| 1. |
- Aldenlöv, Jens
(författare)
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Exploring Public Procurement of Swedish Railway Infrastructure Maintenance
- 2019
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In 2002, Sweden started to outsource its railway infrastructure maintenance. Through gradual exposure (i.e. outsourcing one contract area at a time), the Swedish Transport Administration has developed its competence of being a client towards its contractors. The last contract was outsourced in 2014. In the last decade, the development of governance techniques and maintenance cost has not matched the increase in traffic. Due to an increased awareness in environmentally friendlier transportation, traffic is only expected to increase further in the coming years. Governance techniques and maintenance cost ultimately depends on the client-contractor relationship through public procurement. Hence, there is a need to understand public procurement of railway infrastructure maintenance. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge of public procurement of railway infrastructure maintenance. Three separate studies were conducted. Study 1 was a literature review to explore and determine the state-of-the-art for the field of public procurement of railway maintenance. Study 2 was a linear regression analysis to examine the relationship between contract design and the output of maintenance in Sweden. Study 3 was an interview study in Sweden that explored what factors that supports or hinders collaboration in railway maintenance.The main results of these studies are that asset knowledge is important for both the client and the contractor. Through reliable asset knowledge, incentives and contracts can be designed to support governance and collaboration. Today, railway infrastructure maintenance is dominated by informal relationships that lack the support of formal partnering activities. When an informal relationship is supported by a formal structure it provides a basis for innovation. This formal structure should be centralized around gaining and sharing asset knowledge. By establishing such a system to increase the asset knowledge and supporting collaboration, public organizations of maintenance can provide a basis for the improvement of maintenance.
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| 2. |
- Engman, Jakob, et al.
(författare)
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Neisseria meningitidis Polynucleotide Phosphorylase Affects Aggregation, Adhesion, and Virulence
- 2016
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Ingår i: Infection and Immunity. - 0019-9567 .- 1098-5522. ; 84:5, s. 1501-1513
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Neisseria meningitidis autoaggregation is an important step during attachment to human cells. Aggregation is mediated by type IV pili and can be modulated by accessory pilus proteins, such as PilX, and posttranslational modifications of the major pilus subunit PilE. The mechanisms underlying the regulation of aggregation remain poorly characterized. Polynucleotide phosphorylase ( PNPase) is a 3'-5' exonuclease that is involved in RNA turnover and the regulation of small RNAs. In this study, we biochemically confirm that NMC0710 is the N. meningitidis PNPase, and we characterize its role in N. meningitidis pathogenesis. We show that deletion of the gene encoding PNPase leads to hyperaggregation and increased adhesion to epithelial cells. The aggregation induced was found to be dependent on pili and to be mediated by excessive pilus bundling. PNPase expression was induced following bacterial attachment to human cells. Deletion of PNPase led to global transcriptional changes and the differential regulation of 469 genes. We also demonstrate that PNPase is required for full virulence in an in vivo model of N. meningitidis infection. The present study shows that PNPase negatively affects aggregation, adhesion, and virulence in N. meningitidis.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of motility and piliation in pathogenic Neisseria
- 2015
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Ingår i: BMC Microbiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2180. ; 15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The type IV pili (Tfp) of pathogenic Neisseria (i. e., N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis) are essential for twitching motility. Tfp retraction, which is dependent on the ATPase PilT, generates the forces that move bacteria over surfaces. Neisseria motility has mainly been studied in N. gonorrhoeae whereas the motility of N. meningitidis has not yet been characterized. Results: In this work, we analyzed bacterial motility and monitored Tfp retraction using live- cell imaging of freely moving bacteria. We observed that N. meningitidis moved over surfaces at an approximate speed of 1.6 mu m/s, whereas N. gonorrhoeae moved with a lower speed (1.0 mu/s). An alignment of the meningococcal and gonococcal pilT promoters revealed a conserved single base pair variation in the -10 promoter element that influence PilT expression. By tracking mutants with altered pilT expression or pilE sequence, we concluded that the difference in motility speed was independent of both. Live-cell imaging using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that N. gonorrhoeae more often moved with fewer visible retracting filaments when compared to N. meningitidis. Correspondingly, meningococci also displayed a higher level of piliation in transmission electron microscopy. Nevertheless, motile gonococci that had the same number of filaments as N. meningitidis still moved with a lower speed. Conclusions: These data reveal differences in both speed and piliation between the pathogenic Neisseria species during twitching motility, suggesting a difference in Tfp-dynamics.
