| 1. |
- Hoelzl, M., et al.
(författare)
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Insights into type-I edge localized modes and edge localized mode control from JOREK non-linear magneto-hydrodynamic simulations
- 2018
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Ingår i: Contributions to Plasma Physics. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 0863-1042 .- 1521-3986. ; 58:6-8, s. 518-528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Edge localized modes (ELMs) are repetitive instabilities driven by the large pressure gradients and current densities in the edge of H-mode plasmas. Type-I ELMs lead to a fast collapse of the H-mode pedestal within several hundred microseconds to a few milliseconds. Localized transient heat fluxes to divertor targets are expected to exceed tolerable limits for ITER, requiring advanced insights into ELM physics and applicable mitigation methods. This paper describes how non-linear magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations can contribute to this effort. The JOREK code is introduced, which allows the study of large-scale plasma instabilities in tokamak X-point plasmas covering the main plasma, the scrape-off layer, and the divertor region with its finite element grid. We review key physics relevant for type-I ELMs and show to what extent JOREK simulations agree with experiments and help reveal the underlying mechanisms. Simulations and experimental findings are compared in many respects for type-I ELMs in ASDEX Upgrade. The role of plasma flows and non-linear mode coupling for the spatial and temporal structure of ELMs is emphasized, and the loss mechanisms are discussed. An overview of recent ELM-related research using JOREK is given, including ELM crashes, ELM-free regimes, ELM pacing by pellets and magnetic kicks, and mitigation or suppression by resonant magnetic perturbation coils (RMPs). Simulations of ELMs and ELM control methods agree in many respects with experimental observations from various tokamak experiments. On this basis, predictive simulations become more and more feasible. A brief outlook is given, showing the main priorities for further research in the field of ELM physics and further developments necessary.
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| 2. |
- Fabritz, Larissa, et al.
(författare)
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Dynamic risk assessment to improve quality of care in patients with atrial fibrillation : the 7th AFNET/EHRA Consensus Conference
- 2021
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Ingår i: Europace. - : Oxford University Press. - 1099-5129 .- 1532-2092. ; 23:3, s. 329-344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AimsThe risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF) and its complications continues to increase, despite good progress in preventing AF-related strokes.Methods and resultsThis article summarizes the outcomes of the 7th Consensus Conference of the Atrial Fibrillation NETwork (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) held in Lisbon in March 2019. Sixty-five international AF specialists met to present new data and find consensus on pressing issues in AF prevention, management and future research to improve care for patients with AF and prevent AF-related complications. This article is the main outcome of an interactive, iterative discussion between breakout specialist groups and the meeting plenary. AF patients have dynamic risk profiles requiring repeated assessment and risk-based therapy stratification to optimize quality of care. Interrogation of deeply phenotyped datasets with outcomes will lead to a better understanding of the cardiac and systemic effects of AF, interacting with comorbidities and predisposing factors, enabling stratified therapy. New proposals include an algorithm for the acute management of patients with AF and heart failure, a call for a refined, data-driven assessment of stroke risk, suggestions for anticoagulation use in special populations, and a call for rhythm control therapy selection based on risk of AF recurrence.ConclusionThe remaining morbidity and mortality in patients with AF needs better characterization. Likely drivers of the remaining AF-related problems are AF burden, potentially treatable by rhythm control therapy, and concomitant conditions, potentially treatable by treating these conditions. Identifying the drivers of AF-related complications holds promise for stratified therapy.
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| 3. |
- Lyon, Helen N., et al.
(författare)
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The association of a SNP upstream of INSIG2 with body mass index is reproduced in several but not all cohorts
- 2007
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Ingår i: PLoS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7404. ; 3:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A SNP upstream of the INSIG2 gene, rs7566605, was recently found to be associated with obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI) by Herbert and colleagues. The association between increased BMI and homozygosity for the minor allele was first observed in data from a genome-wide association scan of 86,604 SNPs in 923 related individuals from the Framingham Heart Study offspring cohort. The association was reproduced in four additional cohorts, but was not seen in a fifth cohort. To further assess the general reproducibility of this association, we genotyped rs7566605 in nine large cohorts from eight populations across multiple ethnicities (total n = 16,969). We tested this variant for association with BMI in each sample under a recessive model using family-based, population-based, and case-control designs. We observed a significant (p < 0.05) association in five cohorts but saw no association in three other cohorts. There was variability in the strength of association evidence across examination cycles in longitudinal data from unrelated individuals in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort. A combined analysis revealed significant independent validation of this association in both unrelated (p = 0.046) and family-based (p = 0.004) samples. The estimated risk conferred by this allele is small, and could easily be masked by small sample size, population stratification, or other confounders. These validation studies suggest that the original association is less likely to be spurious, but the failure to observe an association in every data set suggests that the effect of SNP rs7566605 on BMI may be heterogeneous across population samples.
