| 1. |
- Acharya, B. S., et al.
(författare)
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Introducing the CTA concept
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 43, s. 3-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a new observatory for very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays. CTA has ambitions science goals, for which it is necessary to achieve full-sky coverage, to improve the sensitivity by about an order of magnitude, to span about four decades of energy, from a few tens of GeV to above 100 TeV with enhanced angular and energy resolutions over existing VHE gamma-ray observatories. An international collaboration has formed with more than 1000 members from 27 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. In 2010 the CTA Consortium completed a Design Study and started a three-year Preparatory Phase which leads to production readiness of CTA in 2014. In this paper we introduce the science goals and the concept of CTA, and provide an overview of the project. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Actis, M., et al.
(författare)
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Design concepts for the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA : an advanced facility for ground-based high-energy gamma-ray astronomy
- 2011
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 32:3, s. 193-316
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has had a major breakthrough with the impressive results obtained using systems of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has a huge potential in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. CTA is an international initiative to build the next generation instrument, with a factor of 5-10 improvement in sensitivity in the 100 GeV-10 TeV range and the extension to energies well below 100 GeV and above 100 TeV. CTA will consist of two arrays (one in the north, one in the south) for full sky coverage and will be operated as open observatory. The design of CTA is based on currently available technology. This document reports on the status and presents the major design concepts of CTA.
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| 3. |
- Abdalla, H., et al.
(författare)
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Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array for probing cosmology and fundamental physics with gamma-ray propagation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 1475-7516. ; :2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the new-generation ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy, provides unique capabilities to address significant open questions in astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. We study some of the salient areas of gamma-ray cosmology that can be explored as part of the Key Science Projects of CTA, through simulated observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and of their relativistic jets. Observations of AGN with CTA will enable a measurement of gamma-ray absorption on the extragalactic background light with a statistical uncertainty below 15% up to a redshift z = 2 and to constrain or detect gamma-ray halos up to intergalactic-magnetic-field strengths of at least 0.3 pG. Extragalactic observations with CTA also show promising potential to probe physics beyond the Standard Model. The best limits on Lorentz invariance violation from gamma-ray astronomy will be improved by a factor of at least two to three. CTA will also probe the parameter space in which axion-like particles could constitute a significant fraction, if not all, of dark matter. We conclude on the synergies between CTA and other upcoming facilities that will foster the growth of gamma-ray cosmology.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Acero, F., et al.
(författare)
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Prospects for Cherenkov Telescope Array Observations of the Young Supernova Remnant RX J1713.7-3946
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 840:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We perform simulations for future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observations of RX J1713.7-3946, a young supernova remnant (SNR) and one of the brightest sources ever discovered in very high energy (VHE) gamma rays. Special attention is paid to exploring possible spatial (anti) correlations of gamma rays with emission at other wavelengths, in particular X-rays and CO/H I emission. We present a series of simulated images of RX J1713.7-3946 for CTA based on a set of observationally motivated models for the gamma-ray emission. In these models, VHE gamma rays produced by high-energy electrons are assumed to trace the nonthermal X-ray emission observed by XMM-Newton, whereas those originating from relativistic protons delineate the local gas distributions. The local atomic and molecular gas distributions are deduced by the NANTEN team from CO and H I observations. Our primary goal is to show how one can distinguish the emission mechanism(s) of the gamma rays (i.e., hadronic versus leptonic, or a mixture of the two) through information provided by their spatial distribution, spectra, and time variation. This work is the first attempt to quantitatively evaluate the capabilities of CTA to achieve various proposed scientific goals by observing this important cosmic particle accelerator.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Glicenstein, J-F, et al.
(författare)
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Status of the NectarCAM camera project
- 2014
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Ingår i: High Energy, Optical, and Infrared Detectors for Astronomy VI. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9780819496225
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- NectarCAM is a camera designed for the medium-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) covering the central energy range 100 GeV to 30 TeV. It has a modular design based on the NECTAr chip, at the heart of which is a GHz sampling Switched Capacitor Array and 12-bit Analog to Digital converter. The camera will be equipped with 265 7-photomultiplier modules, covering a field of view of 7 to 8 degrees. Each module includes the photomultiplier bases, High Voltage supply, pre-amplifier, trigger, readout and Thernet transceiver. Events recorded last between a few nanoseconds and tens of nanoseconds. A flexible trigger scheme allows to read out very long events. NectarCAM can sustain a data rate of 10 kHz. The camera concept, the design and tests of the various subcomponents and results of thermal and electrical prototypes are presented. The design includes the mechanical structure, the cooling of electronics, read-out, clock distribution, slow control, data-acquisition, trigger, monitoring and services. A 133-pixel prototype with full scale mechanics, cooling, data acquisition and slow control will be built at the end of 2014.
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| 14. |
- Ip, H. F., et al.
