| 1. |
- Ahlsson, Anders, 1962-, et al.
(author)
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A Swedish consensus on the surgical treatment of concomitant atrial fibrillation
- 2012
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In: Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal. - London, United Kingdom : Informa Healthcare. - 1401-7431 .- 1651-2006. ; 46:4, s. 212-218
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia among patients scheduled for open heart surgery and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. According to international guidelines, symptomatic and selected asymptomatic patients should be offered concomitant surgical AF ablation in conjunction with valvular or coronary surgery. The gold standard in AF surgery is the Cox Maze III ("cut-and-sew") procedure, with surgical incisions in both atria according to a specified pattern, in order to prevent AF reentry circuits from developing. Over 90% of patients treated with the Cox Maze III procedure are free of AF after 1 year. Recent developments in ablation technology have introduced several energy sources capable of creating nonconducting atrial wall lesions. In addition, simplified lesion patterns have been suggested, but results with these techniques have been unsatisfactory. There is a clear need for standardization in AF surgery. The Swedish Arrhythmia Surgery Group, represented by surgeons from all Swedish units for cardiothoracic surgery, has therefore reached a consensus on surgical treatment of concomitant AF. This consensus emphasizes adherence to the lesion pattern in the Cox Maze III procedure and the use of biatrial lesions in nonparoxysmal AF.
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| 2. |
- Dahlin, Mats, et al.
(author)
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Internet-delivered acceptance-based behaviour therapy for generalized anxiety disorder : A randomized controlled trial
- 2016
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In: Behaviour Research and Therapy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0005-7967 .- 1873-622X. ; 77, s. 86-95
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disabling condition which can be treated with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). The present study tested the effects of therapist-guided internet-delivered acceptance-based behaviour therapy on symptoms of GAD and quality of life. An audio CD with acceptance and mindfulness exercises and a separate workbook were also included in the treatment. Participants diagnosed with GAD (N = 103) were randomly allocated to immediate therapist-guided internet-delivered acceptance-based behaviour therapy or to a waiting-list control condition. A six month follow-up was also included. Results using hierarchical linear modelling showed moderate to large effects on symptoms of GAD (Cohen's d = 0.70 to 0.98), moderate effects on depressive symptoms (Cohen's d = 0.51 to 0.56), and no effect on quality of life. Follow-up data showed maintained effects. While there was a 20% dropout rate, sensitivity analyses showed that dropouts did not differ in their degree of change during treatment. To conclude, our study suggests that internet-delivered acceptance-based behaviour therapy can be effective in reducing the symptoms of GAD.
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| 3. |
- Gilljam, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Heart transplantation in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy - Experience from the Nordic ARVC Registry
- 2018
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In: International Journal of Cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5273 .- 1874-1754. ; 250, s. 201-206
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: There is a paucity of data on heart transplantation (HTx) in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), and specific recommendations on indications for listing ARVC patients for HTx are lacking. In order to delineate features pertinent to HTx assessment, we explored the pre-HTx characteristics and clinical history in a cohort of ARVC patients who received heart transplants. Methods: Data from 31 ARVC/HTx patients enrolled in the Nordic ARVC Registry, transplanted between 1988 and 2014 at a median age of 46. years (14-65), were compared with data from 152 non-transplanted probands with Definite ARVC according to 2010 Task Force Criteria from the same registry. Results: The HTx patients were younger at presentation, median 31 vs. 38. years (p = 0.001). There was no difference in arrhythmia-related events. The indication for HTx was heart failure in 28 patients (90%) and ventricular arrhythmias in 3 patients (10%). During median follow-up of 4.9. years (0.04-28), there was one early death and two late deaths. Survival was 91% at 5. years after HTx. Age at first symptoms under 35. years independently predicted HTx in our cohort (OR = 7.59, 95% CI 2.69-21.39, p <. 0.001). Conclusion: HTx in patients with ARVC is performed predominantly due to heart failure. This suggests that current 2016 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation heart transplant listing recommendations for other cardiomyopathies could be applicable in many cases when taking into account the haemodynamic consequences of right ventricular failure in conjunction with ventricular arrhythmia.
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| 4. |
- Honarpardaz, Mohammadali, et al.
