1. |
- Nguyen, Thanh N, et al.
(författare)
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Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Stroke Volumes and Cerebrovascular Events: A 1-Year Follow-up.
- 2023
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Ingår i: Neurology. - 1526-632X. ; 100:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Declines in stroke admission, IV thrombolysis (IVT), and mechanical thrombectomy volumes were reported during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a paucity of data on the longer-term effect of the pandemic on stroke volumes over the course of a year and through the second wave of the pandemic. We sought to measure the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volumes of stroke admissions, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), IVT, and mechanical thrombectomy over a 1-year period at the onset of the pandemic (March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) compared with the immediately preceding year (March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020).We conducted a longitudinal retrospective study across 6 continents, 56 countries, and 275 stroke centers. We collected volume data for COVID-19 admissions and 4 stroke metrics: ischemic stroke admissions, ICH admissions, IVT treatments, and mechanical thrombectomy procedures. Diagnoses were identified by their ICD-10 codes or classifications in stroke databases.There were 148,895 stroke admissions in the 1 year immediately before compared with 138,453 admissions during the 1-year pandemic, representing a 7% decline (95% CI [95% CI 7.1-6.9]; p < 0.0001). ICH volumes declined from 29,585 to 28,156 (4.8% [5.1-4.6]; p < 0.0001) and IVT volume from 24,584 to 23,077 (6.1% [6.4-5.8]; p < 0.0001). Larger declines were observed at high-volume compared with low-volume centers (all p < 0.0001). There was no significant change in mechanical thrombectomy volumes (0.7% [0.6-0.9]; p = 0.49). Stroke was diagnosed in 1.3% [1.31-1.38] of 406,792 COVID-19 hospitalizations. SARS-CoV-2 infection was present in 2.9% ([2.82-2.97], 5,656/195,539) of all stroke hospitalizations.There was a global decline and shift to lower-volume centers of stroke admission volumes, ICH volumes, and IVT volumes during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the prior year. Mechanical thrombectomy volumes were preserved. These results suggest preservation in the stroke care of higher severity of disease through the first pandemic year.This study is registered under NCT04934020.
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2. |
- Roberts, Jason D., et al.
(författare)
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Ankyrin-B dysfunction predisposes to arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and is amenable to therapy
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Investigation. - : AMER SOC CLINICAL INVESTIGATION INC. - 0021-9738 .- 1558-8238. ; 129:8, s. 3171-3184
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited arrhythmia syndrome characterized by severe structural and electrical cardiac phenotypes, including myocardial fibrofatty replacement and sudden cardiac death. Clinical management of ACM is largely palliative, owing to an absence of therapies that target its underlying pathophysiology, which stems partially from our limited insight into the condition. Following identification of deceased ACM probands possessing ANK2 rare variants and evidence of ankyrin-B loss of function on cardiac tissue analysis, an ANK2 mouse model was found to develop dramatic structural abnormalities reflective of human ACM, including biventricular dilation, reduced ejection fraction, cardiac fibrosis, and premature death. Desmosomal structure and function appeared preserved in diseased human and murine specimens in the presence of markedly abnormal beta-catenin expression and patterning, leading to identification of a previously unknown interaction between ankyrin-B and beta-catenin. A pharmacological activator of the WNT/beta-catenin pathway, SB-216763, successfully prevented and partially reversed the murine ACM phenotypes. Our findings introduce what we believe to be a new pathway for ACM, a role of ankyrin-B in cardiac structure and signaling, a molecular link between ankyrin-B and beta-catenin, and evidence for targeted activation of the WNT/beta-catenin pathway as a potential treatment for this disease.
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3. |
- Thu Thao, Bui T., et al.
