| 1. |
- Bönlökke, J. H., et al.
(författare)
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Upper-airway inflammation in relation to dust spiked with aldehydes or glucan
- 2006
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - : Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - 0355-3140 .- 1795-990X. ; 32:5, s. 374-382
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives Organic dust is associated with adverse effects on human airways. This study was done to investigate whether the addition of β-(1,3)-D glucan or aldehydes to office dust causes enhanced inflammation in human airways. Methods Thirty-six volunteers were exposed randomly to clean air, office dust, dust spiked with glucan, and dust spiked with aldehydes. The three dust exposures contained between 332 and 379 µg dust/m3. Spiking with 1 gram of dust was done with 10 milligrams of glucan or 0.1 microliters of aldehydes. Acoustic rhinometry, rhinostereometry, nasal lavage, and lung function tests were applied. Results After the exposures to dust spiked with the glucan and aldehydes, the nasal volume decreased (–1.33 and –1.39 cm3 (mean), respectively) when compared with the –0.9 cm3 after clean air or office dust (P=0.036 for a difference in decrease between exposures). After 2–3 hours the aldehyde-spiked dust caused a 0.6-mm swelling of the inferior turbinate, and glucan-spiked dust produced a 0.7-mm swelling (P=0.039 for a difference in the swelling between the four exposures). The preexposure nasal lavage cleaned off the mucosa, and lower cytokine concentrations were found after all of the exposures. For interleukin-8, this decrease in concentration was smaller after the dust exposures spiked with glucan and aldehydes (–2.9 and –25.8 pg/ml, respectively) than after office dust or clean air (–65.9 and –74.1 pg/ml, respectively) (P=0.042). The nasal eosinophil cell concentration increased after exposure to dust spiked with glucan (P=0.045). Conclusions β-(1,3)-D glucan and aldehydes in office dust enhance the inflammatory effects of dust on the upper airways
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| 2. |
- Förster, A, et al.
(författare)
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Baseline characterization of the CO2SINK geological storage site at Ketzin, Germany
- 2006
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Ingår i: Environmental Geosciences. - : American Association of Petroleum Geologists AAPG/Datapages. - 1075-9565 .- 1526-0984. ; 13:3, s. 145-161
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since April 2004, preparatory work prior to CO2injection hasbeen conducted in the CO2SINK Project, the European Union’sfirst research and development activity on the in-situ testing ofgeological storage of CO2near the town of Ketzin, Germany.Carbon dioxide will be injected into a saline aquifer of the TriassicStuttgart Formation in an anticlinal structure of the northeastGerman Basin. The drilling of one injection and two observationwells will commence at the end of 2006. The predrilling phasefocuses on the baseline geological parameters of the anticline. TheStuttgart Formation is lithologically heterogeneous; it consists ofsandy channel-(string)-facies rocks, with good reservoir propertiesalternating with muddy flood-plain-facies rocks of poor reservoirquality. Playa-type rocks form the immediate cap rock above theCO2SINK reservoir. A geostatistical approach has been applied todescribe the reservoir architecture between and beyond well con-trol. This model forms the basis for the generation of reservoir-dynamic models of CO2injection that assist in the planning ofinjection operations and in the understanding of CO2plume evo-lution. A verification of the geometry of the reservoir and thestructural situation of its overburden is expected from a three-dimensional baseline seismic survey that was conducted in theautumn of 2005. Laboratory experiments under simulated in-situconditions were performed to evaluate the geophysical signatureof rocks saturated with CO2. The chemical composition of thegroundwater and the CO2flux in the soil were analyzed across theKetzin anticline, providing the baseline for a monitoring programduring and after injection of CO2, targeted at the detection ofpotential CO2leakage from the storage reservoir.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Leps, J, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term effectiveness of sowing high and low diversity seed mixtures to enhance plant community development on ex-arable fields
- 2007
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Ingår i: Applied Vegetation Science. - 1402-2001. ; 10:1, s. 97-110
