| 1. |
- Alm, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Universal Single-Probe RT-PCR Assay for Diagnosis of Dengue Virus Infections
- 2014
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Ingår i: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1935-2727 .- 1935-2735. ; 8:12, s. e3416-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has become more prevalent in the last few decades. Most patients are viremic when they present with symptoms, and early diagnosis of dengue is important in preventing severe clinical complications associated with this disease and also represents a key factor in differential diagnosis. Here, we designed and validated a hydrolysis-probe-based one-step real-time RT-PCR assay that targets the genomes of dengue virus serotypes 1-4. Methodology/Principal Findings: The primers and probe used in our RT-PCR assay were designed to target the 39 untranslated region of all complete genome sequences of dengue virus available in GenBank (n=3,305). Performance of the assay was evaluated using in vitro transcribed RNA, laboratory-adapted virus strains, external control panels, and clinical specimens. The linear dynamic range was found to be 10(4)-10(11) GCE/mL, and the detection limit was between 6.0x10(2) and 1.1x10(3) GCE/mL depending on target sequence. The assay did not cross-react with human RNA, nor did it produce false-positive results for other human pathogenic flaviviruses or clinically important etiological agents of febrile illnesses. We used clinical serum samples obtained from returning travelers with dengue-compatible symptomatology (n = 163) to evaluate the diagnostic relevance of our assay, and laboratory diagnosis performed by the RT-PCR assay had 100% positive agreement with diagnosis performed by NS1 antigen detection. In a retrospective evaluation including 60 archived serum samples collected from confirmed dengue cases 1-9 days after disease onset, the RT-PCR assay detected viral RNA up to 9 days after appearance of symptoms. Conclusions/Significance: The validation of the RT-PCR assay presented here indicates that this technique can be a reliable diagnostic tool, and hence we suggest that it be introduced as the method of choice during the first 5 days of dengue symptoms.
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| 2. |
- Alnegren, Patrik, 1988, et al.
(författare)
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Inhibiting chromium evaporation and oxide scale growth on SOFC metallic interconnects by nano coatings
- 2014
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Ingår i: 20th World Hydrogen Energy Conference, WHEC 2014. - 9780000000002 ; 1:2014
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- High chromium ferritic steel is today the most commonly considered material for SOFC interconnectors due to many desirable properties, such as matching thermal expansion coefficient with other cell components but most importantly better machinability and price compared to ceramic alternatives. Yet there are some obstacles that need to be addressed before long term stability of a ferritic steel interconnector based fuel cell stack can be realized. First of all the electrical conductivity needs to remain high throughout the fuel cell stack operating life time and thus the formed oxide layers need to be electrically conductive and thin. Secondly, volatilization of chromium from the oxide scale of metallic interconnects causes rapid degradation due cathode poisoning. In the current study both oxidation and chromium evaporation of ferritic steel substrates are investigated in controlled atmospheres that simulates the environments of an operating SOFC stack. Samples coated with nanometer scale dual coatings of Co and Ce were tested. The dual coating substantially increased the performance of the ferritic substrates by i) significantly reducing oxidation rate, ii) increasing scale adherence and iii) diminishing chromium evaporation by 90 % via the formation of a Co-Mn-spinel cap layer.
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| 3. |
- Dahl, Christian Falk, et al.
(författare)
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A controlled study of risk factors for disease and current problems in long-term testicular cancer survivors
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of cancer survivorship. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1932-2259 .- 1932-2267. ; 4:3, s. 256-265
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction To compare risk factors for disease and current problems in long-term testicular cancer survivors (TCSs) and age-matched population-based controls (NORMs). Methods The study was cross-sectional and concerned 1,291 Norwegian TCSs followed up after a mean of 11 years, and 6,455 NORMs. Both TCSs and NORMs completed questionnaires and had a clinical examination. Indices for risk factors and current problems were calculated. Outcome measures were: visits to general practitioners last year, poor self-rated health, and poor quality of life (QoL). Results The mean risk score was significantly lower and the mean current problem score significantly higher in TCSs compared to NORMs without reaching clinical significance. The risk for future fatal cardiac events did not differ between the groups. TCSs had a higher risk for visiting a general practitioner than NORMs (OR 3.58, 95% CI 3.09-4.15), while no significant difference was observed for self-rated health. Poor QoL in TCSs was significantly associated with more current problems than risk factors. Previous treatment for mental problems, presence of severe somatic disease and musculo-skeletal problems were significantly associated with all three outcome measures. Musculo-skeletal problems were most strongly associated with visits to general practitioners among TCSs. Conclusions Several risk factors for preventive clinical interventions and current problems that eventually should be treated were identified in TCSs. Implications for cancer survivors TCSs show several risk factors and current problems that are relevant for visits to general practitioners, poorer self-rated health, and poorer QoL. These should get attention from health personnel caring for TCSs.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Falk, Erik, 1962-
(författare)
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Pragmatic dimensions of Swedish insults in the 1600s
- 2014
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Ingår i: Swearing in the Nordic Countries. - Köpenhamn. - 9788789410517 ; , s. 151-173
