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| 2. |
- Barreto Henriksson, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Determination of mechanical and rheological properties of a cell-loaded peptide gel during ECM production
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Pharmaceutics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-5173 .- 1873-3476. ; 563, s. 437-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of an injectable biomaterial that supports cell survival and maintains or promotes nucleus pulposus (NP) phenotype could aid delivery of cells to degenerated NPs causing low back pain. Mesenchymal cells were loaded and grown in a synthetic peptide gel, PuraMatrix (R). Cells were observed within the gels over 0-28 days, and accumulation of glycosaminoglycans were detected by histological staining. The mechanical properties of the cell-loaded constructs, and the change of the mechanical properties were studied using stress relaxation of the gels under compression and confinement. The PuraMatrix (R) gel was shown to relax fast on compression indicating that the fluid could easily flow out of the gel, and thus indicating the presence of large pores/voids. The presence of these pores/voids was further supported by high mobility of dextran molecules, determined using fluorescence recovery after photo bleaching. The stress required to deform the cell-loaded constructs to a specific strain increases at day 21, at which point the presence of glycosaminoglycans within the cell-loaded constructs was also observed. The results provide evidence of changes in mechanical properties of the PuraMatrix (R) matrix upon excretion of the extracellular matrix by the cells.
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| 3. |
- Backman, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Lung function trajectories and associated mortality among adults with and without airway obstruction
- 2023
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Ingår i: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. - : American Thoracic Society. - 1073-449X .- 1535-4970. ; 208:10, s. 1063-1074
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rationale: Spirometry is essential for diagnosis and assessment of prognosis in COPD.Objectives: To identify FEV1 trajectories and their determinants, based on annual spirometry measurements among individuals with and without airway obstruction. Furthermore, to assess mortality in relation to trajectories.Methods: In 2002-04, individuals with airway obstruction (AO) (FEV1/VC<0.70, n=993) and age- and sex-matched non-obstructive (NO) referents were recruited from population-based cohorts. Annual spirometries until 2014 were utilized in joint-survival Latent Class Mixed Models to identify lung function trajectories. Mortality data were collected during 15 years of follow-up.Results: Three trajectories were identified among the AO-cases and two among the NO referents. Trajectory membership was driven by baseline FEV1%predicted (%pred) in both groups and additionaly, pack-years in AO and current smoking in NO. Longitudinal FEV1%pred level depended on baseline FEV1%pred, pack-years and obesity. The trajectories were distributed: 79.6% T1AO FEV1-high with normal decline, 12.8% T2AO FEV1-high with rapid decline, and 7.7% T3AO FEV1-low with normal decline (mean 27, 72 and 26 mL/year) among AO-individuals, and 96.7% T1NO FEV1-high with normal decline and 3.3% T2NO FEV1-high with rapid decline (mean 34 and 173 mL/year) among referents. Hazard for death was increased for T2AO (HR1.56) and T3AO (HR3.45) vs. T1AO, and for T2NO (HR2.99) vs. T1NO.Conclusions: Three different FEV1 trajectories were identified among those with airway obstruction and two among the referents, with different outcomes in terms of FEV1-decline and mortality. The FEV1 trajectories among airway obstructive and the relationship between low FVC and trajectory outcome are of particular clinical interest.
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| 4. |
- Borgström, F, et al.
(författare)
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The cost-effectiveness of risedronate in the UK for the management of osteoporosis using the FRAX(R).
- 2009
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Ingår i: Osteoporosis International. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-941X .- 1433-2965.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study estimated the cost-effectiveness of risedronate compared to no treatment in UK women using the FRAX algorithm for fracture risk assessment. A Markov cohort model was used to estimate the cost-effectiveness. Risedronate was found cost-effective from the age of 65 years, assuming a willingness to pay for a QALY of pound30,000. INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of risedronate for the prevention and treatment in a UK setting using the FRAX(R) algorithm for fracture risk assessment. A further aim was to establish intervention thresholds with risedronate treatment. METHODS: The cost-effectiveness of risedronate was compared to no treatment in post-menopausal women with clinical risk factors for fracture using a Markov cohort model populated with data relevant for the UK. The model incorporated the features of FRAX(R) (the WHO risk assessment tool). The analysis had a health care perspective and quality adjusted life years was used as the main outcome measure. RESULTS: Treatment was cost-effective from the age of 65 years, assuming a willingness to pay for a QALY of pound30,000. Treatment was also cost-effective at all ages in women who had previously sustained a fragility fracture or in women with a parental history of hip fracture with a bone mineral density set at the threshold of osteoporosis. At the pound30,000 threshold value for a QALY, risedronate was on average found to cost-effective below the 10-year probability of a major osteoporotic fractures of 13.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Risedronate is a cost-effective agent for the treatment of established osteoporosis (osteoporosis and a prior fragility fracture) in women from the age of 50 years and older and above 65 years in women with osteoporosis alone. The results support the treatment recommendations in recent UK guidelines for osteoporosis.