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| 4. |
- Kehoe, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 364:6438, s. 341-
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 5. |
- Selvaraju, Ram Kumar, et al.
(författare)
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Dosimetry of [(68)Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys(40)-Exendin-4 in rodents, pigs, non-human primates and human - : repeated scanning in human is possible.
- 2015
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Ingår i: American journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. - 2160-8407. ; 5:3, s. 259-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quantitative PET imaging with [(68)Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys(40)-Exendin-4 has potential use in diabetes and cancer. However, the radiation dose to the kidneys has been a concern for the possibility of repeated imaging studies in humans. Therefore, we investigated the dosimetry of [(68)Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys(40)-Exendin-4 based on the biodistribution data in rats, pigs, non-human primates (NHP) and a human.Organ distribution of [(68)Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys(40)-Exendin-4 in rats (Male Lewis; n=12; 30, 60, and 80 min) was measured ex vivo. The dynamic uptake of [(68)Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys(40)-Exendin-4 in the abdomen was assessed by PET/CT scanning of pigs (male; n = 4, 0-60 min), NHP (Female; cynomolgus; n=3; 0-90 min), and human (female; n=1; 0-40, 100, 120 min).The organ distribution data in each species were extrapolated to those of a human, assuming similar distribution between the species. Residence times were assessed by trapezoidal approximation of the kinetic data. Organ doses (mGy/MBq) and the whole body effective dose (mSv/MBq), was extrapolated by using the OLINDA/EXM 1.1 software. The extrapolated human whole body effective dose was 0.017 ± 0.004 (rats), 0.014 ± 0.004 (pigs), 0.017 ± 0.004 (NHP), and 0.016 (human) mSv/MBq. The absorbed dose to the kidneys was limiting:0.33 ± 0.06 (rats), 0.28±0.05 (pigs), 0.65 ± 0.11 (NHP), and 0.28 (human) mGy/MBq, which corresponded to the maximum yearly administered amounts of 455 (rat), 536 (pig), 231 (NHP), and 536 (human) MBq before reaching the yearly kidney limiting dose of 150 mGy. More than 200 MBq of [(68)Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys(40)-Exendin-4 can be administered yearly in a human, allowing for repeated (2-4 times) scanning. This potentially enables longitudinal clinical PET imaging studies of the GLP-1R in the pancreas, transplanted islets, or insulinoma.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Aarnio, Mikko, et al.
(författare)
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Visualization of painful inflammation in patients with pain after traumatic ankle sprain using [(11)C]-D-deprenyl PET/CT.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Pain. - : Walter de Gruyter. - 1877-8860 .- 1877-8879. ; 17:1, s. 418-424
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Positron emission tomography (PET) with the radioligand [(11)C]-D-deprenyl has shown increased signal at location of pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic whiplash injury. The binding site of [(11)C]-D-deprenyl in peripheral tissues is suggested to be mitochondrial monoamine oxidase in cells engaged in post-traumatic inflammation and tissue repair processes. The association between [(11)C]-D-deprenyl uptake and the transition from acute to chronic pain remain unknown. Further imaging studies of musculoskeletal pain at the molecular level would benefit from establishing a clinical model in a common and well-defined injury in otherwise healthy and drug-naïve subjects. The aim of this study was to investigate if [(11)C]-D-deprenyl uptake would be acutely elevated in unilateral ankle sprain and if tracer uptake would be reduced as a function of healing, and correlated with pain localizations and pain experience.METHODS: Eight otherwise healthy patients with unilateral ankle sprain were recruited at the emergency department. All underwent [(11)C]-D-deprenyl PET/CT in the acute phase, at one month and 6-14 months after injury.RESULTS: Acute [(11)C]-D-deprenyl uptake at the injury site was a factor of 10.7 (range 2.9-37.3) higher than the intact ankle. During healing, [(11)C]-D-deprenyl uptake decreased, but did not normalize until after 11 months. Patients experiencing persistent pain had prolonged [(11)C]-D-deprenyl uptake in painful locations.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The data provide further support that [(11)C]-D-deprenyl PET can visualize, quantify and follow processes in peripheral tissue that may relate to soft tissue injuries, inflammation and associated nociceptive signaling. Such an objective correlate would represent a progress in pain research, as well as in clinical pain diagnostics and management.