(författare)
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Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters, instruments, and age
- 2021
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Ingår i: Translational Psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2158-3188. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) has a substantial heritability of around 50%. Here we present a genome-wide association metaanalysis (GWAMA) of childhood AGG, in which all phenotype measures across childhood ages from multiple assessors were included. We analyzed phenotype assessments for a total of 328 935 observations from 87 485 children aged between 1.5 and 18 years, while accounting for sample overlap. We also meta-analyzed within subsets of the data, i.e., within rater, instrument and age. SNP-heritability for the overall meta-analysis (AGGoverall) was 3.31% (SE= 0.0038). We found no genome-wide significant SNPs for AGG(overall). The gene-based analysis returned three significant genes: ST3GAL3 (P= 1.6E-06), PCDH7 (P= 2.0E-06), and IPO13 (P= 2.5E-06). All three genes have previously been associated with educational traits. Polygenic scores based on our GWAMA significantly predicted aggression in a holdout sample of children (variance explained = 0.44%) and in retrospectively assessed childhood aggression (variance explained = 0.20%). Genetic correlations (rg) among rater-specific assessment of AGG ranged from r(g)= 0.46 between self- and teacher-assessment to r(g)d= 0.81 between mother- and teacher-assessment. We obtained moderate-to-strong rgs with selected phenotypes from multiple domains, but hardly with any of the classical biomarkers thought to be associated with AGG. Significant genetic correlations were observed with most psychiatric and psychological traits (range r(g): 0.19-1.00), except for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Aggression had a negative genetic correlation (r(g)=-0.5) with cognitive traits and age at first birth. Aggression was strongly genetically correlated with smoking phenotypes (range |r(g)| : 0.46-0.60). The genetic correlations between aggression and psychiatric disorders were weaker for teacher-reported AGG than for mother- and self-reported AGG. The current GWAMA of childhood aggression provides a powerful tool to interrogate the rater-specific genetic etiology of AGG.
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| 15. |
- Middeldorp, C. M., et al.
(författare)
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A Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Population-Based Pediatric Cohorts
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567. ; 55:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective The aims of this study were to elucidate the influence of common genetic variants on childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, to identify genetic variants that explain its high heritability, and to investigate the genetic overlap of ADHD symptom scores with ADHD diagnosis. Method Within the EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortium, genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and ADHD symptom scores were available for 17,666 children (<13 years of age) from nine population-based cohorts. SNP-based heritability was estimated in data from the three largest cohorts. Meta-analysis based on genome-wide association (GWA) analyses with SNPs was followed by gene-based association tests, and the overlap in results with a meta-analysis in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) case-control ADHD study was investigated. Results SNP-based heritability ranged from 5% to 34%, indicating that variation in common genetic variants influences ADHD symptom scores. The meta-analysis did not detect genome-wide significant SNPs, but three genes, lying close to each other with SNPs in high linkage disequilibrium (LD), showed a gene-wide significant association (p values between 1.46× 10−6 and 2.66× 10−6). One gene, WASL, is involved in neuronal development. Both SNP- and gene-based analyses indicated overlap with the PGC meta-analysis results with the genetic correlation estimated at 0.96. Conclusion The SNP-based heritability for ADHD symptom scores indicates a polygenic architecture, and genes involved in neurite outgrowth are possibly involved. Continuous and dichotomous measures of ADHD appear to assess a genetically common phenotype. A next step is to combine data from population-based and case-control cohorts in genetic association studies to increase sample size and to improve statistical power for identifying genetic variants. © 2016 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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| 16. |
- Vogelezang, Suzanne, et al.
(författare)
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Novel loci for childhood body mass index and shared heritability with adult cardiometabolic traits.
- 2020
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Ingår i: PLoS genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7404. ; 16:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The genetic background of childhood body mass index (BMI), and the extent to which the well-known associations of childhood BMI with adult diseases are explained by shared genetic factors, are largely unknown. We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of BMI in 61,111 children aged between 2 and 10 years. Twenty-five independent loci reached genome-wide significance in the combined discovery and replication analyses. Two of these, located near NEDD4L and SLC45A3, have not previously been reported in relation to either childhood or adult BMI. Positive genetic correlations of childhood BMI with birth weight and adult BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, diastolic blood pressure and type 2 diabetes were detected (Rg ranging from 0.11 to 0.76, P-values <0.002). A negative genetic correlation of childhood BMI with age at menarche was observed. Our results suggest that the biological processes underlying childhood BMI largely, but not completely, overlap with those underlying adult BMI. The well-known observational associations of BMI in childhood with cardio-metabolic diseases in adulthood may reflect partial genetic overlap, but in light of previous evidence, it is also likely that they are explained through phenotypic continuity of BMI from childhood into adulthood.
