| 1. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts during LIGO Science Run 6 and Virgo Science Runs 2 and 3
- 2012
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X. ; 760:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the results of a search for gravitational waves associated with 154 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that were detected by satellite-based gamma-ray experiments in 2009-2010, during the sixth LIGO science run and the second and third Virgo science runs. We perform two distinct searches: a modeled search for coalescences of either two neutron stars or a neutron star and black hole, and a search for generic, unmodeled gravitational-wave bursts. We find no evidence for gravitational-wave counterparts, either with any individual GRB in this sample or with the population as a whole. For all GRBs we place lower bounds on the distance to the progenitor, under the optimistic assumption of a gravitational-wave emission energy of 10(-2) M-circle dot c(2) at 150 Hz, with a median limit of 17 Mpc. For short-hard GRBs we place exclusion distances on binary neutron star and neutron-star-black-hole progenitors, using astrophysically motivated priors on the source parameters, with median values of 16 Mpc and 28 Mpc, respectively. These distance limits, while significantly larger than for a search that is not aided by GRB satellite observations, are not large enough to expect a coincidence with a GRB. However, projecting these exclusions to the sensitivities of Advanced LIGO and Virgo, which should begin operation in 2015, we find that the detection of gravitational waves associated with GRBs will become quite possible.
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| 2. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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All-sky search for gravitational-wave bursts in the second joint LIGO-Virgo run
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology). - 1550-2368. ; 85:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present results from a search for gravitational-wave bursts in the data collected by the LIGO and Virgo detectors between July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010: data are analyzed when at least two of the three LIGO-Virgo detectors are in coincident operation, with a total observation time of 207 days. The analysis searches for transients of duration less than or similar to 1 s over the frequency band 64-5000 Hz, without other assumptions on the signal waveform, polarization, direction or occurrence time. All identified events are consistent with the expected accidental background. We set frequentist upper limits on the rate of gravitational-wave bursts by combining this search with the previous LIGO-Virgo search on the data collected between November 2005 and October 2007. The upper limit on the rate of strong gravitational-wave bursts at the Earth is 1.3 events per year at 90% confidence. We also present upper limits on source rate density per year and Mpc(3) for sample populations of standard-candle sources. As in the previous joint run, typical sensitivities of the search in terms of the root-sum-squared strain amplitude for these waveforms lie in the range similar to 5 x 10(-22) Hz(-1/2) to similar to 1 x 10(-20) Hz(-1/2). The combination of the two joint runs entails the most sensitive all-sky search for generic gravitational-wave bursts and synthesizes the results achieved by the initial generation of interferometric detectors.
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| 3. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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First low-latency LIGO plus Virgo search for binary inspirals and their electromagnetic counterparts
- 2012
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 541
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. The detection and measurement of gravitational-waves from coalescing neutron-star binary systems is an important science goal for ground-based gravitational-wave detectors. In addition to emitting gravitational-waves at frequencies that span the most sensitive bands of the LIGO and Virgo detectors, these sources are also amongst the most likely to produce an electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational-wave emission. A joint detection of the gravitational-wave and electromagnetic signals would provide a powerful new probe for astronomy. Methods. During the period between September 19 and October 20, 2010, the first low-latency search for gravitational-waves from binary inspirals in LIGO and Virgo data was conducted. The resulting triggers were sent to electromagnetic observatories for followup. We describe the generation and processing of the low-latency gravitational-wave triggers. The results of the electromagnetic image analysis will be described elsewhere. Results. Over the course of the science run, three gravitational-wave triggers passed all of the low-latency selection cuts. Of these, one was followed up by several of our observational partners. Analysis of the gravitational-wave data leads to an estimated false alarm rate of once every 6.4 days, falling far short of the requirement for a detection based solely on gravitational-wave data.
