| 1. |
- Gustavsson, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term colectomy rate after intensive intravenous corticosteroid therapy for ulcerative colitis prior to the immunosuppressive treatment era
- 2007
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Ingår i: American Journal of Gastroenterology. - New York : American College of Gastroenterology. - 0002-9270 .- 1572-0241. ; 102:11, s. 2513-2519
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Corticosteroids are a cornerstone in the treatment of a severe attack of ulcerative colitis (UC). The long-term prognosis in this patient group is not well described. We studied the long-term colectomy and relapse rates in patients given intensive intravenous corticosteroid treatment (IIVT) for acute UC. METHODS: A retrospective clinical study of 158 patients with UC treated in 1975-1982 with IIVT. Patients were followed-up to death, colectomy or last visit. RESULTS: A total of 11 patients were excluded due to change of diagnosis (N = 10) or lost to follow-up (N = 1). The indication for index IIVT in the remaining 147 patients was a severe attack (N = 61), a moderately severe attack (N = 45), a mild attack (N = 29) or chronic continuous disease (N = 12). The median (range) duration of follow-up was 173 (4-271) months in patients escaping colectomy during the first 3 months. Three months after IIVT, the colectomy rates were 28/61 (46%) in a severe attack, 4/45 (9%) in a moderately severe, and 1/29 (3%) in a mild attack. After 10 yr, the colectomy rates were 39/61 (64%), 22/45 (49%), and 8/29 (28%), respectively. During follow-up, neither colectomy incidence beyond 3 months, time to first relapse nor relapse incidence was influenced by severity of initial attack, except for a lower relapse incidence after a severe attack. CONCLUSIONS: In patients escaping colectomy during the first 3 months after IIVT, the future prognosis was similar irrespective of initial disease severity.
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| 2. |
- Shiriaev, Anton, et al.
(författare)
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Virtual-Holonomic-Constraints-Based Design of Stable Oscillations of Furuta Pendulum: Theory and Experiments
- 2007
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Ingår i: IEEE Transactions on Robotics. - 1941-0468 .- 1552-3098. ; 23:4, s. 827-832
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Furuta pendulum consists of an arm rotating in the horizontal plane and a pendulum attached to its end. Rotation of the arm is controlled by a DC motor, while the pendulum is moving freely in the plane, orthogonal to the arm. Motivated, in particular, by possible applications for walking/running/balancing robots, we consider the Furuta pendulum as a system for which synchronized periodic motions of all the generalized coordinates are to be created and stabilized. The goal is to achieve, via appropriate feedback control action, orbitally exponentially stable oscillations of the pendulum of various shapes around its upright and downward positions, accompanied with oscillations of the arm. Our approach is based on the idea of stabilization of a particular virtual holonomic constraint imposed on the configuration coordinates, which has been theoretically developed recently. Here, we elaborate on the complete design procedure. The results are illustrated not only through numerical simulations but also through successful experimental tests.
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| 3. |
- Arnell, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Naturvägledning i Sverige - en översikt
- 2009
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Naturvägledning handlar om att förmedla kunskap om och väcka känslor för naturen och kulturlandskapet. Naturvägledare finns i många verksamheter och kallas ofta för något annat i sin vardag: naturguide, museipedagog, ekoturismföretagare, naturinformatör. Centrum för naturvägledning presenterar i rapporten Naturvägledning i Sverige en bred översikt över begrepp, historik, och pågående aktiviteter inom svensk naturvägledning, med en internationell utblick. Rapporten bygger bland annat på intervjuer och enkäter med cirka 100 personer, som ger sin bilder av mål, glädjeämnen och utmaningar med arbetet som naturvägledare.