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| 17. |
- Jami, E. S., et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide Association Meta-analysis of Childhood and Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 61:7, s. 934-945
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To investigate the genetic architecture of internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence. Method: In 22 cohorts, multiple univariate genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were performed using repeated assessments of internalizing symptoms, in a total of 64,561 children and adolescents between 3 and 18 years of age. Results were aggregated in meta-analyses that accounted for sample overlap, first using all available data, and then using subsets of measurements grouped by rater, age, and instrument. Results: The meta-analysis of overall internalizing symptoms (INToverall) detected no genome-wide significant hits and showed low single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heritability (1.66%, 95% CI = 0.84-2.48%, n(effective) = 132,260). Stratified analyses indicated rater-based heterogeneity in genetic effects, with self-reported internalizing symptoms showing the highest heritability (5.63%, 95% CI = 3.08%-8.18%). The contribution of additive genetic effects on internalizing symptoms appeared to be stable over age, with overlapping estimates of SNP heritability from early childhood to adolescence. Genetic correlations were observed with adult anxiety, depression, and the well-being spectrum (vertical bar r(g)vertical bar > 0.70), as well as with insomnia, loneliness, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, and childhood aggression (range vertical bar r(g)vertical bar = 0.42-0.60), whereas there were no robust associations with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or anorexia nervosa. Conclusion: Genetic correlations indicate that childhood and adolescent internalizing symptoms share substantial genetic vulnerabilities with adult internalizing disorders and other childhood psychiatric traits, which could partially explain both the persistence of internalizing symptoms over time and the high comorbidity among childhood psychiatric traits. Reducing phenotypic heterogeneity in childhood samples will be key in paving the way to future GWAS success.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Ntaios, G, et al.
(författare)
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The European Stroke Organisation Guidelines: a standard operating procedure
- 2015
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Ingår i: International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 1747-4949. ; 1010 Suppl A100, s. 128-135
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2008, the recently founded European Stroke Organisation published its guidelines for the management of ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. This highly cited document was translated in several languages and was updated in 2009. Since then, the European Stroke Organisation has published guidelines for the management of intracranial aneurysms and subarachnoidal hemorrhage, for the establishment of stroke units and stroke centers, and recently for the management of intracerebral hemorrhage. In recent years, the methodology for the development of guidelines has evolved significantly. To keep pace with this progress and driven by the strong determination of the European Stroke Organisation to further promote stroke management, education, and research, the European Stroke Organisation decided to delineate a detailed standard operating procedure for its guidelines. There are two important cornerstones in this standard operating procedure: The first is the implementation of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology for the development of its Guideline Documents. The second one is the decision of the European Stroke Organisation to move from the classical model of a single Guideline Document about a major topic (e.g. management of ischemic stroke) to focused modules (i.e. subdivisions of a major topic). This will enable the European Stroke Organisation to react faster when new developments in a specific stroke field occur and update its recommendations on the related module rather swiftly; with the previous approach of a single large Guideline Document, its entire revision had to be completed before an updated publication, delaying the production of up-to-date guidelines. After discussion within the European Stroke Organisation Guidelines Committee and significant input from European Stroke Organisation members as well as methodologists and analysts, this document presents the official standard operating procedure for the development of the Guideline Documents of the European Stroke Organisation.
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| 20. |
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| 21. |
- Salvado, G., et al.
(författare)
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The protective gene dose effect of the APOE epsilon 2 allele on gray matter volume in cognitively unimpaired individuals
- 2022
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Ingår i: Alzheimers & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 18:7, s. 1383-1395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Harboring two copies of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 2 allele strongly protects against Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the effect of this genotype on gray matter (GM) volume in cognitively unimpaired individuals has not yet been described. Methods: Multicenter brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) from cognitively unimpaired epsilon 2 homozygotes were matched (1:1) against all other APOE genotypes for relevant confounders (n = 223). GM volumes of epsilon 2 genotypic groups were compared to each other and to the reference group (APOE epsilon 3/epsilon 3). Results: Carrying at least one epsilon 2 allele was associated with larger GM volumes in brain areas typically affected by AD and also in areas associated with cognitive resilience. APOE epsilon 2 homozygotes, but not APOE epsilon 2 heterozygotes, showed larger GM volumes in areas related to successful aging. Discussion: In addition to the known resistance against amyloid-beta deposition, the larger GM volumes in key brain regions may confer APOE epsilon 2 homozygotes additional protection against AD-related cognitive decline.
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| 22. |
- Bath, PMW, et al.
