| 1. |
- Kindstedt, Jonas, et al.
(author)
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Investigating the effect of clinical pharmacist intervention in transitions of care on drug-related hospital readmissions among the elderly : study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
- 2020
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2044-6055. ; 10:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Drug-related problems (DRPs) are a major cause of unplanned hospital admissions among elderly people, and transitions of care have been emphasised as a key area for improving patient safety. We have designed a complex clinical pharmacist intervention that targets people >= 75 years of age undergoing transitions of care from hospital to home and primary care. The main objective is to investigate if the intervention can reduce the risk of unplanned drug-related readmission within the first 180 days after the person is discharged from hospital.Methods and analysis: This is a randomised, controlled, superiority trial with two parallel arms. A total of 700 people >= 75 years will be assigned to either intervention or routine care (control). The intervention, which aims to find and manage DRPs, is initiated within a week of the person being discharged from hospital and combines repeated medical chart reviews, phone interviews and in some cases medication reviews. People in both study arms may have been the subject of a medication review during their ward stay. As the primary outcome, we will measure time until unplanned drug-related readmission within 180 days of leaving hospital and use log rank tests and Cox proportional hazard models to analyse differences between the groups. Further investigations of subgroup effects and adjustments of the regression models will be based on heart failure and cognitive impairment as prognostic factors.Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Umea (registration numbers 2017-69-31M, 2018-83-32M and 2018-254-32M). We intend to publish the results with open access in international peer-reviewed journals and present our findings at international conferences. The trial is expected to result in more than one published article and form part of two PhD theses.
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| 3. |
- Gidstedt, Simon, et al.
(author)
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Chemically enhanced primary treatment, microsieving, direct membrane filtration and GAC filtration of municipal wastewater : a pilot-scale study
- 2022
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In: Environmental Technology (United Kingdom). - : Taylor and Francis Ltd.. - 0959-3330 .- 1479-487X. ; , s. 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) followed by microsieving and direct membrane filtration (DMF) as ultrafiltration, was evaluated on pilot scale at a municipal wastewater treatment plant. In addition, a granular activated carbon (GAC) filter downstream of DMF was evaluated for the removal of organic micropollutants. Up to 80% of the total organic carbon (TOC) and 96% of the total phosphorus were removed by CEPT with microsieving. The additional contribution of subsequent DMF was minor, and only five days of downstream GAC filtration was possible due to fouling of the membrane. Of the 21 organic micropollutants analysed, all were removed (≥ 98%) by the GAC filter until 440 bed volumes, while CEPT with microsieving and DMF removed only a few compounds. Measurements of the oxygen uptake rate indicated that the required aeration for supplementary biological treatment downstream of CEPT with microsieving, both with and without subsequent DMF, was 20−25% of that in the influent wastewater. This study demonstrated the potential of using compact physicochemical processes to treat municipal wastewater, including the removal of organic micropollutants.
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| 4. |
- Gutiérrez, Saray, et al.
(author)
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Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Immune Cells.
- 2019
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In: International journal of molecular sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1422-0067. ; 20:20
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alterations on the immune system caused by omega-3 fatty acids have been described for 30 years. This family of polyunsaturated fatty acids exerts major alterations on the activation of cells from both the innate and the adaptive immune system, although the mechanisms for such regulation are diverse. First, as a constitutive part of the cellular membrane, omega-3 fatty acids can regulate cellular membrane properties, such as membrane fluidity or complex assembly in lipid rafts. In recent years, however, a new role for omega-3 fatty acids and their derivatives as signaling molecules has emerged. In this review, we describe the latest findings describing the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on different cells from the immune system and their possible molecular mechanisms.
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| 5. |
- Hammond, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Picodroplet partitioned whole genome amplification of low biomass samples preserves genomic diversity for metagenomic analysis
- 2016
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In: Microbiome. - : BioMed Central. - 2049-2618. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Whole genome amplification (WGA) is a challenging, key step in metagenomic studies of samples containing minute amounts of DNA, such as samples from low biomass environments. It is well known that multiple displacement amplification (MDA), the most commonly used WGA method for microbial samples, skews the genomic representation in the sample. We have combined MDA with droplet microfluidics to perform the reaction in a homogeneous emulsion. Each droplet in this emulsion can be considered an individual reaction chamber, allowing partitioning of the MDA reaction into millions of parallel reactions with only one or very few template molecules per droplet. Results: As a proof-of-concept, we amplified genomic DNA from a synthetic metagenome by MDA either in one bulk reaction or in emulsion and found that after sequencing, the species distribution was better preserved and the coverage depth was more evenly distributed across the genomes when the MDA reaction had been performed in emulsion. Conclusions: Partitioning MDA reactions into millions of reactions by droplet microfluidics is a straightforward way to improve the uniformity of MDA reactions for amplifying complex samples with limited amounts of DNA.
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| 6. |
- Hölling, Josefine, et al.
