| 1. |
- Arehag, Marie, 1952, et al.
(författare)
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Outcomes-focused evaluation of engineering programs - Inhibitor or stimulant for improvement?
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 9th International CDIO Conference, Cambridge, USA.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Sweden, a new model for quality evaluation of higher education is being introduced. It is internationally unique. A very strong emphasis on assessing the quality of an entire education through its outcomes, defined by samples of final degree reports, is perhaps the most original feature of the model. This is claimed to enable a direct assessment of quality rather than the indirect assessment used in conventional models. The model has, however, been intensively debated during its development and first years of use. The aims of this paper are first to evaluate in what ways and to what extent the Swedish national model for evaluation of higher education contributes to the quality improvement of the evaluated programs, and second to describe and evaluate an approach for organizing the project to prepare the evaluation documentation for a large-scale education evaluation. The paper concludes that on an overall and averaged level, the project participants estimated that the model will contribute to positive effects. Specific areas are identified including ethics and focus of final degree reports. However, there is a strong variance in the data: There is a substantial fraction of participants who have not identified any improvements or weak spots, and who do not think that the evaluation preparation will positively affect education quality development. Chalmers University of Technology chose to approach the evaluation with a centrally managed project. The setup gave possibilities for rationalization through common training, supporting materials, a common document database and for information sharing across departmental boundaries. Nevertheless, the project was very time-consuming with an average of 540 hours spent for each program/degree.
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| 2. |
- Hansson, Johan, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Quality of life in peritoneal carcinomatosis after cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy
- 2012
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) plus intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC) is considered the most optimal treatment for peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). Health-related quality of life (HRQL) after treatment is largely unknown. The aims were to assess HRQL in patients with PC treated with CRS and IPC and to analyse the influence of clinical variables on HRQL.Methods:HRQL was assessed prospectively between November 2001 and March 2005 in 64 consecutive patients with PC through two different self-administered instruments, EORTC QLQ-C30 v3.0 (QLQ-C30) and the SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36), preoperatively, and after 3 and 8 months. Results:For QLQ-C30, 44 (69%) and for SF-36, 42 (66%) out of 64 patients had a complete follow-up. Most scales were worsened at baseline compared to reference in both instruments. HRQL was reduced at 3-months in QLQ-C30 (physical, role and emotional functioning) and in SF-36 (physical summary score). At 8-months, all scales returned to baseline in QLQ-C30, except physical functioning which was still reduced and dyspnoea that was worsened. In SF-36, all values returned to baseline levels. At 8-months, presence of a stoma worsened social functioning and a high peritoneal cancer index decreased social functioning and global QoL, the use of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy and 30-days postoperative morbidity had no impact on HRQL. Conclusion: CRS with IPC results in reasonable short-term HRQL despite high initial morbidity and an initial decrease in HRQL parameters. The study adds to the notion that this treatment appears beneficial in light of probable life prolongation, despite considerable toxicity.
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| 3. |
- Hansson, Johan, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Single-photon emission computed tomography for prediction of treatment results in sequential intraperitoneal chemotherapy at peritoneal carcinomatosis
- 2012
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Ingår i: Annals of Surgery. - 0003-4932 .- 1528-1140.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Cytoreductive surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC) treatment can improve survival in peritoneal carcinomatosis. One of the reasons for failure of sequential postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy (SPIC) is lack of distribution of the chemotherapy in the peritoneal cavity. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) as a predictor of successful SPIC treatment and prognosis. A secondary aim was to assess the relationship between SPECT, feasibility of SPIC, and clinical variables.Methods: Fifty-one patients (mean age 52 years, range 14-74, 20 women) were treated with Cytoreductive surgery and SPIC. SPECT studies with intraperitoneal (i.p.) Technetium-99 via a Port-a-Cath (PaC) were performed before the second course of treatment. The i.p. distribution was registered as a detected volume (DV) at four different threshold settings (1, 2, 5, and 10%) of the global maximum intensity of the SPECT examination. A calculation model for SPECT and clinical variables was tested.Results: The DV measured in the SPECT examination predicted the number of subsequent SPIC courses. The highest correlation (R=0.45) for DV was in the 2% threshold setting. Patients with a DV2% lower than mean reached two SPIC courses and patients with a DV2% higher than mean reached six SPIC course. Height correlated to higher DV and a higher number of SPIC courses. Patients with a height lower than mean reached a DV2% at 3930 ml and patients higher than mean reached a DV2% at 5507 ml. A taller person could tolerate more SPIC courses (R=0.28) and patients with a height higher than mean reached six SPIC courses; patients with a height lower than mean reached four courses. There was no correlation between DV and survival.Conclusion: The feasibility of performing SPIC without further surgical intervention can be predicted by SPECT, and it might therefore be an instrument to select which patients should preferably be treated with alternative therapy.
