winds. In northern Europe, long summer days and low sun angles can even out differences among aspects. On Mediterranean summits, summer drought may limit species numbers on the warmer slopes. Warmer aspects support a higher number of colonization events. Hence, aspect can be a principal determinant of the pace of climate-induced migration processes.
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| 2. |
- Burli, S., et al.
(författare)
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A common soil temperature threshold for the upper limit of alpine grasslands in European mountains
- 2021
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Ingår i: Alpine Botany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1664-2201 .- 1664-221X. ; 131, s. 41-52
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While climatic research about treeline has a long history, the climatic conditions corresponding to the upper limit of closed alpine grasslands remain poorly understood. Here, we propose a climatic definition for this limit, the 'grassline', in analogy to the treeline, which is based on the growing season length and the soil temperature. Eighty-seven mountain summits across ten European mountain ranges, covering three biomes (boreal, temperate, Mediterranean), were inventoried as part of the GLORIA project. Vascular plant cover was estimated visually in 326 plots of 1 x 1 m. Soil temperatures were measured in situ for 2-7 years, from which the length of the growing season and mean temperature were derived. The climatic conditions corresponding to 40% plant cover were defined as the thresholds for alpine grassland. Closed vegetation was present in locations with a mean growing season soil temperature warmer than 4.9 degrees C, or a minimal growing season length of 85 days, with the growing season defined as encompassing days with daily mean >= 1 degrees C. Hence, the upper limit of closed grasslands was associated with a mean soil temperature close to that previously observed at the treeline, and in accordance with physiological thresholds to growth in vascular plants. In contrast to trees, whose canopy temperature is coupled with air temperature, small-stature alpine plants benefit from the soil warmed by solar radiation and consequently, they can grow at higher elevations. Since substrate stability is necessary for grasslands to occur at their climatic limit, the grassline rarely appears as a distinct linear feature.
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| 3. |
- Crous, P. W., et al.
(författare)
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Fusarium : more than a node or a foot-shaped basal cell
- 2021
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Ingår i: Studies in mycology. - : CENTRAALBUREAU SCHIMMELCULTURE. - 0166-0616 .- 1872-9797. ; :98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae. Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distinct genera in Nectriaceae based on morphology, biology, and phylogeny is disregarded. A DNA phylogeny based on 19 orthologous protein-coding genes was presented to support a very broad concept of Fusarium at the F1 node in Nectriaceae. Here, we demonstrate that re-analyses of this dataset show that all 19 genes support the F3 node that represents Fusarium sensu stricto as defined by F. sambucinum (sexual morph synonym Gibberella pulicaris). The backbone of the phylogeny is resolved by the concatenated alignment, but only six of the 19 genes fully support the F1 node, representing the broad circumscription of Fusarium. Furthermore, a re-analysis of the concatenated dataset revealed alternate topologies in different phylogenetic algorithms, highlighting the deep divergence and unresolved placement of various Nectriaceae lineages proposed as members of Fusarium. Species of Fusarium s. str. are characterised by Gibberella sexual morphs, asexual morphs with thin- or thick-walled macroconidia that have variously shaped apical and basal cells, and trichothecene mycotoxin production, which separates them from other fusarioid genera. Here we show that the Wollenweber concept of Fusarium presently accounts for 20 segregate genera with clear-cut synapomorphic traits, and that fusarioid macroconidia represent a character that has been gained or lost multiple times throughout Nectriaceae. Thus, the very broad circumscription of Fusarium is blurry and without apparent synapomorphies, and does not include all genera with fusarium-like macroconidia, which are spread throughout Nectriaceae (e.g., Cosmosporella, Macroconia, Microcera). In this study four new genera are introduced, along with 18 new species and 16 new combinations. These names convey information about relationships, morphology, and ecological preference that would otherwise be lost in a broader definition of Fusarium. To assist users to correctly identify fusarioid genera and species, we introduce a new online identification database, Fusarioid-ID, accessible at www.fusarium.org. The database comprises partial sequences from multiple genes commonly used to identify fusarioid taxa (act1, CaM, his3, rpb1, rpb2, tef1, tub2, ITS, and LSU). In this paper, we also present a nomenclator of names that have been introduced in Fusarium up to January 2021 as well as their current status, types, and diagnostic DNA barcode data. In this study, researchers from 46 countries, representing taxonomists, plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, and students, strongly support the application and use of a more precisely delimited Fusarium (= Gibberella) concept to accommodate taxa from the robust monophyletic node F3 on the basis of a well-defined and unique combination of morphological and biochemical features. This F3 node includes, among others, species of the F. fujikuroi, F. incarnatum-equiseti, F. oxysporum, and F. sambucinum species complexes, but not species of Bisifusarium [F. dimerum species complex (SC)], Cyanonectria (F. buxicola SC), Geejayessia (F. staphyleae SC), Neocosmospora (F. solani SC) or Rectifusarium (F. ventricosum SC). The present study represents the first step to generating a new online monograph of Fusarium and allied fusarioid genera (www.fusarium.org).
