| 11. |
- Lambert, A., et al.
(författare)
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Validation of the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder middle atmosphere water vapor and nitrous oxide measurements
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 112:D24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The quality of the version 2.2 (v2.2) middle atmosphere water vapor and nitrous oxide measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite is assessed. The impacts of the various sources of systematic error are estimated by a comprehensive set of retrieval simulations. Comparisons with correlative data sets from ground-based, balloon and satellite platforms operating in the UV/ visible, infrared and microwave regions of the spectrum are performed. Precision estimates are also validated, and recommendations are given on the data usage. The v2.2 H 2 O data have been improved over v1.5 by providing higher vertical resolution in the lower stratosphere and better precision above the stratopause. The single-profile precision is ∼0.2-0.3 ppmv (4-9%), and the vertical resolution is ∼3-4 km in the stratosphere. The precision and vertical resolution become worse with increasing height above the stratopause. Over the pressure range 0.1-0.01 hPa the precision degrades from 0.4 to 1.1 ppmv (6-34%), and the vertical resolution degrades to ∼12-16 km. The accuracy is estimated to be 0.2-0.5 ppmv (4-11%) for the pressure range 68-0.01 hPa. The scientifically useful range of the H 2 O data is from 316 to 0.002 hPa, although only the 82-0.002 hPa pressure range is validated here. Substantial improvement has been achieved in the v2.2 N 2 O data over v1.5 by reducing a significant low bias in the stratosphere and eliminating unrealistically high biased mixing ratios in the polar regions. The single-profile precision is ∼13-25 ppbv (7-38%), the vertical resolution is ∼4-6 km and the accuracy is estimated to be 3-70 ppbv (9-25%) for the pressure range 100-4.6 hPa. The scientifically useful range of the N 2 O data is from 100 to 1 hPa. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.
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| 12. |
- Hallquist, Mattias, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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The formation, properties and impact of secondary organic aerosol: Current and emerging issues
- 2009
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 9:14, s. 5155-5236
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) accounts for a significant fraction of ambient tropospheric aerosol and a detailed knowledge of the formation, properties and transformation of SOA is therefore required to evaluate its impact on atmospheric processes, climate and human health. The chemical and physical processes associated with SOA formation are complex and varied, and, despite considerable progress in recent years, a quantitative and predictive understanding of SOA formation does not exist and therefore represents a major research challenge in atmospheric science. This review begins with an update on the current state of knowledge on the global SOA budget and is followed by an overview of the atmospheric degradation mechanisms for SOA precursors, gas-particle partitioning theory and the analytical techniques used to determine the chemical composition of SOA. A survey of recent laboratory, field and modeling studies is also presented. The following topical and emerging issues are highlighted and discussed in detail: molecular characterization of biogenic SOA constituents, condensed phase reactions and oligomerization, the interaction of atmospheric organic components with sulfuric acid, the chemical and photochemical processing of organics in the atmospheric aqueous phase, aerosol formation from real plant emissions, interaction of atmospheric organic components with water, thermodynamics and mixtures in atmospheric models. Finally, the major challenges ahead in laboratory, field and modeling studies of SOA are discussed and recommendations for future research directions are proposed.
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| 13. |
- Lenzen, M. J., et al.
