| 1. |
- Lithell, Hans, et al.
(author)
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Epidemiological and clinical studies on insulin resistance and diabetes
- 2000
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In: Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. - 0300-9734. ; 105:2, s. 135-150
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- In Uppsala, extensive epidemiological and clinical studies on insulin resistance and diabetes have been ongoing for the past 30 years. A prospective cohort study of men born 1920-24, living in Uppsala County, was initiated during 1969-74 (the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men, ULSAM). Risk factors for cardiovascular disease were examined in 2,322 men, and re-examinations have been performed every 10 years. At the first follow-up, when the men were 60 years old, insulin resistance was found to be a risk factor for development of hypertension and diabetes. In addition, treatment with antihypertensive medication was an independent risk factor for development of diabetes. These findings resulted in a series of clinical studies on metabolic effects of antihypertensive agents. At the second follow-up, when the men were 70 years old, the development of hypertension and diabetes was once again in focus, but at this time, cross-sectional and prospective studies of other cardiovascular determinants, such as circadian blood pressure pattern, left ventricular geometry and function, muscle morphology, ion status, fibrinolysis and cognitive function, were also performed. The cohort has furthermore been linked to the Swedish census and hospital discharge and cause of death registries, it has been used for studies on relationships between birth weight and cardiovascular disease, and genetic analyses have been performed, taking advantage of the long observation time obtained in this cohort. The cohort is currently being re-examined for the third time, and will hopefully continue to provide valuable information on the epidemiology of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the future.
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| 2. |
- Ann, Sprague, et al.
(author)
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Mercury: First Spectra from 0.7 to 5.5 mum Support Low FeO and Feldspathic Composition
- 2004
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In: 35th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, March 15-19, 2004, League City, Texas, abstract no.1630.
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Conference paper (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Spectral measurements of Mercury's surface show an absence of absorptions centered near 0.9 and 1.2 micrometers. At the Moon these absorption bands are ubiquitous at varying depths. We have obtained spectra from the Moon for comparison. The lunar results are shown in a companion abstract.
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| 3. |
- Baecklund, Eva, et al.
(author)
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Rheumatoid arthritis and malignant lymphomas
- 2004
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In: Current Opinion in Rheumatology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 1040-8711 .- 1531-6963. ; 16:3, s. 254-261
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE OF REVIEW:The reason for the increased lymphoma risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has remained unclear. Reports of lymphomas in patients treated with TNF-blockers have brought renewed interest in this issue. This review summarizes data on possible associations between RA and lymphomas, including different treatments and RA disease related risk factors.RECENT FINDINGS:Some recent studies reported increased lymphoma risks linked to RA disease activity. The hypothesis that disease-modifying drugs, and in particular methotrexate, would increase the lymphoma risk receives little support. Observation times for the TNF-blocking therapies are still short, but so far no clear increased risk for lymphoma has been observed. Presence of Epstein-Barr virus, as analyzed with EBER in situ hybridization, appears to be uncommon in RA related lymphomas. Hypothetically, an increased proliferative drive caused by self or non-self antigens may play a role in lymphoma development in RA patients, but this has to be further studied.SUMMARY:Rheumatologists need to be aware of the increased lymphoma risk in their RA patients. The reason for the increased lymphoma risk in RA patients is still unclear, but available studies rather support the hypothesis of a link between RA disease severity and the risk of lymphoma than increased risks associated with specific treatment regimens. To facilitate the future evaluation of lymphoma risks in connection with treatment, we suggest that patients treated with new drugs should be subject to structured surveillance. Collected information should include data about RA disease activity and severity.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Karlsson, Richard, et al.