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| 4. |
- Boulanger, Francois, et al.
(författare)
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IMAGINE : a comprehensive view of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1475-7516. ; :8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this white paper we introduce the IMAGINE Consortium and its scientific background, goals and structure. The purpose of the consortium is to coordinate and facilitate the efforts of a diverse group of researchers in the broad areas of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays, and our overarching goal is to develop more comprehensive insights into the structures and roles of interstellar magnetic fields and their interactions with cosmic rays within the context of Galactic astrophysics. The ongoing rapid development of observational and numerical facilities and techniques has resulted in a widely felt need to advance this subject to a qualitatively higher level of self-consistency, depth and rigour. This can only be achieved by the coordinated efforts of experts in diverse areas of astrophysics involved in observational, theoretical and numerical work. We present our view of the present status of this research area, identify its key unsolved problems and suggest a strategy that will underpin our work. The backbone of the consortium is the Interstellar MAGnetic field INference Engine, a publicly available Bayesian platform that employs robust statistical methods to explore the multi-dimensional likelihood space using any number of modular inputs. This tool will be used by the IMAGINE Consortium to develop an interpretation and modelling framework that provides the method, power and flexibility to interfuse information from a variety of observational, theoretical and numerical lines of evidence into a self-consistent and comprehensive picture of the thermal and non-thermal interstellar media. An important innovation is that a consistent understanding of the phenomena that are directly or indirectly influenced by the Galactic magnetic field, such as the deflection of ultra-high energy cosmic rays or extragalactic backgrounds, is made an integral part of the modelling. The IMAGINE Consortium, which is informal by nature and open to new participants, hereby presents a methodological framework for the modelling and understanding of Galactic magnetic fields that is available to all communities whose research relies on a state of the art solution to this problem.
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| 5. |
- Edgar, Graham J., et al.
(författare)
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Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 506:7487, s. 216-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In line with global targets agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is increasing rapidly, yet socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs remain difficult to predict and under debate(1,2). MPAs often fail to reach their full potential as a consequence of factors such as illegal harvesting, regulations that legally allow detrimental harvesting, or emigration of animals outside boundaries because of continuous habitat or inadequate size of reserve(3-5). Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100 km(2)), and isolated by deep water or sand. Using effective MPAs with four or five key features as an unfished standard, comparisons of underwater survey data from effective MPAs with predictions based on survey data from fished coasts indicate that total fish biomass has declined about two-thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing. Effective MPAs also had twice as many large (>250 mm total length) fish species per transect, five times more large fish biomass, and fourteen times more shark biomass than fished areas. Most (59%) of the MPAs studied had only one or two key features and were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites. Our results show that global conservation targets based on area alone will not optimize protection of marine biodiversity. More emphasis is needed on better MPA design, durable management and compliance to ensure that MPAs achieve their desired conservation value.
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| 6. |
- Eisenberg, Tobias, et al.
(författare)
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Cardioprotection and lifespan extension by the natural polyamine spermidine
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 22:12, s. 1428-1438
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aging is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Here we show that oral supplementation of the natural polyamine spermidine extends the lifespan of mice and exerts cardioprotective effects, reducing cardiac hypertrophy and preserving diastolic function in old mice. Spermidine feeding enhanced cardiac autophagy, mitophagy and mitochondrial respiration, and it also improved the mechano-elastical properties of cardiomyocytes in vivo, coinciding with increased titin phosphorylation and suppressed subclinical inflammation. Spermidine feeding failed to provide cardioprotection in mice that lack the autophagy-related protein Atg5 in cardiomyocytes. In Dahl salt-sensitive rats that were fed a high-salt diet, a model for hypertension-induced congestive heart failure, spermidine feeding reduced systemic blood pressure, increased titin phosphorylation and prevented cardiac hypertrophy and a decline in diastolic function, thus delaying the progression to heart failure. In humans, high levels of dietary spermidine, as assessed from food questionnaires, correlated with reduced blood pressure and a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease. Our results suggest a new and feasible strategy for protection against cardiovascular disease.
