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- Mishra, A., et al.
(författare)
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Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 611, s. 115-123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke - the second leading cause of death worldwide - were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry(1,2). Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis(3), and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach(4), we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry(5). Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries.
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4. |
- Bousquet, J, et al.
(författare)
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Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19: time for research to develop adaptation strategies
- 2020
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Ingår i: Clinical and translational allergy. - : Wiley. - 2045-7022. ; 10:1, s. 58-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPARγ:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NFκB: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2α:Elongation initiation factor 2α). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT1R axis (AT1R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity.
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5. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(författare)
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First Sagittarius A* Event Horizon Telescope Results. II. EHT and Multiwavelength Observations, Data Processing, and Calibration
- 2022
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) 1.3 mm measurements of the radio source located at the position of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), collected during the 2017 April 5-11 campaign. The observations were carried out with eight facilities at six locations across the globe. Novel calibration methods are employed to account for Sgr A*'s flux variability. The majority of the 1.3 mm emission arises from horizon scales, where intrinsic structural source variability is detected on timescales of minutes to hours. The effects of interstellar scattering on the image and its variability are found to be subdominant to intrinsic source structure. The calibrated visibility amplitudes, particularly the locations of the visibility minima, are broadly consistent with a blurred ring with a diameter of similar to 50 mu as, as determined in later works in this series. Contemporaneous multiwavelength monitoring of Sgr A* was performed at 22, 43, and 86 GHz and at near-infrared and X-ray wavelengths. Several X-ray flares from Sgr A* are detected by Chandra, one at low significance jointly with Swift on 2017 April 7 and the other at higher significance jointly with NuSTAR on 2017 April 11. The brighter April 11 flare is not observed simultaneously by the EHT but is followed by a significant increase in millimeter flux variability immediately after the X-ray outburst, indicating a likely connection in the emission physics near the event horizon. We compare Sgr A*'s broadband flux during the EHT campaign to its historical spectral energy distribution and find that both the quiescent emission and flare emission are consistent with its long-term behavior.
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7. |
- Bulut, N., et al.
(författare)
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Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular cloudS (GEMS): III. Unlocking the CS chemistry: The CS+O reaction
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 646
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Carbon monosulphide (CS) is among the most abundant gas-phase S-bearing molecules in cold dark molecular clouds. It is easily observable with several transitions in the millimeter wavelength range, and has been widely used as a tracer of the gas density in the interstellar medium in our Galaxy and external galaxies. However, chemical models fail to account for the observed CS abundances when assuming the cosmic value for the elemental abundance of sulfur. Aims. The CS+O → CO + S reaction has been proposed as a relevant CS destruction mechanism at low temperatures, and could explain the discrepancy between models and observations. Its reaction rate has been experimentally measured at temperatures of 150-400 K, but the extrapolation to lower temperatures is doubtful. Our goal is to calculate the CS+O reaction rate at temperatures <150 K which are prevailing in the interstellar medium. Methods. We performed ab initio calculations to obtain the three lowest potential energy surfaces (PES) of the CS+O system. These PESs are used to study the reaction dynamics, using several methods (classical, quantum, and semiclassical) to eventually calculate the CS + O thermal reaction rates. In order to check the accuracy of our calculations, we compare the results of our theoretical calculations for T ~ 150-400 K with those obtained in the laboratory. Results. Our detailed theoretical study on the CS+O reaction, which is in agreement with the experimental data obtained at 150-400 K, demonstrates the reliability of our approach. After a careful analysis at lower temperatures, we find that the rate constant at 10 K is negligible, below 10-15 cm s-1, which is consistent with the extrapolation of experimental data using the Arrhenius expression. Conclusions. We use the updated chemical network to model the sulfur chemistry in Taurus Molecular Cloud 1 (TMC 1) based on molecular abundances determined from Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular CloudS (GEMS) project observations. In our model, we take into account the expected decrease of the cosmic ray ionization rate, ζH2, along the cloud. The abundance of CS is still overestimated when assuming the cosmic value for the sulfur abundance.