(author)
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Audio-Visual Interactive Art: Investigating the effect of gaze-controlled audio on visual attention and short-term memory
- 2021
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In: AM '21: Audio Mostly 2021 Proceedings. - New York, NY, USA : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article presents the development and testing of a system for interactive art. The system utilises eye tracking technology to detect the eye movements of people looking at a painting, and then uses this data to trigger sounds related to the painting. The system was developed in collaboration with a visual artist and a musician with the ultimate aim to integrate it into a new piece of interactive art. Described here in detail is the design and development of a prototype which was tested using a copy of a painting by Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights. Through this system we tested whether gaze-controlled audio affects visual attention and short term memory.
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| 7. |
- Lindetorp, Hans, 1968-, et al.
(author)
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Collaborative music-making : special educational needs school assistants as facilitators in performances with accessible digital musical instruments
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Computer Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9898. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The field of research dedicated to Accessible Digital Musical Instruments (ADMIs) is growing and there is an increased interest in promoting diversity and inclusion in music-making. We have designed a novel system built into previously tested ADMIs that aims at involving assistants, students with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), and a professional musician in playing music together. In this study the system is evaluated in a workshop setting using quantitative as well as qualitative methods. One of the main findings was that the sounds from the ADMIs added to the musical context without making errors that impacted the music negatively even when the assistants mentioned experiencing a split between attending to different tasks, and a feeling of insecurity toward their musical contribution. We discuss the results in terms of how we perceive them as drivers or barriers toward reaching our overarching goal of organizing a joint concert that brings together students from the SEN school with students from a music school with a specific focus on traditional orchestral instruments. Our study highlights how a system of networked and synchronized ADMIs could be conceptualized to include assistants more actively in collaborative music-making, as well as design considerations that support them as facilitators.
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| 8. |
- Lindström, Sara, et al.
(author)
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PCR amplification and genetic analysis in a microwell cell cultivation chip
- 2008
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In: 12th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences - The Proceedings of MicroTAS 2008 Conference. - : Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society. ; , s. 576-578
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a method for long-term single cell/clone cultivation followed by cell lysis, DNA amplification and detection of PCR product in a chip containing 672 individual microwells. By performing all steps on-chip in microwells, the proliferation and cell morphology of every single cell or clone can be linked to its genetic information. In this study two mammalian cell lines (mutated A431 vs. wild type U-2 OS) were used as a model system for mutation screening in the p53 gene. The presented method could improve the sensitivity in mutation frequency analysis of heterogeneous tumor samples.
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| 9. |
- Lindström, Sara, et al.
(author)
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PCR amplification and genetic analysis in a microwell cell culturing chip
- 2009
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In: Lab on a Chip. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1473-0197 .- 1473-0189. ; , s. 3465-3471
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have previously described a microwell chip designed for high throughput, long-term single-cell culturing and clonal analysis in individual wells providing a controlled way of studying high numbers of individual adherent or non-adherent cells. Here we present a method for the genetic analysis of cells cultured on-chip by PCR and minisequencing, demonstrated using two human adherent cell lines: one wild type and one with a single-base mutation in the p53 gene. Five wild type or mutated cells were seeded per well (in a defined set of wells, each holding 500 nL of culture medium) in a 672-microwell chip. The cell chip was incubated overnight, or cultured for up to five days, depending on the desired colony size, after which the cells were lysed and subjected to PCR directly in the wells. PCR products were detected, in the wells, using a biotinylated primer and a fluorescently labelled primer, allowing the products to be captured on streptavidin-coated magnetic beads and detected by a fluorescence microscope. In addition, to enable genetic analysis by minisequencing, the double-stranded PCR products were denatured and the immobilized strands were kept in the wells by applying a magnetic field from the bottom of the wells while the wells were washed, a minisequencing reaction mixture was added, and after incubation in appropriate conditions the expected genotypes were detected in the investigated microwells, simultaneously, by an array scanner. We anticipate that the technique could be used in mutation frequency screening, providing the ability to correlate cells' proliferative heterogeneity to their genetic heterogeneity, in hundreds of samples simultaneously. The presented method of single-cell culture and DNA amplification thus offers a potentially powerful alternative to single-cell PCR, with advantageous robustness and sensitivity
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| 10. |
- Mattsson, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Who enrols and graduates from web-based pharmacy education : experiences from Northern Sweden
- 2018
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In: Currents in pharmacy teaching and learning. - : Elsevier. - 1877-1297. ; 10:8, s. 1004-1012
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: As a response to the shortage of prescriptionists in Northern Sweden, a web-based Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy program was introduced at Umea. University in 2003. This study explored who is likely to enrol and graduate from the web-based bachelor program and whether the program has addressed the shortage of prescriptionists in rural Northern Sweden.Methods: Data from three different sources were included in this study; the initial cohort including students admitted to the program in 2003 (survey), the entire cohort including all people admitted to the program between 2003 and 2014 (university's admissions data) and the alumni cohort including graduates who participated in an alumni survey in 2015.Results: A typical student of the web-based pharmacy program is female, over 30 years of age, married or in a de-facto relationship and has children. Furthermore, the students graduating before 2009 were more likely to live in Northern Sweden compared to those graduating later.Discussion and conclusion: The results indicate that the introduction of a web-based bachelor of pharmacy program at Umea. University was to some extent able to address the shortage of prescriptionists in Northern Sweden. Web-based education may potentially help address the maldistribution of health professionals by providing flexible education opportunities.
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