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- Dahl-Jensen, D., et al.
(författare)
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Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 493:7433, s. 489-494
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Efforts to extract a Greenland ice core with a complete record of the Eemian interglacial (130,000 to 115,000 years ago) have until now been unsuccessful. The response of the Greenland ice sheet to the warmer-than-present climate of the Eemian has thus remained unclear. Here we present the new North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling ('NEEM') ice core and show only a modest ice-sheet response to the strong warming in the early Eemian. We reconstructed the Eemian record from folded ice using globally homogeneous parameters known from dated Greenland and Antarctic ice-core records. On the basis of water stable isotopes, NEEM surface temperatures after the onset of the Eemian (126,000 years ago) peaked at 8 +/- 4 degrees Celsius above the mean of the past millennium, followed by a gradual cooling that was probably driven by the decreasing summer insolation. Between 128,000 and 122,000 years ago, the thickness of the northwest Greenland ice sheet decreased by 400 +/- 250 metres, reaching surface elevations 122,000 years ago of 130 +/- 300 metres lower than the present. Extensive surface melt occurred at the NEEM site during the Eemian, a phenomenon witnessed when melt layers formed again at NEEM during the exceptional heat of July 2012. With additional warming, surface melt might become more common in the future.
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| 2. |
- Rubulis, Aigars, et al.
(författare)
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Ischemia-induced repolarization response in relation to the size and location of the ischemic myocardium during short-lasting coronary occlusion in humans.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Electrocardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-0736 .- 1532-8430. ; 43:2, s. 104-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The ventricular repolarization (VR) response to short-lasting coronary occlusion has been characterized by 3-dimensional vectorcardiography (VCG) in humans; the T vector loop becomes distorted and more circular. The purpose of this study was to relate these changes to the size of the myocardium at risk (MAR) and its location. METHODS: Continuous VCG was applied during transient coronary occlusion in 35 elective angioplasty patients, and the size of the MAR was estimated by single-photon emission computed tomography. Three VR aspects were assessed at baseline vs maximum ischemia: the ST segment, the T vector angles, and the T vector loop morphology. RESULTS: The T loop morphology changes were significantly associated with MAR size, but also dependent of its location. In contrast, the early phase of VR reflected by the ST segment responded to acute ischemia in relation to the MAR size independent of location. CONCLUSION: The VR changes were related both to the size and the location of the MAR and most pronounced during occlusion of the left anterior descending artery.
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| 3. |
- Steen-Larsen, H. C., et al.
(författare)
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Continuous monitoring of summer surface water vapor isotopic composition above the Greenland Ice Sheet
- 2013
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7324. ; 13:9, s. 4815-4828
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present here surface water vapor isotopic measurements conducted from June to August 2010 at the NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Drilling Project) camp, NW Greenland (77.45 degrees N, 51.05 degrees W, 2484 m a.s.l.). Measurements were conducted at 9 different heights from 0.1m to 13.5m above the snow surface using two different types of cavity-enhanced near-infrared absorption spectroscopy analyzers. For each instrument specific protocols were developed for calibration and drift corrections. The inter-comparison of corrected results from different instruments reveals excellent reproducibility, stability, and precision with a standard deviations of similar to 0.23 parts per thousand for delta O-18 and similar to 1.4 parts per thousand for delta D. Diurnal and intraseasonal variations show strong relationships between changes in local surface humidity and water vapor isotopic composition, and with local and synoptic weather conditions. This variability probably results from the interplay between local moisture fluxes, linked with firn-air exchanges, boundary layer dynamics, and large-scale moisture advection. Particularly remarkable are several episodes characterized by high (> 40 parts per thousand) surface water vapor deuterium excess. Air mass back-trajectory calculations from atmospheric analyses and water tagging in the LMDZiso (Laboratory of Meteorology Dynamics Zoom-isotopic) atmospheric model reveal that these events are associated with predominant Arctic air mass origin. The analysis suggests that high deuterium excess levels are a result of strong kinetic fractionation during evaporation at the sea-ice margin.