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| 7. |
- Hoffmann, Markus H., et al.
(författare)
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The rheumatoid arthritis-associated autoantigen hnRNP-A2 (RA33) is a major stimulator of autoimmunity in rats with pristane-induced arthritis
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Immunology. - 1550-6606. ; 179:11, s. 7568-7576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A single intradermal injection of the mineral oil pristane in susceptible DA.1F rats induces erosive arthritis closely mimicking rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Pristane-induced arthritis (PIA) is driven by autoreactive T cells but no autoantigen has been identified to date. We therefore analyzed B and T cell responses to autoantigens potentially involved in the pathogenesis of RA, including IgG, citrullinated proteins, stress proteins, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP)-A2 (RA33). IgG and lgM autoantibodies to hnRNP-A2 were detectable in sera of pristane-primed DA.1F rats already 1 wk before disease onset, reached maximum levels during the acute phase, and correlated with arthritis severity. Apart from rheumatoid factor, autoantibodies to other Ags were not observed. CD4(+) lymph node cells isolated 10 days after pristane injection produced IFN-gamma but not IL-4 in response to stimulation with hnRNP-A2, whereas none of the other candidate Ags elicited cytokine secretion. Surprisingly, hnRNP-A2 also stimulated lymph node cells of naive animals to produce inflammatory cytokines in a MyD88-dependent manner. Furthermore, hnRNP-A2 was highly overexpressed in the joints of rats injected with pristane. Overexpression coincided with the appearance of anti-RA33 Abs and preceded the onset of clinical symptoms of PIA by several days. Taken together, these data suggest hnRNP-A2 to be among the primary inducers of autoimmunity in PIA. Therefore, this Ag might play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of PIA and possibly also human RA.
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| 8. |
- Kirchhof, Paulus, et al.
(författare)
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A roadmap to improve the quality of atrial fibrillation management : proceedings from the fifth Atrial Fibrillation Network/European Heart Rhythm Association consensus conference
- 2016
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Ingår i: Europace. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1099-5129 .- 1532-2092. ; 18:1, s. 37-50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- At least 30 million people worldwide carry a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF), and many more suffer from undiagnosed, subclinical, or 'silent' AF. Atrial fibrillation-related cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, including cardiovascular deaths, heart failure, stroke, and hospitalizations, remain unacceptably high, even when evidence-based therapies such as anticoagulation and rate control are used. Furthermore, it is still necessary to define how best to prevent AF, largely due to a lack of clinical measures that would allow identification of treatable causes of AF in any given patient. Hence, there are important unmet clinical and research needs in the evaluation and management of AF patients. The ensuing needs and opportunities for improving the quality of AF care were discussed during the fifth Atrial Fibrillation Network/European Heart Rhythm Association consensus conference in Nice, France, on 22 and 23 January 2015. Here, we report the outcome of this conference, with a focus on (i) learning from our 'neighbours' to improve AF care, (ii) patient-centred approaches to AF management, (iii) structured care of AF patients, (iv) improving the quality of AF treatment, and (v) personalization of AF management. This report ends with a list of priorities for research in AF patients.
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| 9. |
- Lee, Monica Y., et al.
(författare)
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Integrative genomics identifies DSCR1 (RCAN1) as a novel NFAT-dependent mediator of phenotypic modulation in vascular smooth muscle cells
- 2010
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Ingår i: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 19:3, s. 468-479
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) display remarkable phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental cues. The nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) family of transcription factors plays a critical role in vascular pathology. However, known functional NFAT gene targets in vascular SMCs are currently limited. Publicly available whole-genome expression array data sets were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes in human, mouse and rat SMCs. Comparison between vehicle and phenotypic modulatory stimuli identified 63 species-conserved, upregulated genes. Integration of the 63 upregulated genes with an in silico NFAT-ome (a species-conserved list of gene promoters containing at least one NFAT binding site) identified 18 putative NFAT-dependent genes. Further intersection of these 18 potential NFAT target genes with a mouse in vivo vascular injury microarray identified four putative NFAT-dependent, injury-responsive genes. In vitro validations substantiated the NFAT-dependent role of Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2/PTGS2) in SMC phenotypic modulation and uncovered Down Syndrome Candidate Region 1 (DSCR1/RCAN1) as a novel NFAT target gene in SMCs. We show that induction of DSCR1 inhibits calcineurin/NFAT signaling through a negative feedback mechanism; DSCR1 overexpression attenuates NFAT transcriptional activity and COX2 protein expression, whereas knockdown of endogenous DSCR1 enhances NFAT transcriptional activity. Our integrative genomics approach illustrates how the combination of publicly available gene expression arrays, computational databases and empirical research methods can answer specific questions in any cell type for a transcriptional network of interest. Herein, we report DSCR1 as a novel NFAT-dependent, injury-inducible, early gene that may serve to negatively regulate SMC phenotypic switching.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Linz, Dominik, et al.
