| 1. |
- Zamora, Juan Carlos, et al.
(författare)
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Considerations and consequences of allowing DNA sequence data as types of fungal taxa
- 2018
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Ingår i: IMA Fungus. - : INT MYCOLOGICAL ASSOC. - 2210-6340 .- 2210-6359. ; 9:1, s. 167-185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), allowing DNA sequences alone (of any region and extent) to serve as types of taxon names for voucherless fungi (mainly putative taxa from environmental DNA sequences), have been submitted to be voted on at the 11th International Mycological Congress (Puerto Rico, July 2018). We consider various genetic processes affecting the distribution of alleles among taxa and find that alleles may not consistently and uniquely represent the species within which they are contained. Should the proposals be accepted, the meaning of nomenclatural types would change in a fundamental way from physical objects as sources of data to the data themselves. Such changes are conducive to irreproducible science, the potential typification on artefactual data, and massive creation of names with low information content, ultimately causing nomenclatural instability and unnecessary work for future researchers that would stall future explorations of fungal diversity. We conclude that the acceptance of DNA sequences alone as types of names of taxa, under the terms used in the current proposals, is unnecessary and would not solve the problem of naming putative taxa known only from DNA sequences in a scientifically defensible way. As an alternative, we highlight the use of formulas for naming putative taxa (candidate taxa) that do not require any modification of the ICN.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- He, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Timing of high-efficacy therapy for multiple sclerosis: a retrospective observational cohort study.
- 2020
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Ingår i: The Lancet. Neurology. - 1474-4465. ; 19:4, s. 307-316
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-efficacy therapies in multiple sclerosis are traditionally used after unsuccessful treatment with first-line disease modifying therapies. We hypothesised that early commencement of high-efficacy therapy would be associated with reduced long-term disability. We therefore aimed to compare long-term disability outcomes between patients who started high-efficacy therapies within 2 years of disease onset with those who started 4-6 years after disease onset.In this retrospective international observational study, we obtained data from the MSBase registry and the Swedish MS registry, which prospectively collect patient data that are specific to multiple sclerosis as part of routine clinical care. We identified adult patients (aged ≥18 years) with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, with at least 6 years of follow-up since disease onset, and who started the high-efficacy therapy (rituximab, ocrelizumab, mitoxantrone, alemtuzumab, or natalizumab) either 0-2 years (early) or 4-6 years (late) after clinical disease onset. We matched patients in the early and late groups using propensity scores calculated on the basis of their baseline clinical and demographic data. The primary outcome was disability, measured with the Expanded Disability Status Score (EDSS; an ordinal scale of 0-10, with higher scores indicating increased disability), at 6-10 years after disease onset, assessed with a linear mixed-effects model.We identified 6149 patients in the MSBase registry who had been given high-efficacy therapy, with data collected between Jan 1, 1975, and April 13, 2017, and 2626 patients in the Swedish MS Registry, with data collected between Dec 10, 1997, and Sept 16, 2019. Of whom, 308 in the MSBase registry and 236 in the Swedish MS registry were eligible for inclusion. 277 (51%) of 544 patients commenced therapy early and 267 (49%) commenced therapy late. For the primary analysis, we matched 213 patients in the early treatment group with 253 in the late treatment group. At baseline, the mean EDSS score was 2·2 (SD 1·2) in the early group and 2·1 (SD 1·2) in the late group. Median follow-up time for matched patients was 7·8 years (IQR 6·7-8·9). In the sixth year after disease onset, the mean EDSS score was 2·2 (SD 1·6) in the early group compared with 2·9 (SD 1·8) in the late group (p<0·0001). This difference persisted throughout each year of follow-up until the tenth year after disease onset (mean EDSS score 2·3 [SD 1·8] vs 3·5 [SD 2·1]; p<0·0001), with a difference between groups of -0·98 (95% CI -1·51 to -0·45; p<0·0001, adjusted for proportion of time on any disease-modifying therapy) across the 6-10 year follow-up period.High-efficacy therapy commenced within 2 years of disease onset is associated with less disability after 6-10 years than when commenced later in the disease course. This finding can inform decisions regarding optimal sequence and timing of multiple sclerosis therapy.National Health and Medical Research Council Australia and MS Society UK.
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| 4. |
- Hegen, Harald, et al.
(författare)
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Diagnostic value of kappa free light chain index in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis - a multicentre study
- 2023
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Ingår i: FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY. - 1664-3224. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundKappa free light chains (kappa-FLC) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are an emerging biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS).ObjectiveTo investigate whether kappa-FLC index has similar diagnostic value in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) compared to oligoclonal bands (OCB).MethodsPatients with PPMS were recruited through 11 MS centres across 7 countries. kappa-FLC were measured by immunonephelometry/-turbidimetry. OCB were determined by isoelectric focusing and immunofixation.ResultsA total of 174 patients (mean age of 52 +/- 11 years, 51% males) were included. kappa-FLC index using a cut-off of 6.1 was positive in 161 (93%) and OCB in 153 (88%) patients.Conclusion kappa-FLC index shows similar diagnostic sensitivity than OCB in PPMS.