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8. |
- Navarro-Almaida, D., et al.
(författare)
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Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular cloudS (GEMS): II. On the quest for the sulphur reservoir in molecular clouds: the H2S case
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 637
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Sulphur is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe. Surprisingly, sulphuretted molecules are not as abundant as expected in the interstellar medium and the identity of the main sulphur reservoir is still an open question. Aims. Our goal is to investigate the H2S chemistry in dark clouds, as this stable molecule is a potential sulphur reservoir. Methods. Using millimeter observations of CS, SO, H2S, and their isotopologues, we determine the physical conditions and H2S abundances along the cores TMC 1-C, TMC 1-CP, and Barnard 1b. The gas-grain model NAUTILUS is used to model the sulphur chemistry and explore the impact of photo-desorption and chemical desorption on the H2S abundance. Results. Our modeling shows that chemical desorption is the main source of gas-phase H2S in dark cores. The measured H2S abundance can only be fitted if we assume that the chemical desorption rate decreases by more than a factor of 10 when n(H) > 2 x 10(4). This change in the desorption rate is consistent with the formation of thick H2O and CO ice mantles on grain surfaces. The observed SO and H2S abundances are in good agreement with our predictions adopting an undepleted value of the sulphur abundance. However, the CS abundance is overestimated by a factor of 5-10. Along the three cores, atomic S is predicted to be the main sulphur reservoir. Conclusions. The gaseous H2S abundance is well reproduced, assuming undepleted sulphur abundance and chemical desorption as the main source of H2S. The behavior of the observed H2S abundance suggests a changing desorption efficiency, which would probe the snowline in these cold cores. Our model, however, highly overestimates the observed gas-phase CS abundance. Given the uncertainty in the sulphur chemistry, we can only conclude that our data are consistent with a cosmic elemental S abundance with an uncertainty of a factor of 10.
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9. |
- Pironi, Loris, et al.
(författare)
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Characteristics of adult patients with chronic intestinal failure due to short bowel syndrome: An international multicenter survey
- 2021
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Ingår i: Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-4577. ; 45, s. 433-441
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aims: The case-mix of patients with intestinal failure due to short bowel syndrome (SBS-IF) can differ among centres and may also be affected by the timeframe of data collection. Therefore, the ESPEN international multicenter cross-sectional survey was analyzed to compare the characteristics of SBS-IF cohorts collected within the same timeframe in different countries. Methods: The study included 1880 adult SBS-IF patients collected in 2015 by 65 centres from 22 countries. The demographic, nutritional, SBS type (end jejunostomy, SBS-J; jejuno-colic anastomosis, SBS-JC; jejunoileal anastomosis with an intact colon and ileocecal valve, SBS-JIC), underlying disease and intravenous supplementation (IVS) characteristics were analyzed. IVS was classified as fluid and electrolyte alone (FE) or parenteral nutrition admixture (PN). The mean daily IVS volume, calculated on a weekly basis, was categorized as <1, 1–2, 2–3 and >3 L/day. Results: In the entire group: 60.7% were females and SBS-J comprised 60% of cases, while mesenteric ischaemia (MI) and Crohn’ disease (CD) were the main underlying diseases. IVS dependency was longer than 3 years in around 50% of cases; IVS was infused ≥5 days/week in 75% and FE in 10% of cases. Within the SBS-IF cohort: CD was twice and thrice more frequent in SBS-J than SBS-JC and SBS-JIC, respectively, while MI was more frequent in SBS-JC and SBS-JIC. Within countries: SBS-J represented 75% or more of patients in UK and Denmark and 50-60% in the other countries, except Poland where SBS-JC prevailed. CD was the main underlying disease in UK, USA, Denmark and The Netherlands, while MI prevailed in France, Italy and Poland. Conclusions: SBS-IF type is primarily determined by the underlying disease, with significant variation between countries. These novel data will be useful for planning and managing both clinical activity and research studies on SBS.
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10. |
- Culina, Antica, et al.
