| 11. |
- Sinkvist, David, et al.
(författare)
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Five Year Data and Results of Continuous Quality Improvement Using SKURT
- 2017
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Ingår i: Educational Research Applications. - IL, USA : Gavin Publishers. - 2575-7032. ; 2017:05
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Student rating of teaching isessentialfor attaining and maintaining higheducational quality.A quality improvement system, SKURT,based on digital online weekly combined quantitative, ten-graded scale, and qualitative, open-ended free text, group feedback from medical students was developed. Students rated all educational, non-clerkship, items throughout the entire medical program, spanning eleven terms. The results were semi-publicly available for students and faculty at a Swedish university. This study describes datafrom five-year use of the system,focusing on how the use of SKURT influenced educational items found to be in the most substantial need for improvements.Statistically but hardly practically significant improvement in average feedback grade was found during the observation period (average 7.07 in 2009 to 7.24 in 2013 (p<0.001)).The medical program was already in 2007recognized ascenter of excellent quality in higher education. When analyzing the 18 lectures with lowest outcome in the spring 2009 compared to the fall 2013, five were discontinued. The remaining 13 lectures improved significantly (p<0.001) 116% from 2.94 (SD 0.92) to 6.34 (SD 2.58). A weekly group feedback system employing the principles used in SKURTis useful forimproving the quality of medical education particularlyby improvingthe items with the lowest ratings.
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| 12. |
- Sinkvist, David, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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SKURT: Quality Improvement System with Comprehensive Weekly Digital Student Group Feedback
- 2017
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Ingår i: Educational Research Applications. - : Gavin Publishers. - 2575-7032. ; 2017:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Students’ role in evaluation and rating of teachers and education has been extensively researched for nearly a century. Applied worldwide, students’ ratings account for the majority of the available data.We created a new quality improvement system, SKURT, using digital online weekly combined quantitative, ten-graded scale, and qualitative, open-ended free text, group feedback from medical students. Students rated all educational, non-clerkship, items throughout the entire medical program, spanning eleven terms. The rating process is since 2008 an integral part of a medical program at a Swedish university. The results are, after a screening process, semi-publicly available on-demand, for students and faculty, creating a feedback loop enabling continuous improvement of quality.A thorough literature search of students rating of teaching found no other corresponding weekly group rating system spanning all educational items. Quality improvement systems based on similar principles as SKURT can uncover problem areas that are difficult to find using other rating systems and has the potential to circumvent several biases, risks and shortcomings of traditional rating systems in current use.
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| 13. |
- Ström, Jakob O., 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Male Testosterone Does Not Adapt to the Partner's Menstrual Cycle
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Sexual Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 1743-6095 .- 1743-6109. ; 15:8, s. 1103-1110
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: It has not yet been established whether men in heterosexual relationships adapt their hormone levels to their female partner's menstrual cycle to allocate reproductive resources to the period when the female is actually fertile.Aim: This prospective observational study tested the hypothesis that some males have peaks in testosterone or acne (a possible biomarker for androgen activity) near their partners' ovulation, whereas other males display the opposite pattern.Methods: 48 couples supplied menstrual cycle data, male salivary samples, and a protocol of daily activities for 120 days. Daily saliva samples were analyzed for testosterone concentrations by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The main hypothesis was tested by analyzing whether each individual male's testosterone/acne response to ovulation (either an increase or a decrease in comparison to the individual's average levels) was stable over time. To do this, we analyzed the Spearman correlation between individually normalized periovulatory testosterone and acne during the first half of the study versus the second half of the study.Outcomes: Correlation between each male individual's periovulatory testosterone and acne patterns during the first half of the study versus the second half of the study.Results: No predictability in the male individuals' testosterone (Spearman's rho = -0.018, P = .905) or acne (Spearman's rho = -0.036, P = .862) levels during ovulation was found.Clinical translation: The study being "negative," there is no obvious translational potential in the results.Strengths and limitations: The main strength of this study lies in the excellent compliance of the study participants and the large number of sampling timepoints over several menstrual cycles, thereby allowing each male individual to be his own control subject. A limitation is that samples were only obtained in the morning; however, including later timepoints would have introduced a number of confounders and would also have hampered the study's feasibility.Conclusions: The current results strongly indicate that male morning testosterone levels neither increase nor decrease in response to the partner's ovulation. This discordance to previous laboratory studies could indicate either that (i) the phenomenon of hormonal adaptation of men to women does not exist and earlier experimental studies should be questioned, (ii) that the phenomenon is short-lived/acute and wanes if the exposure is sustained, or (iii) that the male testosterone response may be directed toward other women than the partner. Copyright (C) 2018, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the International Society for Sexual Medicine.