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| 8. |
- Aldenlöv, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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Public procurement of railway infrastructuremaintenance : a literature review
- 2017
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 9th Nordic Conference on Construction Economics and Organization. - Lyngby : Polyteknisk Boghandel og Forlag. - 9788750211259 ; , s. 10-21
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The maintenance of railway infrastructure has in several instances been changed from government-based to being based on public procurement, with varying degrees of flexibility for the contractor to design their maintenance work. The purpose of-giving contractors a larger freedom of choice of how to perform maintenance is to stimulate them to innovate and develop their maintenance processes. Since the contracts differ in between and there are changes in government policies over time that affects both existing and new contracts, a comparison between different contracts becomes challenging. A literature review has been conducted to understand the change in procurement strategy and how to encourage contractors to innovate. The research questions include: What procurement strategies are there? How is maintenance evaluated? How does procurement affect the innovation opportunities for entrepreneurs?The literature review focuses on railway maintenance and contract design between client and contractor. In total, 17 articles matched the search criteria and were selected for the review. To have successful maintenance service, five articles suggested partnering as a strategy with common goals in combination with good communication during the entirety of the contract. When selecting incentive plan, four articles mentions that a focus on performance-based incentives in combination with riskmanagement is better rather than actual payment schemes. The reason being that payment is often themain cause of conflicts between client and contractor. The scientific literature suggests that improvement in incentives improves quality of maintenance, decreases delays and technical failures. The conclusion from the literature review is that partnering in railway maintenance is considered successful. With accurate knowledge about railway assets the incentive plan becomes accurate which reduces costs.The literature review is a part of a research project with an overall goal to develop a model to guide the selection of appropriate type of procurement strategy, contract and control of maintenance for a moresustainable railway system.
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| 9. |
- Andersson, Mike, et al.
(författare)
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Field Effect Based Gas Sensors, from Basic Mechanisms to the Latest Commercial Device Designs
- 2016
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Ingår i: SENSORS AND ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTATION ADVANCES (SEIA). - : INT FREQUENCY SENSOR ASSOC-IFSA. - 9788460899631 ; , s. 19-21
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This contribution treats the latest developments in the understanding of basic principles regarding device design, transduction mechanisms, gas-materials-interactions, and materials processing for the tailored design and fabrication of SiC FET gas sensor devices, mainly intended as products for the automotive sector.
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| 10. |
- Angelin, Bo, et al.
(författare)
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Reductions in serum levels of LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, triglycerides and lipoprotein(a) in hypercholesterolaemic patients treated with the liver-selective thyroid hormone receptor agonist eprotirome
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Internal Medicine. - : Wiley: 12 months. - 0954-6820 .- 1365-2796. ; 277:3, s. 331-342
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundLiver-selective thyromimetic agents could provide a new approach for treating dyslipidaemia. MethodsWe performed a multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of eprotirome, a liver-selective thyroid hormone receptor agonist, in 98 patients with primary hypercholesterolaemia. After previous drug wash-out and dietary run-in, patients received 100 or 200gday(-1) eprotirome or placebo for 12weeks. The primary end-point was change in serum LDL cholesterol; secondary end-points included changes in other lipid parameters and safety measures. ResultsEprotirome treatment at 100 and 200g daily reduced serum LDL cholesterol levels by 235% and 31 +/- 4%, respectively, compared with 2 +/- 6% for placebo (Pless than0.0001). Similar reductions were seen in non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein (apo) B, whereas serum levels of HDL cholesterol and apo A-I were unchanged. There were also considerable reductions in serum triglycerides and lipoprotein(a), in particular in patients with elevated levels at baseline. There was no evidence of adverse effects on heart or bone and no changes in serum thyrotropin or triiodothyronine, although the thyroxine level decreased. Low-grade increases in liver enzymes were evident in most patients. ConclusionIn hypercholesterolaemic patients, the liver-selective thyromimetic eprotirome decreased serum levels of atherogenic lipoproteins without signs of extra-hepatic side effects. Selective stimulation of hepatic thyroid hormone receptors may be an attractive way to modulate lipid metabolism in hyperlipidaemia.
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