| 1. |
- Aalto-Setälä, Katriina, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic risk factors and ischemic cerebrovascular disease : role of common variation of the genes encoding apolipoproteins and angiotensin-converting enzyme
- 1998
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Ingår i: Annals of Medicine. - 0785-3890 .- 1365-2060. ; 30:2, s. 224-33
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- DNA polymorphisms in genes encoding apolipoproteins (apo) A-I, C-III, B and E and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) have been proposed to be associated with the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). We studied whether the same genetic markers would also be associated with the occurrence and extent of atherosclerosis in cervical arteries. DNA samples from 234 survivors of stroke or a transient ischaemic attack aged 60 years or less were examined. The presence of atherosclerosis was assessed using aortic arch angiograms. The SstI polymorphism of apoA-I/C-III gene locus, the XbaI polymorphism of apoB gene, common apoE phenotypes and the insertion/deletion polymorphism of the ACE gene were analysed. The allele frequencies of the apoA-I/C-III, apoB, apoE or ACE gene did not differ between the groups with (n = 148) or without (n = 85) cervical atherosclerosis. However, when patients with at least one apoE4 allele and one X2 allele of apoB were combined and compared with those without either of them (E2E3 or E3E3 and X1X1), a significant association with the presence of cervical atherosclerosis was found (P = 0.03). The patients having the E2E3 phenotype had a significantly elevated serum triglyceride level compared with those with the E3E3 phenotype (P = 0.03). Serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was lower in the patients with the E2E3 phenotype than in those with the E3E3 and E3E4 (P = 0.01 and P = 0.06, respectively). The apoB or ACE genotypes were not significantly associated with serum lipid or lipoprotein levels. There was no association between the ACE gene polymorphism and the occurrence of hypertension. In conclusion, the interaction of common apoB and apoE alleles may increase the risk of atherosclerosis in cervical arteries.
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| 2. |
- Ihlberg, Leo, et al.
(författare)
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Early clinical outcome of aortic transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation in the Nordic countries
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. - : Elsevier. - 0022-5223 .- 1097-685X. ; 146:5, s. 1047-1054
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation has emerged as an option, in addition to reoperative surgical aortic valve replacement, to treat failed biologic heart valve substitutes. However, the clinical experience with this approach is still limited. We report the comprehensive experience of transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation in the Nordic countries from May 2008 to January 2012. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanMethods: A total of 45 transcatheter aortic valve-in-valve implantations were performed during the study period in 11 centers. The mean age of the patients was 80.6 years (range, 61-91), 26 were male and 19 were female, and the mean EuroSCORE, EuroSCORE II, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 35.4, 16.3, and 14.6, respectively. The type of failure was stenosis and combined in 58% (mean and peak aortic valve gradient, 77 and 45 mm Hg, respectively) and regurgitation in 42% of cases. The SAPIEN/XT (Edwards LifeSciences, Irvine, Calif) and CoreValve (Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, Minn) system was used in 33 and 12 cases, respectively. The access route was transapical in 25, transfemoral in 17, transaortic in 2, and subclavian in 1 case. The mean follow-up was 14.4 months. The periprocedural and postoperative outcomes were assessed using the Valve Academic Research Consortium criteria. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults: No intraprocedural mortality occurred. The technical success rate was 95.6% (1 second valve implantation, 1 conversion to open surgery). The all-cause 30-day mortality was 4.4% (1 cardiac-related and 1 aspiration pneumonia). The major complications within 30 days included stroke in 2.2%, periprocedural myocardial infarction in 4.4%, and major vascular complication in 2.2% of patients. At 1 month, all but 1 patient had either no or mild paravalvular leakage, with a mean and peak valve gradient of 17 mm Hg (range, 4-38) and 30 mm Hg (range, 7-68), respectively. The mean gradient was greater than 20 mm Hg in 17% of patients and remained unchanged at 12 months. The 1-year survival was 88.1%. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions: Transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation is widely performed, albeit in small numbers, in most centers in the Nordic countries. The short-termresults were excellent in this high-risk patient population, demonstrating a low incidence of device-or procedure-related complications. However, a considerable number of patients were left with suboptimal systolic valve performance with unknown long-term effects, warranting close surveillance after transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation.
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| 3. |
- Kahlert, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Harmonization is more important than experience—results of the first Nordic–Baltic diatom intercalibration exercise 2007 (stream monitoring)
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Applied Phycology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0921-8971 .- 1573-5176. ; 21:4, s. 471-482
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The goal of this study was a harmonization of diatom identification and counting among diatomists from the Scandinavian and Baltic countries to improve the comparison of diatom studies in this geographical area. An analysis of the results of 25 diatomists following the European standard EN 14407 during an intercalibration exercise showed that a high similarity was achieved by harmonization and not because of a long experience with diatoms. Sources of error were wrong calibration scales, overlooking of small taxa, especially small Navicula s.l., misidentifications (Eunotia rhomboidea was mistaken for Eunotia incisa) and unclear separation between certain taxa in the identification literature. The latter was discussed during a workshop with focus on the Achnanthes minutissima group, the separation of Fragilaria capucina var. gracilis from F. capucina var. rumpens, and Nitzschia palea var. palea from N. palea var. debilis. The exercise showed also that the Swedish standard diatom method tested here worked fine with acceptable error for the indices IPS (Indice de Polluo-sensibilité Spécifique) and ACID (ACidity Index for Diatoms) when diatomists with a low similarity (Bray–Curtis <60%) with the auditor in at least one of the samples are excluded.
