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- Ederle, Joerg, et al.
(author)
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Carotid artery stenting compared with endarterectomy in patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis (International Carotid Stenting Study): an interim analysis of a randomised controlled trial
- 2010
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In: The Lancet. - 1474-547X. ; 375:9719, s. 985-997
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Stents are an alternative treatment to carotid endarterectomy for symptomatic carotid stenosis, but previous trials have not established equivalent safety and efficacy. We compared the safety of carotid artery stenting with that of carotid endarterectomy. Methods The International Carotid Stenting Study (ICSS) is a multicentre, international, randomised controlled trial with blinded adjudication of outcomes. Patients with recently symptomatic carotid artery stenosis were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive carotid artery stenting or carotid endarterectomy. Randomisation was by telephone call or fax to a central computerised service and was stratified by centre with minimisation for sex, age, contralateral occlusion, and side of the randomised artery. Patients and investigators were not masked to treatment assignment. Patients were followed up by independent clinicians not directly involved in delivering the randomised treatment. The primary outcome measure of the trial is the 3-year rate of fatal or disabling stroke in any territory, which has not been analysed yet. The main outcome measure for the interim safety analysis was the 120-day rate of stroke, death, or procedural myocardial infarction. Analysis was by intention to treat (ITT). This study is registered, number ISRCTN25337470. Findings The trial enrolled 1713 patients (stenting group, n=855; endarterectomy group, n=858). Two patients in the stenting group and one in the endarterectomy group withdrew immediately after randomisation, and were not included in the ITT analysis. Between randomisation and 120 days, there were 34 (Kaplan-Meier estimate 4.0%) events of disabling stroke or death in the stenting group compared with 27 (3.2%) events in the endarterectomy group (hazard ratio [HR] 1.28, 95% CI 0.77-2.11). The incidence of stroke, death, or procedural myocardial infarction was 8.5% in the stenting group compared with 5.2% in the endarterectomy group (72 vs 44 events; HR 1.69, 1.16-2.45, p=0.006), Risks of any stroke (65 vs 35 events; HR 1.92, 1.27-2.89) and all-cause death (19 vs seven events; HR 2.76, 1.16-6.56) were higher in the stenting group than in the endarterectomy group. Three procedural myocardial infarctions were recorded in the stenting group, all of which were fatal, compared with four, all non-fatal, in the endarterectomy group. There was one event of cranial nerve palsy in the stenting group compared with 45 in the endarterectomy group. There were also fewer haematomas of any severity in the stenting group than in the endarterectomy group (31 vs 50 events; p=0.0197). Interpretation Completion of long-term follow-up is needed to establish the efficacy of carotid artery stenting compared with endarterectomy. In the meantime, carotid endarterectomy should remain the treatment of choice for patients suitable for surgery.
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| 2. |
- Schoch, CL, et al.
(author)
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Nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as a universal DNA barcode marker for Fungi
- 2012
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 1091-6490. ; 109:16, s. 6241-6246
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Six DNA regions were evaluated as potential DNA barcodes for Fungi, the second largest kingdom of eukaryotic life, by a multinational, multilaboratory consortium. The region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 used as the animal barcode was excluded as a potential marker, because it is difficult to amplify in fungi, often includes large introns, and can be insufficiently variable. Three subunits from the nuclear ribosomal RNA cistron were compared together with regions of three representative protein-coding genes (largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, and minichromosome maintenance protein). Although the protein-coding gene regions often had a higher percent of correct identification compared with ribosomal markers, low PCR amplification and sequencing success eliminated them as candidates for a universal fungal barcode. Among the regions of the ribosomal cistron, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region has the highest probability of successful identification for the broadest range of fungi, with the most clearly defined barcode gap between inter- and intraspecific variation. The nuclear ribosomal large subunit, a popular phylogenetic marker in certain groups, had superior species resolution in some taxonomic groups, such as the early diverging lineages and the ascomycete yeasts, but was otherwise slightly inferior to the ITS. The nuclear ribosomal small subunit has poor species-level resolution in fungi. ITS will be formally proposed for adoption as the primary fungal barcode marker to the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, with the possibility that supplementary barcodes may be developed for particular narrowly circumscribed taxonomic groups.
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| 6. |
- Braakhekke, Maarten C., et al.
