1. |
- Hagell, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Effects of method of translation of patient-reported health outcome questionnaires : a randomized study of the translation of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life (RAQoL) Instrument for Sweden
- 2010
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In: Value in Health. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1098-3015 .- 1524-4733. ; 13:4, s. 424-430
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: To compare two versions of a questionnaire translated using forward-backward (FB) translation and dual-panel (DP) methodologies regarding preference of wording and psychometric properties.METHODS: The Rheumatoid Arthritis Quality of Life instrument was adapted into Swedish by two independent groups using FB and DP methodologies, respectively. Seven out of thirty resulting items were identical. Nonidentical items were evaluated regarding preference of wording by 23 bilingual Swedes, 50 people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 2 lay panels (n = 11). Psychometric performance was assessed from a postal survey of 200 people with RA randomly assigned to complete one version first and the other 2 weeks later.RESULTS: Preference did not differ among the 23 bilinguals (P = 0.196), whereas patients and lay people preferred DP over FB item versions (P < 0.0001). Postal survey response rates were 74% (FB) and 75% (DP). There were more missing item responses in the FB than the DP version (6.9% vs. 5.6%; P < 0.0001). Floor/ceiling effects were small (FB, 6.1/0%; DP, 4.4/0.7%) and reliability was 0.92 for both versions. Construct validity was similar for both versions. Differential item functioning by version was detected for five items but cancelled out and did not affect estimated person measures.CONCLUSIONS: The DP approach showed advantages over FB translation in terms of preference by the target population and by lay people, whereas there were no obvious psychometric differences. This suggests advantages of DP over FB translation from the patients' perspective, and does not support the commonly held view that FB translation is the "gold standard."
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2. |
- Alverson, George, et al.
(author)
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Experimental Search for W / Z Pairs and Higgs Bosons at Very High-Energy Hadron Hadron Colliders
- 1986
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In: Physics of the Superconducting Supercollider: Proceedings, 1986 Summer Study. ; C860623
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We study, from an experimental point of view, the main ways to detect standard high mass Higgs bosons (from 300 Gev up to about 1 TeV) when they decay into W- and Z- pairs at the SSC. We also consider the corresponding W- and Z”-pair continuum which may itself provide interesting physics, and we pay some attention to the case of an intermediate mass charged Higgs decaying into rvr, (met =300 GeV). We first explain why and how high energy pp colliders may search for Higgs’ and we compare their possible performances to those of the e+e- and ep colliders at all possible m-s scale (from few tens of GeV’s up to 1 TeV). We then estimate the rates of the signals and the main backgrounds. Wede5ne the main characteristics of these events as reproduced by M.C. generators (especially implemented with these processes) and simulated through an idealiied In fine-grained calorimeter. A trigger strategy for W- and Z-pairs is derived from this study.
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3. |
- Boateng, Irene, et al.
(author)
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Using microbiological data to improve the use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections: A protocol for an individual patient data meta-analysis
- 2023
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In: PLOS ONE. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1932-6203. ; 18:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundResistance to antibiotics is rising and threatens future antibiotic effectiveness. 'Antibiotic targeting' ensures patients who may benefit from antibiotics receive them, while being safely withheld from those who may not. Point-of-care tests may assist with antibiotic targeting by allowing primary care clinicians to establish if symptomatic patients have a viral, bacterial, combined, or no infection. However, because organisms can be harmlessly carried, it is important to know if the presence of the virus/bacteria is related to the illness for which the patient is being assessed. One way to do this is to look for associations with more severe/prolonged symptoms and test results. Previous research to answer this question for acute respiratory tract infections has given conflicting results with studies has not having enough participants to provide statistical confidence.AimTo undertake a synthesis of IPD from both randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational cohort studies of respiratory tract infections (RTI) in order to investigate the prognostic value of microbiological data in addition to, or instead of, clinical symptoms and signs.MethodsA systematic search of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Ovid Medline and Ovid Embase will be carried out for studies of acute respiratory infection in primary care settings. The outcomes of interest are duration of disease, severity of disease, repeated consultation with new/worsening illness and complications requiring hospitalisation. Authors of eligible studies will be contacted to provide anonymised individual participant data. The data will be harmonised and aggregated. Multilevel regression analysis will be conducted to determine key outcome measures for different potential pathogens and whether these offer any additional information on prognosis beyond clinical symptoms and signs.Trial registrationPROSPERO Registration number: CRD42023376769.
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5. |
- Broman, David, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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A comparison of two metacompilation approaches to implementing a complex domaispecific language
- 2012
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In: Proceedings of the 27th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC). - New York, NY, USA : ACM. - 9781450308571 ; , s. 1919-1921
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Operational semantics and attribute grammars are examples of formalisms that can be used for generating compilers. We are interested in finding similarities and differences in how these approaches are applied to complex languages, and for generating compilers of such maturity that they have users in industry.As a specific case, we present a comparative analysis of two compilers for Modelica, a language for physical modeling, and which contains numerous compilation challenges. The two compilers are OpenModelica, which is based on big-step operational semantics, and JModelica.org, which is based on reference attribute grammars.
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6. |
- Chemaly, Melody, et al.