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates verbal insults recorded in judicial protocols in the Swedish university town Uppsala during the 1630s. The aim of the study is to analyze insults as linguistic formulations and social acts in Early Modern Swedish society and to highlight the difference between two speech communities: a predominant literal culture at the university and a mainly oral culture in the town. The methodology of the text research is guided by speech act theory and multidimensional analytical model of insults proposed within the field of historical pragmatics. Clear patterns emerge in the investigation by performing various semantic-, pragmatic-, and discourse-level analyses of the judicial records. Central to the utterances with an insult is the invective, which is the derogative person-characterizing noun. They occur in many variants but the most frequent ones are thief and whore. Insults among city people were commonly interpreted as truth-conditional representative speech acts and thereby were viewed as false accusations of various kinds. In the academic world, however, the truth value of the insult was of minor importance. The speech act was regarded mainly as an expressive utterance of anger and frustration. Through a comparison of the city and university judicial records, it is shown that the patterns of insults reveal a synchronic sociolinguistic variation which reveals an ongoing semantic process in which primarily concrete, objective meanings come to fulfill increasingly interpersonal and pragmatic speech functions.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Falk, Erik, 1962-
(författare)
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Verbala förolämpningar i 1630-talets Uppsala : En historisk talaktsanalys
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis investigates verbal insults recorded in judicial protocols in the Swedish university townUppsaladuring the 1630s. The aim of the study is to analyze insults as linguistic formulations and social acts in Early Modern Swedish society. The methodology of the study is guided by speech act theory and ethnography of communication in order to examine the lexical realizations of insults and verbal action in different speech communities.From a total of 652 protocols in two series of records from the city court and the university council inUppsalain the 1630s, sections of text were excerpted that registered insults. The material under investigation comprises 179 cases that contained 276 insults. The descriptive meta-linguistic expressions for insults are rich as well as varied, and the performed insults are reported with or without invectives and as direct or indirect speech.Clear patterns emerged in the investigation by performing various semantic-, pragmatic-, and discourse-level analyses of the judicial records. Insults among city people were commonly interpreted as truth-conditional representative speech acts and thereby were viewed as false accusations of various kinds. In the academic world, however, the truth value of the insult was of minor importance. The speech act was regarded mainly as an expressive utterance of anger and frustration.Through a comparison of the city and university judicial records, it is shown that the patterns of insults reveal a general semantic process in which primarily concrete, objective meanings come to fulfill increasingly interpersonal and pragmatic speech functions.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Falk Windisch, Hannes, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of chromium evaporation and oxidation on interconnect steels at 650-850°C
- 2013
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Ingår i: ECS Transactions. - : The Electrochemical Society. - 1938-5862 .- 1938-6737. ; 57:1, s. 2225-2233
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chromium evaporation and oxide scale growth are two important degradation mechanisms in SOFCs when chromia-forming alloys are used as the interconnect material. In this paper the influence of temperature on both mechanisms were studied. Isothermal exposures were carried out for 24, 168 and 500h at 650, 750 and 850°C in an air-3%H2O atmosphere. In the second part uncoated and metallic nano-coated samples were exposed for 3000h. This study clearly points out the relevance of Cr-evaporation at reduced temperatures and the importance of high quality coatings not only to protect the cell from cathode poisoning but also to reduce the risk of Cr-depletion within the interconnect steel.
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| 10. |
- Femel, Julia, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Therapeutic vaccination against fibronectin ED-A attenuates progression of metastatic breast cancer.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Oncotarget. - : Impact Journals, LLC. - 1949-2553. ; 5:23, s. 12418-12427
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Therapeutic vaccination targeting self-molecules is an attractive alternative to monoclonal antibody-based therapies for cancer and various inflammatory diseases. However, development of cancer vaccines targeting self-molecules has proven difficult. One complicating factor is that tumor cells have developed strategies to escape recognition by the immune system. Antigens specifically expressed by the tumor vasculature can therefore provide alternative targets. The alternatively spliced extra domain-A and B (ED-A and ED-B) of fibronectin are expressed during vasculogenesis in the embryo, but essentially undetectable under normal conditions in the adult. However, these domains are re-expressed during tumor angiogenesis and matrix remodeling, which renders them highly interesting for targeted cancer therapies. Using the MMTV-PyMT transgenic model of metastatic mammary carcinoma, we show that tumor burden can be significantly decreased by immunization against ED-A in a therapeutic setting. Furthermore, we found that in mice carrying anti-ED-A antibodies the number of metastases was reduced. ED-A immunization increased infiltration of macrophages and compromised tumor blood vessel function. These findings implicate an attack of the tumor vasculature by the immune system, through a polyclonal antibody response. We conclude that tumor vascular antigens are promising candidates for development of therapeutic vaccines targeting growth of primary tumors as well as disseminated disease.
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