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| 14. |
- Andelin, M., et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the Accuracy of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Calibrated With Capillary Values Using Capillary or Venous Glucose Levels as a Reference.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. - : Diabetes Technology Society. - 1932-2968. ; 10:4, s. 876-884
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Using the standard venous reference for the evaluation of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems could possibly negatively affect measured CGM accuracy since CGM are generally calibrated with capillary glucose and venous and capillary glucose concentrations differ. We therefore aimed to quantify the effect of using capillary versus venous glucose reference samples on estimated accuracy in capillary calibrated CGM.less thanbr /greater thanMethods: We evaluated 41 individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) using the Dexcom G4 CGM system over 6 days. Patients calibrated their CGM devices with capillary glucose by means of the HemoCue system. During 2 visits, capillary and venous samples were simultaneously measured by HemoCue and compared to concomitantly obtained CGM readings. The mean absolute relative difference (MARD) was calculated using capillary and venous reference samples.less thanbr /greater thanResults: Venous glucose values were 0.83 mmol/L (15.0 mg/dl) lower than capillary values over all glycemic ranges, P less than .0001. Below 4 mmol/l (72 mg/dl), the difference was 1.25 mmol/l (22.5 mg/dl), P = .0001, at 4-10 mmol/l (72-180 mg/dl), 0.67 mmol/l (12.0 mg/dl), P less than .0001 and above 10 mmol/l (180 mg/dl), 0.95 mmol/l (17.1 mg/dl), P less than .0001. MARD was 11.7% using capillary values as reference compared to 13.7% using venous samples, P = .037. Below 4 mmol/l (72 mg/dl) MARD was 16.6% and 31.8%, P = .048, at 4-10 mmol/l (72-180 mg/dl) 12.1% and 12.6%, P = .32, above 10 mmol/l (180 mg/dl) 8.7% and 9.2%, P = .82.less thanbr /greater thanConclusion: Using capillary glucose concentrations as reference to evaluate the accuracy of CGM calibrated with capillary samples is associated with a lower MARD than using venous glucose as the reference. Capillary glucose concentrations were significantly higher than venous in all glycemic ranges.less thanbr /greater than (© 2016 Diabetes Technology Society.)
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| 15. |
- Andersson, Christoffer R., et al.
(författare)
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Comparisons between commercial salivary testosterone enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0036-5513 .- 1502-7686. ; 77:8, s. 582-586
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Measuring testosterone concentrations is of interest both in clinical situations and for research, the latter expanding rapidly during recent years. An increased demand for convenient methods has prompted a number of companies to develop enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits to measure testosterone concentrations in saliva. However, the inter-comparability of kits from different manufacturers have yet to be determined.AIM OF STUDY: The aim of this study was to compare commercially available ELISA kits from four different manufacturers (Salimetrics, IBL, DRG and Demeditec).METHODS: Saliva was collected from 50 participants (25 men and 25 women). Each sample was analysed by the four ELISA kits.RESULTS: The correlations between the ELISA kits from Demeditec, DRG and Salimetrics were moderate to high with r-values > .77; however, proportional errors between the methods calls for caution. The ELISA kit from IBL malfunctioned and no results from this kit was obtained.CONCLUSIONS: Results from studies using the ELISA kits from Demeditec, DRG and Salimetrics are generally comparable; however, translation using the formulae presented in the current study could increase the accuracy of these comparisons.
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| 16. |
- Barde, Swapnali, et al.