(författare)
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Longer and better lives for patients with atrial fibrillation : the 9th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference
- 2024
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Ingår i: Europace. - : Oxford University Press. - 1099-5129 .- 1532-2092. ; 26:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: Recent trial data demonstrate beneficial effects of active rhythm management in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and support the concept that a low arrhythmia burden is associated with a low risk of AF-related complications. The aim of this document is to summarize the key outcomes of the 9th AFNET/EHRA Consensus Conference of the Atrial Fibrillation NETwork (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA).Methods and results: Eighty-three international experts met in Munster for 2 days in September 2023. Key findings are as follows: (i) Active rhythm management should be part of the default initial treatment for all suitable patients with AF. (ii) Patients with device-detected AF have a low burden of AF and a low risk of stroke. Anticoagulation prevents some strokes and also increases major but non-lethal bleeding. (iii) More research is needed to improve stroke risk prediction in patients with AF, especially in those with a low AF burden. Biomolecules, genetics, and imaging can support this. (iv) The presence of AF should trigger systematic workup and comprehensive treatment of concomitant cardiovascular conditions. (v) Machine learning algorithms have been used to improve detection or likely development of AF. Cooperation between clinicians and data scientists is needed to leverage the potential of data science applications for patients with AF.Conclusions: Patients with AF and a low arrhythmia burden have a lower risk of stroke and other cardiovascular events than those with a high arrhythmia burden. Combining active rhythm control, anticoagulation, rate control, and therapy of concomitant cardiovascular conditions can improve the lives of patients with AF. Graphical Abstract
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| 12. |
- Loh, N. Duane, et al.
(författare)
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Sensing the wavefront of x-ray free-electron lasers using aerosol spheres
- 2013
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Ingår i: Optics Express. - 1094-4087. ; 21:10, s. 12385-12394
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Characterizing intense, focused x-ray free electron laser (FEL) pulses is crucial for their use in diffractive imaging. We describe how the distribution of average phase tilts and intensities on hard x-ray pulses with peak intensities of 1021 W/m(2) can be retrieved from an ensemble of diffraction patterns produced by 70 nm-radius polystyrene spheres, in a manner that mimics wavefront sensors. Besides showing that an adaptive geometric correction may be necessary for diffraction data from randomly injected sample sources, our paper demonstrates the possibility of collecting statistics on structured pulses using only the diffraction patterns they generate and highlights the imperative to study its impact on single-particle diffractive imaging.
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| 13. |
- Lomb, Lukas, et al.
(författare)
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Radiation damage in protein serial femtosecond crystallography using an x-ray free-electron laser
- 2011
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 84:21, s. 214111-1-214111-6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- X-ray free-electron lasers deliver intense femtosecond pulses that promise to yield high resolution diffraction data of nanocrystals before the destruction of the sample by radiation damage. Diffraction intensities of lysozyme nanocrystals collected at the Linac Coherent Light Source using 2 keV photons were used for structure determination by molecular replacement and analyzed for radiation damage as a function of pulse length and fluence. Signatures of radiation damage are observed for pulses as short as 70 fs. Parametric scaling used in conventional crystallography does not account for the observed effects.
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| 14. |
- Park, Hyung Joo, et al.
(författare)
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Toward unsupervised single-shot diffractive imaging of heterogeneous particles using X-ray free-electron lasers
- 2013
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Ingår i: Optics Express. - 1094-4087. ; 21:23, s. 28729-28742
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Single shot diffraction imaging experiments via X-ray free-electron lasers can generate as many as hundreds of thousands of diffraction patterns of scattering objects. Recovering the real space contrast of a scattering object from these patterns currently requires a reconstruction process with user guidance in a number of steps, introducing severe bottlenecks in data processing. We present a series of measures that replace user guidance with algorithms that reconstruct contrasts in an unsupervised fashion. We demonstrate the feasibility of automating the reconstruction process by generating hundreds of contrasts obtained from soot particle diffraction experiments.
