| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Liu, Kui, et al.
(författare)
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Kallikrein genes are associated with lupus and glomerular basement membrane-specific antibody-induced nephritis in mice and humans
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Investigation. - 0021-9738 .- 1558-8238. ; 119:4, s. 911-923
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Immune-mediated nephritis contributes to disease in systemic lupus erythematosus, Goodpasture syndrome (caused by antibodies specific for glomerular basement membrane [anti-GBM antibodies]), and spontaneous lupus nephritis. Inbred mouse strains differ in susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced and spontaneous lupus nephritis. This study sought to clarify the genetic and molecular factors that maybe responsible for enhanced immune-mediated renal disease in these models. When the kidneys of 3 mouse strains sensitive to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis were compared with those of 2 control strains using microarray analysis, one-fifth of the underexpressed genes belonged to the kallikrein gene family,which encodes serine esterases. Mouse strains that upregulated renal and urinary kallikreins exhibited less evidence of disease. Antagonizing the kallikrein pathway augmented disease, while agonists dampened the severity of anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis. In addition, nephritis-sensitive mouse strains had kallikrein haplotypes that were distinct from those of control strains, including several regulatory polymorphisms,some of which were associated with functional consequences. Indeed, increased susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and spontaneous lupus nephritis was achieved by breeding mice with a genetic interval harboring the kallikrein genes onto a disease-resistant background. Finally, both human SLE and spontaneous lupus nephritis were found to be associated with kallikrein genes, particularly KLK1 and the KLK3 promoter, when DNA SNPs from independent cohorts of SLE patients and controls were compared. Collectively, these studies suggest that kallikreins are protective disease-associated genes in anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and lupus.
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| 3. |
- Borén, Jan, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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In situ localization of transketolase activity in epithelial cells of different rat tissues and subcellularly in liver parenchymal cells
- 2006
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Ingår i: J Histochem Cytochem. - 0022-1554. ; 54:2, s. 191-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Metabolic mapping of enzyme activities (enzyme histochemistry) is an important tool to understand (patho)physiological functions of enzymes. A new enzyme histochemical method has been developed to detect transketolase activity in situ in various rat tissues and its ultrastructural localization in individual cells. In situ detection of transketolase is important because this multifunctional enzyme has been related with diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and Wernicke-Korsakoff's syndrome. The proposed method is based on the tetrazolium salt method applied to unfixed cryostat sections in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol. The method appeared to be specific for transketolase activity when the proper control reaction is performed and showed a linear increase of the amount of final reaction product with incubation time. Transketolase activity was studied in liver, small intestine, trachea, tongue, kidney, adrenal gland, and eye. Activity was found in liver parenchyma, epithelium of small intestine, trachea, tongue, proximal tubules of kidney and cornea, and ganglion cells in medulla of adrenal gland. To demonstrate transketolase activity ultrastructurally in liver parenchymal cells, the cupper iron method was used. It was shown that transketolase activity was present in peroxisomes and at membranes of granular endoplasmic reticulum. This ultrastructural localization is similar to that of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, suggesting activity of the pentose phosphate pathway at these sites. It is concluded that the method developed for in situ localization of transketolase activity for light and electron microscopy is specific and allows further investigation of the role of transketolase in (proliferation of) cancer cells and other pathophysiological processes.
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| 4. |
- Bunce, R. G. H., et al.
(författare)
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A standardized procedure for surveillance and monitoring European habitats and provision of spatial data
- 2008
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Ingår i: Landscape Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0921-2973 .- 1572-9761. ; 23, s. 11-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Both science and policy require a practical, transmissible, and reproducible procedure for surveillance and monitoring of European habitats, which can produce statistics integrated at the landscape level. Over the last 30 years, landscape ecology has developed rapidly, and many studies now require spatial data on habitats. Without rigorous rules, changes from baseline records cannot be separated reliably from background noise. A procedure is described that satisfies these requirements and can provide consistent data for Europe, to support a range of policy initiatives and scientific projects. The methodology is based on classical plant life forms, used in biogeography since the nineteenth century, and on their statistical correlation with the primary environmental gradient. Further categories can therefore be identified for other continents to assist large scale comparisons and modelling. The model has been validated statistically and the recording procedure tested in the field throughout Europe. A total of 130 General Habitat Categories (GHCs) is defined. These are enhanced by recording environmental, site and management qualifiers to enable flexible database interrogation. The same categories are applied to areal, linear and point features to assist recording and subsequent interpretation at the landscape level. The distribution and change of landscape ecological parameters, such as connectivity and fragmentation, can then be derived and their significance interpreted.