(författare)
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Under-utilization of evidence-based drug treatment in patients with heart failure is only partially explained by dissimilarity to patients enrolled in landmark trials: a report from the Euro Heart Survey on Heart Failure
- 2005
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Ingår i: European heart journal. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645. ; 26:24, s. 2706-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: Surveys on heart failure management suggest under-utilization of life-saving evidence-based treatment. Evidence-based medicine and clinical guidelines are based on the results of randomized controlled trials. Therefore, we investigated how patients who fulfilled the enrolment criteria of randomized trials were treated in real life. METHODS AND RESULTS: We selected three large placebo-controlled trials of patients with chronic heart failure, in which ACE-inhibitors (ACE-Is), beta-blockers, and spironolactone proved to be safe and effective. The major enrolment criteria of trials were identified and applied to patients enrolled in the Euro Heart Survey on Heart Failure to identify the proportion of patients eligible for treatment and also treated appropriately. Of the 10 701 patients who were enrolled in the Euro Heart Survey on Heart Failure, only a small percentage (13%) would have qualified for participation in at least one of the selected trials. Patients who fulfilled enrolment criteria of the identified trials were more likely to be treated with ACE-Is (83% of SOLVD-eligible patients), beta-blockers (54% of MERIT-HF-eligible patients), and aldosterone antagonists (43% of RALES-eligible patients) than trial-ineligible patients. Almost half of SOLVD-eligible patients who were treated with ACE-Is received the target dose as recommended in the guidelines, but only <10% of MERIT-HF eligible patients who were treated with beta-blockers received the target dose. CONCLUSION: ACE-Is are widely utilized but given in lower doses than proven effective in clinical trials. beta-Blockers are underused and given in lower doses to patients who fulfil the enrolment criteria of relevant landmark trials.
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| 14. |
- Delgado-Vega, Angelica M., et al.
(författare)
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Replication of the TNFSF4 (OX40L) promoter region association with systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2009
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Ingår i: Genes and Immunity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1466-4879 .- 1476-5470. ; 10:3, s. 248-253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 4 gene (TNFSF4) encodes the OX40 ligand (OX40L), a costimulatory molecule involved in T-cell activation. A recent study demonstrated the association of TNFSF4 haplotypes located in the upstream region with risk for or protection from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). To replicate this association, five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging the previously associated haplotypes and passing the proper quality-control filters were tested in 1312 cases and 1801 controls from Germany, Italy, Spain and Argentina. The association of TNFSF4 with SLE was replicated in all the sets except Spain. There was a unique risk haplotype tagged by the minor alleles of the SNPs rs1234317 (pooled odds ratio (OR)=1.39, P=0.0009) and rs12039904 (pooled OR=1.38, P=0.0012). We did not observe association to a single protective marker (rs844644) or haplotype as the first study reported; instead, we observed different protective haplotypes, all carrying the major alleles of both SNPs rs1234317 and rs12039904. Association analysis conditioning on the haplotypic background confirmed that these two SNPs explain the entire haplotype effect. This first replication study confirms the association of genetic variation in the upstream region of TNFSF4 with susceptibility to SLE.
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| 15. |
- Gallo, Valentina, et al.
(författare)
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Smoking and risk for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis : analysis of the EPIC cohort
- 2009
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Ingår i: Annals of Neurology. - New York : J. Wiley & Sons. - 0364-5134 .- 1531-8249. ; 65:4, s. 378-385
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Cigarette smoking has been reported as "probable" risk factor for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a poorly understood disease in terms of aetiology. The extensive longitudinal data of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) were used to evaluate age-specific mortality rates from ALS and the role of cigarette smoking on the risk of dying from ALS. Methods: A total of 517,890 healthy subjects were included, resulting in 4,591,325 person-years. ALS cases were ascertained through death certificates. Cox hazard models were built to investigate the role of smoking on the risk of ALS, using packs/years and smoking duration to study dose-response. Results: A total of 118 subjects died from ALS, resulting in a crude mortality rate of 2.69 per 100,000/year. Current smokers at recruitment had an almost two-fold increased risk of dying from ALS compared to never smokers (HR = 1.89, 95% C.I. 1.14-3.14), while former smokers at the time of enrollment had a 50% increased risk (HR = 1.48, 95% C.I. 0.94-2.32). The number of years spent smoking increased the risk of ALS (p for trend = 0.002). Those who smoked more than 33 years had more than a two-fold increased risk of ALS compared with never smokers (HR = 2.16, 95% C.I. 1.33-3.53). Conversely, the number of years since quitting smoking was associated with a decreased risk of ALS compared with continuing smoking. Interpretation: These results strongly support the hypothesis of a role of cigarette smoking in aetiology of ALS. We hypothesize that this could occur through lipid peroxidation via formaldehyde exposure.