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| 4. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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Implementation and testing of the first prompt search for gravitational wave transients with electromagnetic counterparts
- 2012
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 539
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. A transient astrophysical event observed in both gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) channels would yield rich scientific rewards. A first program initiating EM follow-ups to possible transient GW events has been developed and exercised by the LIGO and Virgo community in association with several partners. In this paper, we describe and evaluate the methods used to promptly identify and localize GW event candidates and to request images of targeted sky locations. Methods. During two observing periods (Dec. 17, 2009 to Jan. 8, 2010 and Sep. 2 to Oct. 20, 2010), a low-latency analysis pipeline was used to identify GW event candidates and to reconstruct maps of possible sky locations. A catalog of nearby galaxies and Milky Way globular clusters was used to select the most promising sky positions to be imaged, and this directional information was delivered to EM observatories with time lags of about thirty minutes. A Monte Carlo simulation has been used to evaluate the low-latency GW pipeline's ability to reconstruct source positions correctly. Results. For signals near the detection threshold, our low-latency algorithms often localized simulated GW burst signals to tens of square degrees, while neutron star/neutron star inspirals and neutron star/black hole inspirals were localized to a few hundred square degrees. Localization precision improves for moderately stronger signals. The correct sky location of signals well above threshold and originating from nearby galaxies may be observed with similar to 50% or better probability with a few pointings of wide-field telescopes.
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| 5. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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Search for gravitational waves from intermediate mass binary black holes
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology). - 1550-2368. ; 85:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the results of a weakly modeled burst search for gravitational waves from mergers of nonspinning intermediate mass black holes in the total mass range 100-450 M-circle dot and with the component mass ratios between 1: and 4:1. The search was conducted on data collected by the LIGO and Virgo detectors between November of 2005 and October of 2007. No plausible signals were observed by the search which constrains the astrophysical rates of the intermediate mass black holes mergers as a function of the component masses. In the most efficiently detected bin centered on 88 + 88 M-circle dot, for nonspinning sources, the rate density upper limit is 0.13 per Mpc(3) per Myr at the 90% confidence level.
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| 6. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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Upper limits on a stochastic gravitational-wave background using LIGO and Virgo interferometers at 600-1000 Hz
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology). - 1550-2368. ; 85:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of many incoherent sources of gravitational waves, of either cosmological or astrophysical origin. This background is a target for the current generation of ground-based detectors. In this article we present the first joint search for a stochastic background using data from the LIGO and Virgo interferometers. In a frequency band of 600-1000 Hz, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the amplitude of Omega(GW)(f) = Omega(3)(f/900 Hz)(3), of Omega(3) < 0.32, assuming a value of the Hubble parameter of h(100) = 0.71. These new limits are a factor of seven better than the previous best in this frequency band.
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| 7. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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All-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in the full S5 LIGO data
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology). - 1550-2368. ; 85:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on an all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency band 50-800 Hz and with the frequency time derivative in the range of 0 through -6 x 10(-9) Hz/s. Such a signal could be produced by a nearby spinning and slightly nonaxisymmetric isolated neutron star in our Galaxy. After recent improvements in the search program that yielded a 10x increase in computational efficiency, we have searched in two years of data collected during LIGO's fifth science run and have obtained the most sensitive all-sky upper limits on gravitational-wave strain to date. Near 150 Hz our upper limit on worst-case linearly polarized strain amplitude h(0) is 1 x 10(-24), while at the high end of our frequency range we achieve a worst-case upper limit of 3.8 x 10(-24) for all polarizations and sky locations. These results constitute a factor of 2 improvement upon previously published data. A new detection pipeline utilizing a loosely coherent algorithm was able to follow up weaker outliers, increasing the volume of space where signals can be detected by a factor of 10, but has not revealed any gravitational-wave signals. The pipeline has been tested for robustness with respect to deviations from the model of an isolated neutron star, such as caused by a low-mass or long-period binary companion.
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| 8. |
- Abadie, J., et al.