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| 5. |
- Durante-Mangoni, Emanuele, et al.
(författare)
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Current features of infective endocarditis in elderly patients: Results of the international collaboration on endocarditis prospective cohort study
- 2008
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Ingår i: Archives of Internal Medicine. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 0003-9926 .- 1538-3679. ; 168, s. 2095-2103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Elderly patients are emerging as a population at high risk for infective endocarditis (IE). However, adequately sized prospective studies on the features of IE in elderly patients are lacking. Methods: In this multinational, prospective, observational cohort study within the International Collaboration on Endocarditis, 2759 consecutive patients were enrolled from June 15, 2000, to December 1, 2005; 1056 patients with IE 65 years or older were compared with 1703 patients younger than 65 years. Risk factors, predisposing conditions, origin, clinical features, course, and outcome of IE were comprehensively analyzed. Results: Elderly patients reported more frequently a hospitalization or an invasive procedure before IE onset. Diabetes mellitus and genitourinary and gastrointestinal cancer were the major predisposing conditions. Blood culture yield was higher among elderly patients with IE. The leading causative organism was Staphylococcus aureus, with a higher rate of methicillin resistance. Streptococcus bovis and enterococci were also significantly more prevalent. The clinical presentation of elderly patients with IE was remarkable for lower rates of embolism, immune-mediated phenomena, or septic complications. At both echocardiography and surgery, fewer vegetations and more abscesses were found, and the gain in the diagnostic yield of transesophageal echocardiography was significantly larger. Significantly fewer elderly patients underwent cardiac surgery (38.9% vs 53.5%; P < .001). Elderly patients with IE showed a higher rate of in-hospital death (24.9% vs 12.8%; P < .001), and age older than 65 years was an independent predictor of mortality. Conclusions: In this large prospective study, increasing age emerges as a major determinant of the clinical characteristics of IE. Lower rates of surgical treatment and high mortality are the most prominent features of elderly patients with IE. Efforts should be made to prevent health care-associated acquisition and improve outcomes in this major subgroup of patients with IE. ©2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Katouli, M., et al.
(författare)
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Host species-specific translocation of Escherichia coli
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373. ; 28:9, s. 1095-1103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to investigate the rate of translocation of Escherichia coli strains in different experimental/animal models. Four proficient translocating E. coli strains isolated from mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and/or the blood of rats (strains KIC-1 and KIC-2), from a fatal case of pancreatitis (HMLN-1) and from pigs (PC-1 isolated in this study) were tested for their ability to translocate across two host species and the Caco-2 cell line as a model of the human gut epithelium. HMLN-1 was found in the MLNs of all 15 pigs tested. This strain, however, did not translocate in any rats and only colonised the caecum of four rats in small numbers. HMLN-1 and PC-1 were the dominant translocating strains in Caco-2 cells compared to KIC-1 and KIC-2, which were found to translocate at a lower rate in pigs and in Caco-2 cells. The rate of translocation of PC-1 in rats was also very low compared to KIC-1 and KIC-2. We suggest that, in studies aiming to investigate the mechanism of translocation of E. coli strains isolated from humans, rats may not be an appropriate animal model and that the Caco-2 cells or pigs are more suitable in vitro and in vivo models, respectively.
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| 8. |
- Knaapila, Matti, et al.
(författare)
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An effect of side chain length on the solution structure of poly(9,9-dialkylfluorene)s in toluene
- 2008
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Ingår i: Polymer. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-3861. ; 49:8, s. 2033-2038
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of side chain length of pi-conjugated poly(9,9-dialkylfluorene)s has been studied in semi-dilute (10 mg/mL) toluene solutions using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and H-1 and H-2 NMR spectroscopies. Under these conditions, SANS data indicate that poly(9,9-dinonylfluorene) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) are dissolved down to the molecule level and appear as elongated one-dimensional chains (length >20-30 nm). In contrast, the shorter side chain polymers exhibit a self-association so that poly(9,9-diheptylfluorene) forms thin sheet-like (similar to 1 nm) and poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene) thin (similar to 1 nm) and thick sheet-like (>6 nm) aggregates. H-1 NMR data, together with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, however, show that this occurs without changes in the conformation of the polymer backbone.
