| 1. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(författare)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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Ingår i: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Abe, O, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials
- 2005
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Ingår i: The Lancet. - 1474-547X. ; 365:9472, s. 1687-1717
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Quinquennial overviews (1985-2000) of the randomised trials in early breast cancer have assessed the 5-year and 10-year effects of various systemic adjuvant therapies on breast cancer recurrence and survival. Here, we report the 10-year and 15-year effects. Methods Collaborative meta-analyses were undertaken of 194 unconfounded randomised trials of adjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy that began by 1995. Many trials involved CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil), anthracycline-based combinations such as FAC (fluorouracil, doxombicin, cyclophosphamide) or FEC (fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide), tamoxifen, or ovarian suppression: none involved taxanes, trastuzumab, raloxifene, or modem aromatase inhibitors. Findings Allocation to about 6 months of anthracycline-based polychemotherapy (eg, with FAC or FEC) reduces the annual breast cancer death rate by about 38% (SE 5) for women younger than 50 years of age when diagnosed and by about 20% (SE 4) for those of age 50-69 years when diagnosed, largely irrespective of the use of tamoxifen and of oestrogen receptor (ER) status, nodal status, or other tumour characteristics. Such regimens are significantly (2p=0 . 0001 for recurrence, 2p<0 . 00001 for breast cancer mortality) more effective than CMF chemotherapy. Few women of age 70 years or older entered these chemotherapy trials. For ER-positive disease only, allocation to about 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen reduces the annual breast cancer death rate by 31% (SE 3), largely irrespective of the use of chemotherapy and of age (<50, 50-69, &GE; 70 years), progesterone receptor status, or other tumour characteristics. 5 years is significantly (2p<0 . 00001 for recurrence, 2p=0 . 01 for breast cancer mortality) more effective than just 1-2 years of tamoxifen. For ER-positive tumours, the annual breast cancer mortality rates are similar during years 0-4 and 5-14, as are the proportional reductions in them by 5 years of tamoxifen, so the cumulative reduction in mortality is more than twice as big at 15 years as at 5 years after diagnosis. These results combine six meta-analyses: anthracycline-based versus no chemotherapy (8000 women); CMF-based versus no chemotherapy (14 000); anthracycline-based versus CMF-based chemotherapy (14 000); about 5 years of tamoxifen versus none (15 000); about 1-2 years of tamoxifen versus none (33 000); and about 5 years versus 1-2 years of tamoxifen (18 000). Finally, allocation to ovarian ablation or suppression (8000 women) also significantly reduces breast cancer mortality, but appears to do so only in the absence of other systemic treatments. For middle-aged women with ER-positive disease (the commonest type of breast cancer), the breast cancer mortality rate throughout the next 15 years would be approximately halved by 6 months of anthracycline-based chemotherapy (with a combination such as FAC or FEC) followed by 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen. For, if mortality reductions of 38% (age <50 years) and 20% (age 50-69 years) from such chemotherapy were followed by a further reduction of 31% from tamoxifen in the risks that remain, the final mortality reductions would be 57% and 45%, respectively (and, the trial results could well have been somewhat stronger if there had been full compliance with the allocated treatments). Overall survival would be comparably improved, since these treatments have relatively small effects on mortality from the aggregate of all other causes. Interpretation Some of the widely practicable adjuvant drug treatments that were being tested in the 1980s, which substantially reduced 5-year recurrence rates (but had somewhat less effect on 5-year mortality rates), also substantially reduce 15-year mortality rates. Further improvements in long-term survival could well be available from newer drugs, or better use of older drugs.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Berntorp, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Inhibitor treatment in haemophilas A and B: Summary statement for the 2006 International Consensus Conference
- 2006
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Ingår i: Haemophilia. - : Wiley. - 1351-8216 .- 1365-2516. ; 12, s. 41281-41281
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Participants in an international conference on the management of haemophilia patients with inhibitors developed a jointly authored summary of the findings and conclusions of the conference. Current knowledge of the genetic and immunologic mechanisms underlying inhibitor development was briefly summarized. Concerning the purported treatment-related risk factors, conference participants commented on the limitations of the available evidence and the need for more rigorous prospective research in a fully genotyped population. Other clinical considerations discussed included the unproved utility of routine surveillance, the need for assay standardization, the management of acute bleeding and approaches to joint disease prophylaxis and immune tolerance induction (ITI). A number of issues were identified as needing further investigation in larger prospective studies, ideally through international cooperation. Such studies should enrol cohorts that have been scrupulously defined in terms of mutation status and treatment exposure. Finally, conference participants urged their colleagues to participate in the currently ongoing international trials of ITI.