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| 16. |
- Lelliott, Christopher J., et al.
(författare)
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Ablation of PGC-1beta results in defective mitochondrial activity, thermogenesis, hepatic function, and cardiac performance
- 2006
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Ingår i: PLoS biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1544-9173 .- 1545-7885. ; 4:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1beta (PGC-1beta) has been implicated in important metabolic processes. A mouse lacking PGC-1beta (PGC1betaKO) was generated and phenotyped using physiological, molecular, and bioinformatic approaches. PGC1betaKO mice are generally viable and metabolically healthy. Using systems biology, we identified a general defect in the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial function and, specifically, the electron transport chain. This defect correlated with reduced mitochondrial volume fraction in soleus muscle and heart, but not brown adipose tissue (BAT). Under ambient temperature conditions, PGC-1beta ablation was partially compensated by up-regulation of PGC-1alpha in BAT and white adipose tissue (WAT) that lead to increased thermogenesis, reduced body weight, and reduced fat mass. Despite their decreased fat mass, PGC1betaKO mice had hypertrophic adipocytes in WAT. The thermogenic role of PGC-1beta was identified in thermoneutral and cold-adapted conditions by inadequate responses to norepinephrine injection. Furthermore, PGC1betaKO hearts showed a blunted chronotropic response to dobutamine stimulation, and isolated soleus muscle fibres from PGC1betaKO mice have impaired mitochondrial function. Lack of PGC-1beta also impaired hepatic lipid metabolism in response to acute high fat dietary loads, resulting in hepatic steatosis and reduced lipoprotein-associated triglyceride and cholesterol content. Altogether, our data suggest that PGC-1beta plays a general role in controlling basal mitochondrial function and also participates in tissue-specific adaptive responses during metabolic stress.
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| 17. |
- Rodriguez-Merchan, E. C., et al.
(författare)
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Prevention of haemophilic arthropathy during childhood. May common orthopaedic management be extrapolated from patients without inhibitors to patients with inhibitors?
- 2008
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Ingår i: Haemophilia. - : Wiley. - 1351-8216 .- 1365-2516. ; 14:Suppl. 6, s. 68-81
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We recommend prophylaxis in haemophilic children with an inhibitor as a way of preventing the musculoskeletal impairment that is likely to affect them. This approach has been used for children without inhibitors with excellent results. If prophylaxis is not feasible, we suggest that intensive on-demand treatment should be given. Two agents, recombinant activated FVII (rFVIIa) and activated prothrombin complex concentrates (aPCC), are currently used to control haemostasis either for prophylaxis or intensive on-demand treatment. As it is recombinant, rFVIIa would seem more appropriate to be employed in children. aPCC could be used in adults, or in the event of an unsatisfactory response to rFVIIa. We recommend prophylaxis or, at least, intensive on-demand treatment in haemophilia children with inhibitors. Both rFVIIa and aPCC are being used for this purpose. It would seem that rFVIIa might be more appropriate for children as it is a recombinant product. Nevertheless, after skeletal maturity (in adults), both agents could be used indistinctively (taking into consideration that FEIBA is a plasma-derived product). We still need more well-designed comparative studies in order to be able to assert that our consensus-based conclusion is evidence based. In orthopaedic surgery, both aPCC and rFVIIa have been reported to be effective in controlling perioperative haemostasis, although in practice most centres have so far used rFVIIa for their orthopaedic procedures. We recommend rehabilitation programmes for all patients with inhibitors in order to mitigate the disabling and handicapping impact of their condition and thereby enable them to achieve social integration. Programmes for haemophilic children without inhibitors can be applied to children with inhibitors but should be individually tailored.
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| 18. |
- Santagostino, E., et al.