(författare)
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Search for gravitational waves from low mass compact binary coalescence in LIGO's sixth science run and Virgo's science runs 2 and 3
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology). - 1550-2368. ; 85:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on a search for gravitational waves from coalescing compact binaries using LIGO and Virgo observations between July 7, 2009, and October 20, 2010. We searched for signals from binaries with total mass between 2 and 25M(circle dot); this includes binary neutron stars, binary black holes, and binaries consisting of a black hole and neutron star. The detectors were sensitive to systems up to 40 Mpc distant for binary neutron stars, and further for higher mass systems. No gravitational-wave signals were detected. We report upper limits on the rate of compact binary coalescence as a function of total mass, including the results from previous LIGO and Virgo observations. The cumulative 90% confidence rate upper limits of the binary coalescence of binary neutron star, neutron star-black hole, and binary black hole systems are 1.3 x 10(-4), 3.1 x 10(-5), and 6.4 x 10(-6) Mpc(-3) yr(-1), respectively. These upper limits are up to a factor 1.4 lower than previously derived limits. We also report on results from a blind injection challenge.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Al-Khan, A., et al.
(författare)
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IFPA Meeting 2010 Workshops Report II: Placental pathology; Trophoblast invasion; Fetal sex; Parasites and the placenta; Decidua and embryonic or fetal loss; Trophoblast differentiation and syncytialisation
- 2011
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Ingår i: Placenta. - : Elsevier BV. - 1532-3102 .- 0143-4004. ; 32:Suppl. 2, s. 90-99
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Workshops are an important part of the IFPA annual meeting. At IFPA Meeting 2010 diverse topics were discussed in twelve themed workshops, six of which are summarized in this report. 1. The placental pathology workshop focused on clinical correlates of placenta accreta/percreta. 2. Mechanisms of regulation of trophoblast invasion and spiral artery remodeling were discussed in the trophoblast invasion workshop. 3. The fetal sex and intrauterine stress workshop explored recent work on placental sex differences and discussed them in the context of whether boys live dangerously in the womb.4. The workshop on parasites addressed inflammatory responses as a sign of interaction between placental tissue and parasites. 5. The decidua and embryonic/fetal loss workshop focused on key regulatory mediators in the decidua, embryo and fetus and how alterations in expression may contribute to different diseases and adverse conditions of pregnancy. 6. The trophoblast differentiation and syncytialisation workshop addressed the regulation of villous cytotrophoblast differentiation and how variations may lead to placental dysfunction and pregnancy complications. (C) 2011 Published by IFPA and Elsevier Ltd.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Becker, J. C., et al.
(författare)
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What do national flags stand for? : An exploration of associations across 11 countries
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. - : Sage Publications. - 0022-0221 .- 1552-5422. ; 48:3, s. 335-352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examined the concepts and emotions people associate with their national flag, and how these associations are related to nationalism and patriotism across 11 countries. Factor analyses indicated that the structures of associations differed across countries in ways that reflect their idiosyncratic historical developments. Positive emotions and egalitarian concepts were associated with national flags across countries. However, notable differences between countries were found due to historical politics. In societies known for being peaceful and open-minded (e.g., Canada, Scotland), egalitarianism was separable from honor-related concepts and associated with the flag; in countries that were currently involved in struggles for independence (e.g., Scotland) and countries with an imperialist past (the United Kingdom), the flag was strongly associated with power-related concepts; in countries with a negative past (e.g., Germany), the primary association was sports; in countries with disruption due to separatist or extremist movements (e.g., Northern Ireland, Turkey), associations referring to aggression were not fully rejected; in collectivist societies (India, Singapore), obedience was linked to positive associations and strongly associated with the flag. In addition, the more strongly individuals endorsed nationalism and patriotism, the more they associated positive emotions and egalitarian concepts with their flag. Implications of these findings are discussed.
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| 16. |
- Venkatesan, M, et al.
(författare)
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Erratum
- 2019
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Ingår i: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. - : American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. - 1476-1645 .- 0002-9637. ; 100:3, s. 766-766
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 17. |
- Bernatsky, S, et al.