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| 4. |
- Johansson, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease: Diagnostic Performance in a Homogeneous Mono-Center Population
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 24:3, s. 537-546
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers amyloid-beta (A beta)(1-42), T-tau, and P-tau have good diagnostic accuracy for clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, in multi-center studies, the predictive values of the CSF biomarkers have been lower, possibly due to differences in procedures for lumbar puncture and CSF handling and storage, and to differences in patient populations, clinical evaluations, and diagnostic procedures. Here we investigate the diagnostic accuracy of CSF biomarkers in a well defined homogeneous mono-center population. We also evaluate an extended panel of amyloid related biomarkers. Sixty consecutive patients admitted for cognitive impairment to a memory clinic were recruited. The participants included patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosed with AD upon follow-up (n = 32), patients with stable MCI (n = 13), patients with other dementias diagnosed at primary evaluation or upon follow-up (n = 15), and healthy controls (n = 20). CSF was analyzed for A beta(1-42), T-tau, P-tau, A beta(X-38), A beta(X-40), A beta(X-42), sA beta PP alpha, and sA beta PP beta. In multivariate analysis, the core biomarkers A beta(1-42), T-tau, and P-tau demonstrated a high ability to diagnose AD versus the combined groups of controls and stable MCI, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.97 (95% CI 0.93-1.00, p < 0.0001). The additional biomarkers only marginally increased AUROC to 0.98 (95% CI 0.95-1.00, p < 0.0001), this increase mainly mediated by A beta(X-42). In conclusion, CSF biomarkers A beta(1-42), T-tau, and P-tau have very high diagnostic accuracy in a well defined cohort of untreated patients, demonstrating the excellent potency of CSF biomarkers to identify pathological processes in AD when a stringent analytical protocol is used.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Johansson, Per, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Mild dementia is associated with increased adrenal secretion of cortisol and precursor sex steroids in women.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Clinical endocrinology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2265 .- 0300-0664. ; 75:3, s. 301-308
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context Sex steroid levels decrease with increasing age, but little is known whether this is of importance for the age-related decline in cognitive function. Design and patients A cross-sectional study of 50 (26 men) consecutive patients under primary evaluation of cognitive impairment (D group) and 18 (9 men) matched healthy controls (C group). Measurements Sex steroid and precursor levels were determined in serum and, when measurable, in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (LC-MS). Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and cortisol concentrations were measured using conventional assays. Results Patients in the D group had higher 24-h urine cortisol levels and increased serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulphate ester dihydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), androsterone (ADT), and oestrone (E1) and its sulphate ester E1S, compared with the controls. When men and women were analysed separately, increased serum concentrations of E1 and E1S were observed in both D men and D women, whereas increased levels of other sex steroids and cortisol were seen only in D women. Conclusions In both D men and women, serum E1 and E1S levels were increased, whereas other changes were gender specific and only seen in D women. Further studies are needed to determine whether these changes are a cause of, or merely a consequence of, cognitive impairment in elderly subjects.
