| 1. |
- Krebs, C. J., et al.
(författare)
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Terrestrial trophic dynamics in the Canadian Arctic
- 2003
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Ingår i: Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue Canadienne De Zoologie. ; 81, s. 827-843
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Swedish Tundra Northwest Expedition of 1999 visited 17 sites throughout the Canadian Arctic. At 12 sites that were intensively sampled we estimated the standing crop of plants and the densities of herbivores and predators with an array of trapping, visual surveys, and faecal-pellet transects. We developed a trophic-balance model using ECOPATH to integrate these observations and determine the fate of primary and secondary production in these tundra ecosystems, which spanned an 8-fold range of standing crop of plants. We estimated that about 13% of net primary production was consumed by herbivores, while over 70% of small-herbivore production was estimated to flow to predators. Only 9% of large-herbivore production was consumed by predators. Organization of Canadian Arctic ecosystems appears to be more top-down than bottom-up. Net primary production does not seem to be herbivore-limited at any site. This is the first attempt to integrate trophic dynamics over the entire Canadian Arctic.
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| 2. |
- Holmlund, F, et al.
(författare)
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Sympathetic skin vasoconstriction--further evaluation using laser Doppler techniques
- 2001
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Ingår i: Clinical Physiology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2281 .- 0144-5979. ; 21:3, s. 287-291
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to quantify the reflex sympathetic vasoconstriction in skin at different depths. Twenty healthy subjects were studied. Finger skin blood flow was measured using laser Doppler perfusion imaging (LDPI) and laser Doppler perfusion monitoring (LDPM). In LDPM, a probe with fibres separated 0.25 mm (deep) and 0.14 mm (superficial) from the illuminating fibre was used. Local heating (40 degrees C) was achieved with a Peltier element, and reflex vasoconstriction induced by immersion of the contra-lateral hand and forearm for 3 min in water at 15 degrees C. The change in skin blood flow was measured and a vasoconstriction index (VAC: cooling/before cooling) calculated. VAC indices of LDPI, LDPM-0.25 and LDPM-0.14 were 0.60, 0.59 and 0.60, respectively. The two components of the LDPM perfusion value, blood cell velocity and concentration, were studied separately. Their contributions in LDPM-0.25 were roughly the same, whereas the velocity component dominated in LDPM-0.14, although their relative responses in the two channels were similar. We conclude that sympathetic skin vasoconstriction does not significantly differ in two compartments, as probed with fibres separated by 0.25 and 0.14 mm. Blood cell velocity is influenced in a proportional way, as is concentration.
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| 3. |
- Koranyi, J, et al.
(författare)
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Baseline characteristics and the effects of five years of GH replacement therapy in adults with GH deficiency of childhood or adulthood onset: a comparative, prospective study.
- 2001
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Ingår i: The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 0021-972X .- 1945-7197. ; 86:10, s. 4693-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The consequences of GH deficiency may differ if the disease is childhood onset or adulthood onset. In this single-center, prospective study, 21 consecutive adults with childhood onset GH deficiency and 21 adults with adulthood onset GH deficiency, matched for age, gender, body mass index, and number of anterior pituitary hormonal deficiencies, were included. Baseline differences and differences in the responses in body composition, muscle strength, bone mass, and metabolic indices during 5-yr GH replacement were determined. The duration of GH deficiency was longer and serum IGF-I level and body height were lower in the childhood onset patients than in the adulthood onset patients. Body fat (observed/predicted ratio) was increased, and lean mass and muscle strength were decreased, in the childhood onset patients. Total body and lumbar (L2-L4) bone mineral content and bone mineral density were lower in the childhood onset patients. Serum total cholesterol level was higher in the adulthood onset patients. The childhood onset and adulthood onset patients received a similar dose of GH. After adjustment for body weight, however, the dose of GH was higher in the childhood onset patients. The treatment responses were more marked in the childhood onset patients in lean mass, knee extensor strength, left-hand grip strength, and in total body and lumbar (L2-L4) bone mineral content and bone mineral density. The reduction in serum total cholesterol concentration was more marked in the adulthood onset patients. At study end, no differences remained between the two study groups after the correction for body height in the statistical analysis. In conclusion, the baseline analysis suggests more decreased lean mass, muscle strength, and bone mass in the childhood onset patients whereas the lipid profile was more disturbed in the adulthood onset patients. The 5-yr GH replacement eliminated all the anthropodometric and metabolic differences between the two groups.
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| 4. |
- Svensson, L, et al.
(författare)
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Fatty acids modulate the effect of darglitazone on macrophage CD36 expression.
