| 1. |
- Rewers, Marian, et al.
(författare)
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The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study
- 2008
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Ingår i: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. - : Wiley. - 0077-8923 .- 1749-6632. ; 1150, s. 1-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The etiology of type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains unknown, but a growing body of evidence points to infectious agents and/or components of early childhood diet. The National Institutes of Health has established the TEDDY Study consortium of six clinical centers in the United States and Europe and a data coordinating center to identify environmental factors predisposing to, or protective against, islet autoimmunity and T1D. From 2004-2009, TEDDY will screen more than 360,000 newborns from both the general population and families already affected by T1D to identify an estimated 17,804 children with high-risk HLA-DR,DQ genotypes. Of those, 7,801 (788 first-degree relatives and 7,013 newborns with no family history of T1D) will be enrolled in prospective follow-up beginning before the age of 4.5 months. As of May 2008, TEDDY has screened more than 250,000 newborns and enrolled nearly 5,000 infants--approximately 70% of the final cohort. Participants are seen every 3 months up to 4 years of age, with subsequent visits every 6 months until the subject is 15 years of age. Blood samples are collected at each visit for detection of candidate infectious agents and nutritional biomarkers; monthly stool samples are collected for infectious agents. These samples are saved in a central repository. Primary endpoints include (1) appearance of one or more islet autoantibodies (to insulin, GAD65 or IA-2) confirmed at two consecutive visits; (2) development of T1D. By age 15, an estimated 800 children will develop islet autoimmunity and 400 will progress to T1D; 67 and 27 children have already reached these endpoints.
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| 2. |
- Almqvist, Monica, et al.
(författare)
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Kan man på programnivå vända negativa trender?
- 2008
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Ingår i: 5:e Pedagogiska inspirationskonferensen.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ansökningstalen för Elektroteknikprogrammet, LTH, har sedan IT-kraschen 2000 minskat kraftigt. Detta fenomen är inte unikt för Lund utan kan noteras på Sveriges övriga tekniska högskolor och internationellt i västvärlden. De programansvariga har under flera år varit medvetna om problemen och har på bred front försökt att möta de nya förutsättningarna och vända trenden. Färsk statistik visar att våra åtgärder haft positiv effekt.
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| 3. |
- Bertoni, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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Pilot specifications definition guidelines for the implementation of a KEE solution in the aeronautical domain
- 2008
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Ingår i: CIRP Design Conference 2008. - : Laboratory of Design, Production and Management, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Univ. of Twente. - 9789036526340
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Designing and implementing a Knowledge Management System (KMS) in a Virtual Enterprise is a labour intensive and risky task. Solution prototypes (Pilots) are usually built to verify system effectiveness prior to final implementation. The paper proposes a methodology to guide this Pilot specifications definition process. These guidelines support engineers and knowledge experts in collaboratively defining functionalities, services, software components and performance indicators of the prototype. The methodology has been conceived and applied within the European project VIVACE, to support the development of a Knowledge Enabled Engineering (KEE) system in the aeronautical domain.
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| 4. |
- Bertoni, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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Pilot specifications definition guidelines for the implementation of a KEE solution in the aeronautical domain
- 2008
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Ingår i: CIRP Design Conference 2008. - Enschede : Laboratory of Design, Production and Management, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Univ. of Twente. - 9789036526340
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The design and implementation of a new Knowledge Enabled Engineering (KEE) in the context of a Virtual Enterprise is a labour intensive and risky task. In order to check, before embarking on a full-scale implementation, if the system will satisfy initial expectations, physical prototypes (Pilots) have to be tested in a near real usage environment to obtain qualitative and quantitative information for the final tuning activity. This paper proposes a methodology to guide this Pilot specifications definition process. The main aim of the roadmap proposed is to support the KMS design team in configuring a Pilot solution able to provide valid feedbacks of final system behaviour both from a software and non-software point of view.On one side the methodology guides the definition of Pilot implementation specifications from a technical perspective. It helps engineers and knowledge experts in selecting, refining, merging and cascading down the initial heterogeneous Pilot high level objectives to a lower level, and in elaborating a functional description of the KMS prototype. It proposes, moreover, a structured framework to classify KMS' performance indicators to help the Pilot task force in properly carry out the validation task.The methodology, on the other side, pushes the design team in considering those behavioural and methodological issues that arise from the necessary change in work practice as a result of implementing the KMS within a Virtual design environment. In parallel with the definition of technical specifications, the roadmap supports knowledge experts in developing and testing a set of Knowledge Management guidelines, intended as a list of Best Practices and Lesson Learned aiming to help users in utilizing the potentialities of the new solution.The methodology has been developed within the European project VIVACE to support the design and implementation of a new KEE system in the aeronautical domain.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Elfstrand, Lidia, et al.
(författare)
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Recrystallization of waxy maize starch during manufacturing of starch microspheres for drug delivery: Influence of excipients
- 2007
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Ingår i: Carbohydrate Polymers. - : Elsevier BV. - 0144-8617. ; 69:4, s. 732-741
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The formation of ordered structure, such as crystallites, in starch was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The influence of time/temperature treatment and additives such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and a carbonate buffer on the formation was investigated. The experiments were planned with a CCC (Central Composite Circumscribed) design. For all three investigated systems it could be concluded that the incubation time at 6 °C was the decisive factor for the amount of ordered structure obtained during the incubation, while the incubation time at 37 °C was the decisive factor for the thermal stability of the crystallites as expressed by Ton, Tm and Tc. The additives seemed to mainly affect the nucleation phase of crystallization process. The additives decreased the time required in order to obtain a certain level of ordering in the incubated starch samples. The carbonate buffer decreased the amount of ordered structure in starch as judged by DSC enthalpy values, while increasing the melting temperature of these structures. The additives PEG and BSA lowered the melting temperatures of the starch in the systems but increased the enthalpy values. By optimization procedure a specific amount of ordered structure with desired thermal characteristics could be predicted.
