| 1. |
- Buunen, M, et al.
(författare)
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COLOR II. A randomized clinical trial comparing laparoscopic and open surgery for rectal cancer.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Danish medical bulletin. - 1603-9629 .- 0907-8916. ; 56:2, s. 89-91
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Laparoscopic resection of rectal cancer has been proven efficacious but morbidity and oncological outcome need to be investigated in a randomized clinical trial. Trial design: Non-inferiority randomized clinical trial. METHODS: The COLOR II trial is an ongoing international randomized clinical trial. Currently 27 hospitals from Europe, South Korea and Canada are including patients. The primary endpoint is loco-regional recurrence rate three years post-operatively. Secondary endpoints cover quality of life, overall and disease free survival, post-operative morbidity and health economy analysis. RESULTS: By July 2008, 27 hospitals from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, South Korea and Canada had included 739 patients. The intra-operative conversion rate in the laparoscopic group was 17%. Distribution of age, location of the tumor and radiotherapy were equal in both treatment groups. Most tumors are located in the mid-rectum (41%). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of rectal cancer is feasible. The results and safety of laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of rectal cancer remain unknown, but are subject of interim analysis within the COLOR II trial. Completion of inclusion is expected by the end of 2009. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT00297791 (www.clinicaltrials.gov).
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| 2. |
- Reed, Mark S., et al.
(författare)
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The future of the uplands
- 2009
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Ingår i: Land use policy. - : Elsevier Limited. - 0264-8377 .- 1873-5754. ; 26:Supplement 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Upland areas provide UK society with many important functions, goods and services, but have experienced a number of disturbing trends and face an uncertain future. This paper outlines historic, current and future drivers of environmental, economic, socio-cultural and policy change in UK uplands, and assesses how these have affected or are likely to affect ways in which land is used and the provision of ecosystem services. Information is synthesised into scenarios summarising a range of possible futures anticipated for UK uplands to 2060 and beyond. Finally, innovations in science, technology, governance and policy are evaluated that could enable uplands to continue providing key ecosystem services under a range of scenarios. The paper concludes that many upland areas will need to be prepared for significant reductions in grazing and prescribed burning. Conversely, other areas could experience agricultural intensification, for example significant increases in grazing or an expansion of arable or bioenergy crops into upland valleys, due to anticipated increases in global demand for food and energy. These scenarios will take place in the context of climate change. Many may take place together and may interact with each other, with complex and unpredictable implications for the upland environment, economy and society. In this context, a number of advances are needed in science, technology and policy to maintain viable uplandcommunities and the future provision of ecosystem services. These may include funding for ecological and hydrological restoration via carbon offsetting or other means. It may also involve advances in ecosystem service modelling, mapping and valuation, which through stakeholder participation could facilitate more integrated rural planning. New forms of environmental governance need to be explored that can empower those interested in developing upland economies to maintain thriving upland communities, while managing the ecosystem services they provide as efficiently as possible.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Friedman, James S., et al.
(författare)
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Mutations in a BTB-Kelch Protein, KLHL7, Cause Autosomal-Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa
- 2009
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Ingår i: American Journal of Human Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9297. ; 84:6, s. 792-800
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) refers to a genetically heterogeneous group of progressive neurodegenerative diseases that result in dysfunction and/or death of rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina. So far, 18 genes have been identified for autosomal-dominant (ad) RP. Here, we describe an adRP locus (RP42) at chromosome 7p15 through linkage analysis in a six-generation Scandinavian family and identify a disease-causing mutation, c.449G -> A (p.S150N), in exon 6 of the KLHL7 gene. Mutation screening of KLHL7 in 502 retinopathy probands has revealed three different missense mutations in six independent families. KLHL7 is widely expressed, including expression in rod photoreceptors, and encodes a 75 kDa protein of the BTB-Kelch Subfamily within the BTB superfamily. BTB-Kelch proteins have been implicated in ubiquitination through Cullin E3 ligases. Notably, all three putative disease-causing KLHL7 mutations are within a conserved BACK domain; homology modeling suggests that mutant amino acid side chains can potentially fill the cleft between two helices, thereby affecting the ubiquitination complexes. Mutations in an identical region of another BTB-Kelch protein, gigaxonin, have previously been associated with giant axonal neuropathy. Our studies suggest an additional role of the ubiquitin-proteasome protein-degradation pathway in maintaining neuronal health and in disease.
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| 5. |
- Rehn, Anders P, et al.