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| 6. |
- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(författare)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy in higher eukaryotes
- 2008
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Ingår i: Autophagy. - : Landes Bioscience. - 1554-8627 .- 1554-8635. ; 4:2, s. 151-175
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research in autophagy continues to accelerate,1 and as a result many new scientists are entering the field. Accordingly, it is important to establish a standard set of criteria for monitoring macroautophagy in different organisms. Recent reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose.2,3 There are many useful and convenient methods that can be used to monitor macroautophagy in yeast, but relatively few in other model systems, and there is much confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure macroautophagy in higher eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers of autophagosomes versus those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway; thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from fully functional autophagy that includes delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of the methods that can be used by investigators who are attempting to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as by reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that investigate these processes. This set of guidelines is not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to verify an autophagic response.
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| 7. |
- Hoots, W. K., et al.
(författare)
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Secondary prophylaxis with recombinant activated factor VII improves health-related quality of life of haemophilia patients with inhibitors
- 2008
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Ingår i: Haemophilia. - : Wiley. - 1351-8216 .- 1365-2516. ; 14:3, s. 466-466
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Haemophilia patients with inhibitors characteristically have impaired joint function and reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This analysis examined whether secondary prophylaxis with recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) improves HRQoL vs. conventional on-demand therapy in patients with haemophilia with inhibitors and frequent bleeds. After a 3-month preprophylaxis period, 22 patients received daily rFVIIa prophylaxis (90 or 270 mu g kg(-1)) for 3 months, followed by 3 months' postprophylaxis. Days of hospitalization, absence from school/work and mobility aids requirements were recorded. HRQoL was assessed by EuroQoL (EQ-5D) questionnaire, visual analogue scale (VAS), derived Time to Trade-Off (TTO) scores and Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). rFVIIa prophylaxis significantly (P < 0.0001) reduced bleeding frequency vs. prior on-demand therapy. Hospitalization (5.9% vs. 13.5%; P = 0.0026) and absenteeism from school/work (16.7% vs. 38.7%; P = 0.0127) decreased during prophylaxis; these effects tended to be maintained during postprophylaxis. HRQoL (evaluated by EQ-5D) tended to improve during and after rFVIIa prophylaxis. Notably, pain decreased and mobility increased in 40.9% and 27.3% of patients, respectively, at the end of the postprophylaxis period vs. preprophylaxis. Median VAS score increased from 66 to 73 (P = 0.048), and TTO scores suggested better HRQoL (0.62 vs. 0.76; P = 0.054) during postprophylaxis than preprophylaxis. Small to moderate changes in effect sizes were reported for VAS and TTO scores. Median QALYs were 0.68 (VAS) and 0.73 (TTO). Reductions in bleeding frequency with secondary rFVIIa prophylaxis were associated with improved HRQoL vs. on-demand therapy.
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| 9. |
- Pérez-Torres, M. A., et al.
(författare)
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High-resolution observations of SN 2001gd in NGC 5033
- 2005
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 360, s. 1055-1062
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on 8.4-GHz very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of SN 2001gd in the spiral galaxy NGC 5033 made on 2002 June 26 (2002.48) and 2003 April 8 (2003.27). We used the interferometric visibility data to estimate angular diameter sizes for the supernova by model fitting. Our data nominally suggest a relatively strong deceleration for the expansion of SN 2001gd, but we cannot dismiss the possibility of a free supernova expansion. From our VLBI observations on 2003 April 8, we inferred a minimum total energy in relativistic particles and magnetic fields in the supernova shell of Emin= (0.3-14) × 1047 erg, and a corresponding equipartition average magnetic field of Bmin= 50-350 mG. We also present multiwavelength Very Large Array (VLA) measurements of SN 2001gd made at our second VLBI epoch at frequencies of 1.4, 4.9, 8.4, 15.0, 22.5 and 43.3 GHz. The VLA data are well fitted by an optically thin, synchrotron spectrum (α=-1.0 +/- 0.1; Sν~να), partially absorbed by thermal plasma. We obtain a supernova flux density of 1.02 +/- 0.05 mJy at the observing frequency of 8.4 GHz for the second epoch, which results in an isotropic radio luminosity of (6.0 +/- 0.3) × 1036 erg s-1 between 1.4 and 43.3 GHz, at an adopted distance of 13.1 Mpc. Finally, we report on an XMM-Newton X-ray detection of SN 2001gd on 2002 December 18. The supernova X-ray spectrum is consistent with optically thin emission from a soft component (associated with emission from the reverse shock) at a temperature of around 1 keV. The observed flux corresponds to an isotropic X-ray luminosity of LX= (1.4 +/- 0.4) × 1039 erg s-1 in the 0.3-5 keV band. We suggest that both radio and X-ray observations of SN 2001gd indicate that a circumstellar interaction similar to that displayed by SN 1993J in M 81 is taking place.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Coradeschi, Silvia, et al.
(författare)
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Human-inspired robots
- 2006
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Ingår i: IEEE Intelligent Systems. - 1541-1672. ; 21:4, s. 74-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Future robots will work in hospitals, elderly care centers, schools, and homes. Similarity with humans can facilitate interaction with a variety of users who don't have robotics expertise, so it make sense to take inspiration from humans when developing robots. However, humanlike appearance can also be deceiving, convincing users that robots can understand and do much more than they actually can. Developing a humanlike appearance must go hand in hand with increasing robots' cognitive, social, and perceptive capabilities. This installment of Trends & Controversies explores different aspects of human-inspired robots.