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Questions: How is succession on ex-arable land affected by sowing high and low diversity mixtures of grassland species as compared to natural succession? How long do effects persist? Location: Experimental plots installed in the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Methods: The experiment was established on ex-arable land, with five blocks, each containing three 10 m x 10 m experiment tal plots: natural colonization, a low- (four species) and high-diversity (15 species) seed mixture. Species composition and biomass was followed for eight years. Results: The sown plants considerably affected the whole successional pathway and the effects persisted during the whole eight year period. Whilst the proportion of sown species (characterized by their cover) increased during the study period, the number of sown species started to decrease from the third season onwards. Sowing caused suppression of natural colonizing species, and the sown plots had more biomass. These effects were on average larger in the high diversity mixtures. However, the low diversity replicate sown with the mixture that produced the largest biomass or largest suppression of natural colonizers fell within the range recorded at the five replicates of the high diversity plots. The natural colonization plots usually had the highest total species richness and lowest productivity at the end of the observation period. Conclusions: The effect of sowing demonstrated dispersal limitation as a factor controlling the rate of early secondary succession. Diversity was important primarily for its 'insurance effect': the high diversity mixtures were always able to compensate for the failure of some species.
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| 5. |
- Ritzén, E Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Nordic consensus on treatment of undescended testes.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Acta Paediatrica. - : Wiley. - 0803-5253 .- 1651-2227. ; 96:5, s. 638-643
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To reach consensus among specialists from the Nordic countries on the present state-of-the-art in treatment of undescended testicles. Methods: A group of specialists in testicular physiology, paediatric surgery/urology, endocrinology, andrology, pathology and anaesthesiology from all the Nordic countries met for two days. Before the meeting, reviews of the literature had been prepared by the participants. Recommendations: The group came to the following unanimous conclusions: (1) In general, hormonal treatment is not recommended, considering the poor immediate results and the possible long term adverse effects on spermatogenesis. Thus, surgery is to be preferred. (2) Orchiopexy should be done between 6 and 12 months of age, or upon diagnosis, if that occurs later. (3) Orchiopexy before age one year should only be done at centres with both paediatric surgeons/urologists and paediatric anaesthesiologists. (4) If a testis is found to be undescended at any age after 6 months, the patient should be referred for surgery—to paediatric rather than general surgeons/urologists if the boy is less than one year old or if he has bilateral or non-palpable testes, or if he has got relapse of cryptorchidism.
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| 6. |
- Sperling, L., et al.
(författare)
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Detection of chromosomal abnormalities, congenital abnormalities and transfusion syndrome in twins
- 2007
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Ingår i: Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. - : Wiley. - 1469-0705 .- 0960-7692. ; 29:5, s. 517-526
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To evaluate the outcome of screening for structural malformations in twins and the outcome of screening for twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) among monochorionic twins through a number of ultrasound scans from 12 weeks' gestation. Methods Enrolled into this prospective multicenter observational study were women with twin pregnancies diagnosed before 14 + 6 gestational weeks. The monochorionic pregnancies were scanned every second week until 23 weeks in order to rule out early TTTS. All pregnancies had an anomaly scan in week 19 and fetal echocardiography in week 21 that was performed by specialists in fetal echocardiography. Zygosity was determined by DNA analysis in all twin pairs with the same sex. Results Among the 495 pregnancies the prenatal detection rate for severe structural abnormalities including chromosomal aneuploidies was 83% by the combination of a first-trimester nuchal translucency scan and the anomaly scan in week 19. The incidence of severe structural abnormalities was 2.6% and two-thirds of these anomalies were cardiac. There was no significant difference between the incidence in monozygotic and dizygotic twins, nor between twins conceived naturally or those conceived by assisted reproduction. The incidence of TTTS was 23% from 12 weeks until delivery, and all those monochorionic twin pregnancies that miscarried had signs of TTTS. Conclusion Twin pregnancies have an increased risk of congenital malformations and one out of four monochorionic pregnancies develops TTTS. Ultrasound screening to assess chorionicity and follow-up of monochorionic pregnancies to detect signs of TTTS, as well as malformation screening, are therefore essential in the antenatal care of twin pregnancies. Copyright (c) 2007 IS UOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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| 7. |
- Sperling, L, et al.