(författare)
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Baseline characteristics of the 4011 patients recruited into the ‘Efficacy of Nitric Oxide in Stroke’ (ENOS) trial
- 2014
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Ingår i: International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society. - : SAGE Publications. - 1747-4949. ; 9:6, s. 711-720
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High blood pressure is common in acute stroke and associated with a worse functional outcome. Many patients who present with acute stroke are taking prescribed antihypertensive therapy before their stroke. Aims ENOS tested whether lowering blood pressure and continuing pre-stroke antihypertensive therapy are each safe and effective. Methods This study is an international multi-centre prospective randomized single-blind blinded-endpoint parallel-group partial-factorial controlled trial of transdermal glyceryl trinitrate (a nitric oxide donor, given for seven-days) vs. no glyceryl trinitrate, and of continuing vs. stopping (temporarily for seven-days) pre-stroke antihypertensive drugs if relevant, in patients with acute ischaemic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage and high systolic blood pressure (140–220 mmHg). Results Recruitment ran from July 2001 to October 2013. Four thousand eleven patients [2097 (52·3%) in the continue/stop arm] were recruited from 173 sites across 23 countries in 5 continents (Asia 14%, Continental Europe 16%, UK 64%). Baseline characteristics include: mean age 70 (standard deviation 12) years; male 57%; mean time from stroke to recruitment 26 ( 13 ) h; mean severity (Scandinavian Stroke Scale) 34 ( 13 ) of 58; mean blood pressure 167 ( 19 )/90 ( 13 ) mmHg; ischaemic stroke 83%; and intracerebral haemorrhage 16%. The main trial results will be presented in May 2014. The results will also be presented in updated Cochrane systematic reviews and included in individual patient data meta-analyses of all relevant randomized controlled trials. Conclusion ENOS is a large completed international trial of blood pressure management in acute stroke and includes patients representative of many stroke services worldwide.
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| 23. |
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| 26. |
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| 27. |
- Gomez-Gallego, F, et al.
(författare)
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Are elite endurance athletes genetically predisposed to lower disease risk?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Physiological genomics. - : American Physiological Society. - 1531-2267 .- 1094-8341. ; 41:1, s. 82-90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We compared a polygenic profile that combined 33 disease risk-related mutations and polymorphisms among nonathletic healthy control subjects and elite endurance athletes. The study sample comprised 100 healthy Spanish male nonathletic (sedentary) control subjects and 100 male elite endurance athletes. We analyzed 33 disease risk-related mutations and polymorphisms. We computed a health-related total genotype score (TGS, 0–100) from the accumulated combination of the 33 variants. We did not observe significant differences in genotype or allele distributions among groups, except for the rs4994 polymorphism ( P < 0.001). The computed health-related TGS was similar among groups (23.8 ± 1.0 vs. 24.2 ± 0.8 in control subjects and athletes, respectively; P = 0.553). Similar results were obtained when computing specific TGSs for each main disease category (cardiovascular disease and cancer). We observed no evidence that male elite endurance athletes are genetically predisposed to have lower disease risk than matched nonathletic control subjects.
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| 28. |
- Ntaios, G., et al.
(författare)
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Renal Function and Risk Stratification of Patients With Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source
- 2018
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Ingår i: Stroke. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0039-2499 .- 1524-4628. ; 49:12, s. 2904-2909
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Purpose-We aimed to assess if renal function can aid in risk stratification for ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) recurrence and death in patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). Methods-We pooled 12 ESUS datasets from Europe and America. Renal function was evaluated using the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and analyzed in continuous, binary, and categorical way. Cox-regression analyses assessed if renal function was independently associated with the risk for ischemic stroke/TIA recurrence and death. The Kaplan-Meier product limit method estimated the cumulative probability of ischemic stroke/TIA recurrence and death. Results-In 1530 patients with ESUS followed for 3260 patient-years, there were 237 recurrences (15.9%) and 201 deaths (13.4%), corresponding to 7.3 ischemic stroke/TIA recurrences and 5.6 deaths per 100 patient-years, respectively. Renal function was not associated with the risk for ischemic stroke/TIA recurrence when forced into the final multivariate model, regardless if it was analyzed as continuous (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.00 for every 1 mL/min), binary (hazard ratio, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.87-1.73) or categorical covariate (likelihood-ratio test 2.59, P=0.63 for stroke recurrence). The probability of ischemic stroke/TIA recurrence across stages of renal function was 11.9% for eGFR >= 90, 16.6% for eGFR 60-89, 21.7% for eGFR 45-59, 19.2% for eGFR 30-44, and 24.9% for eGFR <30 (likelihood-ratio test 2.59, P=0.63). The results were similar for the outcome of death. Conclusions-The present study is the largest pooled individual patient-level ESUS dataset, and does not provide evidence that renal function can be used to stratify the risk of ischemic stroke/TIA recurrence or death in patients with ESUS.
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| 29. |
- Rodriguez-Fernandez, B., et al.