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| 9. |
- Olesen, JE, et al.
(författare)
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Uncertainties in projected impacts of climate change on European agriculture and terrestrial ecosystems based on scenarios from regional climate models
- 2007
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Ingår i: Climatic Change. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0165-0009 .- 1573-1480. ; 81:Suppl. 1, s. 123-143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The uncertainties and sources of variation in projected impacts of climate change on agriculture and terrestrial ecosystems depend not only on the emission scenarios and climate models used for projecting future climates, but also on the impact models used, and the local soil and climatic conditions of the managed or unmanaged ecosystems under study. We addressed these uncertainties by applying different impact models at site, regional and continental scales, and by separating the variation in simulated relative changes in ecosystem performance into the different sources of uncertainty and variation using analyses of variance. The crop and ecosystem models used output from a range of global and regional climate models (GCMs and RCMs) projecting climate change over Europe between 1961-1990 and 2071-2 100 under the IPCC SIZES scenarios. The projected impacts on productivity of crops and ecosystems included the direct effects of increased CO2 concentration on photosynthesis. The variation in simulated results attributed to differences between the climate models were, in all cases, smaller than the variation attributed to either emission scenarios or local conditions. The methods used for applying the climate model outputs played a larger role than the choice of the GCM or RCM. The thermal suitability for grain maize cultivation in Europe was estimated to expand by 30-50% across all SRES emissions scenarios. Strong increases in net primary productivity (NPP) (35-54%) were projected in Dorthem European ecosystems as a result of a longer growing season and higher CO2 concentrations. Changing water balance dominated the projected responses of southern European ecosystems, with NPP declining or increasing only slightly relative to preserit-day conditions. Both site and continental scale models showed large increases in yield of rain-fed winter wheat for northern Europe, with smaller increases or even decreases in southern Europe. Site-based, regional and continental scale models showed large spatial variations in the response of nitrate leaching from winter wheat cultivation to projected climate change due to strong interactions with soils and climate. The variation in simulated impacts was smaller between scenarios based on RCMs nested within the same GCM than between scenarios based on different GCMs or between emission scenarios.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Baroni, Mpma, et al.
(författare)
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Modeling and gradient pattern analysis of irregular SFM structures of porous silicon
- 2006
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Ingår i: Microelectronics Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0026-2692. ; 37:4, s. 290-294
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Technological applications in opto-electronic devices have increased the interest in characterizing porous silicon structure patterns. Due to its physical properties, solutions from KPZ 2D are adopted to simulate the structure of porous material interface whose spatial characteristics are equivalent to those found in porous silicon samples. The analysis of the simulated and real scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) surfaces was done using the Gradient Pattern Analysis (GPA). We found that the KPZ 2D model presented asymmetry levels compatible with the irregular surfaces observed by means of SFM images of pi-Si.
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| 12. |
- De Bustos, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Tissue-specific variation in DNA methylation levels along human chromosome 1
- 2009
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Ingår i: Epigenetics & Chromatin. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1756-8935. ; 2, s. 7-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: DNA methylation is a major epigenetic modification important for regulating gene expression and suppressing spurious transcription. Most methods to scan the genome in different tissues for differentially methylated sites have focused on the methylation of CpGs in CpG islands, which are concentrations of CpGs often associated with gene promoters. RESULTS: Here, we use a methylation profiling strategy that is predominantly responsive to methylation differences outside of CpG islands. The method compares the yield from two samples of size-selected fragments generated by a methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme. We then profile nine different normal tissues from two human donors relative to spleen using a custom array of genomic clones covering the euchromatic portion of human chromosome 1 and representing 8% of the human genome. We observe gross regional differences in methylation states across chromosome 1 between tissues from the same individual, with the most striking differences detected in the comparison of cerebellum and spleen. Profiles of the same tissue from different donors are strikingly similar, as are the profiles of different lobes of the brain. Comparing our results with published gene expression levels, we find that clones exhibiting extreme ratios reflecting low relative methylation are statistically enriched for genes with high expression ratios, and vice versa, in most pairs of tissues examined. CONCLUSION: The varied patterns of methylation differences detected between tissues by our methylation profiling method reinforce the potential functional significance of regional differences in methylation levels outside of CpG islands.
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| 13. |
- Dutt, Amit, et al.
