| 1. |
- Jensen, Poul Erik H., et al.
(författare)
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Detection and kinetics of persistent neutralizing anti-interferon-beta antibodies in patients with multiple sclerosis : Results from the ABIRISK prospective cohort study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Neuroimmunology. - : Elsevier. - 0165-5728 .- 1872-8421. ; 326, s. 19-27
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two validated assays, a bridging ELISA and a luciferase-based bioassay, were compared for detection of anti-drug antibodies (ADA) against interferon-beta (IFN-β) in patients with multiple sclerosis. Serum samples were tested from patients enrolled in a prospective study of 18 months. In contrast to the ELISA, when IFN-β-specific rabbit polyclonal and human monoclonal antibodies were tested, the bioassay was the more sensitive to detect IFN-β ADA in patients' sera. For clinical samples, selection of method of ELISA should be evaluated prior to the use of a multi-tiered approach. A titer threshold value is reported that may be used as a predictor for persistently positive neutralizing ADA.
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| 2. |
- Bernhard, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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The Varieties of Democracy Core Civil Society Index
- 2015
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper introduces the Core Civil Society Index (CCSI), a measure of the robustness of civil society, using indicators from the Varieties of Democracy battery on civil society. It begins with a discussion of the reemergence of civil society as a central concept in comparative politics and discusses the existing state of data to capture it. It then discusses the conceptualization behind the CCSI and the construction of the measure. This is followed by a series of face and discriminant validity checks. The paper closes with an example of the CCSI’s utility by examining the question of whether postcommunist civil society is “weak” compared to other regions. We find no evidence that postcommunist civil society is less robust than civil society in other major world regions via time - series cross - sectional analysis using 2999 country - year observations between 1989 and 2012.
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| 3. |
- Beyder, Arthur, et al.
(författare)
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Loss-of-Function of the Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Na(V)1.5 (Channelopathies) in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- 2014
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Ingår i: Gastroenterology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-5085 .- 1528-0012. ; 146:7, s. 1659-1668
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND & AIMS: SCN5A encodes the a-subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel Na(V)1.5. Many patients with cardiac arrhythmias caused by mutations in SCN5A also have symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We investigated whether patients with IBS have SCN5A variants that affect the function of Na(V)1.5. METHODS: We performed genotype analysis of SCN5A in 584 persons with IBS and 1380 without IBS (controls). Mutant forms of SCN5A were expressed in human embryonic kidney-293 cells, and functions were assessed by voltage clamp analysis. A genome-wide association study was analyzed for an association signal for the SCN5A gene, and replicated in 1745 patients in 4 independent cohorts of IBS patients and controls. RESULTS: Missense mutations were found in SCN5A in 13 of 584 patients (2.2%, probands). Diarrhea-predominant IBS was the most prevalent form of IBS in the overall study population (25%). However, a greater percentage of individuals with SCN5A mutations had constipation-predominant IBS (31%) than diarrhea-predominant IBS (10%; P < .05). Electrophysiologic analysis showed that 10 of 13 detected mutations disrupted Na(V)1.5 function (9 loss-of-function and 1 gain-of-function function). The p. A997T-Na(V)1.5 had the greatest effect in reducing Na(V)1.5 function. Incubation of cells that expressed this variant with mexiletine restored their sodium current and administration of mexiletine to 1 carrier of this mutation (who had constipation-predominant IBS) normalized their bowel habits. In the genome-wide association study and 4 replicated studies, the SCN5A locus was strongly associated with IBS. CONCLUSIONS: About 2% of patients with IBS carry mutations in SCN5A. Most of these are loss-of-function mutations that disrupt Na(V)1.5 channel function. These findings provide a new pathogenic mechanism for IBS and possible treatment options.
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| 4. |
- Beyder, Arthur, et al.