(författare)
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Genetically predicted telomere length and Alzheimer's disease endophenotypes: a Mendelian randomization study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Alzheimers Research & Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-9193. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Telomere length (TL) is associated with biological aging, consequently influencing the risk of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aimed to evaluate the potential causal role of TL in AD endophenotypes (i.e., cognitive performance, N = 2233; brain age and AD-related signatures, N = 1134; and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers (CSF) of AD and neurodegeneration, N = 304) through a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Our analysis was conducted in the context of the ALFA (ALzheimer and FAmilies) study, a population of cognitively healthy individuals at risk of AD. A total of 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with TL were used to determine the effect of TL on AD endophenotypes. Analyses were adjusted by age, sex, and years of education. Stratified analyses by APOE-epsilon 4 status and polygenic risk score of AD were conducted. MR analysis revealed significant associations between genetically predicted longer TL and lower levels of CSF A beta and higher levels of CSF NfL only in APOE-epsilon 4 non-carriers. Moreover, inheriting longer TL was associated with greater cortical thickness in age and AD-related brain signatures and lower levels of CSF p-tau among individuals at a high genetic predisposition to AD. Further observational analyses are warranted to better understand these associations.
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| 30. |
- Alemany, S., et al.
(författare)
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Associations between air pollution and biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in cognitively unimpaired individuals
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0160-4120. ; 157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Air quality contributes to incidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) although the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are unclear. This study was aimed to examine the association between air pollution and concentrations of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers and amyloid-beta (A beta) deposition. Participants and methods The sample included 156 cognitively unimpaired adults aged 57 years (61 at biomarkers assessment) with increased risk of AD from the ALFA + Study. We examined CSF levels of A beta 42, A beta 40, p-Tau, t-Tau, neurofilament light (NfL) and cerebral amyloid load (Centiloid). A Land Use Regression model from 2009 was used to estimate residential exposure to air pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO2,) and particulate matter (PM2.5, PM2.5 abs, PM10). This model was considered a surrogate of long-term exposure until time of data collection in 2013-2014. Participants have resided in the same residence for at least the previous 3 years. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate associations between air pollutants and biomarkers. The effect modification by CSF A beta status and APOE-epsilon 4 carriership was also assessed. Results: A consistent pattern of results indicated that greater exposure to NO2 and PM2.5 absorbance was associated with higher levels of brain A beta deposition, while greater exposure to PM10 and PM(2.5)was associated with higher levels of CSF NfL. Most associations were driven by individuals that were A beta-positive. Although APOE-epsilon 4 status did not significantly modify these associations, the effect of air pollutants exposure on CSF NfL levels was stronger in APOE-epsilon 4 carriers. Conclusion: In a population of cognitively unimpaired adults with increased risk of AD, long-term exposure to air pollution was associated with higher levels in biomarkers of AD pathology. While further research is granted to elucidate the mechanisms involved in such associations, our results reinforce the role of air pollution as an environmental risk factor for AD.
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| 31. |
- Antonelli, Alexandre, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Conceptual and empirical advances in Neotropical biodiversity research
- 2018
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Ingår i: PeerJ. - : PeerJ. - 2167-8359. ; 2018:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The unparalleled biodiversity found in the American tropics (the Neotropics) has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Despite major advances in recent years in our understanding of the origin and diversification of many Neotropical taxa and biotic regions, many questions remain to be answered. Additional biological and geological data are still needed, as well as methodological advances that are capable of bridging these research fields. In this review, aimed primarily at advanced students and early-career scientists, we introduce the concept of "trans-disciplinary biogeography," which refers to the integration of data from multiple areas of research in biology (e.g., community ecology, phylogeography, systematics, historical biogeography) and Earth and the physical sciences (e.g., geology, climatology, palaeontology), as a means to reconstruct the giant puzzle of Neotropical biodiversity and evolution in space and time. We caution against extrapolating results derived from the study of one or a few taxa to convey general scenarios of Neotropical evolution and landscape formation. We urge more coordination and integration of data and ideas among disciplines, transcending their traditional boundaries, as a basis for advancing tomorrow's ground-breaking research. Our review highlights the great opportunities for studying the Neotropical biota to understand the evolution of life.
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| 32. |
- Avent, Neil D., et al.
(författare)
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The Bloodgen Project of the European Union, 2003-2009
- 2009
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Ingår i: Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy. - : S. Karger AG. - 1660-3818 .- 1660-3796. ; 36:3, s. 162-167
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Bloodgen project was funded by the European Commission between 2003 and 2006, and involved academic blood centres, universities, and Progenika Biopharma S. A., a commercial supplier of genotyping platforms that incorporate glass arrays. The project has led to the development of a commercially available product, BLOODchip, that can be used to comprehensively genotype an individual for all clinically significant blood groups. The intention of making this system available is that blood services and perhaps even hospital blood banks would be able to obtain extended information concerning the blood group of routine blood donors and vulnerable patient groups. This may be of significant use in the current management of multi-transfused patients who become alloimmunised due to incomplete matching of blood groups. In the future it can be envisaged that better matching of donor-patient blood could be achieved by comprehensive genotyping of every blood donor, especially regular ones. This situation could even be extended to genotyping every individual at birth, which may prove to have significant long-term health economic benefits as it may be coupled with detection of inborn errors of metabolism.
