| 1. |
- Ricci, Fabrizio, et al.
(author)
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Increased levels of circulating endostatin are linked to orthostatic hypotension
- 2023
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In: European Heart Journal. - 1522-9645 .- 0195-668X. ; 44:Supplement_2
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundOrthostatic hypotension (OH) occurs when blood pressure regulation fails. The underlying molecular mechanism of OH remain largely unexplored. Endostatin is a biologically active molecule cleaved by matrix metalloproteinases, elastases and cathepsins from collagen XVIII in the extracellular matrix and inhibits angiogenesis. Circulating levels of endostatin have been proposed to be involved in blood pressure (BP) regulation, by inducing nitric oxide release. To date, the relationship between endostatin and OH have not been examined.PurposeWe aimed to investigate circulating levels of endostatin in patients with verified OH by tilt test at a tertiary syncope unit compared with healthy age- and sex-matched controls from the same geographical region.MethodsWe performed an age- and sex-matched case-control study in 150 patients with OH verified by positive head-up tilt-testing and other cardiovascular autonomic tests at a tertiary syncope unit, and 150 healthy controls with negative active standing tests and no history of syncope, orthostatic intolerance, and endocrine disease. High-sensitivity chemiluminescence sandwich immunoassay was used to measure circulating levels of endostatin in a blinded fashion. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to analyze the discriminative ability of endostatin in OH compared with healthy controls. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between endostatin, OH and hemodynamic variables adjusting for age and sex.ResultsStudy characteristics are displayed in the Table. Patients with OH had significantly higher absolute levels of circulating endostatin compared with healthy controls (59,024 ± 2513 vs. 44,090 ± 1978 pg/mL, p<0.001). Multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analysis controlling for age, sex, minimum systolic and minimum diastolic BP during tilt, identified endostatin as an independent determinant for OH (beta-coefficient 0.80, p=0.025). The obtained area under the curve was 0.70, P<0.001, Figure).ConclusionsOur findings indicate that patients with orthostatic hypotension have increased circulating levels of endostatin, independent of age, sex, and hemodynamic variables. Our results highlight the relevance of investigating the molecular pathways related to orthostatic hypotension. Further studies are warranted to assess the prognostic and therapeutic role of endostatin assessment in individuals with orthostatic hypotension.
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| 2. |
- Nawaz, Sara, et al.
(author)
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Novel inflammatory biomarkers in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
- 2023
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In: Europace. - 1532-2092 .- 1099-5129. ; , s. 345-345
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IntroductionPostural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a disorder characterized by excessive orthostatic tachycardia and orthostatic intolerance. While traditional inflammatory biomarkers tend to be normal, a subclinical inflammatory process may be present in POTS.PurposeWe aimed to analyse novel inflammatory biomarkers in POTS patients: Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15), Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin (NGAL), Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM-1), Tumour Necrosis Factor Receptor 1 (TNFR1) and Tumour Necrosis Factor Receptor 2 (TNFR2) and compared them to healthy controls. These inflammatory biomarkers have been shown to be independent predictors of major adverse cardiovascular events in other populations.MethodsAn age- and sex-matched case-control study included 65 patients verified to have POTS by positive head-up tilt-testing and cardiovascular autonomic tests, and 65 healthy controls (mean age: 31.1 vs 31.5 years, 84% females) with negative active standing tests and no history of syncope, orthostatic intolerance, or endocrine disease. High-sensitivity chemiluminescence sandwich immunoassay was used to measure plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers in a blinded fashion. Descriptive statistics compared groups and a univariate ANOVA was employed. Biomarker values were log-transformed. A score incorporating all biomarkers was generated to see if the totality of biomarkers discriminated POTS patients from controls.ResultsBaseline characteristics are displayed in Table 1. Mean levels of GDF15 (p=0.01), NGAL (p=0.003), ICAM-1 (p=0.04) and TNFR1 (p=0.03) were significantly higher in POTS vs controls, whereas TNFR2 (p=0.04) was significantly lower in POTS (p=0.04). The product of four upregulated biomarkers divided by TNFR2 produced a receiver operator curve (ROC) with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.703 (pConclusionPOTS patients had increased GDF15, NGAL, TNFR1 and ICAM-1 levels and reduced TNFR2 levels suggesting underlying, yet undefined, subclinical inflammatory processes involving neutrophil and endothelial activation.
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| 3. |
- Balachandran, Arvind, 1994-, et al.
(author)
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Experimental Evaluation of Battery Impedance and Submodule Loss Distribution for Battery Integrated Modular Multilevel Converters
- 2022
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In: 2022 24TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON POWER ELECTRONICS AND APPLICATIONS (EPE22 ECCE EUROPE). - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). - 9789075815399 - 9781665487009
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Greenhouse gas emissions and the increase in average global temperature are growing concerns now more so than ever. Therefore it is of importance to increase the use of alternative energy sources, especially in the automotive industry. Battery electric vehicles (BEV) have gained popularity over the past several years. However, the performance of a BEV is limited by the battery pack, in particular, the weakest cell in the pack. Therefore, improved cell controllability and high efficiency are seen as important directions for research and development and one direction where it can be achieved is through using battery-integrated modular multilevel converters (BI-MMC). The battery current in BI-MMCs contains additional harmonics and the frequency dependent losses of these harmonics are determined by the resonance between the battery and the DC-link capacitor bank. The paper presents an experimental validation of previously published theoretical results for both harmonic allocations and loss distribution at the switching frequency within the BI-MMC submodule. Furthermore, a methodology for measuring the battery impedance using the full-load converter switching currents is presented.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Engström, Andreas, 1983, et al.