(författare)
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An International Cohort Study of Cancer in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
- 2005
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Ingår i: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 52:5, s. 1481-1490
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. There is increasing evidence in support of an association between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and malignancy, but in earlier studies the association could not be quantified precisely. The present study was undertaken to ascertain the incidence of cancer in SLE patients, compared with that in the general population. Methods. We assembled a multisite (23 centers) international cohort of patients diagnosed as having SLE. Patients at each center were linked to regional tumor registries to determine cancer occurrence. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated as the ratio of observed to expected cancers. Cancers expected were determined by multiplying person-years in the cohort by the geographically matched age, sex, and calendar year-specific cancer rates, and summing over all person-years. Results. The 9,547 patients from 23 centers were observed for a total of 76,948 patient-years, with an average followup of 8 years. Within the observation interval, 431 cancers occurred. The data confirmed an increased risk of cancer among patients with SLE. For all cancers combined, the SIR estimate was 1.15 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.05-1.27), for all hematologic malignancies, it was 2.75 (95% CI 2.13-3.49), and for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, it was 3.64 (95% CI 2.63-4.93). The data also suggested an increased risk of lung cancer (SIR 1.37; 95% CI 1.05-1.76), and hepatobiliary cancer (SIR 2.60; 95% CI 1.25, 4.78). Conclusion. These results support the notion of an association between SLE and cancer and more precisely define the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in SLE. It is not yet known whether this association is mediated by genetic factors or exogenous exposures.
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| 18. |
- Bernatsky, S., et al.
(författare)
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Mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2006
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Ingår i: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 54:8, s. 2550-2557
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. To examine mortality rates in the largest systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohort ever assembled. Methods. Our sample was a multisite international SLE cohort (23 centers, 9,547 patients). Deaths were ascertained by vital statistics registry linkage. Standardized mortality ratio (SMR; ratio of deaths observed to deaths expected) estimates were calculated for-all deaths and by cause. The effects of sex, age, SLE duration, race, and calendar-year periods were determined. Results. The overall SMR was 2.4 (95% confidence interval 2.3-2.5). Particularly high mortality was seen for circulatory disease, infections, renal disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and lung cancer. The highest SMR estimates were seen in patient groups characterized by female sex, younger age, SLE duration < 1 year, or black/African American race. There was a dramatic decrease in total SMR estimates across calendar-year periods, which was demonstrable for specific causes including death due to infections and death due to renal disorders. However, the SMR due to circulatory diseases tended to increase slightly from the 1970s to the year 2001. Conclusion. Our data from a very large multicenter international cohort emphasize what has been demonstrated previously in smaller samples. These results highlight the increased mortality rate in SLE patients compared with the general population, and they suggest particular risk associated with female sex, younger age, shorter SLE duration, and black/African American race. The risk for certain types of deaths, primarily related to lupus activity (such as renal disease), has decreased over time, while the risk for deaths due to circulatory disease does not appear to have diminished.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Sibley, C. G., et al.
(författare)
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Your sexism predicts my sexism : Perceptions of men's (but not women's) sexism affects one's own sexism over time
- 2009
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Ingår i: Sex Roles. - : Springer. - 0360-0025 .- 1573-2762. ; 60:9-10, s. 682-693
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effects of perceived normative (societal) levels of benevolent (BS) and hostile sexism (HS) on one's own sexist attitudes were examined over a four-month period in an undergraduate New Zealand sample (76 women, 26 men). Perceptions of normative levels of men's BS produced longitudinal change in one's own BS, and this effect was invariant across gender. However, contrary to previous research suggesting that women endorse BS when men are high in HS for its protective benefits, women instead expressed subjectively positive paternalistic attitudes toward their gender to the extent that they perceived BS as normative in men. The transmission of patriarchical-defined ideologies is tempered by the degree to which such ideologies espouse benevolent versus more overtly hostile attitudes toward women.
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Adjuik, Martin A., et al.
