| 1. |
- Bruze, M., et al.
(author)
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Validation of questionnaire algorithm based on repeated open application testing with the constituents of fragrance mix II : the EDEN Fragrance Study
- 2021
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In: Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. - : Wiley. - 0926-9959 .- 1468-3083. ; 35:8, s. 1692-1701
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: In a European study on contact allergy in the general population, it has been hypothesized that the combination of contact allergy to a fragrance together with a history indicating dermatitis at exposure and thereafter subsequent avoidance of scented products implied a diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis. Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to validate this hypothesis/algorithm. The secondary aim was to investigate whether there was any association between the outcome of the recent repeated open application test (ROAT) and the patch test reactivity. Methods: One hundred nine subjects with and without contact allergy to fragrance mix II (FM II) were recruited. Volunteers from six European dermatology clinics participated in the study including a patch test and a ROAT. Results: Twenty-four positive ROAT reactions were noted in total including 20 of those 32 with contact allergy to FM II. None of the volunteers reacted to the vehicle (P < 0.001). More individuals with a positive algorithm had positive ROATs when compared with those with a negative algorithm. However, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.12). The lower the patch test concentration eliciting a positive test reaction, the more likely was a positive ROAT and the more likely that the positive ROAT appeared early during the investigative period. Conclusions: The algorithm used in this study was not validated but it was indicated in this ROAT setup. The stronger the patch test reactivity the more likely was a positive ROAT and the more likely it was that the positive ROAT appeared early during the application period.
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| 3. |
- Gillman, Anna, 1972-
(author)
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Tamiflu in the Water : Resistance Dynamics of Influenza A Virus in Mallards Exposed to Oseltamivir
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The natural reservoir of influenza A virus (IAV) is wild waterfowl, and all human IAVs have their genetic origins from avian viruses. Neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) are currently the best drugs for treatment of human influenza; therefore, the orally available NAI oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) has been stockpiled worldwide as part of pandemic preparedness planning. Re-sistance to NAIs is related to worse clinical outcomes and if a new pandemic influenza virus would be oseltamivir-resistant its public health impact would be substantially worsened.The active metabolite oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) is not removed by sewage treatment and ends up in river water, where OC-concentrations up to 0.86µg/L have been detected.We hypothesize that occasional OC exposure of wild waterfowl carrying IAVs may result in circulation of resistant variants that may potentially evolve to become human-pathogenic.We tested the hypothesis in an in vivo Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) model in which birds were infected with avian IAVs and exposed to OC. Excreted viruses were analyzed regarding genotypic and phenotypic resistance by neuraminidase (NA) sequencing and a functional NA inhibition assay.Two viruses with NAs of the phylogenetic N2-group, H6N2 and H7N9, acquired the NA substitutions R292K and I222T when host ducks were exposed to 12µg/L and 2.5µg/L of OC, respectively. Drug susceptibilities were at previously described levels for the substitutions. To test persistence of resistance, an OC resistant avian H1N1/H274Y virus (with a group N1 NA-protein) from a previous study, and three resistant H6N2/R292K variants were allowed to replicate in Mallards without drug pressure. Resistance was entirely maintained in the H1N1/H274Y virus, but the H6N2/R292K variants were outcompeted by wild type virus, indicating retained fitness of the resistant H1N1 but not the H6N2 variants.We conclude that OC in the environment may generate resistant IAVs in wild birds. Resistant avian IAVs may become a problem to humans, should the resistance trait become part of a new human pathogenic virus. It implies a need for prudent use of available NAIs, optimized sewage treatment and resistance surveillance of avian IAVs of wild birds.
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| 4. |
- Rana, Pravin Kumar, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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Depth Pixel Clustering for Consistency Testing of Multiview Depth
- 2012
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In: European Signal Processing Conference. - 9781467310680 ; , s. 1119-1123
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper proposes a clustering algorithm of depth pixels for consistency testing of multiview depth imagery. The testing addresses the inconsistencies among estimated depth maps of real world scenes by validating depth pixel connection evidence based on a hard connection threshold. With the proposed algorithm, we test the consistency among depth values generated from multiple depth observations using cluster adaptive connection thresholds. The connection threshold is based on statistical properties of depth pixels in a cluster or sub-cluster. This approach can improve the depth information of real world scenes at a given viewpoint. This allows us to enhance the quality of synthesized virtual views when compared to depth maps obtained by using fixed thresholding. Depth-image-based virtual view synthesis is widely used for upcoming multimedia services like three-dimensional television and free-viewpoint television.