(author)
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Generic Automated Multi-function Finger Design
- 2016
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In: 2016 SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND AUTOMATION SCIENCE (ICMEAS 2016). - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multi-function fingers that are able to handle multiple workpieces are crucial in improvement of a robot workcell. Design automation of multi-function fingers is highly demanded by robot industries to overcome the current iterative, time consuming and complex manual design process. However, the existing approaches for the multi-function finger design automation are unable to entirely meet the robot industries need. This paper proposes a generic approach for design automation of multi-function fingers. The proposed approach completely automates the design process and requires no expert skill. In addition, this approach executes the design process much faster than the current manual process. To validate the approach, multi-function fingers are successfully designed for two case studies. Further, the results are discussed and benchmarked with existing approaches.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Norman, Viktor
(author)
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Fatigue of Heavy-Vehicle Engine Materials : Experimental Analysis and Life Estimation
- 2015
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The heavy-vehicle automotive industry is constantly subjected to higher demands. In particular, new European emission standards are formulated with the intention of improving the environmental friendliness of newly-produced vehicles through reduced exhaust emission. In one way or another, this implies a successive improvement of the engine efficiency, which in turn, inevitably will require a higher combustion pressure and temperature. This is a respectable challenge for future engine constructions, but also for the engineering materials used to embody them. As higher thermal and mechanical loads must be sustained, there is a higher rate of wear, and consequently, a negative effect on the extent of the engine lifetime.The aim of the present thesis is to confront the expected increase in rate of wear, henceforth referred to as fatigue, by studying the effect on materials typically employed in heavy-vehicle engines, namely cast irons. Foremost, the intention has been to improve the understanding of the physical mechanisms of fatigue in these materials, in order to develop a lifetime estimation method designated to assist the mechanical design of heavy-vehicle engines.In essence, a large set of thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) and combined thermo-mechanical and high-cycle fatigue (TMF-HCF) tests has been conducted at engine load conditions on laboratory specimens of lamellar, compacted and spheroidal graphite irons. In this way, these three different material groups have been experimentally compared and the associated fatigue mechanism has been studied. In particular, a new property related to TMF-HCF conditions has been identified and measured, . Regarding the fatigue mechanism, it has been affirmed to consist of the initiation, propagation and coalescence of numerous microcracks. Based on this, a successful lifetime assessment model was formulated, allowing good estimations of the fatigue life of laboratory specimens subjected to both TMF and TMF-HCF conditions.
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| 7. |
- Sannö, Anna, 1978-, et al.
(author)
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Approaching Sustainable Energy Management Operations in a Multinational Industrial Corporation
- 2019
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In: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 11:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A large share of the energy efficiency improvement measures available for industrial companies remains unadopted due to the existence of various barriers to energy efficiency. One of the main means of overcoming barriers to energy efficiency is via energy management operations. The major parts of the published scientific papers have covered energy management on a company level or on a sector level. However, so far, the literature is scarce regarding empirical studies on energy management on a corporate level. With the aim of filling the research gap, the aim of this paper is to empirically assess the performance of an in-house energy management program adoption from the year of initiation and four years ahead in the multinational company Volvo CE. The paper was conducted as a case study including a participative approach, which has not previously been done in energy management research. This paper adds value, through complementing the existing literature on energy management on a factory or sector level, by highlighting the importance of leadership, speed of execution, and cultural transformation on a corporate level.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Skoglund, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Fatigue and strength of new grey iron alloys for break discs
- 2013
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In: Seventh International Conference on Low Cycle Fatigue. - Berlin : Deutscher Verband für Materialforschung und -Prüfung E.V.. - 9783981451627 ; , s. 45-50
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The static and low cycle fatigue properties of four pearlitic grey iron alloys intended for brake discs are investigated. The effect of alloying a base composition with 0.1 wt% and 0.3 wt% niobium is compared to a 0.3 wt% addition of the more conventional alloying element molybdenum. The results show that the static properties remain unaffected for an Nb content of 0.1 wt% while an addition of 0.3 wt% Nb or 0.3 wt% Mo increases the strength compared to the base alloy without Nb and Mo. The fatigue life on the other hand remains more or less unaffected by the alloying, although the stress levels are substantially higher for the compositions with 0.3 wt% Mo or 0.3 wt% Nb. Thus, the experiments show that graphite is very important for the low cycle fatigue life. It is also seen that crack propagation controls more than 90% of the life. Full scale brake dynamometer crack tests also gave a similar fatigue life of the different brake disc alloys independent of the composition.
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