(author)
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Lead aprons: to be, or not to be?
- 2024
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In: European Congress of Radiology.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The present study shows that discomforts associated with wearing lead aprons for long periods of time are problematic for the staff using them. At the same time, only a minority of the staff would tolerate a small increase in future cancer risk to avoid wearing them. The present study gives an example of stakeholder involvement and points at the difficulties in making reasonable decisions about the use of radiation protective tools.
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| 6. |
- Larsson, Anders, 1961, et al.
(author)
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A multi-modal, multi-activity, multi-scalar analysis for sustainable accessibility planning
- 2021
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In: World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research 2021, Portland, Oregon, USA, August 9-13, 2021.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This paper explores the question of accessibility and sustainable mobility by the use of accessibility measures that combine transport mode, settlement type and amenity category. The overarching question is how to better understand the potential for sustainable living through good access to important every-day amenities within short travel times and how this differs across different geographies and modes of travel. The analysis is focused on region Västra Götaland, Sweden and draws on a unique combination of novel open-source data of the transport system and official Swedish register data of the total population of individuals and workplaces geocoded at a 100-meter resolution. The results are presented with a variety of different maps and multidimensional plots and confirm the strengths of the car as provider of good accessibility. However, for short trips of 10 minutes the bicycle provides a very competitive alternative in urban and suburban areas. Access to every-day amenities by slow modes is limited outside the built-up areas. Public transport is not a viable alternative until travel times are reaching 25-30 minutes. Results are discussed with emphasis on how measures relate to the interests of planning practice. For example, the selection of parameters and its problems, limitations and need for further development as well as the potential to develop measures that might respond to planners need for policy support. By way of conclusion, this paper is contributing with an exploration of measurement for comparison of all modes, in a detailed geography of settlement categories together with an in-depth consideration of the destination component of accessibility in terms of different activities/amenities.
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| 7. |
- Bickham, S., et al.
(author)
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Low cutoff G.657-compatible fiber for data center interconnects operating in the 1064 and 1310 nm windows
- 2020
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In: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE. - 0277-786X .- 1996-756X. ; 11286
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical interconnects in data centers have traditionally used 850 nm GaAs-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) in combination with multimode fiber, having a reach up to 100 m in length. Longer links typically use standard single-mode fiber in conjunction with either InP-based edge-emitting lasers or silicon photonic transmitters operating in the 1310 nm or 1550 nm window. Single-mode GaAs-based VCSELs operating at 1064 nm offer another path for achieving longer system reach. Potential advantages of these VCSELs include better power efficiency, modulation speeds reaching 50 Gbps and large-scale fabrication volumes. The longer wavelength is also beneficial due to the lower attenuation and chromatic dispersion of optical fibers at that wavelength. However, one practical issue for single-mode transmission is that the G.657 standard for single-mode fiber requires that the 22-meter cable cutoff wavelength be less than 1260 nm, and these fibers are typically few-moded at 1064 nm. The large differences between the group velocities of the LP01 and LP11 modes can lead to degradation of the system performance due to multi-path interference if the higher order modes are present. To resolve this quandary, we have designed and validated the performance of a new optical fiber which is single-moded at wavelengths less than 1064 nm, but also has G.657-compliant mode field diameter and dispersion characteristics that enable it to be used in the 1310 nm window.
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| 8. |
- Buffolo, M., et al.
(author)
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Modeling of the Optical and Electrical Degradation of 845 nm VCSILs
- 2023
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In: 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, CLEO 2023.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical and electrical degradation of novel micro-transfer-printed VCSILs is investigated. Modeling of experimental data suggests that the main degradation mechanism is represented by the relocation of impurities, originating from the p-side, toward the active region.
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| 9. |
- Girardi, Marcello, 1991, et al.
(author)
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3D Integration of Microcombs
- 2023
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In: 2023 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe and European Quantum Electronics Conference, CLEO/Europe-EQEC 2023.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Microcombs based on silicon nitride are a promising technology in applications such as sensing, metrology and telecommunication [1]. These applications often require to combine a nonlinear waveguide with a linear integrated processor on the same chip to perform functionalities such as splitting, demultiplexing, and optical buffering. However, there is a fundamental performance tradeoff between linear and nonlinear waveguides. For microcomb generation, thick waveguide cores are necessary to achieve the desired anomalous dispersion, while for linear operation a thin core improves the loss of a single mode (SM) waveguide [2]. The dissimilar requirements in waveguide thickness brings challenges for planar integrated technologies. Here, we propose and demonstrate wafer-level three-dimensional integration of microcombs using two different Si3N4 core thicknesses: a thick core featuring dispersion-engineered microcombs and a thinner core for linear processing (see Fig. 1a). This technology breaks off the fundamental tradeoff between loss and confinement in thick waveguides and opens the door to combine high-performance microcombs with ultra-low-loss silicon nitride waveguide technology [3]. We demonstrate this approach by efficiently coupling a microcomb between two layers of Si3N4 and demultiplexing a few lines with an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) (Fig 1b).
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| 10. |
- Girardi, Marcello, 1991, et al.
(author)
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Performance tradeoffs in low-loss Si3N4 waveguides for linear and nonlinear applications
- 2022
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We experimentally analyze tradeoffs in terms of waveguide losses, dispersion engineering and single-mode behaviour for different waveguide geometries. Our results suggests that photonic integrated circuits relying on nonlinear waveguides benefit from including a dedicated waveguide geometry via multi-layer integration to yield a seven-fold improvement in terms of loss.
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