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| 6. |
- Case, Laura K, et al.
(author)
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Touch Perception Altered by Chronic Pain and by Opioid Blockade.
- 2016
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In: eNeuro. - 2373-2822. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Touch plays a significant role in human social behavior and social communication, and its rewarding nature has been suggested to involve opioids. Opioid blockade in monkeys leads to increased solicitation and receipt of grooming, suggesting heightened enjoyment of touch. We sought to study the role of endogenous opioids in perception of affective touch in healthy adults and in patients with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition shown to involve reduced opioid receptor availability. The pleasantness of touch has been linked to the activation of C-tactile fibers, which respond maximally to slow gentle touch and correlate with ratings of pleasantness. We administered naloxone to patients and healthy controls to directly observe the consequences of µ-opioid blockade on the perceived pleasantness and intensity of touch. We found that at baseline chronic pain patients showed a blunted distinction between slow and fast brushing for both intensity and pleasantness, suggesting reduced C-tactile touch processing. In addition, we found a differential effect of opioid blockade on touch perception in healthy subjects and pain patients. In healthy individuals, opioid blockade showed a trend toward increased ratings of touch pleasantness, while in chronic pain patients it significantly decreased ratings of touch intensity. Further, in healthy individuals, naloxone-induced increase in touch pleasantness was associated with naloxone-induced decreased preference for slow touch, suggesting a possible effect of opioid levels on processing of C-tactile fiber input. These findings suggest a role for endogenous opioids in touch processing, and provide further evidence for altered opioid functioning in chronic pain patients.
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| 8. |
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The Organ Yearbook, volume 49 (2020). Recreating organs from documents
- 2022
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Editorial collection (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In this volume of The Organ Yearbook Wim S. Ros, Koos van de Linde and Winold van der Putten report on their research and the reconstruction of the positive depicted on ‘The adoration of the lamb’ by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Walter Chinaglia has recreated a pair of ‘organi di legno’ based on study of documents and research on the construction and acoustics of wooden pipes. George B. Stauffer shares further thoughts on Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 537. Peter van Tour reveals new evidence of imitative stock patterns in the teaching and improvisation of counterpoint in 18th-century Naples. Anna Steppler shows how Michael Praetorius set up his De Organographia as defence of the organ as the instrument of instruments. Dorothea Schröder and Krzysztof Urbaniak outline how Stellwagen’s organ for the Eutiner Schlosskapelle came about. The ‘Silbermann Archives’ have become publicly available: a short report and Marc Schaefer’s introduction highlight this important collection. Christopher Anderson portrays a schoolmaster in ‘Karl Straube as organ teacher’.
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| 9. |
- Woodruff, J. B., et al.
(author)
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Regulated assembly of a supramolecular centrosome scaffold in vitro
- 2015
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 348:6236, s. 808-812
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The centrosome organizes microtubule arrays within animal cells and comprises two centrioles surrounded by an amorphous protein mass called the pericentriolar material (PCM). Despite the importance of centrosomes as microtubule-organizing centers, the mechanism and regulation of PCM assembly are not well understood. In Caenorhabditis elegans, PCM assembly requires the coiled-coil protein SPD-5.We found that recombinant SPD-5 could polymerize to form micrometer-sized porous networks in vitro. Network assembly was accelerated by two conserved regulators that control PCM assembly in vivo, Polo-like kinase-1 and SPD-2/Cep192. Only the assembled SPD-5 networks, and not unassembled SPD-5 protein, functioned as a scaffold for other PCM proteins. Thus, PCM size and binding capacity emerge from the regulated polymerization of one coiled-coil protein to form a porous network.
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| 10. |
- Broekman, Maarten J. E., et al.
(author)
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Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data
- 2022
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In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 31:8, s. 1526-1541
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species.Location: Worldwide.Time period: 1998-2021.Major taxa studied: Forty-nine terrestrial mammal species.Methods: Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types.Results: IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively.Main conclusions: We show how GPS-tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS-tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data.
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