(författare)
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Enhancement of selective monoaromatic hydrocarbon and syngas products from fast pyrolysis of cassava stalks over Co, Mo promoted Ni catalysts
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of the Energy Institute. - 1743-9671 .- 1746-0220. ; 115
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Catalytic fast pyrolysis of cassava stalks has been intriguing as a promising, feasible chemical refinery method in terms of waste-to-energy conversion from cassava cultivation. This study aims to determine the synergetic influence of Mo and Co on Ni catalysts (Ni, Ni–Mo, and Ni–Co) prepared via ultrasonic-assisted incipient wetness impregnation method for catalytic pyrolysis vapor upgrading. The results indicated that Co and Mo enhance the reducibility of NiO and promote weak-to-medium acidity, thereby enhancing Ni's performance. Mono-Ni favors cracking deoxygenation, whereas oxophilicity promoters particularly enhance the oxygen absorbability efficiency to selective deoxygenated production. A fine Ni dispersion on CoNi/SiO2 catalyst was observed to positively affect the production of monoaromatic hydrocarbons (46.10 %), in contrast to those without promoters (21.63 %). This is attributed to an optimal Ni-metallic distribution with a small crystal size of 7.01 nm and a high surface area of 342.6 m2 g−1, highlighting the effectiveness of the promoter-assisted Ni catalyst. Additionally, a high yield of H2 (66.9 %) in non-condensable gas was recorded at 550 °C. The study suggests that a simplified approach to developing Ni-based catalysts could enhance the eco-friendliness of commercial catalysts, thereby facilitating the scale-up of biomass pyrolysis applications.
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4. |
- Le, Khanh Duy, et al.
(författare)
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HybridMingler: Towards Mixed-Reality Support for Mingling at Hybrid Conferences
- 2023
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Ingår i: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mingling, the activity of ad-hoc, private, opportunistic conversations ahead of, during, or after breaks, is an important socializing activity for attendees at scheduled events, such as in-person conferences. The Covid-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on the way conferences are organized, so that most of them now take place in a hybrid mode where people can either attend on-site or remotely. While on-site attendees can resume in-person mingling, hybrid modes make it challenging for remote attendees to mingle with on-site peers. In addressing this problem, we propose a collaborative mixed-reality (MR) concept, including a prototype, called HybridMingler. This is a distributed MR system supporting ambient awareness and allowing both on-site and remote conference attendees to virtually mingle. HybridMingler aims to provide both on-site and remote attendees with a spatial sense of co-location in the very same venue location, thus ultimately improving perceived presence.
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5. |
- Ly, Duy Nam, et al.
(författare)
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360TourGuiding: Towards Virtual Reality Training for Tour Guiding
- 2022
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Ingår i: MobileHCI 2022 Adjunct - Publication of the 24th ACM International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services. - New York, NY, USA : ACM.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tour guiding plays an important role in turning sightseeing tours into memorable experiences. Tour guides, especially inexperienced ones, must practice intensively to perfect their craft. It is key that guides acquire knowledge about sights, in-situ presentation skills, and perfection ability to interact with and engage tourists. Therefore, tour-guide education requires on-site training at the place of interest including live tourist audiences. However, for modest budgets, such setups are costly and tourism students have to practice tour guiding at home or in simulated class-room setups. It has become a challenge for students to adequately prepare themselves for jobs in terms of relevant knowledge and skills. To tackle this problem, we propose 360TourGuiding, a VR system enabling its users to practice tour guiding with 360 travel videos plus the attendance of remote audiences participating through their mobile and personal device. This paper reports on the concept, on our design, current implementation, and on a pilot study with the current 360TourGuiding prototype. Based on qualitative feedback gained through the pilot study, we discuss possible system improvements, future system updates, and plans for empirical evaluation.
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7. |
- Nguyen, V.-T., et al.
(författare)
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NowAndThen: a Social Network-based Photo Recommendation Tool Supporting Reminiscence
- 2016
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia. - New York, NY, USA : ACM. - 9781450348607 ; , s. 159-168
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- People frequently post their photos on social network sites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) as a way to share memorable moments, emotions, or locations visited. While sharing photos with the same subjects as past photos could lead to user reminiscence and potentially create valuable benefits, existing products still cannot support this adequately. Based on a survey on user habits in sharing and revisiting photos on social network sites, we propose NowAndThen, a photo recommendation concept and tool that assists reminiscence when sharing photos on social network sites. By combining visual features of the photos and associated tags, a prototype we developed can recommend old photos that have common subjects with the user’s current photos of interest. Our study with the prototype shows that this approach can help users positively revive past memories and connections with their friends. In addition, our results include various design insights and implications for future reminiscence-support systems.