- 2003
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Ingår i: European journal of clinical investigation. - 0014-2972. ; 33:6, s. 464-71
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Scavenger receptor-mediated uptake of cholesterol by macrophages in the arterial wall is believed to be proatherogenic. Thiazolidinediones are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma)-agonists, which are used in the treatment of type II diabetes. They reduce atherogenesis in LDL receptor deficient and ApoE knockout mice, but up-regulate CD36, which may contribute to foam cell formation. The dyslipidaemia in type II diabetes is characterized by high levels of nonesterified fatty acids. Therefore we tested the effect of fatty acids and how fatty acids and the thiazolidinedione darglitazone interact in their effect on CD36 expression in human monocytes and macrophages. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Flow cytometry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used to study CD36 expression. Cellular lipids were analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Darglitazone increased CD36 mRNA and protein expression in human macrophage cells. In the presence of 5% human serum, darglitazone increased the accumulation of triglycerides, but did not affect cholesterol ester levels. In the presence of albumin-bound oleic or linoleic acid, darglitazone did not increase CD36 mRNA, cell-surface CD36 protein or triglyceride content. Fatty acids per se increased CD36 mRNA and protein. DISCUSSION: The increase in CD36 in macrophages suggests a role for fatty acids in the regulation of foam cell formation. The results also suggest that the potentially proatherogenic CD36 up-regulating effect of thiazolidinediones in macrophages might not be present when the cells have access to physiological levels of albumin-bound fatty acids.
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| 5. |
- Dalgard, F, et al.
(författare)
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Self-reported skin complaints: validation of a questionnaire for population surveys
- 2003
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Ingår i: British Journal of Dermatology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1365-2133 .- 0007-0963. ; 149:4, s. 794-800
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Estimation of skin diseases in the community is challenging because we do not easily have access to the nonhealthcare-seeking population. A potential tool is a questionnaire asking for self-reported skin complaints. Such an instrument has not yet been developed. Objectives To validate a simple instrument assessing skin morbidity in the general adult population, to predict clinical skin morbidity from self-reported skin complaints. Methods A questionnaire was drawn up in Norwegian and validated against clinical signs in two samples of an urban population, 100 healthcare-seeking adults in a dermatological clinic, and 100 nonhealthcare-seeking adults. A total self-reported score was calculated and validated against severity of clinical signs (no sign, trivial, moderate or severe). The inter-rater agreement was assessed in a small study including 16 patients from a dermatological clinic. Results The participation rate was 98%. The sensitivity was 61%, the specificity 69% and the positive predictive value 82% when the caseness criterion was any clinical sign of skin disease. The agreement was good between the two observers for clinical skin morbidity, with kappa = 0.67. Conclusions This questionnaire is a simple tool to evaluate skin morbidity in an adult population. The use of self-reported complaints to predict clinical morbidity may be of value in quantifying and exploring skin diseases at the population level. Further studies are needed to improve the instrument. It is our intention to demonstrate the potential usefulness of this questionnaire in a forthcoming population survey in Norway.
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| 9. |
- Ringborg, U, et al.
(författare)
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The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) systematic overview of radiotherapy for cancer including a prospective survey of radiotherapy practice in Sweden 2001 - Summary and conclusions
- 2003
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Ingår i: Acta Oncologica. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1651-226X .- 0284-186X. ; 42:5-6, s. 357-365
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A systematic assessment of radiotherapy for cancer was conducted by The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) and published in 1996. The assessment reviewed the scientific literature up to 1993 on the use of radiotherapy in the treatment of solid tumours. and estimated the costs associated with radiotherapy It also described the current practise of radiotherapy in Sweden 1992 and compared practise with scientific knowledge. The SBU has now conducted a follow-up study on radiotherapy for cancer, including a review of the scientific literature from 1994 and a prospective survey of radiotherapy practise in Sweden 2001. The following conclusions were drawn: The role of radiotherapy as an important form of treatment for cancer with both curative and palliative intent has been further confirmed. The use of radiotherapy in Sweden has increased and is now at the internationally recommended level. Radiotherapy in Sweden is mostly given in accordance with the scientific evidence but may still be underutilized in certain situations. The resources for radiotherapy are being utilized more efficiently The costs of radiotherapy are still 5% of the total cost of cancer care, while the cost of an individual treatment (fraction) has decreased. The need for radiotherapy capacity will increase. In addition, half of the treatment equipment will have to be replaced in the next few years.
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| 10. |
- Roland, P, et al.
(författare)
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A database generator for human brain imaging
- 2001
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Ingår i: TINS - Trends in Neurosciences. - 0166-2236 .- 1878-108X. ; 24:10, s. 562-564
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sharing scientific data containing complex information requires new concepts and new technology. NEUROGENERATOR is a database generator for the neuroimaging community. A database generator is a database that generates new databases. The scientists submit raw PET and fMRI data to NEUROGENERATOR, which then processes the data in a uniform way to create databases of homogenous data suitable for data sharing, met-analysis and modelling the human brain at the systems level. These databases are then distributed to the scientists.
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