(författare)
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Connecting the data landscape of long-term ecological studies : The SPI-Birds data hub
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 90:9, s. 2147-2160
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The integration and synthesis of the data in different areas of science is drastically slowed and hindered by a lack of standards and networking programmes. Long-term studies of individually marked animals are not an exception. These studies are especially important as instrumental for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes in the wild. Furthermore, their number and global distribution provides a unique opportunity to assess the generality of patterns and to address broad-scale global issues (e.g. climate change). To solve data integration issues and enable a new scale of ecological and evolutionary research based on long-term studies of birds, we have created the SPI-Birds Network and Database ()-a large-scale initiative that connects data from, and researchers working on, studies of wild populations of individually recognizable (usually ringed) birds. Within year and a half since the establishment, SPI-Birds has recruited over 120 members, and currently hosts data on almost 1.5 million individual birds collected in 80 populations over 2,000 cumulative years, and counting. SPI-Birds acts as a data hub and a catalogue of studied populations. It prevents data loss, secures easy data finding, use and integration and thus facilitates collaboration and synthesis. We provide community-derived data and meta-data standards and improve data integrity guided by the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), and aligned with the existing metadata languages (e.g. ecological meta-data language). The encouraging community involvement stems from SPI-Bird's decentralized approach: research groups retain full control over data use and their way of data management, while SPI-Birds creates tailored pipelines to convert each unique data format into a standard format. We outline the lessons learned, so that other communities (e.g. those working on other taxa) can adapt our successful model. Creating community-specific hubs (such as ours, COMADRE for animal demography, etc.) will aid much-needed large-scale ecological data integration.
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11. |
- Rodríguez-Baras, M., et al.
(författare)
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Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular cloudS (GEMS): IV. Observational results and statistical trends
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 648
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular CloudS (GEMS) is an IRAM 30 m Large Program designed to provide estimates of the S, C, N, and O depletions and gas ionization degree, X(e-), in a selected set of star-forming filaments of Taurus, Perseus, and Orion. Our immediate goal is to build up a complete and large database of molecular abundances that can serve as an observational basis for estimating X(e-) and the C, O, N, and S depletions through chemical modeling. We observed and derived the abundances of 14 species (13CO, C18O, HCO+, H13CO+, HC18O+, HCN, H13CN, HNC, HCS+, CS, SO, 34SO, H2S, and OCS) in 244 positions, covering the AV ~3 to ~100 mag, n(H2) ~ a few 103 to 106 cm-3, and Tk ~10 to ~30 K ranges in these clouds, and avoiding protostars, HII regions, and bipolar outflows. A statistical analysis is carried out in order to identify general trends between different species and with physical parameters. Relations between molecules reveal strong linear correlations which define three different families of species: (1) 13CO and C18O isotopologs; (2) H13CO+, HC18O+, H13 CN, and HNC; and (3) the S-bearing molecules. The abundances of the CO isotopologs increase with the gas kinetic temperature until TK ~ 15 K. For higher temperatures, the abundance remains constant with a scatter of a factor of ~3. The abundances of H13 CO+, HC18 O+, H13 CN, and HNC are well correlated with each other, and all of them decrease with molecular hydrogen density, following the law ∝ n(H2)-0.8 ± 0.2. The abundances of S-bearing species also decrease with molecular hydrogen density at a rate of (S-bearing/H)gas ∝ n(H2)-0.6 ± 0.1. The abundances of molecules belonging to groups 2 and 3 do not present any clear trend with gas temperature. At scales of molecular clouds, the C18O abundance is the quantity that better correlates with the cloud mass. We discuss the utility of the 13CO/C18O, HCO+/H13CO+, and H13 CO+/H13CN abundance ratios as chemical diagnostics of star formation in external galaxies.
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12. |
- Barlo, A, et al.