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| 15. |
- Schuenemann, Verena J., et al.
(författare)
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Genome-Wide Comparison of Medieval and Modern Mycobacterium leprae
- 2013
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 341:6142, s. 179-183
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Leprosy was endemic in Europe until the Middle Ages. Using DNA array capture, we have obtained genome sequences of Mycobacterium leprae from skeletons of five medieval leprosy cases from the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In one case, the DNA was so well preserved that full de novo assembly of the ancient bacterial genome could be achieved through shotgun sequencing alone. The ancient M. leprae sequences were compared with those of 11 modern strains, representing diverse genotypes and geographic origins. The comparisons revealed remarkable genomic conservation during the past 1000 years, a European origin for leprosy in the Americas, and the presence of an M. leprae genotype in medieval Europe now commonly associated with the Middle East. The exceptional preservation of M. leprae biomarkers, both DNA and mycolic acids, in ancient skeletons has major implications for palaeomicrobiology and human pathogen evolution.
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| 16. |
- Suttrop, W., et al.
(författare)
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In-vessel saddle coils for MHD control in ASDEX Upgrade
- 2009
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Ingår i: Fusion engineering and design. - Lausanne : ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA. - 0920-3796 .- 1873-7196. ; 84:2-6, s. 290-294
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A set of 24 in-vessel saddle coils is planned for MHD control experiments in ASDEX Upgrade. These coils can produce static and alternating error fields for suppression of Edge Localised Modes, locked mode rotation control and, together with additional conducting wall elements, resistive wall mode excitation and feedback stabilisation experiments. All of these applications address critical physics issues for the operation of ITER. This extension is implemented in several stages, starting with two poloidally separated rings of eight toroidally distributed saddle coils above and below the outer midplane. In stages 2 and 3, eight midplane coils around the large vessel access ports and 12 AC Power converters are added, respectively. Finally (stage 4), the existing passive stabilising loop (PSL), a passive conductor for vertical growth rate reduction, will be complemented by wall elements that allow helical Current patterns to reduce the RWM growth rate for active control within the accessible bandwidth. The system is capable of producing error fields with toroidal mode number n = 4 for plasma edge ergodisation with core island width well below the neo-classical tearing mode seed island width even without rotational shielding. Phase variation between the three toroidal coil rings allows to create or avoid resonances with the plasma safety factor profile, in order to test the importance of resonances for ELM suppression.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Wang, Xiaocui, et al.
(författare)
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Ultrafast manipulation of the NiO antiferromagnetic order via sub-gap optical excitation
- 2022
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Ingår i: Faraday discussions. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1359-6640 .- 1364-5498. ; 237:0, s. 300-316
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wide-band-gap insulators such as NiO offer the exciting prospect of coherently manipulating electronic correlations with strong optical fields. Contrary to metals where rapid dephasing of optical excitation via electronic processes occurs, the sub-gap excitation in charge-transfer insulators has been shown to couple to low-energy bosonic excitations. However, it is currently unknown if the bosonic dressing field is composed of phonons or magnons. Here we use the prototypical charge-transfer insulator NiO to demonstrate that 1.5 eV sub-gap optical excitation leads to a renormalised NiO band-gap in combination with a significant reduction of the antiferromagnetic order. We employ element-specific X-ray reflectivity at the FLASH free-electron laser to demonstrate the reduction of the upper band-edge at the O 1s-2p core-valence resonance (K-edge) whereas the antiferromagnetic order is probed via X-ray magnetic linear dichroism (XMLD) at the Ni 2p-3d resonance (L-2-edge). Comparing the transient XMLD spectral line shape to ground-state measurements allows us to extract a spin temperature rise of 65 +/- 5 K for time delays longer than 400 fs while at earlier times a non-equilibrium spin state is formed. We identify transient mid-gap states being formed during the first 200 fs accompanied by a band-gap reduction lasting at least up to the maximum measured time delay of 2.4 ps. Electronic structure calculations indicate that magnon excitations significantly contribute to the reduction of the NiO band gap.
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