| 1. |
- Abele, H., et al.
(författare)
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Particle physics at the European Spallation Source
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physics reports. - : Elsevier. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 1023, s. 1-84
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Presently under construction in Lund, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS) will be the world’s brightest neutron source. As such, it has the potential for a particle physics program with a unique reach and which is complementary to that available at other facilities. This paper describes proposed particle physics activities for the ESS. These encompass the exploitation of both the neutrons and neutrinos produced at the ESS for high precision (sensitivity) measurements (searches).
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| 2. |
- Geser, F, et al.
(författare)
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The European Multiple System Atrophy-Study Group (EMSA-SG)
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of Neural Transmission. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0300-9564 .- 1435-1463. ; 112:12, s. 1677-1686
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction. The European Multiple System Atrophy-Study Group (EMSA-SG) is an academic network comprising 23 centers across Europe and Israel that has constituted itself already in January 1999. This international forum of established experts under the guidance of the University Hospital of Innsbruck as coordinating center is supported by the 5th framework program of the European Union since March 2001 (QLK6-CT-2000-00661). Objectives. Primary goals of the network include (1) a central Registry for European multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients, (2) a decentralized DNA Bank, (3) the development and validation of the novel Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS), (4) the conduction of a Natural History Study (NHS), and (5) the planning or implementation of interventional therapeutic trials. Methods. The EMSA-SG Registry is a computerized data bank localized at the coordinating centre in Innsbruck collecting diagnostic and therapeutic data of MSA patients. Blood samples of patients and controls are recruited into the DNA Bank. The UMSARS is a novel specific rating instrument that has been developed and validated by the EMSA-SG. The NHS comprises assessments of basic anthropometric data as well as a range of scales including the UMSARS, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), measures of global disability, Red Flag list, MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination), quality of live measures, i.e. EuroQoL 5D (EQ-5D) and Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36) as well as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In a subgroup of patients dysautonomic features are recorded in detail using the Queen Square Cardiovascular Autonomic Function Test Battery, the Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS) and measurements of residual urinary volume. Most of these measures are repeated at 6-monthly follow up visits for a total study period of 24 months. Surrogate markers of the disease progression are identified by the EMSA-SG using magnetic resonance and diffusion weighted imaging (MRI and DWI, respectively). Results. 412 patients have been recruited into the Registry so far. Probable MSA-P was the most common diagnosis (49% of cases). 507 patients donated DNA for research. 131 patients have been recruited into the NHS. There was a rapid deterioration of the motor disorder (in particular akinesia) by 26.1% of the UMSARS II, and - to a lesser degree - of activities of daily living by 16.8% of the UMSARS I in relation to the respective baseline scores. Motor progression was associated with low motor or global disability as well as low akinesia or cerebellar subscores at baseline. Mental function did not deteriorate during this short follow up period. Conclusion. For the first time, prospective data concerning disease progression are available. Such data about the natural history and prognosis of MSA as well as surrogate markers of disease process allow planning and implementation of multi-centre phase II/III neuroprotective intervention trials within the next years more effectively. Indeed, a trial on growth hormone in MSA has just been completed, and another on minocycline will be completed by the end of this year.
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| 3. |
- Schrag, A, et al.
(författare)
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Health-related quality of life in multiple system atrophy
- 2006
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Ingår i: Movement Disorders. - : Wiley. - 0885-3185. ; 21:6, s. 809-815
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to progressive disability and decreased life expectancy, little is known about patients' own evaluation of their illness and factors associated with poor health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL). We, therefore, assessed Hr-QoL and its determinants in MSA. The following scales were applied to 115 patients in the European MSA-Study Group (EMSA-SG) Natural History Study: Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36), EQ-513, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE), Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS), Hoehn & Yahr (H&Y) Parkinson's disease staging scale, Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS), and Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS). Forty-six percent of patients had moderate to severe depression (BDI >= 17); Hr-QoL scores on the SF-36 and EQ-5D were significantly impaired. Pain, the only domain with similar scores in MSA and published PD patients, was reported more frequently in patients with MSA-P (predominantly parkinsonian motor subtype) than MSA-C (predominantly cerebellar motor subtype; 76% vs. 50%; P = 0.005). Hr-QoL scores correlated most strongly with UMSARS motor, COMPASS, and BDI scores but not with MMSE scores, age at onset, or disease duration. The COMPASS and UMSARS activities of daily living scores were moderate-to-strong predictors for the SF-36 physical summary score and the BDI and UMSARS motor scores for the SF-36 mental summary score. This report is the first study to show that Hr-QoL is significantly impaired in MSA. Although not all possible factors related to impaired Hr-QoL in MSA could be assessed, autonomic dysfunction, motor impairment, and depression were most closely associated with poor Hr-QoL, and therapeutic management, therefore, should concentrate upon these aspects of the disease. (c) 2006 Movement Disorder Society.
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| 4. |
- Brucker, S. Y., et al.