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| 4. |
- Dobsicek Trefna, Hana, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Quality assurance guidelines for interstitial hyperthermia
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Hyperthermia. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0265-6736 .- 1464-5157. ; 36:1, s. 277-294
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quality assurance (QA) guidelines are essential to provide uniform execution of clinical hyperthermia treatments and trials. This document outlines the clinical and technical consequences of the specific properties of interstitial heat delivery and specifies recommendations for hyperthermia administration with interstitial techniques. Interstitial hyperthermia aims at tumor temperatures in the 40–44 °C range as an adjunct to radiation or chemotherapy. The clinical part of this document imparts specific clinical experience of interstitial heat delivery to various tumor sites as well as recommended interstitial hyperthermia workflow and procedures. The second part describes technical requirements for quality assurance of current interstitial heating equipment including electromagnetic (radiative and capacitive) and ultrasound heating techniques. Detailed instructions are provided on characterization and documentation of the performance of interstitial hyperthermia applicators to achieve reproducible hyperthermia treatments of uniform high quality. Output power and consequent temperature rise are the key parameters for characterization of applicator performance in these QA guidelines. These characteristics determine the specific maximum tumor size and depth that can be heated adequately. The guidelines were developed by the ESHO Technical Committee with participation of senior STM members and members of the Atzelsberg Circle.
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| 5. |
- Dobsicek Trefna, Hana, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Quality assurance guidelines for superficial hyperthermia clinical trials: I. Clinical requirements
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Journal of Hyperthermia. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0265-6736 .- 1464-5157. ; 33:4, s. 471-482
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quality assurance guidelines are essential to provide uniform execution of clinical trials and treatment in the application of hyperthermia. This document provides definitions for a good hyperthermia treatment and identifies the clinical conditions where a certain hyperthermia system can or cannot adequately heat the tumour volume. It also provides brief description of the characteristics and performance of the current electromagnetic (radiative and capacitive), ultrasound and infra-red heating techniques. This information helps to select the appropriate heating technique for the specific tumour location and size, and appropriate settings of the water bolus and thermometry. Finally, requirements of staff training and documentation are provided. The guidelines in this document focus on the clinical application and are complemented with a second, more technical quality assurance document providing instructions and procedure to determine essential parameters that describe heating properties of the applicator for superficial hyperthermia. Both sets of guidelines were developed by the ESHO Technical Committee with participation of senior STM members and members of the Atzelsberg Circle.
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| 6. |
- Dobsicek Trefna, Hana, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Quality assurance guidelines for superficial hyperthermia clinical trials: II. Technical requirements for heating devices
- 2017
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Ingår i: Strahlentherapie und Onkologie. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1439-099X .- 0179-7158. ; 193:5, s. 351-366
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quality assurance (QA) guidelines are essential to provide uniform execution of clinical trials with uniform quality hyperthermia treatments. This document outlines the requirements for appropriate QA of all current superficial heating equipment including electromagnetic (radiative and capacitive), ultrasound, and infrared heating techniques. Detailed instructions are provided how to characterize and document the performance of these hyperthermia applicators in order to apply reproducible hyperthermia treatments of uniform high quality. Earlier documents used specific absorption rate (SAR) to define and characterize applicator performance. In these QA guidelines, temperature rise is the leading parameter for characterization of applicator performance. The intention of this approach is that characterization can be achieved with affordable equipment and easy-to-implement procedures. These characteristics are essential to establish for each individual applicator the specific maximum size and depth of tumors that can be heated adequately. The guidelines in this document are supplemented with a second set of guidelines focusing on the clinical application. Both sets of guidelines were developed by the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology (ESHO) Technical Committee with participation of senior Society of Thermal Medicine (STM) members and members of the Atzelsberg Circle.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Lohi, H, et al.
(författare)
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Isoforms of SLC26A6 mediate anion transport and have functional PDZ interaction domains
- 2003
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Ingår i: American journal of physiology. Cell physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 0363-6143 .- 1522-1563. ; 284:3, s. C769-C779
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The solute carrier gene family SLC26 consists of tissue-specific anion exchanger genes, three of them associated with distinct human recessive disorders. By a genome-driven approach, several new SLC26 family members have been identified, including a kidney- and pancreas-specific gene, SLC26A6. We report the functional characterization of SLC26A6 and two new alternatively spliced variants, named SLC26A6c and SLC26A6d. Immunofluorescence studies on transiently transfected cells indicated membrane localization and indicated that both NH2- and COOH-terminal tails of the SLC26A6 variants are located intracellularly, suggesting a topology with an even number of transmembrane domains. Functional expression of the three proteins in Xenopus oocytes demonstrated Cl−and SO[Formula: see text] transport activity. In addition, the transport of SO[Formula: see text] and Cl−was inhibited by DIDS and HCO[Formula: see text]. We demonstrated also that the COOH terminus of SLC26A6 binds to the first and second PDZ domains of the Na+/H+exchanger (NHE)3 kinase A regulatory protein (E3KARP) and NHE3 regulatory factor (NHERF) proteins in vitro. Truncation of the last three amino acids (TRL) of SLC26A6 abrogated the interaction but did not affect transport function. These results demonstrate that SLC26A6 and its two splice variants can function as anion transporters linked to PDZ-interaction pathways. Our results support the general concept of microdomain organization for ion transport and suggest a mechanism for cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR)-mediated SLC26A6 upregulation in pancreatic duct cells.