(författare)
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Proposal of a New Tool for Pre-Straining Operations of Sheet Metals and an Initial Investigation of CR4 Mild Steel Formability
- 2023
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Ingår i: IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. - 1757-899X. ; 1284
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the increased focus on reducing carbon emissions in the automotive industry, more advanced materials are introduced to reduce the vehicle weight, and more complex component geometries are designed to both satisfy customer demands and to optimize the vehicle aerodynamically. With the increase in component complexity, the strain paths produced during the forming operation of car body components often display a highly non-linear behavior which makes the task of failure prediction during the manufacturing feasibility studies more difficult. Therefore, CAE engineers need better capabilities to predict failure induced by strain path nonlinearity. This study proposes a new tool designed for creating bi-linear strain paths, by performing a pre-strain of a sheet large enough to cut out Nakajima specimens to perform the post-straining in any direction. From five pre-straining tests the tool present a stable pre-straining operation with a uniform strain field in a radius of 100 [mm] from the centre, corresponding to the region of interest of a Nakajima specimen. From the five pre-strained samples, different Nakajima specimens are cut transverse and longitudinal to the rolling direction and a failure prediction approach in an alternative, path independent evaluation space was used to predict the onset of necking with promising results.
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13. |
- Lazaryan, Aleksandr, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of cytogenetic abnormalities on outcomes of adult Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation : a study by the Acute Leukemia Working Committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research
- 2020
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Ingår i: Haematologica. - : Ferrata Storti Foundation (Haematologica). - 0390-6078 .- 1592-8721. ; 105:5, s. 1329-1338
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cytogenetic risk stratification at diagnosis has long been one of the most useful tools to assess prognosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). To examine the prognostic impact of cytogenetic abnormalities on outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, we studied 1731 adults with Philadelphia-negative ALL in complete remission who underwent myeloablative or reduced intensity/non-myeloablative conditioning transplant from unrelated or matched sibling donors reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. A total of 632 patients had abnormal conventional metaphase cytogenetics. The leukemia-free survival and overall survival rates at 5 years after transplantation in patients with abnormal cytogenetics were 40% and 42%, respectively, which were similar to those in patients with a normal karyotype. Of the previously established cytogenetic risk classifications, modified Medical Research Council-Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score was the only independent prognosticator of leukemia-free survival (P=0.03). In the multivariable analysis, monosomy 7 predicted post-transplant relapse [hazard ratio (HR)=2.11; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.04-4.27] and treatment failure (HR=1.97; 95% CI: 1.20-3.24). Complex karyotype was prognostic for relapse (HR=1.69; 95% CI: 1.06-2.69), whereas t(8;14) predicted treatment failure (HR=2.85; 95% CI: 1.35-6.02) and overall mortality (HR=3.03; 95% CI: 1.44-6.41). This large study suggested a novel transplant-specific cytogenetic scheme with adverse [monosomy 7, complex karyotype, del(7q), t(8;14), t(11;19), del(7q), tetraploidy/near triploidy], intermediate (normal karyotype and all other abnormalities), and favorable (high hyperdiploidy) risks to prognosticate leukemia-free survival (P=0.02). Although some previously established high-risk Philadelphia-negative cytogenetic abnormalities in ALL can be overcome by transplantation, monosomy 7, complex karyotype, and t(8;14) continue to pose significant risks and yield inferior outcomes.
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14. |
- Lizama, B. N., et al.