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| 5. |
- Olsson, Caroline, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of image slice thickness on rectal dose-response relationships following radiotherapy of prostate cancer.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physics in medicine and biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6560 .- 0031-9155. ; 59:14, s. 3749-3759
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- When pooling retrospective data from different cohorts, slice thicknesses of acquired computed tomography (CT) images used for treatment planning may vary between cohorts. It is, however, not known if varying slice thickness influences derived dose-response relationships. We investigated this for rectal bleeding using dose-volume histograms (DVHs) of the rectum and rectal wall for dose distributions superimposed on images with varying CT slice thicknesses. We used dose and endpoint data from two prostate cancer cohorts treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy to either 74 Gy (N = 159) or 78 Gy (N = 159) at 2 Gy per fraction. The rectum was defined as the whole organ with content, and the morbidity cut-off was Grade ≥2 late rectal bleeding. Rectal walls were defined as 3mm inner margins added to the rectum. DVHs for simulated slice thicknesses from 3 to 13mm were compared to DVHs for the originally acquired slice thicknesses at 3 and 5mm. Volumes, mean, and maximum doses were assessed from the DVHs, and generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) values were calculated. For each organ and each of the simulated slice thicknesses, we performed predictive modeling of late rectal bleeding using the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman (LKB) model. For the most coarse slice thickness, rectal volumes increased (≤18%), whereas maximum and mean doses decreased (≤0.8 and ≤4.2Gy, respectively). For all a values, the gEUD for the simulated DVHs were ≤1.9Gy different than the gEUD for the original DVHs. The best-fitting LKB model parameter values with 95% CIs were consistent between all DVHs. In conclusion, we found that the investigated slice thickness variations had minimal impact on rectal dose-response estimations. From the perspective of predictive modeling, our results suggest that variations within 10mm in slice thickness between cohorts are unlikely to be a limiting factor when pooling multi-institutional rectal dose data that include slice thickness variations within this range.
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| 6. |
- Petersen, Hannes, et al.
(författare)
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Decreased postural control in adolescents born with extremely low birth weight
- 2015
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Ingår i: Experimental Brain Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0014-4819 .- 1432-1106. ; 233:5, s. 1651-1662
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The survival rates of infants born preterm with extremely low birth weight (ELBW a parts per thousand currency sign 1000 g) have gradually improved over the last decades. However, these infants risk to sustain long-term disorders related to poor neurodevelopment. The objective was to determine whether adolescents born with ELBW have decreased postural control and stability adaptation. Twenty-nine ELBW subjects performed posturography with eyes open and closed under unperturbed and perturbed standing by repeated calf vibration. Their results were compared with twenty-one age- and gender-matched controls born after full-term pregnancy. The ELBW group had significantly decreased stability compared with controls in anteroposterior direction, both during the easier quiet stance posturography (p = 0.007) and during balance perturbations (p = 0.007). The ELBW group had similar stability decrease in lateral direction during balance perturbations (p = 0.013). Statistically, the stability decreases were similar with eyes closed and open, but proportionally larger with eyes open in both directions. Both groups manifested significant adaptation (p a parts per thousand currency sign 0.023) to the balance perturbations in anteroposterior direction, though this adaptation process could not compensate for the general stability deficits caused by ELBW on postural control. Hence, adolescent survivors of ELBW commonly suffer long-term deficits in postural control, manifested as use of substantially more recorded energy on performing stability regulating high-frequency movements and declined stability with closed and open eyes both in anteroposterior and lateral direction. The determined relationship between premature birth and long-term functional deficits advocates that interventions should be developed to provide preventive care in neonatal care units and later on in life.
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| 7. |
- Thor, M., et al.
(författare)
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Inter-institutional analysis demonstrates the importance of lower than previously anticipated dose regions to prevent late rectal bleeding following prostate radiotherapy
- 2018
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Ingår i: Radiotherapy and Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8140. ; 127:1, s. 88-95
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: To investigate whether inter-institutional cohort analysis uncovers more reliable dose-response relationships exemplified for late rectal bleeding (LRB) following prostate radiotherapy. Material and methods: Data from five institutions were used. Rectal dose-volume histograms (DVHs) for 989 patients treated with 3DCRT or IMRT to 70-86.4 Gy@1.8-2.0 Gy/fraction were obtained, and corrected for fractionation effects (alpha/beta = 3 Gy). Cohorts with best-fit Lyman-Kutcher-Burman volume-effect parameter a were pooled after calibration adjustments of the available LRB definitions. In the pooled cohort, dose-response modeling (incorporating rectal dose and geometry, and patient characteristics) was conducted on a training cohort (70%) followed by final testing on the remaining 30%. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to build models with bootstrap stability. Results: Two cohorts with low bleeding rates (2%) were judged to be inconsistent with the remaining data, and were excluded. In the remaining pooled cohorts (n = 690; LRB rate = 12%), an optimal model was generated for 3DCRT using the minimum rectal dose and the absolute rectal volume receiving less than 55 Gy (AUC = 0.67; p = 0.0002; Hosmer-Lemeshow p-value, p(HL) = 0.59). The model performed nearly as well in the hold-out testing data (AUC = 0.71; p < 0.0001; p(HL) = 0.63), indicating a logistically shaped dose-response. Conclusion: We have demonstrated the importance of integrating datasets from multiple institutions, thereby reducing the impact of intra-institutional dose-volume parameters explicitly correlated with prescription dose levels. This uncovered an unexpected emphasis on sparing of the low to intermediate rectal dose range in the etiology of late rectal bleeding following prostate radiotherapy. (C) 2018 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved. Radiotherapy and Oncology 127 (2018) 88-95
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Thor, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Urinary bladder dose-response relationships for patient-reported genitourinary morbidity domains following prostate cancer radiotherapy.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1879-0887. ; 119:1, s. 117-122
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Radiotherapy (RT) induced genitourinary (GU) morbidity is typically assessed by physicians as single symptoms or aggregated scores including symptoms from various domains. Here we apply a method to group patient-reported GU symptoms after RT for localized prostate cancer based on their interplay, and study how these relate to urinary bladder dose.
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