(författare)
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The effect of dosing strategies on the therapeutic efficacy of artesunate-amodiaquine for uncomplicated malaria : a meta-analysis of individual patient data
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1741-7015. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ) is one of the most widely used artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) to treat uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Africa. We investigated the impact of different dosing strategies on the efficacy of this combination for the treatment of falciparum malaria. Methods: Individual patient data from AS-AQ clinical trials were pooled using the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) standardised methodology. Risk factors for treatment failure were identified using a Cox regression model with shared frailty across study sites. Results: Forty-three studies representing 9,106 treatments from 1999-2012 were included in the analysis; 4,138 (45.4%) treatments were with a fixed dose combination with an AQ target dose of 30 mg/kg (FDC), 1,293 (14.2%) with a non-fixed dose combination with an AQ target dose of 25 mg/kg (loose NFDC-25), 2,418 (26.6%) with a non-fixed dose combination with an AQ target dose of 30 mg/kg (loose NFDC-30), and the remaining 1,257 (13.8%) with a co-blistered non-fixed dose combination with an AQ target dose of 30 mg/kg (co-blistered NFDC). The median dose of AQ administered was 32.1 mg/kg [IQR: 25.9-38.2], the highest dose being administered to patients treated with co-blistered NFDC (median = 35.3 mg/kg [IQR: 30.6-43.7]) and the lowest to those treated with loose NFDC-25 (median = 25.0 mg/kg [IQR: 22.7-25.0]). Patients treated with FDC received a median dose of 32.4 mg/kg [IQR: 27-39.0]. After adjusting for reinfections, the corrected antimalarial efficacy on day 28 after treatment was similar for co-blistered NFDC (97.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 97.0-98.8%]) and FDC (98.1% [95% CI: 97.6%-98.5%]; P = 0.799), but significantly lower for the loose NFDC-25 (93.4% [95% CI: 91.9%-94.9%]), and loose NFDC-30 (95.0% [95% CI: 94.1%-95.9%]) (P < 0.001 for all comparisons). After controlling for age, AQ dose, baseline parasitemia and region; treatment with loose NFDC-25 was associated with a 3.5-fold greater risk of recrudescence by day 28 (adjusted hazard ratio, AHR = 3.51 [95% CI: 2.02-6.12], P < 0.001) compared to FDC, and treatment with loose NFDC-30 was associated with a higher risk of recrudescence at only three sites. Conclusions: There was substantial variation in the total dose of amodiaquine administered in different AS-AQ combination regimens. Fixed dose AS-AQ combinations ensure optimal dosing and provide higher antimalarial treatment efficacy than the loose individual tablets in all age categories.
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| 24. |
- Bernatsky, S, et al.
(författare)
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Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2005
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Ingår i: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. - : BMJ. - 1468-2060 .- 0003-4967. ; 64:10, s. 1507-1509
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Recent evidence supports an association between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Objectives: To describe demographic factors, subtypes, and survival of patients with SLE who develop NHL. Methods: A multi-site cohort of 9547 subjects with definite SLE was assembled. Subjects at each centre were linked to regional tumour registries to determine cancer cases occurring after SLE diagnosis. For the NHL cases ascertained, descriptive statistics were calculated, and NHL subtype frequency and median survival time of patients determined. Results: 42 cases of NHL occurred in the patients with SLE during the 76 948 patient-years of observation. The median age of patients at NHL diagnosis was 57 years. Thirty six (86%) of the 42 patients developing NHL were women, reflecting the female predominance of the cohort. In the patients, aggressive histological subtypes appeared to predominate, with the most commonly identified NHL subtype being diffuse large B cell ( 11 out of 21 cases for which histological subtype was available). Twenty two of the patients had died a median of 1.2 years after lymphoma diagnosis. Conclusions: These data suggest aggressive disease in patients with SLE who develop NHL. Continuing work should provide further insight into the patterns of presentation, prognosis, and aetiology of NHL in SLE.
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| 25. |
- Boxall, A. B. A., et al.
(författare)
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Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: What Are the Big Questions?
- 2012
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Ingår i: Environmental Health Perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 120:9, s. 1221-1229
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Over the past 10-15 years, a substantial amount of work has been done by the scientific, regulatory, and business communities to elucidate the effects and risks of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment. OBJECTIVE: This review was undertaken to identify key outstanding issues regarding the effects of PPCPs on human and ecological health in order to ensure that future resources will be focused on the most important areas. DATA SOURCES: To better understand and manage the risks of PPCPs in the environment, we used the "key question" approach to identify the principle issues that need to be addressed. Initially, questions were solicited from academic, government, and business communities around the world. A list of 101 questions was then discussed at an international expert workshop, and a top-20 list was developed. Following the workshop, workshop attendees ranked the 20 questions by importance. DATA SYNTHESIS: The top 20 priority questions fell into seven categories: a) prioritization of substances for assessment, b) pathways of exposure, c) bioavailability and uptake, a effects characterization, e) risk and relative risk, f) antibiotic resistance, and g) risk management. CONCLUSIONS: A large body of information is now available on PPCPs in the environment. This exercise prioritized the most critical questions to aid in development of future research programs on the topic.