(författare)
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An interim exploratory proteomics biomarker analysis of a phase 2 clinical trial to assess the impact of CT1812 in Alzheimer's disease
- 2024
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Ingår i: NEUROBIOLOGY OF DISEASE. - 0969-9961 .- 1095-953X. ; 199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- CT1812 is a novel, brain penetrant small molecule modulator of the sigma-2 receptor (S2R) that is currently in clinical development for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Preclinical and early clinical data show that, through S2R, CT1812 selectively prevents and displaces binding of amyloid beta (A beta) oligomers from neuronal synapses and improves cognitive function in animal models of AD. SHINE is an ongoing phase 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (COG0201) in participants with mild to moderate AD, designed to assess the safety and efficacy of 6 months of CT1812 treatment. To elucidate the mechanism of action in AD patients and pharmacodynamic biomarkers of CT1812, the present study reports exploratory cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker data from 18 participants in an interim analysis of the first set of patients in SHINE (part A). Untargeted mass spectrometry-based discovery proteomics detects >2000 proteins in patient CSF and has documented utility in accelerating the identification of novel AD biomarkers reflective of diverse pathophysiologies beyond amyloid and tau, and enabling identification of pharmacodynamic biomarkers in longitudinal interventional trials. We leveraged this technique to analyze CSF samples taken at baseline and after 6 months of CT1812 treatment. Proteome-wide protein levels were detected using tandem mass tag-mass spectrometry (TMTMS), change from baseline was calculated for each participant, and differential abundance analysis by treatment group was performed. This analysis revealed a set of proteins significantly impacted by CT1812, including pathway engagement biomarkers (i.e., biomarkers tied to S2R biology) and disease modification biomarkers (i.e., biomarkers with altered levels in AD vs. healthy control CSF but normalized by CT1812, and biomarkers correlated with favorable trends in ADAS-Cog11 scores). Brain network mapping, Gene Ontology, and pathway analyses revealed an impact of CT1812 on synapses, lipoprotein and amyloid beta biology, and neuroinflammation. Collectively, the findings highlight the utility of this method in pharmacodynamic biomarker identification and providing mechanistic insights for CT1812, which may facilitate the clinical development of CT1812 and enable appropriate pre-specification of biomarkers in upcoming clinical trials of CT1812.
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16. |
- Tserpes, K., et al.
(författare)
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A review on failure theories and simulation models for adhesive joints
- 2022
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Ingår i: The journal of adhesion. - : Bellwether Publishing, Ltd.. - 0021-8464 .- 1563-518X .- 1545-5823. ; 98:12, s. 1855-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the framework of the Cost Action CERTBOND (Reliable roadmap for certification of bonded primary structures), a wide group of researchers from 27 European Countries have had the opportunity to work on the topic of certification of bonded joints for primary structural applications from different engineering sectors such as the aerospace, automotive, civil engineering, wind energy and marine sectors. Since virtual testing and optimization are basic tools in the certification process, one of the key objectives of CERTBOND is to critically review some of the available models and failure theories for adhesive joints. The present paper summarizes the outcome of this task. Nine different models/theories are described in detail. Specifically, reviewed are the Classical Analytical Methods, the Process Zone Methods, Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM), the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT), the Stress Singularity Approach, Finite Fracture Mechanics (FFM), the Cohesive Zone Method (CZM), the Progressive Damage Modeling method and the Probabilistic methods. Also, at the end of the paper, the modeling of temperature effects on adhesive joints have been addressed. For each model/theory, information on the methodology, the required input, the main results, the advantages and disadvantages and the applications are given. © 2021 The Author(s).
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17. |
- Ballesteros, Joaquin, et al.
(författare)
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Evolving dynamic self-adaptation policies of mHealth systems for long-term monitoring
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Biomedical Informatics. - : Academic Press Inc.. - 1532-0464 .- 1532-0480. ; 108
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tele-rehabilitation can complement traditional rehabilitation therapies by providing valuable information that can help in the evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of patients. Many patient tele-monitoring systems that integrate wearable technology are emerging as an effective tool for the long-term surveillance of rehabilitation progression, enabling continuous sampling of patient real-time movement in a non-invasive way, without affecting the normal daily activity of the outpatient, who, therefore, will not need to make frequent clinic visits. One of the main challenges of tele-rehabilitation systems is to pay special attention to the diversity of dysfunctions in patients by offering devices with customized behaviours adaptable to the physical conditions of each patient at the different stages of the rehabilitation therapy. Long-term monitoring systems need an adaptation policy to autonomously reconfigure their behaviour according to vital signs read during the physical activity of the patient, the remaining battery level, or the required accuracy of collected data. However, it would alsobe desirable to adjust such adaptation policies over time, according to the patient's evolution. This work presents a wearable patient-monitoring system for tele-rehabilitation that is able to dynamically self-configure its internal behaviour to the current context of the outpatient according to a set of adaptation policies that optimize battery consumption, taking into account other QoS parameters at the same time. Our system is also able to self-adapt its internal adaptation policies as a patient's condition improves, while maintaining the system's efficiency. We illustrate our proposal with a real mHealth case study. The results of the experiments show that the system updates the adaptation policies, taking into account specific indicators of the disease. The validation results show that the evolution of the self-adaptation policies correlates with the progression of different patients.
