| 1. |
- Löfgren, Sara E, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic association of miRNA-146a with systemic lupus erythematosus in Europeans through decreased expression of the gene
- 2012
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Ingår i: Genes and Immunity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-5470 .- 1466-4879. ; 13:3, s. 268-274
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A recent genome-wide association study revealed a variant (rs2431697) in an intergenic region, between the pituitary tumor-transforming 1 (PTTG1) and microRNA (miR-146a) genes, associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility. Here, we analyzed with a case-control design this variant and other candidate polymorphisms in this region together with expression analysis in order to clarify to which gene this association is related. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs2431697, rs2910164 and rs2277920 were genotyped by TaqMan assays in 1324 SLE patients and 1453 healthy controls of European ancestry. Genetic association was statistically analyzed using Unphased. Gene expression of PTTG1, the miRNAs miR-3142 and primary and mature forms of miR-146a in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. Of the three variants analyzed, only rs2431697 was genetically associated with SLE in Europeans. Gene expression analysis revealed that this SNP was not associated with PTTG1 expression levels, but with the microRNA-146a, where the risk allele correlates with lower expression of the miRNA. We replicated the genetic association of rs2341697 with SLE in a case-control study in Europeans and demonstrated that the risk allele of this SNP correlates with a downregulation of the miRNA 146a, potentially important in SLE etiology.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Ismoilov, Abbos, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating the dynamic behavior of a mid-sized forestry machine on sloped rough terrain
- 2014
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Ingår i: 18th International Conference of the ISTVS.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-performing forestry machines, such as forwarders, must be able to handle large loads and to operate rough and sloped terrains. Present forwarders are almost exclusively six-or eight-wheeled machines with pairs of wheels mounted on bogies. Consequently, they have very limited chassis damping and levelling capabilities. Traditional forestry machine chassis design is unfavourable from an active machine levelling and operator full body vibration control standpoint. This paper analyses the dynamic behaviour of an existing mid-sized forwarder. The multi-objective concept performance is studied with multi-body simulations and response analysis. The main focus is to identify critical design issues of the machine, specifically while traveling in sloped terrain, and to compare its off-road performance with a new pendulum arm suspended forwarder, referred to as the XT28 machine. The main purpose of the presented investigation is to suggest criteria for assessing the performance of off-road forestry machines when operating on sloped and rough terrain. The target is to assist future research on the newly developed XT28 forwarder that is planned to be in the initial full scale test during the coming year.
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| 5. |
- Löfgren, Jenny, 1982-, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of treated and untreated groin hernia in eastern Uganda
- 2014
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Ingår i: British Journal of Surgery. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0007-1323 .- 1365-2168. ; 101:6, s. 728-734
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Hernia repair is the most commonly performed general surgical procedure worldwide. The prevalence is poorly described in many areas, and access to surgery may not be met in low- and middle-income countries. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of groin hernia and the surgical repair rate in a defined sub-Saharan region of Africa. METHODS: A two-part study on hernia prevalence was carried out in eastern Uganda. The first was a population-based prevalence study with 900 randomly selected men in a Health and Demographic Surveillance Site. The second was a prospective facility-based study of all surgical procedures performed in the two hospitals providing surgical care in the region. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of groin hernia (current hernia or scar after groin hernia surgery) in men was 9·4 per cent. Less than one-third of men with a hernia had been operated on. More than half had no pain symptoms. The youngest age group had an overall prevalence of 2·4 per cent, which increased to 7·9 per cent in the age range 35-54 years, and to 37 per cent among those aged 55 years and above. The groin hernia surgery rate at the hospitals investigated was 17 per 100 000 population per year, which corresponds to a surgical correction rate of less than 1 per cent per year. Based on hospital records, a considerable number of patients having surgery for groin hernia were women (20 of 84 patients, 24 per cent). CONCLUSION: Groin hernia is a common condition in men in this east Ugandan cohort and the annual surgical correction rate is low. Investment is needed to increase surgical capacity in this healthcare system.
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| 6. |
- Sellgren, Ulf, et al.
(författare)
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Model-based verification of a pendulum-arm suspended forwarder for sustainable forestry
- 2014
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Ingår i: 18th International Conference of the ISTVS.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cut-to-length logging (CTL) is a mechanized harvesting process where trees are delimbed and cut to length directly at the stump. CTL is typically a two-machine operation with a harvester felling, delimbing, and bucking trees, and a forwarder transporting the cut logs from the felling area to a landing area that is accessible by trucks, or trains. A major challenge for the manufacturers of forestry machines for CTL logging is to (1) further increase the harvesting and log transportation productivity, e.g. by enabling operation with higher transportation speed and on eco-soils, (2) reduce the damage to the soil, e.g. by controlling the rut depth and preserving the root layer, and (3) reduce the daily vibration dosage for the machine operators, e.g. by active chassis and cabin suspensions. This paper presents a study of a novel all-wheel-drive pendulum-arm suspended medium-sized forestry machine, with several upgrade performance steps, e.g. passive and active chassis suspensions. The dynamic performance of the new concept are quantified with simulations and compared with a present bogie solution. The simulations show an 80% reduction of whole body vibrations with an active suspension system compared to present passive bogie solutions when operating on a standardized test ground.
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| 7. |
- Thomas, Richard D., et al.
(författare)
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The double electrostatic ion ring experiment : A unique cryogenic electrostatic storage ring for merged ion-beams studies
- 2011
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Ingår i: Review of Scientific Instruments. - : AIP Publishing. - 0034-6748 .- 1089-7623. ; 82:6, s. 065112-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We describe the design of a novel type of storage device currently under construction at Stockholm University, Sweden, using purely electrostatic focussing and deflection elements, in which ion beams of opposite charges are confined under extreme high vacuum cryogenic conditions in separate rings and merged over a common straight section. The construction of this double electrostatic ion ring experiment uniquely allows for studies of interactions between cations and anions at low and well-defined internal temperatures and centre-of-mass collision energies down to about 10 K and 10 meV, respectively. Position sensitive multi-hit detector systems have been extensively tested and proven to work in cryogenic environments and these will be used to measure correlations between reaction products in, for example, electron-transfer processes. The technical advantages of using purely electrostatic ion storage devices over magnetic ones are many, but the most relevant are: electrostatic elements which are more compact and easier to construct; remanent fields, hysteresis, and eddy-currents, which are of concern in magnetic devices, are no longer relevant; and electrical fields required to control the orbit of the ions are not only much easier to create and control than the corresponding magnetic fields, they also set no upper mass limit on the ions that can be stored. These technical differences are a boon to new areas of fundamental experimental research, not only in atomic and molecular physics but also in the boundaries of these fields with chemistry and biology. For examples, studies of interactions with internally cold molecular ions will be particular useful for applications in astrophysics, while studies of solvated ionic clusters will be of relevance to aeronomy and biology.
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