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| 26. |
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
- Jansson, Thomas, 1955, et al.
(författare)
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Placental transport and metabolism in fetal overgrowth -- a workshop report.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Placenta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0143-4004. ; 27 Suppl A
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fetal overgrowth in pregnancies complicated by diabetes is the result of an increased substrate availability which stimulates fetal insulin secretion and fetal growth. However, despite strict glycemic control in modern clinical management of the pregnant woman with diabetes, fetal overgrowth remains an important clinical problem. Recent studies in vivo provide evidence for increased delivery of amino acids to the fetus in gestational diabetes (GDM) even when metabolic control is strict. This could be due to that truly normal maternal substrate levels cannot be achieved in diabetic pregnancies and/or caused by altered placental nutrient transport and metabolism. Studies in vitro demonstrate an up-regulation of placental transport systems for certain amino acids in GDM associated with fetal overgrowth. GDM is also characterized by changes in placental gene expression, including up-regulation of inflammatory mediators and Leptin. In type-I diabetes with fetal overgrowth the in vitro activity of placental transporters for both glucose and certain amino acids as well as placental lipoprotein lipase is increased. Furthermore, both clinical observations in type-I diabetic pregnancies and preliminary animal experimental studies suggest that even brief periods of metabolic perturbation early in pregnancy may affect placental growth and transport function for the remainder of pregnancy, thereby contributing to fetal overgrowth. Ultrasound measurements of fetal fat deposits and abdominal circumference as well as 3D ultrasound assessment of placental volume represent non-invasive techniques for in utero diagnosis of fetal and placental overgrowth. It is proposed that these methods represent valuable additions to the clinical management of the diabetic pregnancy. In conclusion, altered placental function may be a mechanism contributing to fetal overgrowth in diabetic pregnancies with apparent optimal metabolic control. It is proposed that detailed information on placental metabolism and transport functions obtained in vitro and in vivo represent a placental phenotype that provides important information and may facilitate diagnosis and improve clinical management of fetal overgrowth.
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| 34. |
- Sibley, C. G., et al.
(författare)
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Implicit representations of ethnicity and nationhood in New Zealand : A function of symbolic or resource-specific policy attitudes?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1529-7489 .- 1530-2415. ; 10:1, s. 23-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- New Zealanders' implicit projections of the national category differ dramatically from those of Americans and Australians. In these latter nations, research using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) indicates that themajority (White/European) group is privileged in automatic or nonconscious concepts of nationhood relative to other ethnic groups. In New Zealand, however, Whites/Europeans and Maori (the Indigenous peoples) are equally associated with cognitive representations of the nation. This difference has been attributed to the strong and consensual integration of Maori culture and identity with national identity. The present research provided a novel test of this argument by demonstrating, in a large undergraduate sample (N=142), that self-rated opposition versus support for symbolic but not resource-specific aspects of bicultural social policy was associated with New Zealanders' generalized pro-European versus pro-Maori implicit ethnic-national associations (estimated using two IATs). This finding provides converging evidence suggesting that the unique pattern of ethnic-national associations observed in New Zealand owes its genesis to relatively consensual support for the incorporation of symbolic aspects of Maori culture: The ways in which groups are symbolically represented within a nation affects the extent to which they are automatically projected within the inclusive or national prototype. This in turn has important implications for promoting intergroup tolerance.
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| 35. |
- Sibley, C. G., et al.