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18. |
- Blary, Constance L.M., et al.
(författare)
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Low achromatic contrast sensitivity in birds : a common attribute shared by many phylogenetic orders
- 2024
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Ingår i: The Journal of experimental biology. - 1477-9145. ; 227:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vision is an important sensory modality in birds, which can outperform other vertebrates in some visual abilities. However, sensitivity to achromatic contrasts - the ability to discern luminance difference between two objects or an object and its background - has been shown to be lower in birds compared with other vertebrates. We conducted a comparative study to evaluate the achromatic contrast sensitivity of 32 bird species from 12 orders using the optocollic reflex technique. We then performed an analysis to test for potential variability in contrast sensitivity depending on the corneal diameter to the axial length ratio, a proxy of the retinal image brightness. To account for potential influences of evolutionary relatedness, we included phylogeny in our analyses. We found a low achromatic contrast sensitivity for all avian species studied compared with other vertebrates (except small mammals), with high variability between species. This variability is partly related to phylogeny but appears to be independent of image brightness.
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19. |
- Bloomfield, Madeleine, et al.
(författare)
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European Autism GEnomics Registry (EAGER): protocol for a multicentre cohort study and registry
- 2024
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Ingår i: BMJ OPEN. - 2044-6055. ; 14:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction Autism is a common neurodevelopmental condition with a complex genetic aetiology that includes contributions from monogenic and polygenic factors. Many autistic people have unmet healthcare needs that could be served by genomics-informed research and clinical trials. The primary aim of the European Autism GEnomics Registry (EAGER) is to establish a registry of participants with a diagnosis of autism or an associated rare genetic condition who have undergone whole-genome sequencing. The registry can facilitate recruitment for future clinical trials and research studies, based on genetic, clinical and phenotypic profiles, as well as participant preferences. The secondary aim of EAGER is to investigate the association between mental and physical health characteristics and participants' genetic profiles.Methods and analysis EAGER is a European multisite cohort study and registry and is part of the AIMS-2-TRIALS consortium. EAGER was developed with input from the AIMS-2-TRIALS Autism Representatives and representatives from the rare genetic conditions community. 1500 participants with a diagnosis of autism or an associated rare genetic condition will be recruited at 13 sites across 8 countries. Participants will be given a blood or saliva sample for whole-genome sequencing and answer a series of online questionnaires. Participants may also consent to the study to access pre-existing clinical data. Participants will be added to the EAGER registry and data will be shared externally through established AIMS-2-TRIALS mechanisms.Ethics and dissemination To date, EAGER has received full ethical approval for 11 out of the 13 sites in the UK (REC 23/SC/0022), Germany (S-375/2023), Portugal (CE-085/2023), Spain (HCB/2023/0038, PIC-164-22), Sweden (Dnr 2023-06737-01), Ireland (230907) and Italy (CET_62/2023, CEL-IRCCS OASI/24-01-2024/EM01, EM 2024-13/1032 EAGER). Findings will be disseminated via scientific publications and conferences but also beyond to participants and the wider community (eg, the AIMS-2-TRIALS website, stakeholder meetings, newsletters).
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20. |
- Cox, A. J. F., et al.
