| 1. |
- Anåker, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Enriched Environments in Stroke Units : Defining Characteristics and Limitations
- 2024
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In: Health Environments Research & Design Journal. - 1937-5867 .- 2167-5112. ; 17:2, s. 344-359
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Individuals with stroke rehabilitated in an enriched environment (EE) compared to a non-EE are more likely to participate in cognitive and social activities, promoting their rehabilitation and well-being. There is a need for a more comprehensive understanding of methods to implement EEs within complex health systems, particularly in stroke units.OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to compile the concept of an EE in stroke units.METHODS: The literature was sourced from CINAHL, Embase, and Medline databases. A detailed screening and sifting process was used to identify relevant literature. Multiple reviewers independently appraised the identified literature using a Mixed-methods Appraisal Tool. After screening 336 studies, 11 were included.RESULTS: This review reveals an EE is challenging to define and almost exclusively about activities based on access to individual and communal equipment. Generally, there are no common descriptions or conceptual agreements.CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to systematically review the concept of an EE in stroke units and shows that more studies on EEs are needed. The weak definitions and unclear theoretical backgrounds of an EE in the included studies could challenge operationalization. Future research should be based on more precise definitions of an EE and broader interventions that include changes to built and natural environments.
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| 2. |
- Grishenkov, Dmitry, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Characterization of acoustic properties of PVA-shelled ultrasound contrast agents : ultrasound-induced fracture (Part II)
- 2009
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In: Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-5629 .- 1879-291X. ; 35:7, s. 1139-1147
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Knowledge of the magnitude of the peak negative pressure, P-thr, at which ultrasound contrast agents fracture is relevant for using these microbubbles both as devices for contrast enhancement purposes, as well as carriers of drugs to be delivered locally. In the second part of this communication, the acoustic properties of three types of microbubbles stabilized by poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) shells are further investigated. In particular, the dependence of P-thr on system parameters such as the number of cycles, frequency and exposure is examined. The effects of temperature, blood and, wherever data are available, of the dimension of the microbubbles on P-thr are also considered. The large shelf thickness notwithstanding, the results of this investigation show that at room temperature, PVA contrast agents fracture at negative peak pressure values within the recommended safety limit. Furthermore, P-thr decreases with increasing temperature, radius of the microbubbles and number of cycles of the incident wave. Fatigue seems to be a physical mechanism playing a dominant role in the fracture process. The effect of blood on P-thr varies according to condition under which the microbubbles have been synthesized, although stiffening of the shell is observed in most cases. In conclusion, these results suggest that PVA-shelled microbubbles may offer a potentially viable system to be employed for both imaging and therapeutic purposes.
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| 3. |
- Hu, Kefei, et al.
(author)
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Nanoparticulate Quillaja saponin induces apoptosis in human leukemia cell lines with a high therapeutic index
- 2010
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In: International Journal of Nanomedicine. - 1176-9114 .- 1178-2013. ; 5:1, s. 51-62
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Saponin fractions of Quillaja saponaria Molina (QS) have cytotoxic activity against cancer cells in vitro, but are too toxic to be useful in the clinic. The toxic effect was abolished by converting QS fractions into stable nanoparticles through the binding of QS to cholesterol. Two fractions of QS were selected for particle formation, one with an acyl-chain (ASAP) was used to form killing and growth-inhibiting (KGI) particles, and the other without the acyl-chain (DSAP) was used to formulate blocking and balancing effect (BBE) particles. KGI showed significant growth inhibiting and cancer cell-killing activities in nine of 10 cell lines while BBE showed that on one cell line. The monoblastoid lymphoma cell line U937 was selected for analyzing the mode of action. Low concentrations of KGI (0.5 and 2 microg/mL) induced irreversible exit from the cell cycle, differentiation measured by cytokine production, and eventually programmed cell death (apoptosis). Compared to normal human monocytes, the U937 cells were 30-fold more sensitive to KGI. The nontoxic BBE blocked the cell killing effect of KGI in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, the formulation of QS into nanoparticles has the potential of becoming a new class of anticancer agents.
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| 4. |
- Israelsson, S
(author)
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On the effects of wind on the space charge formation in the atmospheric surface layer
- 1999
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In: ELECTROSTATICS 1999. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0951-3248. ; 163, s. 415-420
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The electrode effect near the ground surface is in most cases producing an excess of positive space charges and the space charge density decreases with increasing wind speed. Negative space charge formation at ground level above a very dry ground surface
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Langhammer, Christoph, 1978, et al.