(författare)
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Who are 'we'? Implicit associations between ethnic and national symbols for Maori and Pakeha in New Zealand
- 2008
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Ingår i: New Zealand journal of psychology (Christchurch. 1983). - : New Zealand Psychological Society. - 0112-109X. ; 37:2, s. 38-49
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research examining how New Zealanders perceive their nation and its peoples remains scarce. The current study examined one specific aspect of such cognitions-that of the degree to which self-identified members of the Indigenous population (Maori) and New Zealanders of European descent (Pakeha) automatically perceive their own and each other's language and peoples as belonging to the nation. We used reaction-time measures (the Implicit Association Test) administered to university undergraduate samples. Majority group members (Pakeha) showed minimal implicit ingroup biases, and perceived their own ingroup and culture, and Maori peoples and culture, as equally representative of the nation. Minority group members (Maori), in contrast, perceived their ingroup and culture as being more closely associated with representations of the nation. The answer to the question of who 'we' are then, is contingent upon ethnic group membership. These findings differ dramatically from theory and research from the United States, which predict that minority groups-especially minority groups such as Maori that are consistently disadvantaged according to national indicators of income and general wellbeing-should display outgroup biases at the implicit level. In New Zealand, it seems that Maori culture helps to promote the positive distinctiveness of the nation on the world stage, and as our results suggest, Maori may therefore have considerable symbolic power to validate national identity for many majority group (Pakeha) New Zealanders.
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| 36. |
- Sibley, G. C., et al.
(författare)
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Social representations of history and the legitimation of social inequality : The form and function of historical negation
- 2008
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Ingår i: European Journal of Social Psychology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0046-2772 .- 1099-0992. ; 38:3, s. 542-565
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Three studies examined the form and function of ideologies that negate (versus recognise) the historical basis of claims for reparation for past injustices. Historical negation (a) predicted opposition towards the resource-specific aspects of social policy and (b) functioned as the mechanism though which majority group members high in a threat-driven security-cohesion motivation (indexed by right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)) legitimated policy opposition in both undergraduate student (Study 1) and general population (Study 2) samples of the majority group (New Zealand Europeans/Pakeha). Study 3 experimentally manipulated historical negation in a general population sample using extracts adapted from political speeches, and demonstrated that historical negation increased opposition among liberal voters towards the resource-specific aspects of bicultural policy. These results suggest that history serves an important symbolic function in mobilising support for public policies regarding intergroup relations because temporal continuity is central to claims of legitimacy, especially where resources are involved. Research in this area is important for any nation with a history of intergroup conflict, as it aids not only in understanding the form and function of historical narratives that legitimate social inequality, but also provides insight into the ways in which such discourses can be countered and re-formulated in order to promote social equality.
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| 37. |
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| 41. |
- Tropea, T, et al.
(författare)
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Enhanced Nitrite-Mediated Relaxation of Placental Blood Vessels Exposed to Hypoxia Is Preserved in Pregnancies Complicated by Fetal Growth Restriction
- 2021
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Ingår i: International journal of molecular sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1422-0067. ; 22:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nitric oxide (NO) is essential in the control of fetoplacental vascular tone, maintaining a high flow−low resistance circulation that favors oxygen and nutrient delivery to the fetus. Reduced fetoplacental blood flow is associated with pregnancy complications and is one of the major causes of fetal growth restriction (FGR). The reduction of dietary nitrate to nitrite and subsequently NO may provide an alternative source of NO in vivo. We have previously shown that nitrite induces vasorelaxation in placental blood vessels from normal pregnancies, and that this effect is enhanced under conditions of hypoxia. Herein, we aimed to determine whether nitrite could also act as a vasodilator in FGR. Using wire myography, vasorelaxant effects of nitrite were assessed on pre-constricted chorionic plate arteries (CPAs) and veins (CPVs) from normal and FGR pregnancies under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Responses to the NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), were assessed in parallel. Nitrate and nitrite concentrations were measured in fetal plasma. Hypoxia significantly enhanced vasorelaxation to nitrite in FGR CPAs (p < 0.001), and in both normal (p < 0.001) and FGR (p < 0.01) CPVs. Vasorelaxation to SNP was also potentiated by hypoxia in both normal (p < 0.0001) and FGR (p < 0.01) CPVs. However, compared to vessels from normal pregnancies, CPVs from FGR pregnancies showed significantly lower reactivity to SNP (p < 0.01). Fetal plasma concentrations of nitrate and nitrite were not different between normal and FGR pregnancies. Together, these data show that nitrite-mediated vasorelaxation is preserved in FGR, suggesting that interventions targeting this pathway have the potential to improve fetoplacental blood flow in FGR pregnancies.
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| 42. |
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