(author)
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Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is essential for kit ligand-mediated survival, whereas interleukin-3 and flt3 ligand induce expression of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family genes
- 2003
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In: Journal of Leukocyte Biology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1938-3673 .- 0741-5400. ; 74:5, s. 923-931
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cytokines such as interleukin 3 (IL-3), kit ligand (KL), and flt3 ligand (FL) promote survival of hematopoietic stem cells and myeloid progenitor cells. In many cell types, members of the Bcl-2 gene family are major regulators of survival, but the mediating mechanisms are not fully understood. Using two myeloid progenitor cell lines, FDCP-mix and FDC-P1, as well as primary mouse bone marrow progenitors, we demonstrate that KL-mediated survival is dependent on the activation of phosphatidylinositol-3 (PI-3) kinase. The inhibitor LY294002 was able to completely abolish survival mediated by KL, whereas IL-3 and FL were only partially affected. Although all three cytokines induced phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB), only KL required PI-3 kinase activity to elicit survival in hematopoietic progenitors. In contrast, pretreatment of cells with inhibitors to the MAP kinase pathway did not affect the survival. We next established if IL-3 and FL activated antiapoptotic Bcl-2 and the related genes Bcl-X-L and Mcl-1. By RNA protection assay and Western blot analysis, we show that all three genes are induced by IL-3, whereas FL induces Bcl-2 and to some extent Bcl-XL. Importantly, KL could not sustain their expression. Moreover, use of inhibitors implied that IL-3 was mainly exerting its effect on Bcl-2 at the level of transcription. The addition of LY294002 did not affect the expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, and thus, we conclude that expression of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family member genes is not dependent on PI-3 kinase activity. Our results indicate that cytokines exert distinct survival effects and that FL and IL-3 are capable of sustaining progenitor survival by upregulating the expression of Bcl-2 and related genes.
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| 8. |
- Malm, Gunilla, et al.
(author)
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Reproductive function during summer and winter in Norwegian men living north and south of the Arctic circle.
- 2004
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In: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 1945-7197 .- 0021-972X. ; 89:9, s. 4397-4402
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Seasonal, daylight-dependent variation in human spermatozoa counts, with lowest values during summer, has been suggested. To test this hypothesis, we performed a longitudinal study of semen quality and reproductive hormone levels in Norwegian men living north and south of the Arctic Circle. An ejaculate and a serum specimen were obtained both in summer and in winter from 92 volunteers in Tromsoe (69° north latitude) and 112 in Oslo (60° north latitude). Semen analyses were performed, and serum was assayed for FSH and inhibin B. The median spermatozoa concentration in Tromsoe after adjustment for abstinence period length was 49 × 106/ml in summer and 54 × 106/ml in winter. Corresponding values for Oslo were 59 × 106/ml and 54 × 106/ml. The seasonal differences in spermatozoa concentration were not statistically significant, nor were significant differences observed in median total spermatozoa count, semen volume, percentage progressive motile spermatozoa, or FSH. In Tromsoe, but not Oslo, inhibin B concentration was slightly, but significantly (P = 0.02) higher in winter than summer (229 ng/liter vs. 223 ng/liter).The length of the daylight period may have a slight impact on hormonal markers of spermatogenesis but does not cause substantial changes in spermatozoa numbers and motility.
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| 9. |
- Murray, Richard, et al.
(author)
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Future Directions in Control in an Information-rich World
- 2003
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In: Control Systems Magazine. - 0272-1708. ; 23:2, s. 20-33
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Panel on Future Directions in Control, Dynamics, and Systems was formed in April 2000 to provide a renewed vision of future challenges and opportunities in the control field, along with recommendations to government agencies, universities, and research organizations to ensure continued progress in areas of importance to the industrial and defense base. The panel released a report in April 2002, the intent of which is to raise the overall visibility of research in control, highlight its importance in applications of national interest, and indicate some of the key trends that are important for continued vitality of the field. After a brief introduction, we summarize the report, discuss its applications and education and outreach, and conclude with some recommendations.
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| 10. |
- Nordlander, Johan, et al.
(author)
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Reactive objects
- 2002
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In: Fifth IEEE International Symposium on Object-Oriented Real-Time Distributed Computing. - Piscataway, NJ : IEEE Communications Society. ; , s. 155-158
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Object-oriented, concurrent, and event-based programming models provide a natural framework in which to express the behavior of distributed and embedded software systems. However, contemporary programming languages still base their I/O primitives on a model in which the environment is assumed to be centrally controlled and synchronous, and interactions with the environment carried out through blocking subroutine calls. The gap between this view and the natural asynchrony of the real world has made event-based programming a complex and error-prone activity, despite recent focus on event-based frameworks and middleware. In this paper we present a consistent model of event-based concurrency, centered around the notion of reactive objects. This model relieves the object-oriented paradigm from the idea of transparent blocking, and naturally enforces reactivity and state consistency. We illustrate our point by a program example that offers substantial improvements in size and simplicity over a corresponding Java-based solution.
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