(författare)
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Acclimation of photosynthetic capacity and foliar respiration in Andean tree species to temperature change
- 2023
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 238:6, s. 2329-2344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate warming is causing compositional changes in Andean tropical montane forests (TMFs). These shifts are hypothesised to result from differential responses to warming of cold- and warm-affiliated species, with the former experiencing mortality and the latter migrating upslope. The thermal acclimation potential of Andean TMFs remains unknown. Along a 2000m Andean altitudinal gradient, we planted individuals of cold- and warm-affiliated species (under common soil and irrigation), exposing them to the hot and cold extremes of their thermal niches, respectively. We measured the response of net photosynthesis (A(net)), photosynthetic capacity and leaf dark respiration (R-dark) to warming/cooling, 5 months after planting. In all species, A(net) and photosynthetic capacity at 25 degrees C were highest when growing at growth temperatures (T-g) closest to their thermal means, declining with warming and cooling in cold-affiliated and warm-affiliated species, respectively. When expressed at T-g, photosynthetic capacity and Rdark remained unchanged in cold-affiliated species, but the latter decreased in warm-affiliated counterparts. R-dark at 25 degrees C increased with temperature in all species, but remained unchanged when expressed at T-g. Both species groups acclimated to temperature, but only warm-affiliated species decreased R-dark to photosynthetic capacity ratio at T-g as temperature increased. This could confer them a competitive advantage under future warming.
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21. |
- de Graaf, Nine, et al.
(författare)
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Minimally invasive versus open pancreatoduodenectomy for pancreatic and peri-ampullary neoplasm (DIPLOMA-2) : study protocol for an international multicenter patient-blinded randomized controlled trial
- 2023
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Ingår i: Trials. - : BioMed Central Ltd. - 1745-6215. ; 24:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Minimally invasive pancreatoduodenectomy (MIPD) aims to reduce the negative impact of surgery as compared to open pancreatoduodenectomy (OPD) and is increasingly becoming part of clinical practice for selected patients worldwide. However, the safety of MIPD remains a topic of debate and the potential shorter time to functional recovery needs to be confirmed. To guide safe implementation of MIPD, large-scale international randomized trials comparing MIPD and OPD in experienced high-volume centers are needed. We hypothesize that MIPD is non-inferior in terms of overall complications, but superior regarding time to functional recovery, as compared to OPD. Methods/design: The DIPLOMA-2 trial is an international randomized controlled, patient-blinded, non-inferiority trial performed in 14 high-volume pancreatic centers in Europe with a minimum annual volume of 30 MIPD and 30 OPD. A total of 288 patients with an indication for elective pancreatoduodenectomy for pre-malignant and malignant disease, eligible for both open and minimally invasive approach, are randomly allocated for MIPD or OPD in a 2:1 ratio. Centers perform either laparoscopic or robot-assisted MIPD based on their surgical expertise. The primary outcome is the Comprehensive Complication Index (CCI®), measuring all complications graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification up to 90 days after surgery. The sample size is calculated with the following assumptions: 2.5% one-sided significance level (α), 80% power (1-β), expected difference of the mean CCI® score of 0 points between MIPD and OPD, and a non-inferiority margin of 7.5 points. The main secondary outcome is time to functional recovery, which will be analyzed for superiority. Other secondary outcomes include post-operative 90-day Fitbit™ measured activity, operative outcomes (e.g., blood loss, operative time, conversion to open surgery, surgeon-reported outcomes), oncological findings in case of malignancy (e.g., R0-resection rate, time to adjuvant treatment, survival), postoperative outcomes (e.g., clinically relevant complications), healthcare resource utilization (length of stay, readmissions, intensive care stay), quality of life, and costs. Postoperative follow-up is up to 36 months. Discussion: The DIPLOMA-2 trial aims to establish the safety of MIPD as the new standard of care for this selected patient population undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy in high-volume centers, ultimately aiming for superior patient recovery. Trial registration: ISRCTN27483786. Registered on August 2, 2023. © 2023, BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.
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- Muscio, Alessandro, et al.