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| 5. |
- Borgström, F, et al.
(författare)
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The cost-effectiveness of strontium ranelate in the UK for the management of osteoporosis.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Osteoporosis International. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-941X .- 1433-2965. ; 21:2, s. 339-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The cost-effectiveness of strontium ranelate was compared to no treatment in UK women using the FRAX algorithm for fracture risk assessment. At a willingness-to-pay of pound 30,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY), strontium ranelate was generally cost-effective in women with prior fracture at the threshold of osteoporosis from an age of 65 years. INTRODUCTION: The objectives of the study were to estimate the cost-effectiveness of strontium ranelate in the UK for the treatment of osteoporosis and to establish intervention thresholds for treatment using the FRAX tool. METHODS: The cost-effectiveness of strontium ranelate was compared to no treatment in postmenopausal women with clinical risk factors for fracture using a lifetime simulation model based on Markov cohort methodology that incorporated the features of FRAX. RESULTS: At a threshold of pound 30,000 per QALY, strontium ranelate was generally cost-effective in women from an age of 65 years with prior fracture at the threshold of osteoporosis (i.e., a T-score of -2.5 SD) and in women with a prior fracture (and no information on bone mineral density) from the age of 65 years. At a threshold of pound 20,000, strontium ranelate became cost-effective at a 10-year fracture probability of 25.7% and at 16.9% with a threshold of pound 30,000 for a QALY. CONCLUSIONS: Strontium ranelate is a cost-effective agent for the treatment of established osteoporosis in women over the age of 65 years. Cost-effective scenarios were also found for the prevention and treatment of fractures associated with osteoporosis, in younger women with additional clinical risk factors.
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| 6. |
- Brahm, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Relationships between bone mass measurements and lifetime physical activity in a Swedish population
- 1998
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Ingår i: Calcified Tissue International. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0171-967X .- 1432-0827. ; 62:5, s. 400-412
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lifetime occupational and leisure time activities were assessed by a questionnaire in order to evaluate their relationship to bone mass measurements and biochemical markers of bone metabolism in a population of 61 women and 61 men, randomly selected from a Swedish population register, to represent ages between 22 and 85 years. We also considered possible confounders by using questions about smoking habits, milk consumption, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and menopausal age. Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (bone mass, BMC) of the total body, lumbar spine, and proximal femur (neck, trochanter, Ward's triangle) were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and BMD of the forearm with single energy X-ray absorptiometry (SXA). In addition, both DXA and SXA provided information on bone area. Quantitative ultrasound measurements (QUS) at the heel were performed to assess the speed of sound (SOS) and broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA). Fasting blood samples were analyzed for biochemical markers of bone metabolism as well as parathyroid hormone (PTH) and total serum calcium. After adjustment for confounding factors, neither BMD nor QUS measurements were consistently related to lifetime leisure time or occupational activities; nor were there any consistent patterns relating biochemical markers of bone metabolism to bone mass measurements. However, physical activity seemed to influence bone mass, area, and width more than density. In men, high levels of leisure time activity were associated with raised values for lumbar spine area (6.2%) and width (3.3%) as well as for femoral neck area (5.5%) compared with their low activity counterpart. Men exposed to high levels of occupational activity demonstrated lower lumbar spine BMD (10.9%) and area (5.3%) than men with low activity levels. Within an unselected Swedish population, estimation of lifetime occupational and sport activities as well as bedrest, using a questionnaire, demonstrated no major effects on bone density. However, the association between high levels of lifetime activity and raised values for bone mass, area, and width indicate that geometrical changes in bone may provide better estimations of mechanically induced bone strength than bone density, at least in men.