(författare)
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Living-Donor Uterus Transplantation: Pre-, Intra-, and Postoperative Parameters Relevant to Surgical Success, Pregnancy, and Obstetrics with Live Births
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Medicine. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-0383. ; 9:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Uterus transplantation (UTx) can provide a route to motherhood for women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS), a congenital disorder characterized by uterovaginal aplasia, but with functional ovaries. Based on our four successful living-donor transplantations and two resulting births, this analysis presents parameters relevant to standardizing recipient/donor selection, UTx surgery, and postoperative treatment, and their implementation in routine settings. We descriptively analyzed prospectively collected observational data from our four uterus recipients, all with MRKHS, their living donors, and the two newborns born to two recipients, including 1-year postnatal follow-ups. Analysis included only living-donor/recipient pairs with completed donor/recipient surgery. Two recipients, both requiring ovarian restimulation under immunosuppression after missed pregnancy loss in one case and no pregnancy in the other, each delivered a healthy boy by cesarean section. We conclude that parameters crucial to successful transplantation, pregnancy, and childbirth include careful selection of donor/recipient pairs, donor organ quality, meticulous surgical technique, a multidisciplinary team approach, and comprehensive follow-up. Surgery duration and blood vessel selection await further optimization, as do the choice and duration of immunosuppression, which are crucial to timing the first embryo transfer. Data need to be collected in an international registry due to the low prevalence of MRKHS.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Servetto, N., et al.
(författare)
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Molecular responses to ocean acidification in an Antarctic bivalve and an ascidian
- 2023
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 903
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Southern Ocean organisms are considered particularly vulnerable to Ocean acidification (OA), as they inhabit cold waters where calcite-aragonite saturation states are naturally low. It is also generally assumed that OA would affect calcifying animals more than non-calcifying animals. In this context, we aimed to study the impact of reduced pH on both types of species: the ascidian Cnemidocarpa verrucosa sp. A, and the bivalve Aequiyoldia eightsii, from an Antarctic fjord. We used gene expression profiling and enzyme activity to study the responses of these two Antarctic benthic species to OA. We report the results of an experiment lasting 66 days, comparing the molecular mechanisms underlying responses under two pCO2 treatments (ambient and elevated pCO2). We observed 224 up-regulated and 111 down-regulated genes (FC >= 2; p-value <= 0.05) in the ascidian. In particular, the decrease in pH caused an upregulation of genes involved in the immune system and antioxidant response. While fewer differentially expressed (DE) genes were observed in the infaunal bivalve, 34 genes were up -regulated, and 69 genes were downregulated (FC >= 2; p-value <= 0.05) in response to OA. We found down -regulated genes involved in the oxidoreductase pathway (such as glucose dehydrogenase and trimethyl lysine dioxygenase), while the heat shock protein 70 was up-regulated. This work addresses the effect of OA in two common, widely distributed Antarctic species, showing striking results. Our major finding highlights the impact of OA on the non-calcifying species, a result that differ from the general trend, which describes a higher impact on calcifying species. This calls for discussion of potential effects on non-calcifying species, such as ascidians, a diverse and abundant group that form extended three-dimensional clusters in shallow waters and shelf areas in the Southern Ocean.
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| 7. |
- Hoogewijs, D., et al.
(författare)
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From critters to cancers: bridging comparative and clinical research on oxygen sensing, HIF signaling, and adaptations towards hypoxia
- 2007
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Ingår i: Integrative and Comparative Biology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1557-7023 .- 1540-7063. ; 47:4, s. 552-577
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this symposium at the First International Congress of Respiratory Biology (ICRB) was to enhance communication between comparative biologists and cancer researchers working on O-2 sensing via the HIF pathway. Representatives from both camps came together on August 13-16, 2006, in Bonn, Germany, to discuss molecular adaptations that occur after cells have been challenged by a reduced (hypoxia) or completely absent (anoxia) supply of oxygen. This brief "critters-to-cancer" survey discusses current projects and new directions aimed at improving understanding of hypoxic signaling and developing therapeutic interventions.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Abele, S, et al.
(författare)
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Reactive surfactants in heterophase polymerization. 10. Characterization of the surface activity of new polymerizable surfactants derived from maleic anhydride
- 1997
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Ingår i: Langmuir. - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 13, s. 176-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Characterization of the surface activity of previously obtained polymerizable dialkyl maleates is performed to find out the relation between the structure of surfactants and their performances. The given polymerizable surfactants were synthesized for using in the emulsion polymerization. Three groups of dialkyl maleates-nonionic, cationic and zwitterionic-with different chain lengths of hydrophobic alkyl groups are investigated. Critical micelle concentration (cmc) values are determined for water soluble surfactants. It is found that cmc decreases with increasing chain length of the hydrophobic alkyl group. For nonionic and cationic surfactants interfacial tension at the interface between water and dodecane is measured. Droplet size in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions is determined for all given surfactants. Cationic and zwitterionic dialkyl maleates with the longest investigated alkyl chain (R=C16H33, C17H35) provide good stability of O/W emulsions. In order to compare the obtained results, measurements with well-known surfactants-nonionic nonylphenol-poly(ethylene oxide) (NPEO10) and cationic hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)-are performed.
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| 10. |
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