(författare)
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ADAMTS-1 increases the three-dimensional growth of osteoblasts through type I collagen processing.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Bone. - : Elsevier BV. - 8756-3282 .- 1873-2763. ; 41:2, s. 231-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The multi-domain neutral endopeptidase, ADAMTS-1 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin repeats) is induced by parathyroid hormone (PTH) in rat osteoblasts and has therefore been suggested to be involved in initiation of bone remodeling. However, its function(s) in bone cells have not been studied. Here, we first establish that ADAMTS-1 protein is rapidly and transiently produced by human primary osteoblasts in response to PTH (1-34). We also show that ADAMTS-1 is specifically in close proximity to collagen fibrils in bone tissue using ultrastructural immunolabeling. To study the consequence(s) of ADAMTS-1 metalloprotease production in osteoblastic cells, human osteosarcoma cells (SaOS-2), were forced to express either wild-type (wtATS) or a point-mutated (pmATS) metalloprotease dead ADAMTS-1. SaOS-2 cells expressing wtATS had a growth advantage and increased collagenolytic activity when seeded inside a collagen type I gel but exhibited a reduced migration in a scratch wound assay. Immunolabeling of moving cells shows ADAMTS-1 to be located towards the direction of cellular migration. Finally, Western analysis demonstrated excess accumulation of mature collagen type I alpha1 species in the extracellular matrix together with increased release of distinct small collagen fragments into the conditioned media, by cultures of wtATS cells compared to pmATS cells. These results show that ADAMTS-1 has both the opportunity in bone and capability in vitro to induce collagen type I processing, together with a positive influence on osteoblastic three-dimensional growth. Although it is not clear at present if ADAMTS-1 promotes collagen degradation directly or indirectly, it shows that ADAMTS-1 activity can have a profound influence on the osteoblast phenotype, inhibiting migration on a planar substrate but enhancing growth in a collagen scaffold. These findings further establish ADAMTS-1 as a potentially important protein in PTH induced bone remodeling.
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| 6. |
- Sundberg, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Experimental findings on the nasal tract resonator in singing
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Voice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0892-1997 .- 1873-4588. ; 21:2, s. 127-137
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many professional operatic singers sing the vowel /a/ with a velopharyngeal opening.(1) Here resonatory effects of such an opening are analyzed. On the basis of CAT scan imaging of a baritone singer's vocal tract and nasal cavity system, including the maxillary sinuses, acoustic epoxy models were constructed, in which velopharyngeal openings were modeled by different tubes. The sound transfer characteristics of this model were determined by means of sine-tone sweep measurements. In an idealized (iron tube) model, the VPO introduced a zero in the transfer function at the frequency of the nasal resonance. In the epoxy models, however, the resonances of the nasal system, and hence the zero, were heavily damped, particularly when the maxillary sinuses were included in the nasal system. A velopharyngeal opening was found to attenuate the first formant in /a/, such that the relative level of the singer's formant increased. A similar effect was observed in a modified epoxy model shaped to approximate the vocal tract of an /u/ and an /i/, although it also showed a substantial widening of the first formant bandwidth. Varying the size of the velopharyngeal opening affected the transfer function only slightly. It seems likely that singers can enhance higher spectrum partials by a careful tuning of a velopharyngeal opening.
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| 7. |
- Willmann, Herbert, et al.
(författare)
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Epitaxial growth of Al-Cr-N thin films on MgO(111)
- 2008
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Ingår i: Thin Solid Films. - : Elsevier BV. - 0040-6090 .- 1879-2731. ; 517:2, s. 598-602
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cubic rock salt structure Al0.60Cr0.40N and Al0.68Cr0.32N films of different thicknesses were grown epitaxially onto MgO(111) substrates by reactive unbalanced magnetron sputtering at 500°C. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy reveals stoichiometric nitrides with Al/Cr ratios close to the ones of the used compound targets of 60/40 and 70/30. High resolution x-ray diffraction proves epitaxial growth over the whole film thickness up to thicknesses of ~1.8 µm. Reciprocal space maps and selected area electron diffraction show that the AlxCr1-xN films grow fully relaxed. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy imaging reveals columnar microstructures with column widths between 12–16 nm and {001} surface faceting on individual columns. The fully relaxed growth and the columnar structure can be attributed to limited ad‑atom mobility on the initial AlxCr1-xN(111) growth surface.
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| 8. |
- Willmann, Herbert, et al.
(författare)
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Single-crystal growth of NaCl-structure Al-Cr-N thin films on MgO(0 0 1) by magnetron sputter epitaxy
- 2007
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Ingår i: Scripta Materialia. - : Elsevier BV. - 1359-6462 .- 1872-8456. ; 57:12, s. 1089-1092
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Single-crystal NaCl-structure Al0.68Cr0.32N thin films were deposited onto MgO(0 0 1) substrates. The films exhibit cube-on-cube epitaxial growth with an initial pseudomorphic strained layer before complete relaxation into an isotropic lattice parameter of 4.119 Å as shown by symmetric high-resolution X-ray diffraction and asymmetric reciprocal space maps. The relaxation proceeds via a threading dislocation network as revealed by transmission electron microscopy. Films of 900 nm thickness have a hardness of 32.4 ± 0.5 GPa, an elastic modulus of 460.8 ± 5 GPa, and a room-temperature resistivity of 2.7 × 103 O cm as determined by nanoindentation and four-point probe measurements, respectively. © 2007 Acta Materialia Inc.
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