(författare)
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Drug-sensitive FGFR2 mutations in endometrial carcinoma
- 2008
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 105:25, s. 8713-8717
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Oncogenic activation of tyrosine kinases is a common mechanism of carcinogenesis and, given the druggable nature of these enzymes, an attractive target for anticancer therapy. Here, we show that somatic mutations of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) tyrosine kinase gene, FGFR2, are present in 12% of endometrial carcinomas, with additional instances found in lung squamous cell carcinoma and cervical carcinoma. These FGFR2 mutations, many of which are identical to mutations associated with congenital craniofacial developmental disorders, are constitutively activated and oncogenic when ectopically expressed in NIH 3T3 cells. Inhibition of FGFR2 kinase activity in endometrial carcinoma cell lines bearing such FGFR2 mutations inhibits transformation and survival, implicating FGFR2 as a novel therapeutic target in endometrial carcinoma.
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| 14. |
- Eslamboli, Andisheh, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term consequences of human alpha-synuclein overexpression in the primate ventral midbrain.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Brain. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2156 .- 0006-8950. ; 130:3, s. 799-815
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Overexpression of human alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) using recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors provides a novel tool to study neurodegenerative processes seen in Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies. We used a pseudotyped rAAV2/5 vector to express human wild-type (wt) alpha-syn, A53T mutated alpha-syn, or the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the primate ventral midbrain. Twenty-four adult common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) were followed with regular behavioural tests for 1 year after transduction. alpha-Syn overexpression affected motor behaviour such that all animals remained asymptomatic for at least 9 weeks, then motor bias comprising head position bias and full body rotations were seen in wt-alpha-syn expressing animals between 15 and 27 weeks; in the later phase, the animals overexpressing the A53T alpha -syn, in particular, showed a gradual worsening of motor performance, with increased motor coordination errors. Histological analysis from animals overexpressing either the wt or A53T alpha -syn showed prominent degeneration of dopaminergic fibres in the striatum. In the ventral midbrain, however, the dopaminergic neurodegeneration was more prominent in the A53T group than in the WT group suggesting differential toxicity of these two proteins in the primate brain. The surviving cell bodies and their processes in the substantia nigra were stained by antibodies to the pathological form of alpha-syn that is phosphorylated at Ser position 129. Moreover, we found, for the first time, ubiquitin containing aggregates after overexpression of alpha-syn in the primate midbrain. There was also a variable loss of oligodendroglial cells in the cerebral peduncle. These histological and behavioural data suggest that this model provides unique opportunities to study progressive neurodegeneration in the dopaminergic system and deposition of alpha-syn and ubiquitin similar to that seen in Parkinson's disease, and to test novel therapeutic targets for neuroprotective strategies.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
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| 18. |
- Linten, D, et al.
(författare)
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Low-power voltage-controlled oscillators in 90-nm CMOS using high-quality thin-film postprocessed inductors
- 2005
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Ingår i: IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits. - 0018-9200. ; 40:9, s. 1922-1931
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wafer-level packaging (WLP) technology offers novel opportunities for the realization of high-quality on-chip passives needed in RF front-ends. This paper demonstrates a thin-film WLP technology on top of a 90-nm RF CMOS process with one 15-GHz and two low-power 5-GHz voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) using a high-quality WLP or above-IC inductor. The 5-GHz VCOs have a power consumption of 0.33 mW and a phase noise of - 115 dBc/Hz and -111 dBc/Hz; at 1-MHz offset, respectively, and the 15-GHz VCO has a phase noise of -105 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset with a power consumption of 2.76 mW.
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| 19. |
- Pecoits-Filho, R, et al.
(författare)
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Overview of peritoneal dialysis in Latin America
- 2007
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Ingår i: Peritoneal dialysis international : journal of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis. - 0896-8608. ; 27:3, s. 316-321
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 20. |
- Vaca Ramirez, Rodrigo Alberto, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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A vertical handoff decision algorithm which considers the uncertainty during the decision making process
- 2009
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Ingår i: 2009 IFIP International Conference on Wireless and Optical Communications Networks, WOCN 2009. - 9781424434749
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract-We present in this paper a novel solution to the problem of vertical handoff for wireless networks when a mobile node carries multiple communication sessions with different QoS requirements. We solve this issue by treating it as a group decision making problem. We extend the classical AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method to provide the mobile node with two types of solutions: a deterministic solution and a probabilistic one. The method we propose provides the mobile node with a wider range of parameters so as to make a more accurate decision whenhanding off to a different network.
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