(författare)
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Alterations in the neuropeptide galanin system in major depressive disorder involve levels of transcripts, methylation, and peptide
- 2016
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Ingår i: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. - : NATL ACAD SCIENCES. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 113:52, s. E8472-E8481
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a substantial burden to patients, families, and society, but many patients cannot be treated adequately. Rodent experiments suggest that the neuropeptide galanin (GAL) and its three G protein-coupled receptors, GAL(1-3), are involved in mood regulation. To explore the translational potential of these results, we assessed the transcript levels (by quantitative PCR), DNA methylation status (by bisulfite pyrosequencing), and GAL peptide by RIA of the GAL system in postmortem brains from depressed persons who had committed suicide and controls. Transcripts for all four members were detected and showed marked regional variations, GAL and galanin receptor 1 (GALR1) being most abundant. Striking increases in GAL and GALR3 mRNA levels, especially in the noradrenergic locus coeruleus and the dorsal raphe nucleus, in parallel with decreased DNA methylation, were found in both male and female suicide subjects as compared with controls. In contrast, GAL and GALR3 transcript levels were decreased, GALR1 was increased, and DNA methylation was increased in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of male suicide subjects, however, there were no changes in the anterior cingulate cortex. Thus, GAL and its receptor GALR3 are differentially methylated and expressed in brains of MDD subjects in a region- and sex-specific manner. Such an epigenetic modification in GALR3, a hyperpolarizing receptor, might contribute to the dysregulation of noradrenergic and serotonergic neurons implicated in the pathogenesis of MDD. Thus, one may speculate that a GAL(3) antagonist could have antidepressant properties by disinhibiting the firing of these neurons, resulting in increased release of noradrenaline and serotonin in forebrain areas involved in mood regulation.
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| 17. |
- Bukmann Larsen, Pia, et al.
(författare)
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The microINR portable coagulometer: analytical quality and user-friendliness of a PT (INR) point-of-care instrument
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation. - : TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. - 0036-5513 .- 1502-7686. ; 77:2, s. 115-121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Regular measurement of prothrombin time as an international normalized ratio PT (INR) is mandatory for optimal and safe use of warfarin. Scandinavian evaluation of laboratory equipment for primary health care (SKUP) evaluated the microINR portable coagulometer (microINR((R))) (iLine Microsystems S.L., Spain) for measurement of PT (INR). Analytical quality and user-friendliness were evaluated under optimal conditions at an accredited hospital laboratory and at two primary health care centres (PHCCs). Patients were recruited at the outpatient clinic of the Laboratory of Medical Biochemistry, St Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway (n=98) and from two PHCCs (n=88). Venous blood samples were analyzed under optimal conditions on the STA-R((R))Evolution with STA-SPA+reagent (Stago, France) (Owren method), and the results were compared to capillary measurements on the microINR((R)). The imprecision of the microINR((R)) was 6% (90% CI: 5.3-7.0%) and 6.3% (90% CI: 5.1-8.3) in the outpatient clinic and PHCC2, respectively for INR 2.5. The microINR((R)) did not meet the SKUP quality requirement for imprecision 5.0%. For INR amp;lt;2.5 at PHCC2 and at both levels in PHCC1, CV% was 5.0. The accuracy fulfilled the SKUP quality goal in both outpatient clinic and PHCCs. User-friendliness of the operation manual was rated as intermediate, defined by SKUP as neutral ratings assessed as neither good nor bad. Operation facilities was rated unsatisfactory, and time factors satisfactory. In conclusion, quality requirements for imprecision were not met. The SKUP criteria for accuracy was fulfilled both at the hospital and at the PHCCs. The user-friendliness was rated intermediate.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- David, Fresnais, et al.
(författare)
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Lack of association in acne and salivary testosterone
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of controversies in biomedical research. - : Codon Publications. - 2205-5975. ; 4:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The pathogenesis of acne vulgaris has only been partially elucidated. Various hormones, especially androgens, are likely to play a role, but results of studies are still inconclusive. The objective of the current study was to investigate whether day to day variation in salivary testosterone correlates with acne in males. Saliva samples were collected for 120 consecutive days from each of the 40 males. Salivary testosterone concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Facial acne lesions were assessed on a daily basis by photography by the participating males. Potential confounders’ (sexual intercourse, masturbation, physical exercise and disease) were also registered every day by the participants. A significant but weak association between salivary testosterone and acne was found (n = 4602, r = 0.031, P = 0.034). Elevated testosterone concentrations were associated with an increase in acne, but when testosterone concentrations were above twice the individual average, acne lesions paradoxically decreased. The current results indicate that daily fluctuations in salivary testosterone levels in males are associated with acne patterns, but the weak correlation suggests that the effect is too small to be of clinical significance. The analysis in the current study was complicated by a large number of days on which the participants had no acne, as well as the seemingly non-monotonic relation between testosterone and acne. This may indicate that the actual relation is stronger than concluded here.
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