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| 12. |
- Halperin, J J, et al.
(författare)
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Practice parameter: treatment of nervous system Lyme disease (an evidence-based review): report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Neurology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 1526-632X .- 0028-3878. ; 69:1, s. 91-102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To provide evidence-based recommendations on the treatment of nervous system Lyme disease and post-Lyme syndrome. Three questions were addressed: 1) Which antimicrobial agents are effective? 2) Are different regimens preferred for different manifestations of nervous system Lyme disease? 3) What duration of therapy is needed? METHODS: The authors analyzed published studies (1983-2003) using a structured review process to classify the evidence related to the questions posed. RESULTS: The panel reviewed 353 abstracts which yielded 112 potentially relevant articles that were reviewed, from which 37 articles were identified that were included in the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: There are sufficient data to conclude that, in both adults and children, this nervous system infection responds well to penicillin, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, and doxycycline (Level B recommendation). Although most studies have used parenteral regimens for neuroborreliosis, several European studies support use of oral doxycycline in adults with meningitis, cranial neuritis, and radiculitis (Level B), reserving parenteral regimens for patients with parenchymal CNS involvement, other severe neurologic symptomatology, or failure to respond to oral regimens. The number of children (> or =8 years of age) enrolled in rigorous studies of oral vs parenteral regimens has been smaller, making conclusions less statistically compelling. However, all available data indicate results are comparable to those observed in adults. In contrast, there is no compelling evidence that prolonged treatment with antibiotics has any beneficial effect in post-Lyme syndrome (Level A).
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| 13. |
- Lundberg, Jon O., et al.
(författare)
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Nitrate and nitrite in biology, nutrition and therapeutics
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature Chemical Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1552-4450 .- 1552-4469. ; 5:12, s. 865-869
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Inorganic nitrate and nitrite from endogenous or dietary sources are metabolized in vivo to nitric oxide (NO) and other bioactive nitrogen oxides. The nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway is emerging as an important mediator of blood flow regulation, cell signaling, energetics and tissue responses to hypoxia. The latest advances in our understanding of the biochemistry, physiology and therapeutics of nitrate, nitrite and NO were discussed during a recent 2-day meeting at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.
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| 14. |
- Mahadeva, R, et al.
(författare)
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Polymers of Z alpha(1)-antitrypsin co-localize with neutrophils in emphysematous alveoli and are chemotactic in vivo
- 2005
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Ingår i: American Journal of Pathology. - 1525-2191. ; 166:2, s. 377-386
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The molecular mechanisms that cause emphysema are complex but most theories suggest that an excess of proteinases is a crucial requirement. This paradigm is exemplified by severe deficiency of the key antielastase within the lung: alpha(1)-antitrypsin. The Z mutant of alpha(1)-antitrypsin has a point mutation Glu342Lys in the hinge region of the molecule that renders it prone to intermolecular linkage and loop-sheet polymerization. Polymers of Z alpha(1)-antitrypsin aggregate within the liver leading to juvenile liver cirrhosis and the resultant plasma deficiency predisposes to premature emphysema. We show here that polymeric alpha(1)-antitrypsin co-localizes with neutrophils in the alveoli of individuals with Z alpha(1)-antitrypsin-related emphysema. The significance of this finding is underscored by the excess of neutrophils in these individuals and the demonstration that polymers cause an influx of neutrophils when instilled into murine lungs. Polymers exert their effect directly on neutrophils rather than via inflammatory cytokines. These data provide an explanation for the accelerated tissue destruction that is characteristic of Z alpha(1)-antitrypsin-related emphysema. The transition of native Z alpha(1)-antitrypsin to polymers inactivates its anti-proteinase function, and also converts it to a proinflammatory stimulus. These findings may also explain the progression of emphysema in some individual despite alpha(1)-antitrypsin replacement therapy.
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| 15. |
- Marchesini, Stefano, et al.
(författare)
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Massively parallel X-ray holography
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nature Photonics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1749-4885 .- 1749-4893. ; 2:9, s. 560-563
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Advances in the development of free-electron lasers offer the realistic prospect of nanoscale imaging on the timescale of atomic motions. We identify X-ray Fourier-transform holography(1,2,3) as a promising but, so far, inefficient scheme to do this. We show that a uniformly redundant array(4) placed next to the sample, multiplies the efficiency of X-ray Fourier transform holography by more than three orders of magnitude, approaching that of a perfect lens, and provides holographic images with both amplitude-and phase-contrast information. The experiments reported here demonstrate this concept by imaging a nano-fabricated object at a synchrotron source, and a bacterial cell with a soft-X-ray free-electron laser, where illumination by a single 15-fs pulse was successfully used in producing the holographic image. As X-ray lasers move to shorter wavelengths we expect to obtain higher spatial resolution ultrafast movies of transient states of matter.
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