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8. |
- Cortez, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Noninvasive predictors of perioperative atrial arrhythmias in patients with tetralogy of Fallot undergoing pulmonary valve replacement
- 2017
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Ingår i: Clinical Cardiology. - : Wiley. - 0160-9289. ; 40:8, s. 591-596
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) have increased risk of atrial arrhythmias. Hypothesis: A measure of atrial dispersion, the P-wave vector magnitude (Pvm), can identify patients at risk for perioperative atrial flutter (AFL) or intra-atrial re-entrant tachycardia (IART) in a large TOF cohort. Methods: We performed a blinded, retrospective analysis of 158 TOF patients undergoing pulmonary valve replacement between 1997 and 2015. History of AFL/IART was documented using electrocardiogram, Holter monitor, exercise stress test, implanted cardiac device, and electrophysiology study. P-R intervals, Pvm, QRS duration, and QRS vector magnitude were assessed from resting sinus-rhythm 12-lead electrocardiograms and identification of those with AFL/IART was determined. Results: Fourteen patients (8.9%) were found to have AFL/IART. Pvm, QRS duration, and QRS vector magnitude significantly differentiated those with AFL/IART from those without on univariate analysis: 0.09±0.04 vs 0.18±0.07 mV, 161.3±21.9 vs 137.7±31.4ms, and 1.2 (interquartile range, 1.0-1.2) vs 1.6 mV (1.0-2.3), respectively (P < 0.05 for each). The Pvm had the highest area under the ROC curve (0.88) and was the only significant predictor on multivariate analysis, with odds ratio of 0.02 (95% confidence interval: 0.01-0.53). P-R duration, MRI volumes, and right-heart hemodynamics did not significantly differentiate those with vs those without AFL/IART. Conclusions: In TOF patients undergoing pulmonary valve replacement, Pvm has significant value in predicting those with perioperative AFL/IART. These clinical features may help further evaluate TOF patients at risk for perioperative atrial arrhythmias. Prospective studies are warranted.
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9. |
- Cortez, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Noninvasive Predictors of Ventricular Arrhythmias in Patients With Tetralogy of Fallot Undergoing Pulmonary Valve Replacement
- 2017
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Ingår i: JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-500X. ; 3:2, s. 162-170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: This study sought to test the hypothesis that a vectorcardiographic parameter, the QRS vector magnitude (QRSVm), can risk stratify those patients at risk for sustained spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) or ventricular arrhythmia inducibility (VAI) in a large cohort of patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Background: Patients with TOF have an increased risk of VAs, but predicting those at risk can often be challenging. Methods: Blinded retrospective analyses of 177 TOF patients undergoing pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) between 1997 and 2015 were performed. VAI was evaluated by programmed electrical stimulation in 48 patients. QRS intervals and QRSVm voltage measurements were assessed from resting 12-lead electrocardiograms, and risk of VA was determined. Clinical characteristics, including imaging and cardiac catheterizations, were used for other modality comparisons. Results: Sustained spontaneous VA occurred in 12 patients and inducible VA in 18 patients. Age and QRSVm were significant univariate predictors of VA. QRSVm was the only independent predictor of VAI (p < 0.001). Using a root mean square QRS value of 1.24 mV, the positive and negative predictive values were 47.9% and 97.8%, respectively, for spontaneous sustained VA. For VAI, using a QRSVm cutoff of 1.31 mV, positive and negative predictive values were 63.0% and 95.3%, respectively. Conclusions: In TOF patients undergoing PVR, older age was associated with increased spontaneous VA risk. Lower QRSVm predicted spontaneous VA or VAI risk with high negative predictive values. QRSVm is the only independent predictor of VAI. These clinical features may help further risk stratify TOF patients requiring therapies to prevent sudden death.
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10. |
- Dupuy, T. J., et al.
(författare)
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Multiplicity of cool dwarfs
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astronomical Notes - Astronomische Nachrichten. - : Wiley. - 0004-6337 .- 1521-3994. ; 334:1-2, s. 36-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Multiple systems have long been used to probe the origin and evolution of stars of all masses. Only in the past 10-15 years have such studies been extended to brown dwarfs and the lowest mass stars through binary surveys of both young star forming regions and the older field population. In addition, a groundswell of interest in M dwarfs in recent years has resulted in large, modern datasets for these most common stars in the Galaxy, thereby enabling renewed perspectives on their multiplicity properties. These latest observational results have in turn fueled the many theories competing to explain the formation of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. This Cool Stars 17 splinter session examined the current state of this field by reviewing results from the numerous observational techniques - radial velocities, astrometry, direct imaging, and synoptic surveys - that have been used to study multiplicity from the earliest embedded protostars to objects in young star forming regions, old and intermediate-age clusters, as well as the more heterogeneous field population.
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