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| 4. |
- Bergquist, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Increased risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis and ulcerative colitis in first-degree relatives of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis
- 2008
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Ingår i: Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. - New York : Elsevier. - 1542-3565 .- 1542-7714. ; 6:8, s. 939-943
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & Aims: The importance of genetic factors for the development of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is incompletely understood. This study assessed the risk of PSC and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among first-degree relatives of patients with PSC, compared with the first-degree relatives of a cohort without PSC. Methods: Subjects from the national Swedish cohort of PSC patients (n = 678) were matched for date of birth, sex, and region to up to 10 subjects without a diagnosis of PSC (n = 6347). Linkage through general population registers identified first-degree relatives of subjects in both the PSC and comparison cohorts (n = 34,092). Diagnoses among first-degree relatives were identified by using the Inpatient Register. Results: The risk of cholangitis was statistically significantly increased in offspring, siblings, and parents of the PSC patient cohort, compared with relatives of the comparison cohort, with the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals, 11.5 (1.6–84.4), 11.1 (3.3–37.8), and 2.3 (0.9–6.1), respectively. The hazard ratios for ulcerative colitis (UC) among first-degree relatives of all PSC patients was 3.3 (2.3–4.9) and for Crohn's disease 1.4 (0.8–2.5). The risk of UC for relatives of PSC patients without IBD was also increased, 7.4 (2.9–18.9). Conclusions: First-degree relatives of patients with PSC run an increased risk of PSC, indicating the importance of genetic factors in the etiology of PSC. First-degree relatives of PSC patients without IBD are also at an increased risk of UC, which might indicate shared genetic susceptibility factors for PSC and UC.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Carlsson, Jesper, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Symplectic Pontryagin Approximations for Optimal Design
- 2009
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Ingår i: Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis. - : EDP Sciences. - 0764-583X .- 1290-3841. ; 43:1, s. 3-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The powerful Hamilton-Jacobi theory is used for constructing regularizations and error estimates for optimal design problems. The constructed Pontryagin method is a simple and general method for optimal design and reconstruction: the first, analytical, step is to regularize the Hamiltonian; next the solution to its stationary Hamiltonian system, a nonlinear partial differential equation, is computed with the Newton method. The method is efficient for designs where the Hamiltonian function can be explicitly formulated and when the Jacobian is sparse, but becomes impractical otherwise (e.g. for non local control constraints). An error estimate for the difference between exact and approximate objective functions is derived, depending only on the difference of the Hamiltonian and its finite dimensional regularization along the solution path and its L 2 projection, i.e. not on the difference of the exact and approximate solutions to the Hamiltonian systems.
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| 7. |
- Chen, DeJiu, et al.
(författare)
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Modelling Support for Design of Safety-Critical Automotive Embedded Systems
- 2008
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Computer Safety, Reliability and Security, 2008.. - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper describes and demonstrates an approach that promises to bridge the gap between model-based systems engineering and the safety process of automotive embedded systems. The basis for this is the integration of safety analysis techniques, a method for developing and managing Safety Cases, and a systematic approach to model-based engineering - the EAST-ADL2 architecture description language. Three areas are highlighted: (I) System model development on different levels of abstraction. This enables fulfilling many requirements on software development as specified by ISO-CD-26262 (2) Safety Case development in close connection to the system model (3) Analysis of mal-functional behaviour that may cause hazards, by modelling of errors and error propagation in a (complex and hierarchical) system model.
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| 8. |
- de Magalhaes, J P, et al.
(författare)
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Cognitive aging as an extension of brain development : A model linking learning, brain plasticity, and neurodegeneration
- 2005
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Ingår i: Mechanisms of Ageing and Development. - : Elsevier BV. - 0047-6374 .- 1872-6216. ; 126:10, s. 1026-1033
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Differences in cognitive aging rates among mammals suggest that the pace of brain aging is genetically determined. In this work, we investigate the possibility that brain aging is an extension of brain development. It is possible that a subset of developmental mechanisms are extreme cases of antagonistic pleiotropy in that they are necessary for reaching adulthood and yet later cause age-related diseases. We derive a model linking development and brain aging in which childhood events essential for brain development later result in neurodegeneration. The hypothesis presented herein involves brain plasticity in which the same mechanisms that shape the adult phenotype continue at later ages contributing to cognitive dysfunction and eventually dementia. The same genetic program that decreases brain plasticity at early ages to focus our mind to the surrounding environment may continue in adulthood resulting in cognitive aging. Experimental implications for understanding neurodegeneration in this context are also discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 9. |
- Elmberg, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Increased Mortality Risk in Patients With Phenotypic Hereditary Hemochromatosis But Not in Their First-Degree Relatives
- 2009
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Ingår i: Gastroenterology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-5085 .- 1528-0012. ; 137:4, s. 1301-1309
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND & AIMS: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is an autosomal-recessive disorder characterized by iron overload. Relatives of HH patients were screened and those with HH-associated mutations and an increased iron load were identified. However, little is known about their mortality or strategies for their management. We assessed mortality among Swedish patients with HH and their first-degree relatives using health and census registers. METHODS: We performed a matched population-based cohort study of 3832 patients with HH and their 14,496 first-degree relatives using data collected from 1990 through 2007. Mortality data from these groups were compared with that of 38,969 population controls and their 143,349 first-degree relatives using Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: Patients identified on the basis of hospitalization with HH had an increased risk (relative risk [RR]) for death (RR, 2.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.27-2.64; 857 deaths). Patients identified through other means had a mortality risk that was lower than those identified in the hospital but higher than controls (RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.00-1.33; 216 deaths). Their first-degree relatives had only a marginally increased mortality risk (RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01-1.10); this RR was similar to that of patients' spouses (RR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.86-1.38; 82 deaths). Patients with HH who also had a family history of HH did not have an increased mortality risk compared with other groups (RR, 1.05; 95% CI 0.67-1.62; 21 deaths). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with HH have a modestly increased mortality risk compared with controls. The mortality of relatives is increased marginally compared with controls, and is similar among biological and nonbiological relatives.
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