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| 33. |
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| 34. |
- Betti, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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A design for an electromagnetic filter for precision energy measurements at the tritium endpoint
- 2019
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Ingår i: Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0146-6410 .- 1873-2224. ; 106, s. 120-131
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a detailed description of the electromagnetic filter for the PTOLEMY project to directly detect the Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB). Starting with an initial estimate for the orbital magnetic moment, the higher-order drift process of E x B is configured to balance the gradient-B drift motion of the electron in such a way as to guide the trajectory into the standing voltage potential along the mid-plane of the filter. As a function of drift distance along the length of the filter, the filter zooms in with exponentially increasing precision on the transverse velocity component of the electron kinetic energy. This yields a linear dimension for the total filter length that is exceptionally compact compared to previous techniques for electromagnetic filtering. The parallel velocity component of the electron kinetic energy oscillates in an electrostatic harmonic trap as the electron drifts along the length of the filter. An analysis of the phase-space volume conservation validates the expected behavior of the filter from the adiabatic invariance of the orbital magnetic moment and energy conservation following Liouville's theorem for Hamiltonian systems.
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| 35. |
- Betti, M. G., et al.
(författare)
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Neutrino physics with the PTOLEMY project : active neutrino properties and the light sterile case
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 1475-7516. ; :7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The PTOLEMY project aims to develop a scalable design for a Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB) detector, the first of its kind and the only one conceived that can look directly at the image of the Universe encoded in neutrino background produced in the first second after the Big Bang. The scope of the work for the next three years is to complete the conceptual design of this detector and to validate with direct measurements that the non-neutrino backgrounds are below the expected cosmological signal. In this paper we discuss in details the theoretical aspects of the experiment and its physics goals. In particular, we mainly address three issues. First we discuss the sensitivity of PTOLEMY to the standard neutrino mass scale. We then study the perspectives of the experiment to detect the CNB via neutrino capture on tritium as a function of the neutrino mass scale and the energy resolution of the apparatus. Finally, we consider an extra sterile neutrino with mass in the eV range, coupled to the active states via oscillations, which has been advocated in view of neutrino oscillation anomalies. This extra state would contribute to the tritium decay spectrum, and its properties, mass and mixing angle, could be studied by analyzing the features in the beta decay electron spectrum.
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| 36. |
- Bustamante, Mariona, et al.
(författare)
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A genome-wide association meta-analysis of diarrhoeal disease in young children identifies FUT2 locus and provides plausible biological pathways.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Human molecular genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2083 .- 0964-6906. ; 25:18, s. 4127-4142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- More than a million childhood diarrhoeal episodes occur worldwide each year, and in developed countries a considerable part of them are caused by viral infections. In this study, we aimed to search for genetic variants associated with diarrhoeal disease in young children by meta-analyzing genome-wide association studies, and to elucidate plausible biological mechanisms. The study was conducted in the context of the Early Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortium. Data about diarrhoeal disease in two time windows (around 1 year of age and around 2 years of age) was obtained via parental questionnaires, doctor interviews or medical records. Standard quality control and statistical tests were applied to the 1000 Genomes imputed genotypic data. The meta-analysis (N=5758) followed by replication (N=3784) identified a genome-wide significant association between rs8111874 and diarrhoea at age 1 year. Conditional analysis suggested that the causal variant could be rs601338 (W154X) in the FUT2 gene. Children with the A allele, which results in a truncated FUT2 protein, had lower risk of diarrhoea. FUT2 participates in the production of histo-blood group antigens and has previously been implicated in the susceptibility to infections, including Rotavirus and Norovirus Gene-set enrichment analysis suggested pathways related to the histo-blood group antigen production, and the regulation of ion transport and blood pressure. Among others, the gastrointestinal tract, and the immune and neuro-secretory systems were detected as relevant organs. In summary, this genome-wide association meta-analysis suggests the implication of the FUT2 gene in diarrhoeal disease in young children from the general population.
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| 37. |
- Felix, Janine F, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association analysis identifies three new susceptibility loci for childhood body mass index.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Human molecular genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2083 .- 0964-6906. ; 25:2, s. 389-403
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A large number of genetic loci are associated with adult body mass index. However, the genetics of childhood body mass index are largely unknown. We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of childhood body mass index, using sex- and age-adjusted standard deviation scores. We included 35 668 children from 20 studies in the discovery phase and 11 873 children from 13 studies in the replication phase. In total, 15 loci reached genome-wide significance (P-value < 5 × 10(-8)) in the joint discovery and replication analysis, of which 12 are previously identified loci in or close to ADCY3, GNPDA2, TMEM18, SEC16B, FAIM2, FTO, TFAP2B, TNNI3K, MC4R, GPR61, LMX1B and OLFM4 associated with adult body mass index or childhood obesity. We identified three novel loci: rs13253111 near ELP3, rs8092503 near RAB27B and rs13387838 near ADAM23. Per additional risk allele, body mass index increased 0.04 Standard Deviation Score (SDS) [Standard Error (SE) 0.007], 0.05 SDS (SE 0.008) and 0.14 SDS (SE 0.025), for rs13253111, rs8092503 and rs13387838, respectively. A genetic risk score combining all 15 SNPs showed that each additional average risk allele was associated with a 0.073 SDS (SE 0.011, P-value = 3.12 × 10(-10)) increase in childhood body mass index in a population of 1955 children. This risk score explained 2% of the variance in childhood body mass index. This study highlights the shared genetic background between childhood and adult body mass index and adds three novel loci. These loci likely represent age-related differences in strength of the associations with body mass index.