(författare)
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Paediatric haemophilia with inhibitors: existing management options, treatment gaps and unmet needs
- 2009
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Ingår i: Haemophilia. - : Wiley. - 1351-8216 .- 1365-2516. ; 15:5, s. 983-989
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Development of inhibitors is a severe complication of haemophilia posing many management challenges. While a long-term goal in inhibitor patients is eradication of inhibitors through immune tolerance induction, bypassing agents such as recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) and activated prothrombin complex concentrate (aPCC) are essential for control of bleeding episodes. Paediatric patients with haemophilia and inhibitors are at particular risk of recurrent haemarthroses, and management of these patients should seek to avoid joint damage and support the child's full social and physical development. Current options for management of bleeding complications include on-demand treatment of acute bleeding episodes, secondary prophylaxis to avoid recurrent bleeds and surgery to treat affected joints. There is also a rationale for adopting prophylactic approaches to prevent bleeding in inhibitor patients, allowing this group similar opportunities for protection against arthropathy development as are given to non-inhibitor patients. This paper, based on a roundtable meeting of haematology experts at the first Zurich Haemophilia Forum in May 2008, reviews the current evidence supporting more intense and prophylactic approaches to manage bleeding risk in paediatric haemophilia patients with inhibitors, and highlights the need for investigations of primary prophylaxis in this vulnerable patient group, to support best long-term outcome.
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| 19. |
- Urban, Joachim, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Odin/SMR limb observations of stratospheric trace gases: Validation of N2O
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 110:9, s. D09301-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Sub-Millimetre Radiometer (Odin/SMR) on board the Odin satellite, launched on 20 February 2001, performs regular measurements of the global distribution of stratospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) using spectral observations of the J = 20&RARR; 19 rotational transition centered at 502.296 GHz. We present a quality assessment for the retrieved N2O profiles (level 2 product) by comparison with independent balloonborne and aircraftborne validation measurements as well as by cross-comparing with preliminary results from other satellite instruments. An agreement with the airborne validation experiments within 28 ppbv in terms of the root mean square (RMS) deviation is found for all SMR data versions (v222, v223, and v1.2) under investigation. More precisely, the agreement is within 19 ppbv for N2O volume mixing ratios (VMR) lower than 200 ppbv and within 10% for mixing ratios larger than 150 ppbv. Given the uncertainties due to atmospheric variability inherent to such comparisons, these values should be interpreted as upper limits for the systematic error of the Odin/SMR N2O measurements. Odin/SMR N2O mixing ratios are systematically slightly higher than nonvalidated data obtained from the Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer-II (ILAS-II) on board the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II). Root mean square deviations are generally within 23 ppbv (or 20% for VMR-N2O > 100 ppbv) for versions 222 and 223. The comparison with data obtained from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on the Envisat satellite yields a good agreement within 9-17 ppbv (or 10% for VMR-N2O > 100 ppbv) for the same data versions. Odin/SMR version 1.2 data show somewhat larger RMS deviations and a higher positive bias.
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| 20. |
- Vomiero, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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Integration of metal oxide nanowires in dye sensitized solar cells
- 2009
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Ingår i: 2009 34th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference : (PVSC 2009). - Piscataway, NJ : IEEE Communications Society. - 9781424429509 ; , s. 001325-001326
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the most promising architectures of third generation solar cells is integration of single crystalline nanowires as electron transporters in anodes of electrochemical cells.[1-3] The nanowire-based cells aim at significantly increase cell efficiency thanks to the higher mobility of electrons along the single crystalline lattice of the nanowires with respect to traditional polycrystalline networks, greatly reducing electron-hole recombination controllable by passivation, functionalization or coaxial coating of the nanowire. The nanonetworks have been integrated in DSCs using the traditional N719 dye and the I-3/I-3 redox couple. The functional properties of the cells under 1 sun irradiation have been compared with traditional polycrystalline TiO2 photoanodes. ©2009 IEEE.
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