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| 7. |
- Fox, Glen A, et al.
(författare)
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Health of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) in relation to breeding location in the early 1990s : III. Effects on the bone tissue
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1528-7394 .- 1087-2620. ; 71:21, s. 1448-1456
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Health effects associated with the Great Lakes environment were assessed in adult herring gulls (Larus argentatus) in the early 1990s, including the size and quality of their bones. Femurs were excised from 140 individuals from 10 colonies distributed throughout the Great Lakes and 2 reference colonies in Lake Winnipeg (freshwater) and the Bay of Fundy (marine). Femurs of gulls from the Great Lakes differed from the freshwater or marine reference for 9 of 12 variables of size, composition, and strength assessed using peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and biomechanical testing. Femurs of Great Lakes gulls were significantly smaller in length (-2.9%), periosteal circumference (-2.4%), and cross-sectional area (-5.4%) than freshwater reference birds. Femurs of the Great Lakes gulls had a lower significant cortical bone mineral content (-8.1%) and density (-2%) than the marine reference. A significant increase in the amount the bone could bend before it broke (+34%) and the energy required to break it (+44%) and a significant decrease (-16.3%) in stiffness during three-point biomechanical bending test were also detected in Great Lakes versus the freshwater gulls. These differences are indicative of impaired mineralization. When divided into high and low 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxicity equivalent (TCDD-TEQ) colonies, the amount the bone could bend before it broke and the energy required to break it were significantly higher in the high TEQ colonies, but not high polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) colonies. Breeding location and dietary choices of Great Lakes herring gulls in the early 1990s resulted in modulations of physiological processes that affected the size, mineralization, and biomechanical properties of bone.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Hermsen, Sanne A. B., et al.
(författare)
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In utero and lactational exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) affects bone tissue in rhesus monkeys
- 2008
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Ingår i: Toxicology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0300-483X .- 1879-3185. ; 253:1-3, s. 147-152
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bone tissue is one of the target tissues for dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate effects of in utero and lactational exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), oil bone tissue in rhesus monkey, the most human-like experimental model available, Pregnant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta; age 4-10 years) were exposed to TCDD with a total dose of 40.5-42.0 or 405-420 ng/kg bodyweight by repeated subcutaneous injections starting at gestational day 20 and followed by injections every 30 days until 90 clays after delivery. At a mean age of 7 years the offspring were sacrificed and the femur bone dissected. Results from peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) analyses of the metaphyseal part of the femur bones in female offspring showed significant increases in trabecular bone mineral content (BMC; +84.6%, p < 0.05, F-value (F)=5.9) in the low-dose treatment group compared with the controls. In the same animals, analysis of the mid-diaphyseal part revealed increases in total BMC (+21.3%. p < 0.05, F = 5.2) and cortical cross-sectional area (CSA; +16.4%. p < 0.01, F=7.4) compared with the controls. In males, changes in biomechanical properties indicating more fragile bone were observed. Displacement at failure were significantly increased in the male low-dose group compared to the controls (+38.0%, p, < 0.05, F=11). The high dose of TCDD did not induce any significant changes in bone morphology.
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| 10. |
- Holm, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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In diabetic retinopathy, foveal thickness of 300 mum seems to correlate with functionally significant loss of vision.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Documenta Ophthalmologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-2622 .- 0012-4486. ; 114:3, s. 117-124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To study the relationship between foveal thickness assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and foveal function measured with multi focal electroretinography (mfERG) in patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and with no previous laser treatment. Twenty-six eyes from 18 diabetic patients (13 men), aged 59 years, (range 28-79 years), diabetes duration 15 years, (range 2-27 years), with a macular thickness between 200 and 600 mu m were evaluated by mfERG, visual acuity (ETDRS score) and OCT. Mean amplitudes and implicit times of the mfERG responses were analyzed within the four innermost (14 degrees) of the six concentric rings. For comparison with the results from the OCT (diameter of measured area = 6 mm) we analyzed the summed response from the first and second ring (central zone), corresponding to the central area of the OCT. The third(zone 2) and fourth (zone 3)of the four innermost of the six concentric rings measured by the mfERG corresponding to the second and third area of OCT. An increased macular thickness in the central area of the OCT correlated to reduced amplitudes (r = -0.541; P = 0.004) and prolonged implicit times (r = 0.548; P = 0.004) in the central zone of the mfERG, and inversely correlated with visual acuity, -0.49; P = 0.045. Retinal thickness in the second area was correlated to prolonged implicit times in the second mfERG zone (r = -0.416; P = 0.034). No correlations were found for the third area of the OCT. When macular thickness exceeded 300 mu m the decrease of amplitudes and prolonged implicit times, measured by mfERG, seemed to be more pronounced. In conclusion increased macular thickness is correlated with reduced amplitudes and prolonged implicit times on the mf ERG and worse visual acuity.
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