(author)
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The use of radiocarbon to constrain current and future soil organic matter turnover and transport in a temperate forest
- 2014
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. - 2169-8953. ; 119:3, s. 372-391
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigated the merits of radiocarbon measurements for estimating soil organic matter (SOM) turnover and vertical transport for a temperate deciduous forest in Germany. Eleven parameters, defining decomposition and transport in the soil carbon model SOMPROF, were estimated using a Bayesian approach based on organic carbon measurements and radiocarbon concentration of SOM and heterotrophic respiration. The addition of radiocarbon data had strong effects on the parameters, most importantly a reduction of the decomposition and production rate of the slowest SOM pool by an order of magnitude, and a similar reduction in advective SOM transport. The modified parameters further led to changes in the partitioning of SOM over the different model pools. The calibration results were subsequently used to perform transient soil carbon projections for the period 1901-2100. These simulations were run with parameter sets from calibrations both with and without radiocarbon. The results show an increase over time of topsoil carbon and a decrease in the subsoil, adding to a net gain overall. Near the end of the 21st century, total carbon stocks stabilize andfor the radiocarbon-constrained modelstart to decrease. However, the changes are small compared to the total stocks. The model results for the calibrations with and without radiocarbon are in general quite similar, but the latter shows notably higher heterotrophic respiration fluxes. Constraining the model with radiocarbon yielded only a small reduction of uncertainty for the total carbon stocks, while for the individual depth compartments, the uncertainty wasincreased. Key Points SOM turnover and transport was estimated using Bayesian calibration Radiocarbon data strongly improved constraint of turnover rate of slow pool Predictive simulation showed small increase of soil C stocks in 21st century
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| 7. |
- Ekici, A., et al.
(author)
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Simulating high-latitude permafrost regions by the JSBACH terrestrial ecosystem model
- 2014
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In: Geoscientific Model Development. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1991-959X .- 1991-9603. ; 7:2, s. 631-647
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The current version of JSBACH incorporates phenomena specific to high latitudes: freeze/thaw processes, coupling thermal and hydrological processes in a layered soil scheme, defining a multilayer snow representation and an insulating moss cover. Evaluations using comprehensive Arctic data sets show comparable results at the site, basin, continental and circumarctic scales. Such comparisons highlight the need to include processes relevant to high-latitude systems in order to capture the dynamics, and therefore realistically predict the evolution of this climatically critical biome.
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| 8. |
- Flannick, Jason, et al.
(author)
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Assessing the phenotypic effects in the general population of rare variants in genes for a dominant Mendelian form of diabetes
- 2013
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 45:11, s. 1380-1380
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome sequencing can identify individuals in the general population who harbor rare coding variants in genes for Mendelian disorders1-7 and who may consequently have increased disease risk. Previous studies of rare variants in phenotypically extreme individuals display ascertainment bias and may demonstrate inflated effect-size estimates8-12. We sequenced seven genes for maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) 13 in well-phenotyped population samples14,15 (n = 4,003). We filtered rare variants according to two prediction criteria for disease-causing mutations: reported previously in MODY or satisfying stringent de novo thresholds (rare, conserved and protein damaging). Approximately 1.5% and 0.5% of randomly selected individuals from the Framingham and Jackson Heart Studies, respectively, carry variants from these two classes. However, the vast majority of carriers remain euglycemic through middle age. Accurate estimates of variant effect sizes from population-based sequencing are needed to avoid falsely predicting a substantial fraction of individuals as being at risk for MODY or other Mendelian diseases.
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| 9. |
- Mazzuca, Silvia, et al.
(author)
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Establishing research strategies, methodologies and technologies to link genomics and proteomics to seagrass productivity, community metabolism, and ecosystem carbon fluxes
- 2013
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In: Frontiers in Plant Science. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-462X. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A complete understanding of the mechanistic basis of marine ecosystem functioning is only possible through integrative and interdisciplinary research. This enables the prediction of change and possibly the mitigation of the consequences of anthropogenic impacts. One major aim of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action ES0609 Seagrasses productivity. From genes to ecosystem management, is the calibration and synthesis of various methods and the development of innovative techniques and protocols for studying seagrass ecosystems. During 10 days, 20 researchers representing a range of disciplines (molecular biology, physiology, botany, ecology, oceanography, and underwater acoustics) gathered at The Station de Recherches Sous-marines et Oceanographiques (STARESO, Corsica) to study together the nearby Posidonia oceanica meadow. STARESO is located in an oligotrophic area classified as pristine site where environmental disturbances caused by anthropogenic pressure are exceptionally low. The healthy P. oceanica meadow, which grows in front of the research station, colonizes the sea bottom from the surface to 37 m depth. During the study, genomic and proteomic approaches were integrated with ecophysiological and physical approaches with the aim of understanding changes in seagrass productivity and metabolism at different depths and along daily cycles. In this paper we report details on the approaches utilized and we forecast the potential of the data that will come from this synergistic approach not only for P. oceanica but for seagrasses in general.
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| 10. |
- Reichstein, Markus, et al.
(author)
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Climate extremes and the carbon cycle
- 2013
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 500:7462, s. 287-295
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The terrestrial biosphere is a key component of the global carbon cycle and its carbon balance is strongly influenced by climate. Continuing environmental changes are thought to increase global terrestrial carbon uptake. But evidence is mounting that climate extremes such as droughts or storms can lead to a decrease in regional ecosystem carbon stocks and therefore have the potential to negate an expected increase in terrestrial carbon uptake. Here we explore the mechanisms and impacts of climate extremes on the terrestrial carbon cycle, and propose a pathway to improve our understanding of present and future impacts of climate extremes on the terrestrial carbon budget.
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