(author)
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Biliverdin Reductase B Is a Plasma Biomarker for Intraplaque Hemorrhage and a Predictor of Ischemic Stroke in Patients with Symptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis
- 2023
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In: Biomolecules. - : MDPI AG. - 2218-273X. ; 13:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) is a hallmark of atherosclerotic plaque instability. Biliverdin reductase B (BLVRB) is enriched in plasma and plaques from patients with symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis and functionally associated with IPH. Objective: We explored the biomarker potential of plasma BLVRB through (1) its correlation with IPH in carotid plaques assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and with recurrent ischemic stroke, and (2) its use for monitoring pharmacotherapy targeting IPH in a preclinical setting. Methods: Plasma BLVRB levels were measured in patients with symptomatic carotid atherosclerosis from the PARISK study (n = 177, 5 year follow-up) with and without IPH as indicated by MRI. Plasma BLVRB levels were also measured in a mouse vein graft model of IPH at baseline and following antiangiogenic therapy targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2). Results: Plasma BLVRB levels were significantly higher in patients with IPH (737.32 & PLUSMN; 693.21 vs. 520.94 & PLUSMN; 499.43 mean fluorescent intensity (MFI), p = 0.033), but had no association with baseline clinical and biological parameters. Plasma BLVRB levels were also significantly higher in patients who developed recurrent ischemic stroke (1099.34 & PLUSMN; 928.49 vs. 582.07 & PLUSMN; 545.34 MFI, HR = 1.600, CI [1.092-2.344]; p = 0.016). Plasma BLVRB levels were significantly reduced following prevention of IPH by anti-VEGFR-2 therapy in mouse vein grafts (1189 & PLUSMN; 258.73 vs. 1752 & PLUSMN; 366.84 MFI; p = 0.004). Conclusions: Plasma BLVRB was associated with IPH and increased risk of recurrent ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic low- to moderate-grade carotid stenosis, indicating the capacity to monitor the efficacy of IPH-preventive pharmacotherapy in an animal model. Together, these results suggest the utility of plasma BLVRB as a biomarker for atherosclerotic plaque instability.
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7. |
- Claesson, Åsa, et al.
(author)
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lntegrated Optical Fiber Sensors in Additive Manufactured Metal Components for Smart Manufacturing Applications
- 2019
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In: Smart Systems Integration; 13th International Conference and Exhibition on Integration Issues of Miniaturized Systems.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This work combines fiber optic sensors with additive manufacturing to enable integration of temperature and strain sensors in metal components. In this paper, we present a fiber optic sensor network integrated in press hardening tools to monitor the contact between the tool and the metal sheet during forming operation. The tools are manufactured through metal powder bed fusion using laser melting processes (PBF-SLM), after which the tools are prepared for sensor integration. A demonstrator press hardening tool with integrated fiber optic sensors was heated using an electric heat foil and the sensor measurements was compared to a thermal simulation model. The sensor technology is based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs), integrated at several positions along the optical fiber. FBGs are in-fiber sensors that are multiplexed. lt is possible to place hundreds of FBG sensors along one single fiber, thus allowing for quasidistributed sensing of temperature or strain. The optical fiber itself can be less than 100 micrometer in diameter, allowing for sensing at several points in a minimally invasive way, when integrated in a tool or component.
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8. |
- Drobin, Dan, et al.
(author)
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Tranexamic acid does not prevent rebleeding in an uncontrolled hemorrhage porcine model
- 2005
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In: Journal of Trauma. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0022-5282 .- 1529-8809. ; 59:4, s. 976-983
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Fluid resuscitation after uncontrolled hemorrhage might promote rebleeding and irreversible shock. Tranexamic acid is a procoagulant drug that limits blood loss after surgery of the hip, knee, and heart. We hypothesized that pretreatment with tranexamic acid reduces the rebleeding in uncontrolled hemorrhage and thereby allows safe administration of crystalloid fluid resuscitation.METHODS: A 120-minute intravenous infusion of 100 mL/kg of Ringer's solution was given to 24 pigs (mean weight, 20 kg) 10 minutes after lacerating the infrarenal aorta. The animals were randomized to receive an intravenous injection of 15 mg/kg of tranexamic acid or placebo just before starting the resuscitation. Rebleeding events were monitored by two ultrasonic probes positioned proximal and distal to the laceration.RESULTS: Tranexamic acid had no effect on the number of rebleeding events, bled volume, or mortality. The initial bleeding stopped within 4 minutes after the injury. The five animals that died suffered from 4.4 rebleeding events on average, which tripled the total blood loss, whereas the survivors had only 1.3 such events during fluid resuscitation (p < 0.02). At autopsy, death was associated with a larger total hemorrhage; the blood recovered from the abdomen weighed 1.4 kg (median) in nonsurvivors and 0.6 kg in survivors (p < 0.001), with the difference being attributable to rebleeding.CONCLUSION: Rebleeding events increased the amount of blood lost and the mortality in uncontrolled aortic hemorrhage. Tranexamic acid offered no benefit.
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10. |
- Ferreira, Raphael, 1990, et al.
(author)
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Model-Assisted Fine-Tuning of Central Carbon Metabolism in Yeast through dCas9-Based Regulation
- 2019
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In: ACS Synthetic Biology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 2161-5063. ; 8:11, s. 2457-2463
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae for industrial-scale production of valuable chemicals involves extensive modulation of its metabolism. Here, we identified novel gene expression fine-tuning set-ups to enhance endogenous metabolic fluxes toward increasing levels of acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA. dCas9-based transcriptional regulation was combined together with a malonyl-CoA responsive intracellular biosensor to select for beneficial set-ups. The candidate genes for screening were predicted using a genome-scale metabolic model, and a gRNA library targeting a total of 168 selected genes was designed. After multiple rounds of fluorescence-activated cell sorting and library sequencing, the gRNAs that were functional and increased flux toward malonyl-CoA were assessed for their efficiency to enhance 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) production. 3-HP production was significantly improved upon fine-tuning genes involved in providing malonyl-CoA precursors, cofactor supply, as well as chromatin remodeling.
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