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| 7. |
- Danielson, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Rätt utvärdering ger rätt leverantör
- 2013
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Ingår i: Upphandling24. - Stockholm : Upphandling24. - 1654-725X. ; :5, s. 44-48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 8. |
- Davidsson, Lars, 1974-
(författare)
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I linje med partiet? : Maktspel och lojalitet i den svenska riksdagen
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The preconditions for Swedish MPs’ (Members of Parliament) loyalty to their parliamentary party groups have been modified by two recent constitutional changes: the introduction of preference voting in the electoral system in 1998, and the 1997 reorganisation of the national budgetary process. The main purpose of this thesis is to determine the impact of these reforms on Swedish MPs’ inclination to defect from their party group’s interests. A theory is developed and its propositions empirically tested on the case of the Swedish Parliament. The theory states that the tasks of forming and upholding the party line are delegated from the party group to an elected leadership, and then re-delegated back to individual MPs. The party group leadership acts as a principal, monitoring the adherence of MPs as agents to party group interests in the fulfilment of these tasks. The nature of the interaction varies with the type of parliamentary activity, and the monitoring capacity of the leadership. This theory is strongly supported by Swedish data, and a comparative overview indicates that the theory may also be useful for analysing party loyalty in other parliamentary systems.The thesis uses a mixed methodology design, combining data from a survey study, an interview study, and a document study of Private Member Initiatives.The preference vote reform has increased MPs' willingness to defect, as well as actual defections from their party group’s interests. The effect is, however, mainly limited to electorally vulnerable MPs, who after the reform need to build a personal political profile. The budget reform has decreased defection on budgetary issues, but from a fairly low starting level. A third effect on party loyalty is found, in that the youngest generation MPs are significantly more prone to defect than their colleagues of older generations.
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| 9. |
- Eklund, Ulrik, et al.
(författare)
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Industrial Challenges of Scaling Agile in Mass-Produced Embedded Systems
- 2014
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Ingår i: Agile Methods. Large-Scale Development, Refactoring, Testing, and Estimation. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319143583 - 9783319143576 ; , s. 30-42
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- When individual teams in mechatronic organizations attempt to adopt agile software practices, these practices tend to only affect mod- ules or sub-systems. The short iterations on team level do not lead to short lead-times in launching new or updated products since the overall R&D approach on an organization level is still governed by an overall stage gate or single cycle V-model. This paper identifies challenges for future research on how to combine the predictability and planning desired of mechanical manufacturing with the dynamic capabilities of modern agile software development. Scaling agile in this context requires an expansion in two dimensions: First, scal- ing the number of involved teams. Second, traversing necessary systems engineering activities in each sprint due to the co-dependency of software and hardware development.
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| 10. |
- Fransson, Petra, et al.
(författare)
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Mycorrhizal associations and soil properties of native Allanblackia stuhlmannii stands in the Eastern Usambara Mountains, Tanzania
- 2016
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Ingår i: Annals of Applied Biology. - : Wiley. - 0003-4746. ; 169, s. 369-383
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Allanblackia stuhlmannii is a tree species currently under domestication. Potential mycorrhizal relationships of A. stuhlmannii and soil properties of native stands were investigated to determine the soil-environmental requirements of the species. Roots and soil samples were collected from five sites with A. stuhlmannii stands along an altitudinal transect in Amani Nature Reserve, Tanzania. Mycorrhizal status was investigated by combining microscopy with molecular analysis of the fungal communities. Soil adjacent to the A. stuhlmannii seedlings was analysed for physical and chemical properties and the sites were characterised. We showed that A. stuhlmannii form symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and that there was a diverse microbiome associated with the roots. The soils, classified as Ferralsol and Acrisol, were very well drained, had a pH(CaCl2) generally at or below 4, high exchangeable acidity and content of sesquioxides and low effective cation exchange capacity and concentrations of most nutrients. We conclude that A. stuhlmannii is tolerant to high Al availability and possesses mechanisms for acquisition of P and other macronutrients at low soil availability, possibly through mycorrhizal symbiosis. However, being adapted to low-pH soils, it may be less efficient in acquiring Fe, Mn and/or Zn at higher soil pH. Thus, it may be most suited to introduction on farms situated on acid soils.
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