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| 4. |
- Bajraktari, Gani, et al.
(författare)
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Combined electrical and global markers of dyssynchrony predict clinical response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1401-7431 .- 1651-2006. ; 48:5, s. 304-310
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM: To assess potential additional value of global left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony markers in predicting cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) response in heart failure (HF) patients. METHODS: We included 103 HF patients (mean age 67 +/- 12 years, 83% male) who fulfilled the guidelines criteria for CRT treatment. All patients had undergone full clinical assessment, NT-proBNP and echocardiographic examination. Global LV dyssynchrony was assessed using total isovolumic time (t-IVT) and Tei index. On the basis of reduction in the NYHA class after CRT, patients were divided into responders and non-responders. RESULTS: Prolonged t-IVT [0.878 (range, 0.802-0.962), p = 0.005], long QRS duration [0.978 (range, 0.960-0.996), p = 0.02] and high tricuspid regurgitation pressure drop [1.047 (range, 1.001-1.096), p = 0.046] independently predicted response to CRT. A t-IVT >= 11.6 s/min was 67% sensitive and 62% specifi c (AUC 0.69, p = 0.001) in predicting CRT response. Respective values for a QRS >= 151 ms were 66% and 62% (AUC 0.65, p = 0.01). Combining the two variables had higher specifi city (88%) in predicting CRT response. In atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, only prolonged t-IVT [0.690 (range, 0.509 -0.937), p = 0.03] independently predicted CRT response. CONCLUSION: Combining prolonged t-IVT and the conventionally used broad QRS duration has a significantly higher specifi city in identifying patients likely to respond to CRT. Moreover, in AF patients, only prolonged t-IVT independently predicted CRT response.
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| 8. |
- Diamant, Ulla-Britt, 1955-, et al.
(författare)
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Electrophysiological phenotype in the LQTS mutations Y111C and R518X in the KCNQ1 gene
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of applied physiology. - : American Physiological Society. - 8750-7587 .- 1522-1601. ; 115:10, s. 1423-1432
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Long QT syndrome is the prototypical disorder of ventricular repolarization (VR), and a genotype-phenotype relation is postulated. Furthermore, although increased VR heterogeneity (dispersion) may be important in the arrhythmogenicity in long QT syndrome, this hypothesis has not been evaluated in humans and cannot be tested by conventional electrocardiography. In contrast, vectorcardiography allows assessment of VR heterogeneity and is more sensitive to VR alterations than electrocardiography. Therefore, vectorcardiography was used to compare the electrophysiological phenotypes of two mutations in the LQT1 gene with different in vitro biophysical properties, and with LQT2 mutation carriers and healthy control subjects. We included 99 LQT1 gene mutation carriers (57 Y111C, 42 R518X) and 19 LQT2 gene mutation carriers. Potassium channel function is in vitro most severely impaired in Y111C. The control group consisted of 121 healthy subjects. QRS, QT, and T-peak to T-end (Tp-e) intervals, measures of the QRS vector and T vector and their relationship, and T-loop morphology parameters were compared at rest. Apart from a longer heart rate-corrected QT interval (QT heart rate corrected according to Bazett) in Y111C mutation carriers, there were no significant differences between the two LQT1 mutations. No signs of increased VR heterogeneity were observed among the LQT1 and LQT2 mutation carriers. QT heart rate corrected according to Bazett and Tp-e were longer, and the Tp-e-to-QT ratio greater in LQT2 than in LQT1 and the control group. In conclusion, there was a marked discrepancy between in vitro potassium channel function and in vivo electrophysiological properties in these two LQT1 mutations. Together with previous observations of the relatively low risk for clinical events in Y111C mutation carriers, our results indicate need for cautiousness in predicting in vivo electrophysiological properties and the propensity for clinical events based on in vitro assessment of ion channel function alone.