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| 7. |
- Johansson, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Reduced cerebrospinal fluid level of thyroxine in patients with Alzheimer's disease
- 2013
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Ingår i: Psychoneuroendocrinology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-3360 .- 0306-4530. ; 38:7, s. 1058-1066
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Little is known of the association between thyroid hormones in the central nervous system and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We determined thyroid hormone levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a well-defined homogeneous mono-center population. Methods: Fifty-nine consecutive patients under primary evaluation for cognitive impairment were recruited. The participants included patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosed with AD upon follow-up (n = 31), patients with stable MCI (SMCI, n = 13), patients with other dementias (n = 15), and healthy controls (n = 19). Thyroid hormones in serum and CSF and AD biomarkers in CSF were analyzed using established immunochemical assays. Cognitive impairment was estimated using mini-mental state examination (MMSE). Results: Serum levels of free and total thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) were similar in all groups whereas a marginal increase in serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level was observed in the AD patients. The CSF level of total T4 was decreased in patients with AD and other dementias compared to SMCI (both P = 0.01) and healthy controls (both P = 0.001), whereas CSF levels of TSH and total T3 were unchanged. In the total study population, CSF total 14 level correlated positively with MMSE score (r = 0.26, P < 0.05) and negatively with CSF total-tau (T-Tau) level (r = -0.23, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with AD as well as other dementias had signs of mild brain hypothyroidism, which could only to a small extent be detected in serum values. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Mattsson, Niklas, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Cerebrospinal Fluid Microglial Markers in Alzheimer's Disease: Elevated Chitotriosidase Activity but Lack of Diagnostic Utility
- 2011
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Ingår i: NeuroMolecular Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1535-1084 .- 1559-1174. ; 13:2, s. 151-159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Activated microglial cells, which are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system, surround amyloid beta-plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains. Inflammation including microglial activation may contribute in AD pathogenesis, and biomarkers for this process may thus be of value to study AD pathogenesis and might facilitate development of therapies targeting these cells. We therefore examined cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in patients with AD, other dementias, mild cognitive impairment and in healthy controls. Samples were analyzed for markers with known association to macrophage activity, including chitotriosidase, YKL-40 (CHI3L1, HC gp-39) and chemokine CC motif ligand 2 (CCL2, MCP1). Patients with AD had higher chitotriosidase activity than controls and patients with stable mild cognitive impairment, consistent with the presence of activated microglial cells in AD brains, but with large overlaps between groups. CCL2 and YKL-40 concentrations did not differ among groups. Microglial markers are unlikely to be useful for AD diagnosis, but might be useful for identification of distinct subgroups of patients, and for the development and implementation of drugs targeting microglial pathology.
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| 10. |
- Mattsson, Niklas, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Converging Pathways of Chromogranin and Amyloid Metabolism in the Brain
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 20:4, s. 1039-1048
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Much is unknown regarding the regulation of Alzheimer-related amyloid-beta protein precursor (A beta PP)-processing in the human central nervous system. It has been hypothesized that amyloidogenic A beta PP-processing preferentially occurs in the regulated secretory pathway of neurons. To test this hypothesis we looked for correlations of A beta PP-derived molecules in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with chromogranin (Cg) derived peptides, representing the regulated secretion. Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD, N = 32), multiple sclerosis (MS, N = 50), and healthy controls (N = 70) were enrolled. CSF was analyzed for the amyloid peptides A beta(1-42), A beta(x-42), A beta(x-40), A beta(x-38), alpha-cleaved soluble A beta PP (sA beta PP alpha), beta-cleaved soluble A beta PP (sA beta PP beta), and peptides derived from CgB and SgII (Secretogranin-II, CgC). We investigated CSF levels of the protease BACE1, which processes A beta PP into A beta, in relation to Cg-levels. Finally, we measured Cg levels in cell media from untreated and BACE1-inhibited SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. CSF Cg levels correlated to sA beta PP and A beta peptides in AD, MS, and controls, and to CSF BACE1. Cell medium from BACE1-inhibited cells had decreased CgB levels. These results suggest that a large part of A beta PP in the human central nervous system is processed in the regulated secretory pathway of neurons.
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