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| 4. |
- Maaranen, Heikki, et al.
(författare)
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On initial populations of a genetic algorithm for continuous optimization problems
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Global Optimization. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0925-5001 .- 1573-2916. ; 37:3, s. 405-436
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic algorithms are commonly used metaheuristics for global optimization, but there has been very little research done on the generation of their initial population. In this paper, we look for an answer to the question whether the initial population plays a role in the performance of genetic algorithms and if so, how it should be generated. We show with a simple example that initial populations may have an effect on the best objective function value found for several generations. Traditionally, initial populations are generated using pseudo random numbers, but there are many alternative ways. We study the properties of different point generators using four main criteria: the uniform coverage and the genetic diversity of the points as well as the speed and the usability of the generator. We use the point generators to generate initial populations for a genetic algorithm and study what effects the uniform coverage and the genetic diversity have on the convergence and on the final objective function values. For our tests, we have selected one pseudo and one quasi random sequence generator and two spatial point processes: simple sequential inhibition process and nonaligned systematic sampling. In numerical experiments, we solve a set of 52 continuous test functions from 16 different function families, and analyze and discuss the results.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Maaranen, Heikki, et al.
(författare)
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Quasi-random initial population for genetic algorithms
- 2004
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Ingår i: Computers and Mathematics with Applications. - : Elsevier BV. - 0898-1221 .- 1873-7668. ; 47:12, s. 1885-1895
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The selection of the initial population in a population-based heuristic optimizationmethod is important, since it affects the search for several iterations and often has an influence on the final solution. If no a priori information about the optima is available, the initial population is often selected randomly using pseudorandom numbers. Usually, however, it is more important that the points are as evenly distributed as possible than that they imitate random points. In this paper, we study the use of quasi-random sequences in the initial population of a genetic algorithm. Sample points in a quasi-random sequence are designed to have good distribution properties. Here a modified genetic algorithm using quasi-random sequences in the initial population is tested by solving a large number of continuous benchmark problems from the literature. The numerical results of two implementations of genetic algorithms using different quasi-random sequences are compared to those of a traditional implementation using pseudorandom numbers. The results obtained are promising.
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| 7. |
- Miettinen, Kaisa, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Efficient hybrid methods for global continuous optimization based on simulated annealing
- 2006
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Ingår i: Computers & Operations Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0305-0548 .- 1873-765X. ; 33:4, s. 1102-1116
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We introduce several hybrid methods for global continuous optimization. They combine simulated annealing and a local proximal bundle method. Traditionally, the simplest hybrid of a global and a local solver is to call the local solver after the global one, but this does not necessarily produce good results. Besides, using efficient gradient-based local solvers implies that the hybrid can only be applied to differentiable problems. We show several ways how to integrate the local solver as a genuine part of simulated annealing to enable both efficient and reliable solution processes. When using the proximal bundle method as a local solver, it is possible to solve even nondifferentiable problems. The numerical tests show that the hybridization can improve both the efficiency and the reliability of simulated annealing.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Niemelä, Matti, et al.
(författare)
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Randomized Comparison of Final Kissing Balloon Dilatation Versus No Final Kissing Balloon Dilatation in Patients With Coronary Bifurcation Lesions Treated With Main Vessel Stenting : The nordic-baltic bifurcation study III
- 2011
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Ingår i: Circulation. - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 123:1, s. 79-86
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background-It is unknown whether the preferred 1-stent bifurcation stenting approach with stenting of the main vessel (MV) and optional side branch stenting using drug-eluting stents should be finalized by a kissing balloon dilatation (FKBD). Therefore, we compared strategies of MV stenting with and without FKBD. Methods and Results-We randomized 477 patients with a bifurcation lesion to FKBD (n=238) or no FKBD (n=239) after MV stenting. The primary end point was major adverse cardiac events: cardiac death, non-procedure-related index lesion myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization, or stent thrombosis within 6 months. The 6-month major adverse cardiac event rates were 2.1% and 2.5% (P=1.00) in the FKBD and no-FKBD groups, respectively. Procedure and fluoroscopy times were longer and more contrast media was needed in the FKBD group than in the no-FKBD group. Three hundred twenty-six patients had a quantitative coronary assessment. At 8 months, the rate of binary (re) stenosis in the entire bifurcation lesion (MV and side branch) was 11.0% versus 17.3% (P=0.11), in the MV was 3.1% versus 2.5% (P=0.68), and in the side branch was 7.9% versus 15.4% (P=0.039) in the FKBD versus no-FKBD groups, respectively. In patients with true bifurcation lesions, the side branch restenosis rate was 7.6% versus 20.0% (P=0.024) in the FKBD and no-FKBD groups, respectively. Conclusions-MV stenting strategies with and without FKBD were associated with similar clinical outcomes. FKBD reduced angiographic side branch (re) stenosis, especially in patients with true bifurcation lesions. The simple no-FKBD procedures resulted in reduced use of contrast media and shorter procedure and fluoroscopy times. Long-term data on stent thrombosis are needed. Clinical Trial Registration-URL: http://clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00914199. (Circulation. 2011;123:79-86.)
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