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| 38. |
- Mila-Aloma, M., et al.
(författare)
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Amyloid beta, tau, synaptic, neurodegeneration, and glial biomarkers in the preclinical stage of the Alzheimer's continuum
- 2020
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Ingår i: Alzheimers & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 16:10, s. 1358-1371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The biological pathways involved in the preclinical stage of the Alzheimer's continuum are not well understood. Methods: We used NeuroToolKit and Elecsys (R) immunoassays to measure cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-beta (A beta)42, A beta 40, phosphorylated tau (p-tau), total tau (t-tau), neurofilament light (NfL), neurogranin, sTREM2, YKL40, GFAP, IL6, S100, and alpha-synuclein in cognitively unimpaired participants of the ALFA+ study, many within the Alzheimer's continuum. Results: CSF t-tau, p-tau, and neurogranin increase throughout aging only in A beta-positive individuals, whereas NfL and glial biomarkers increase with aging regardless of A beta status. We modelled biomarker changes as a function of CSF A beta 42/40, p-tau and p-tau/A beta 42 as proxies of disease progression. The first change observed in the Alzheimer's continuum was a decrease in the CSF A4 beta 42/40 ratio. This is followed by a steep increase in CSF p-tau; t-tau; neurogranin; and, to a lesser extent, in NfL and glial biomarkers. Discussion: Multiple biological pathways are altered and could be targeted very early in the Alzheimer's continuum.
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| 39. |
- Mila-Aloma, M., et al.
(författare)
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Cognitively unimpaired individuals with a low burden of A beta pathology have a distinct CSF biomarker profile
- 2021
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Ingår i: Alzheimers Research & Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-9193. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Understanding the changes that occur in the transitional stage between absent and overt amyloid-beta (A beta) pathology within the Alzheimer's continuum is crucial to develop therapeutic and preventive strategies. The objective of this study is to test whether cognitively unimpaired individuals with a low burden of A beta pathology have a distinct CSF, structural, and functional neuroimaging biomarker profile. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 318 middle-aged, cognitively unimpaired individuals from the ALFA+ cohort. We measured CSF A beta 42/40, phosphorylated tau (p-tau), total tau (t-tau), neurofilament light (NfL), neurogranin, sTREM2, YKL40, GFAP, IL6, S100B, and alpha-synuclein. Participants also underwent cognitive assessments, APOE genotyping, structural MRI, [F-18]-FDG, and [F-18]-flutemetamol PET. To ensure the robustness of our results, we used three definitions of low burden of A beta pathology: (1) positive CSF A beta 42/40 and < 30 Centiloids in A beta PET, (2) positive CSF A beta 42/40 and negative A beta PET visual read, and (3) 20-40 Centiloid range in A beta PET. We tested CSF and neuroimaging biomarker differences between the low burden group and the corresponding A beta-negative group, adjusted by age and sex. Results: The prevalence and demographic characteristics of the low burden group differed between the three definitions. CSF p-tau and t-tau were increased in the low burden group compared to the A beta-negative in all definitions. CSF neurogranin was increased in the low burden group definitions 1 and 3, while CSF NfL was only increased in the low burden group definition 1. None of the defined low burden groups showed signs of atrophy or glucose hypometabolism. Instead, we found slight increases in cortical thickness and metabolism in definition 2. Conclusions: There are biologically meaningful A beta-downstream effects in individuals with a low burden of A beta pathology, while structural and functional changes are still subtle or absent. These findings support considering individuals with a low burden of A beta pathology for clinical trials.
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| 40. |
- Salvado, G., et al.