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| 9. |
- Diamant, Ulla-Britt, 1955-
(författare)
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Long QT syndrome : studies of diagnostic methods
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: The Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is a hereditary heart disease with risk of malignant ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death. Despite our increased knowledge about genotype and phenotype correlation we still rely on the 12-lead ECG for assessment of the QT interval and the T-wave morphology for diagnosis and risk stratification. Intra- and -inter individual variability in manually QT measurement and, e.g., difficulties in defining the end of the T-wave may impair the diagnosis of LQTS. Increased heterogeneity in ventricular repolarization (VR) may be an important factor in the arrhythmogenicity in cases of LQTS. In a LQTS founder population the same mutation is carried by numerous individuals in many families which provide a unique opportunity to study diagnostic methods, risk assessment, VR and the correlation between genotype and phenotype.Methods: Resting 12-lead ECG and vectorcardiogram (VCG) were recorded in 134 LQTS mutation carriers and 121 healthy controls, to investigate the capability and precision in measuring the QT interval. For assessment of the VR, VCG was compared in individuals with mutations in the KCNQ1 and KCNH2 gene. Genealogical and geographic studies were performed in 37 index cases and their relatives to determine if Swedish carriers of the Y111C mutation in the KCNQ1 gene constitute a founder population. To confirm kinship, haplotype analysis was performed in 26 of the 37 index cases. The age and prevalence of the Y111C mutation were calculated in families sharing a common haplotype.Results: VCG by automatic measurement of the QT interval provided the best combination of sensitivity (90%) and specificity (89%) in the diagnosis of LQTS. VCG showed no consistent pattern of increased VR heterogeneity among KCNQ1 and KCNH2 mutation carriers. Living carriers of the Y111C mutation shared a common genetic (haplotype), genealogic and geographic origin. The age of the Y111C mutation was approximately 600 years. The prevalence of living carriers of the Y111C mutation in the mid-northern Sweden was estimated to 1:1,500-3,000.Conclusion: We have shown that VCG provides a valuable contribution to the diagnosis and risk assessment of LQTS in adults and children. No consistent pattern of increased VR heterogeneity was found among the LQTS mutation carriers. The identified Swedish LQTS founder population will be a valuable source to future LQTS research and may contribute to increase our understanding of LQTS and the correlation of phenotype, genotype and modifying factors.
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| 10. |
- Diamant, Ulla-Britt, et al.
(författare)
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Two automatic QT algorithms compared with manual measurement in identification of long QT syndrome
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Electrocardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-0736 .- 1532-8430. ; 43:1, s. 25-30
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is an inherited disorder that increases the risk of syncope and malignant ventricular arrhythmias, which may result in sudden death.METHODS: We compared manual measurement by 4 observers (QT(manual)) and 3 computerized measurements for QT interval accuracy in the diagnosis of LQTS: 1. QT measured from the vector magnitude calculated from the 3 averaged orthogonal leads X, Y, and Z (QTVCG) and classified using the same predefined QTc cut-points for classification of QT prolongation as in manual measurements; 2. QT measured by a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) program (QTECG) and subsequently classified using the same cut-points as in (1) above; 3. The same QT value as in (2) above, automatically classified by a 12-lead ECG program with thresholds for QT prolongation adjusted for age and sex (QTinterpret). The population consisted of 94 genetically confirmed carriers of KCNQ1 (LQT1) and KCNH2 (LQT2) mutations and a combined control group of 28 genetically confirmed noncarriers and 66 unrelated healthy volunteers.RESULTS: QT(VCG) provided the best combination of sensitivity (89%) and specificity (90%) in diagnosing LQTS, with 0.948 as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. The evaluation of QT measurement by the 4 observers revealed a high interreader variability, and only 1 of 4 observers showed acceptable level of agreement in LQTS mutation carrier identification (kappa coefficient >0.75).CONCLUSION: Automatic QT measurement by the Mida1000/CoroNet system (Ortivus AB, Danderyd, Sweden) is an accurate, efficient, and easily applied method for initial screening for LQTS.
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