(författare)
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How to identify twins at low risk of spontaneous preterm delivery
- 2005
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Ingår i: Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. - : Wiley. - 1469-0705 .- 0960-7692. ; 26:2, s. 138-144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate transvaginal sonograpbic assessment of cervical length at 23 weeks as a screening test for spontaneous preterm delivery in order to define a cut-off value that could be used to select twin pregnancies at low risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. Methods In a prospective multicenter study of 383 twin pregnancies included before 14 + 6 weeks a cervical scan with measurement of the cervical length was performed at 23 weeks' gestation. The results were blinded for the clinicians if the cervical length was >= 15 mm. The rates of spontaneous delivery at different cut-off levels of cervical length were determined. Results Eighty-nine percent of the twins had dichorionic placentation and 58% were conceived after assisted reproduction. The rate of spontaneous preterm delivery was 2.3% (1.5% for dichorionic (DC) and 9.1% for (MC) monochorionic twins) before 28 weeks and 18.5% (17.1% for DC and 29.5% for MC twins) before 35 weeks. The screen-positive rate was 5% for a cervical length <= 20, 7-8% at <= 25, 16-17% at <= 30 and 34-48% at <= 35mm depending on chorionicity. The false-negative rate (1 - negative predictive value) ranged from 1.2% at 28 weeks to 18.6% at 35 weeks for all twins. Receiver-operating characteristics curves showed that the sensitivity increased with declining gestation I age with cut-off levels of highest accuracy at 21 mm for 28 weeks and 29 mm for 33 weeks. Conclusions Cervical length measurement at 23 weeks of gestation is a good screening test for predicting twins at low risk of preterm and very preterm delivery, especially in DC twins. The present results suggest that a cut-off of 25 mm should be recommended.
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| 8. |
- Sperling, L., et al.
(författare)
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Naturally conceived twins with monochorionic placentation have the highest risk of fetal loss
- 2006
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Ingår i: Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology. - : Wiley. - 1469-0705 .- 0960-7692. ; 28:5, s. 644-652
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective The aim of this study was to estimate the rate of fetal loss in dichorionic (DC) and monochorionic (MC) twin pregnancies stratified according to zygosity and method of conception. Methods In a prospective multicenter observational study women with a twin pregnancy bad an ultrasound scan before 14 + 6 weeks' gestation in order to determine chorionicity. The fetal loss rate, the perinatal, neonatal and infant mortality rates and the frequency of very preterm labor were estimated for the different types of twin. Results Among the 495 pregnancies (421 DC and 74 MC) 229 (46%) were conceived naturally and 266 (54%) by assisted reproduction (AR). Outcome data for 945 liveborn babies were obtained. The spontaneous miscarriage rate before 24 weeks' gestation was 10.9% (7164) among naturally conceived MC compared to 3.0% (51165) for naturally conceived DC twins (P < 0.05). For twins conceived by AR the corresponding figures were 0% (0/10) and 0.4% (1/256). The odds ratio (OR) for very preterm birth - before 28 weeks'gestation - was 4.2 for MC twins compared to DC twins. The relative risk of fetal loss or death among DC twins was 20% of the risk for MC twins. Conclusion The risk of fetal loss, very preterm delivery and neonatal/infant death is significantly higher among twins with MC compared to DC placentation. Twins conceived by AR have a much lower risk of MC placentation. The risk of losing one or both twins seems higher among naturally conceived twins compared to twins conceived by AR, despite the fact that the maternal age was higher among the mothers of the AR twins. Copyright (c) 2006 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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