(författare)
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The Effects of the Academic Environment on PhD Entrepreneurship : New Insights from Survey Data
- 2022
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Ingår i: University-Industry Knowledge Interactions. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 2197-5884 .- 1572-1922. - 9783030846688 ; 52, s. 179-199
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper investigates PhD entrepreneurship. We focus on the university factors most closely associated to: (1) students’ success in starting a business venture; (2) students’ startup intention; (3) students’ abandoning the entrepreneurial idea. The empirical analysis is based on data from a questionnaire survey, administered in 2016 in Italy. We focus on four factors related to the university entrepreneurial environment: (1) university entrepreneurship policy frameworks; (2) PhD orientation to business problems; (3) entrepreneurship training; (4) PhD lab reputation. We find that the academic environment can have a fundamental impact on students’ decisions to start new ventures and on their entrepreneurial attitude.
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26. |
- Oliver-Simancas, Rodrigo, et al.
(författare)
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Valorization applications of pineapple and papaya byproducts in food industry
- 2024
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Ingår i: Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. - : Wiley. - 1541-4337. ; 23:3
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The recent increase in the harvesting and industrial processing of tropical fruits such as pineapple and papaya is leading to unavoidable amounts of byproducts rich in valuable compounds. Given the significance of the chemical composition of these byproducts, new research avenues are opening up to exploit them in the food industry. In this sense, the revalorization of pineapple and papaya byproducts is an emerging trend that is encouraging the full harnessing of these tropical fruits, offering the opportunity for developing innovative value-added products. Therefore, the main aim of this review is to provide an overview of the state of the art of the current valorization applications of pineapple and papaya byproducts in the field of food industry. For that proposal, comprehensive research of valorization applications developed in the last years has been conducted using scientific databases, databases, digital libraries, and scientific search engines. The latest valorization applications of pineapple and papaya byproducts in the food industry have been systematically revised and gathered with the objective of synthesizing and critically analyzing existing scientific literature in order to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of tropical byproduct revalorization providing a solid foundation for further research and highlighting scientific gaps and new challenges that should be addressed in the future.
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27. |
- Rolseth, Anton, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of functional integration and electrification on aluminium scrap in the automotive sector : A review
- 2024
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Ingår i: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. - : Elsevier. - 0921-3449 .- 1879-0658. ; 205
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The shift towards vehicle electrification must progress while simultaneously addressing sustainability challenges related to lightweighting, which is the intensifying need for high-quality primary aluminium, which demand cannot be met with recycled material with traditional compositional limits. To understand and predict the characteristics of future scrap mixtures, it is crucial to comprehend the evolving composition of new components and associated trends. This insight helps alloy design that accommodates higher impurities and, thus, a more thoughtful strategy for materials process development research. This review delves into the impact of electric motors, batteries, and functional integration. Notably, the analysis herein indicates a rise in magnesium (Mg) and a decrease in copper (Cu) and silicon (Si) contents in the future scrap mixtures due to more Al–Mg alloys such as those found in the 5xxx (Al–Mg) and 6xxx (Al–Mg–Si) series and an outflux of high Al–Si–Cu engine alloys. Gigacastings might counteract this trend based on their Si content and adoption and promote circularity principles by reducing alloy varieties. Reduced Si content in future scrap mixtures is also expected to boost sustainability since significant CO2 emissions from recycled alloys come from melting, controlled by the latent heat of fusion of the scrap mix.
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28. |
- Tuan Pham, Quoc, et al.
(författare)
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Modeling the strain localization of shell elements subjected to combined stretch–bend loads : Application on automotive sheet metal stamping simulations
- 2023
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Ingår i: Thin-walled structures. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0263-8231 .- 1879-3223. ; 188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study presents a modeling approach for predicting strain localization during sheet metal stamping processes focused on automotive engineering applications. The so-called stretching-to-bending ratio, ρ, is proposed to characterize the loading conditions acting on an element during stamping processes. Then, localized strain or necking strain is suggested to be a function of ρ. Different stretch–bending tests with different tool radii, i.e., R3, R6, R10, and R50 are conducted for two automotive sheet metals, DP800 and AA6010, to identify their forming limits under combined stretch–bend loads. The calibrated necking limit curve of the AA6016 sheet is then employed in AutoForm R10 software to predict the necking and failure of a stamped panel. Agreement with the experimental observation of failure positions of the panel validates the usefulness of the proposed modeling approach in practice.
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