(författare)
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Centiloid cut-off values for optimal agreement between PET and CSF core AD biomarkers
- 2019
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Ingår i: Alzheimers Research & Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-9193. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundThe Centiloid scale has been developed to standardize measurements of amyloid PET imaging. Reference cut-off values of this continuous measurement enable the consistent operationalization of decision-making for multicentre research studies and clinical trials. In this study, we aimed at deriving reference Centiloid thresholds that maximize the agreement against core Alzheimer's disease (AD) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in two large independent cohorts.MethodsA total of 516 participants of the ALFA+ Study (N=205) and ADNI (N=311) underwent amyloid PET imaging ([F-18]flutemetamol and [F-18]florbetapir, respectively) and core AD CSF biomarker determination using Elecsys (R) tests. Tracer uptake was quantified in Centiloid units (CL). Optimal Centiloid cut-offs were sought that maximize the agreement between PET and dichotomous determinations based on CSF levels of A(42), tTau, pTau, and their ratios, using pre-established reference cut-off values. To this end, a receiver operating characteristic analysis (ROC) was conducted, and Centiloid cut-offs were calculated as those that maximized the Youden's J Index or the overall percentage agreement recorded.ResultsAll Centiloid cut-offs fell within the range of 25-35, except for CSF A(42) that rendered an optimal cut-off value of 12 CL. As expected, the agreement of tau/A(42) ratios was higher than that of CSF A(42). Centiloid cut-off robustness was confirmed even when established in an independent cohort and against variations of CSF cut-offs.ConclusionsA cut-off of 12 CL matches previously reported values derived against postmortem measures of AD neuropathology. Together with these previous findings, our results flag two relevant inflection points that would serve as boundary of different stages of amyloid pathology: one around 12 CL that marks the transition from the absence of pathology to subtle pathology and another one around 30 CL indicating the presence of established pathology. The derivation of robust and generalizable cut-offs for core AD biomarkers requires cohorts with adequate representation of intermediate levels.Trial registrationALFA+ Study, NCT02485730ALFA PET Sub-study, NCT02685969
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| 41. |
- Stenler, S., et al.
(författare)
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Micro-minicircle gene therapy : Implications of size on fermentation, complexation, shearing resistance, and expression
- 2014
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Ingår i: Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids. - : Elsevier BV. - 2162-2531. ; 3, s. e140-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The minicircle (MC), composed of eukaryotic sequences only, is an interesting approach to increase the safety and efficiency of plasmid-based vectors for gene therapy. In this paper, we investigate micro-MC (miMC) vectors encoding small regulatory RNA. We use a construct encoding a splice-correcting U7 small nuclear RNA, which results in a vector of 650 base pairs (bp), as compared to a conventional 3600 bp plasmid carrying the same expression cassette. Furthermore, we construct miMCs of varying sizes carrying different number of these cassettes. This allows us to evaluate how size influences production, supercoiling, stability and efficiency of the vector. We characterize coiling morphology by atomic force microscopy and measure the resistance to shearing forces caused by an injector device, the Biojector. We compare the behavior of miMCs and plasmids in vitro using lipofection and electroporation, as well as in vivo in mice. We here show that when the size of the miMC is reduced, the formation of dimers and trimers increases. There seems to be a lower size limit for efficient expression. We demonstrate that miMCs are more robust than plasmids when exposed to shearing forces, and that they show extended expression in vivo.
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| 42. |
- Vilor-Tejedor, N., et al.
(författare)
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Perivascular spaces are associated with tau pathophysiology and synaptic dysfunction in early Alzheimer's continuum
- 2021
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-9193. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Perivascular spaces (PVS) have an important role in the elimination of metabolic waste from the brain. It has been hypothesized that the enlargement of PVS (ePVS) could be affected by pathophysiological mechanisms involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD), such as abnormal levels of CSF biomarkers. However, the relationship between ePVS and these pathophysiological mechanisms remains unknown. Objective We aimed to investigate the association between ePVS and CSF biomarkers of several pathophysiological mechanisms for AD. We hypothesized that ePVS will be associated to CSF biomarkers early in the AD continuum (i.e., amyloid positive cognitively unimpaired individuals). Besides, we explored associations between ePVS and demographic and cardiovascular risk factors. Methods The study included 322 middle-aged cognitively unimpaired participants from the ALFA + study, many within the Alzheimer's continuum. NeuroToolKit and Elecsys (R) immunoassays were used to measure CSF A beta 42, A beta 40, p-tau and t-tau, NfL, neurogranin, TREM2, YKL40, GFAP, IL6, S100, and alpha-synuclein. PVS in the basal ganglia (BG) and centrum semiovale (CS) were assessed based on a validated 4-point visual rating scale. Odds ratios were calculated for associations of cardiovascular and AD risk factors with ePVS using logistic and multinomial models adjusted for relevant confounders. Models were stratified by A beta status (positivity defined as A beta 42/40 < 0.071). Results The degree of PVS significantly increased with age in both, BG and CS regions independently of cardiovascular risk factors. Higher levels of p-tau, t-tau, and neurogranin were significantly associated with ePVS in the CS of A beta positive individuals, after accounting for relevant confounders. No associations were detected in the BG neither in A beta negative participants. Conclusions Our results support that ePVS in the CS are specifically associated with tau pathophysiology, neurodegeneration, and synaptic dysfunction in asymptomatic stages of the Alzheimer's continuum.
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