(author)
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Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances in Aluminum Nanodisks
- 2008
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In: Nano Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1530-6992 .- 1530-6984. ; 8:5, s. 1461-1471
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The plasmonic properties of arrays of supported Al nanodisks, fabricated by hole-mask colloidal lithography (HCL), are analyzed for the disk diameter range 61-492 nm at a constant disk height of 20 nm. Strong and well-defined (UV-vis-NIR) localized surface plasmon resonances are found and experimentally characterized with respect to spectral peak positions, peak widths, total cross sections, and radiative and nonradiative decay channels. Theoretically, the plasmon excitations are described by electrostatic spheroid theory. Very good qualitative and quantitative agreement between model and experiment is found for all these observables by assuming a nanoparticle embedded in a few nanometer thick homogeneous (native) aluminum oxide shell. Other addressed aspects are: (i) the role of the strong interband transition in Al metal, located at 1.5 eV, for the plasmonic excitations of Al nanoparticles, (ii) the role of the native oxide layer, and (iii) the possibility of using the plasmon excitation as an ultrasensitive, remote, real-time probe for studies of oxidation/corrosion kinetics in metal nanoparticle systems. © 2008 American Chemical Society.
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| 7. |
- Lundquist, Patrik, et al.
(author)
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Barriers to the Intestinal Absorption of Four Insulin-Loaded Arginine-Rich Nanoparticles in Human and Rat
- 2022
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In: ACS Nano. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1936-0851 .- 1936-086X. ; 16:9, s. 14210-14229
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Peptide drugs and biologics provide opportunities for treatments of many diseases. However, due to their poor stability and permeability in the gastrointestinal tract, the oral bioavailability of peptide drugs is negligible. Nanoparticle formulations have been proposed to circumvent these hurdles, but systemic exposure of orally administered peptide drugs has remained elusive. In this study, we investigated the absorption mechanisms of four insulin-loaded arginine-rich nanoparticles displaying differing composition and surface characteristics, developed within the pan-European consortium TRANS-INT. The transport mechanisms and major barriers to nanoparticle permeability were investigated in freshly isolated human jejunal tissue. Cytokine release profiles and standard toxicity markers indicated that the nanoparticles were nontoxic. Three out of four nanoparticles displayed pronounced binding to the mucus layer and did not reach the epithelium. One nanoparticle composed of a mucus inert shell and cell-penetrating octarginine (ENCP), showed significant uptake by the intestinal epithelium corresponding to 28 ± 9% of the administered nanoparticle dose, as determined by super-resolution microscopy. Only a small fraction of nanoparticles taken up by epithelia went on to be transcytosed via a dynamin-dependent process. In situ studies in intact rat jejunal loops confirmed the results from human tissue regarding mucus binding, epithelial uptake, and negligible insulin bioavailability. In conclusion, while none of the four arginine-rich nanoparticles supported systemic insulin delivery, ENCP displayed a consistently high uptake along the intestinal villi. It is proposed that ENCP should be further investigated for local delivery of therapeutics to the intestinal mucosa.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Kajko-Mattsson, Mira Miroslawa, et al.
(author)
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Industrial Opinion on the Effectiveness of Risk Management Methods
- 2009
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In: 2009 IEEE 33RD INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND APPLICATIONS CONFERENCE, VOL. 1. - 9781424445257 ; , s. 636-637
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Little is known about the industrial opinion of the effectiveness of risk management. In this paper, we report on this opinion as expressed by five software organizations. According to these organizations, risk management should be a driving wheel of all projects and it should help the organizations dare take big risks in projects that might lead to high opportunities. The amount of resources assigned to risk management should depend on parameters such as product criticality, project size and project type. Finally, the organizations studied could not provide any concrete suggestions for how to evaluate risk effectiveness. All of them do risk management evaluations in a highly subjective manner.
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| 10. |
- Chaillou, Thomas, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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Pitfalls in target mRNA quantification for real-time quantitative RT-PCR in overload-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy
- 2011
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In: Physiological Genomics. - Bethesda, USA : American Physiological Society. - 1094-8341 .- 1531-2267. ; 43:4, s. 228-235
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Quantifying target mRNA using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction requires an accurate normalization method. Determination of normalization factors (NFs) based on validated reference genes according to their relative stability is currently the best standard method in most usual situations. This method controls for technical errors, but its physiological relevance requires constant NF values for a fixed weight of tissue. In the functional overload model, the increase in the total RNA concentration must be considered in determining the NF values. Here, we pointed out a limitation of the classical geNorm-derived normalization. geNorm software selected reference genes despite that the NF values extensively varied under experiment. Only the NF values calculated from four intentionally selected genes were constant between groups. However, a normalization based on these genes is questionable. Indeed, three out of four genes belong to the same functional class (negative regulator of muscle mass), and their use is physiological nonsense in a hypertrophic model. Thus, we proposed guidelines for optimizing target mRNA normalization and quantification, useful in models of muscle mass modulation. In our study, the normalization method by multiple reference genes was not appropriate to compare target mRNA levels between overloaded and control muscles. A solution should be to use an absolute quantification of target mRNAs per unit weight of tissue, without any internal normalization. Even if the technical variations will stay present as a part of the intergroup variations, leading to less statistical power, we consider this method acceptable because it will not generate misleading results.
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