(författare)
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Loss-of-function of the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.5 (channelopathies) in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Gastroenterology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-5085 .- 1528-0012. ; 146:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND & AIMS: SCN5A encodes the α-subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.5. Many patients with cardiac arrhythmias caused by mutations in SCN5A also have symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We investigated whether patients with IBS have SCN5A variants that affect the function of NaV1.5.METHODS: We performed genotype analysis of SCN5A in 584 persons with IBS and 1380 without IBS (controls). Mutant forms of SCN5A were expressed in human embryonic kidney-293 cells, and functions were assessed by voltage clamp analysis. A genome-wide association study was analyzed for an association signal for the SCN5A gene, and replicated in 1745 patients in 4 independent cohorts of IBS patients and controls.RESULTS: Missense mutations were found in SCN5A in 13 of 584 patients (2.2%, probands). Diarrhea-predominant IBS was the most prevalent form of IBS in the overall study population (25%). However, a greater percentage of individuals with SCN5A mutations had constipation-predominant IBS (31%) than diarrhea-predominant IBS (10%; P < .05). Electrophysiologic analysis showed that 10 of 13 detected mutations disrupted NaV1.5 function (9 loss-of-function and 1 gain-of-function function). The p. A997T-NaV1.5 had the greatest effect in reducing NaV1.5 function. Incubation of cells that expressed this variant with mexiletine restored their sodium current and administration of mexiletine to 1 carrier of this mutation (who had constipation-predominant IBS) normalized their bowel habits. In the genome-wide association study and 4 replicated studies, the SCN5A locus was strongly associated with IBS.CONCLUSIONS: About 2% of patients with IBS carry mutations in SCN5A. Most of these are loss-of-function mutations that disrupt NaV1.5 channel function. These findings provide a new pathogenic mechanism for IBS and possible treatment options.
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| 5. |
- Bizzarro, Fernando, et al.
(författare)
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Party Strength and Economic Growth
- 2015
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- While a large literature suggests an important role for political parties in economic development, this is the first attempt to lay out a comprehensive theory and a reasonably comprehensive empirical test of the proposition. We argue that strong parties broaden the constituencies to which policy makers respond and help politicians solve coordination problems. These features help ensure better economic management, public services, and political stability. And this, in turn, enhances economic growth. Drawing on a novel measure of party strength from the Varieties of Democracy dataset, we test this theory on data drawn from more than 150 countries, observed annually from 1900–2012. We identify a sizeable effect which is robust to various specifications, estimators, and samples. The effect operates in both democracies and autocracies and is fairly stable across regions and time periods. We also find provisional evidence in favor of causal mechanisms pertaining to public services and political stability.
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| 6. |
- Bizzarro, Fernando, et al.
(författare)
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Party Strength and Economic Growth
- 2018
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Ingår i: World Politics. - 0043-8871 .- 1086-3338. ; 70:2, s. 275-320
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © Trustees of Princeton University 2018. While a large literature suggests an important role for political parties in development, this article is the first attempt to layout and test a comprehensive theory connecting parties to economic growth. The authors argue that strong parties broaden the constituencies to which policymakers respond and help politicians solve coordination problems. These features help to ensure better economic management, public services, and political stability. And this, in turn, enhances economic growth. Drawing on a novel measure of party strength from the Varieties of Democracy data set, the authors test this theory on data drawn from more than 150 countries observed annually from 1901-2010. They identify a sizeable effect that is robust to various specifications, estimators, and samples. The effect operates in both democracies and autocracies, and is fairly stable across regions and time periods.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Engert, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
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The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research : a consensus document
- 2016
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Ingår i: Haematologica. - Pavia, Italy : Ferrata Storti Foundation (Haematologica). - 0390-6078 .- 1592-8721. ; 101:2, s. 115-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at (sic)23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology of blood disorders, and has improved diagnostics and treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap. The EHA Roadmap identifies nine 'sections' in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders. The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients.
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| 9. |
- Hedberg, Jakob, et al.
(författare)
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Randomized controlled trial of nasogastric tube use after esophagectomy : study protocol for the kinetic trial
- 2024
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Ingår i: Diseases of the esophagus. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1120-8694 .- 1442-2050. ; 37:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Esophagectomy is a complex and complication laden procedure. Despite centralization, variations in perioparative strategies reflect a paucity of evidence regarding optimal routines. The use of nasogastric (NG) tubes post esophagectomy is typically associated with significant discomfort for the patients. We hypothesize that immediate postoperative removal of the NG tube is non-inferior to current routines. All Nordic Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer centers were invited to participate in this open-label pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT). Inclusion criteria include resection for locally advanced esophageal cancer with gastric tube reconstruction. A pretrial survey was undertaken and was the foundation for a consensus process resulting in the Kinetic trial, an RCT allocating patients to either no use of a NG tube (intervention) or 5 days of postoperative NG tube use (control) with anastomotic leakage as primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints include pulmonary complications, overall complications, length of stay, health related quality of life. A sample size of 450 patients is planned (Kinetic trial: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN39935085). Thirteen Nordic centers with a combined catchment area of 17 million inhabitants have entered the trial and ethical approval was granted in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. All centers routinely use NG tube and all but one center use total or hybrid minimally invasive-surgical approach. Inclusion began in January 2022 and the first annual safety board assessment has deemed the trial safe and recommended continuation. We have launched the first adequately powered multi-center pragmatic controlled randomized clinical trial regarding NG tube use after esophagectomy with gastric conduit reconstruction.
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| 10. |
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