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| 9. |
- Pironi, L., et al.
(författare)
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COVID-19 infection in patients on long-term home parenteral nutrition for chronic intestinal failure
- 2023
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Ingår i: Clinical Nutrition Espen. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-4577. ; 55, s. 212-220
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aims: To investigate the incidence and the severity of COVID-19 infection in patients enrolled in the database for home parenteral nutrition (HPN) for chronic intestinal failure (CIF) of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN). Methods: Period of observation: March 1st, 2020 March 1st, 2021. Inclusion criteria: patients included in the database since 2015 and still receiving HPN on March 1st, 2020 as well as new patients included in the database during the period of observation. Data related to the previous 12 months and recorded on March 1st 2021: 1) occurrence of COVID-19 infection since the beginning of the pandemic (yes, no, unknown); 2) infection severity (asymptomatic; mild, no-hospitalization; moderate, hospitalization no -ICU; severe, hospitalization in ICU); 3) vaccinated against COVID-19 (yes, no, unknown); 4) patient outcome on March 1st 2021: still on HPN, weaned off HPN, deceased, lost to follow up.Results: Sixty-eight centres from 23 countries included 4680 patients. Data on COVID-19 were available for 55.1% of patients. The cumulative incidence of infection was 9.6% in the total group and ranged from 0% to 21.9% in the cohorts of individual countries. Infection severity was reported as: asymptomatic 26.7%, mild 32.0%, moderate 36.0%, severe 5.3%. Vaccination status was unknown in 62.0% of patients, non-vaccinated 25.2%, vaccinated 12.8%. Patient outcome was reported as: still on HPN 78.6%, weaned off HPN 10.6%, deceased 9.7%, lost to follow up 1.1%. A higher incidence of infection (p = 0.04), greater severity of infection (p < 0.001) and a lower vaccination percentage (p = 0.01) were observed in deceased patients. In COVID-19 infected patients, deaths due to infection accounted for 42.8% of total deaths.Conclusions: In patients on HPN for CIF, the incidence of COVID-19 infection differed greatly among countries. Although the majority of cases were reported to be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms only, COVID-19 was reported to be fatal in a significant proportion of infected patients. Lack of vacci-nation was associated with a higher risk of death.(c) 2023 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Sator, Lea, et al.
(författare)
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Overdiagnosis of COPD in Subjects With Unobstructed Spirometry A BOLD Analysis
- 2019
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Ingår i: Chest. - : Elsevier BV. - 0012-3692 .- 1931-3543. ; 156:2, s. 277-288
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: There are several reports on underdiagnosis of COPD, while little is known about COPD overdiagnosis and overtreatment. We describe the overdiagnosis and the prevalence of spirometrically defined false positive COPD, as well as their relationship with overtreatment across 23 population samples in 20 countries participating in the BOLD Study between 2003 and 2012.METHODS: A false positive diagnosis of COPD was considered when participants reported a doctor's diagnosis of COPD, but postbronchodilator spirometry was unobstructed (FEV1/FVC > LLN). Additional analyses were performed using the fixed ratio criterion (FEV1/FVC < 0.7).RESULTS: Among 16,177 participants, 919 (5.7%) reported a previous medical diagnosis of COPD. Postbronchodilator spirometry was unobstructed in 569 subjects (61.9%): false positive COPD. A similar rate of overdiagnosis was seen when using the fixed ratio criterion (55.3%). In a subgroup analysis excluding participants who reported a diagnosis of "chronic bronchitis" or "emphysema" (n = 220), 37.7% had no airflow limitation. The site-specific prevalence of false positive COPD varied greatly, from 1.9% in low- to middle-income countries to 4.9% in high-income countries. In multivariate analysis, overdiagnosis was more common among women, and was associated with higher education; former and current smoking; the presence of wheeze, cough, and phlegm; and concomitant medical diagnosis of asthma or heart disease. Among the subjects with false positive COPD, 45.7% reported current use of respiratory medication. Excluding patients with reported asthma, 34.4% of those with normal spirometry still used a respiratory medication.CONCLUSIONS: False positive COPD is frequent. This might expose nonobstructed subjects to possible adverse effects of respiratory medication.
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