3551. |
- Barone, Ilaria, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence of attenuation and interference phenomena in GPR signals for archaeological application
- 2021
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Ingår i: 11th International Workshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar, IWAGPR 2021. - 9781665422536
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We conducted an extensive geophysical field campaign using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in a former military area at the archaeological site of Nora (South-Western Sardinia). The purpose was to identify a Phoenician, and then Punic and Roman, necropolis of considerable interest, subject of a long-term investigation and currently under excavation. In the same area other buried structures, including a Roman road, were also investigated. The ERT and GPR surveys (the latter conducted with two different frequencies - 200 and 600 MHz), carried out in a sector where the Roman road was known to exist, did not reveal any clear evidence of the presence of this structure. However, the road was then found, by direct excavation, at 0.5 m depth. The failure in the identification of the road at this shallow depth has therefore led to hypothesize possible phenomena of high GPR signal attenuation and/or destructive interference related to the geometry and specific characteristics of the system. We performed synthetic GPR modeling by using the information provided by the excavation and constrained, in terms of electrical conductivity, by ERT measurements. The preliminary results of this simulation confirm the hypothesis of interference and attenuation phenomena, suggesting how the GPR signal may fail to provide an apparently simple piece of information at this archaeological site.
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3552. |
- Baronio, Stefania, et al.
(författare)
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Stabilization versus competing de-metalation, trans-metalation and (cyclo)-dehydrogenation of Pd porphyrins at a copper surface
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nanoscale. - 2040-3364. ; 16:28, s. 13416-13424
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Metal-porphyrins are studied intensively due their potential applications, deriving from the variety of electronic and chemical properties, tunable by selecting metal centers and functional groups. Metalation, de- and trans-metalation processes are fundamental in this sense to investigate both the synthesis and the stability of these molecular building blocks. More specifically, Pd coordination in tetrapyrroles revealed to be potentially interesting in the fields of cancer therapy, drug delivery and light harvesting. Thus, we focused on the stability of palladium tetraphenyl porphyrins (PdTPPs) on a copper surface by means of combined spectroscopy and microscopy approaches. We find that PdTPPs undergo coverage-dependent trans-metalation accompanied by steric rearrangements already at room temperature, and fully trans-metalate to CuTPPs upon mild annealing. Side reactions such as (cyclo)-dehydrogenation and structural reorganization affect the molecular layer, with Pd-Cu alloying and segregation occurring at higher temperature. Instead, oxygen passivation of the Cu support prevents the metal-involving reactions, thus preserving the layer and increasing the chemical and temperature stability of the Pd porphyrins.
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3553. |
- Barot, Shabane, et al.
(författare)
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Ras i genetikens tidevarv
- 2020
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Ingår i: Fronesis. - Malmö, Sweden : Tidskriftföreningen Fronesis. - 1404-2614. ; :66-67, s. 8-17
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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3554. |
- Baroutsi, Nicoletta
(författare)
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To observe and evaluate sensemaking : The development of the sensemaking interaction analysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Emergency Management. - 1471-4825. ; 18:2, s. 172-201
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Systematic evaluations are vital to support learning and enhance performance in a crisis response. There are quantitative methods available today for evaluating crisis response management (CRM), but there are limiting factors negatively affecting their potential; They often involve techniques difficult to implement in real events, lack reliability testing, provide outcomes questionable from a learning perspective, are often not applicable across professions, and their correlation to effectiveness is rarely investigated. This paper exemplifies how these identified limitations can be addressed through an iterative development process, using a combination of theoretical knowledge and empirical data. The result is the sensemaking interaction analysis (SIA), a new method developed using techniques found in the design sciences. The idea behind SIA is that a crisis management team who collectively make sense of a crisis, its consequences, and possible actions will perform better than a team who fails to do so.
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3555. |
- Barregård, Lars, 1948, et al.
(författare)
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Cadmium Exposure and Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study of Swedish Middle-Aged Adults
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental health perspectives. - 1552-9924 .- 0091-6765. ; 129:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The general population is ubiquitously exposed to the toxic metal cadmium through the diet and smoking. Cadmium exposure is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in myocardial infarction and stroke. Atherosclerosis is the main underlying mechanism of myocardial infarction. However, associations between cadmium and coronary artery atherosclerosis have not been examined.Our study sought to examine the hypothesis that blood cadmium (B-Cd) is positively associated with coronary artery calcification, as a measure of coronary artery atherosclerosis in the population-based Swedish SCAPIS study.Our analysis included 5,627 individuals (51% women), age 50-64 y, enrolled from 2013 to 2018. The coronary artery calcium score (CACS) was obtained from computed tomography. Blood cadmium was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Associations between B-Cd and coronary artery calcium score (CACS Agatston score) were evaluated using prevalence ratios (PRs) in models adjusted for sex, age, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, low-density cholesterol/high-density cholesterol ratio, and family history.The median B-Cd concentration was 0.24 μ g / L . The prevalence of positive coronary artery calcium ( CACS > 0 ) was 41% and the prevalence of CACS ≥ 100 was 13%. Relative to the lowest quartile (Q) of B-Cd ( < 0.16 μ g / L ), the highest quartile (median 0.63 μ g / L ) was associated with a small but significant increase in CACS > 0 (PR 1.1; 95% CI: 1.0, 1.3), and a greater relative increase in CACS ≥ 100 (PR 1.6; 95% CI: 1.3, 2.0). When restricted to 2,446 never-smokers, corresponding PRs were 1.1 (95% CI 0.9, 1.3) for CACS > 0 (63 cases in Q4) and 1.7 (95% CI 1.1, 2.7) for CACS ≥ 100 (17 cases in Q4).Blood cadmium in the highest quartile was associated with CACS in a general population sample with low to moderate cadmium exposure. This supports the hypothesis that atherosclerosis is an important mechanism underlying the associations between cadmium and incident cardiovascular disease. The findings suggest that public health measures to reduce cadmium exposure are warranted. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8523.
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3556. |
- Barregård, Lars, 1948, et al.
(författare)
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Low-level exposure to lead, cadmium and mercury, and histopathological findings in kidney biopsies
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-9351. ; 211
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) are all nephrotoxic metals, and a large part of the body burden of Cd and Hg is found in the kidneys. There are, however, few studies on associations between exposure to these toxic metals and renal biopsy findings, and none at low-level exposure. Aim: To examine the hypothesis that low-level concentration of Pb, Cd or Hg in the kidneys is associated with histopathological changes in the kidneys.& nbsp;Methods: We determined concentrations of Pb, Cd and Hg in kidney, blood and urine in 109 healthy kidney donors, aged 24-70 years. The renal biopsies were scored according to the Banff classification regarding tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis, glomerulosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, and arteriolohyalinosis. Kidney function was assessed based on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as well as urinary excretion of albumin, low molecular weight proteins, kidney injury molecule 1 and N-acetylglucose aminidase. Associations between metal concentrations and histopathological changes, were assessed in models also including age, sex and smoking.& nbsp;Results: The median kidney concentrations of Pb, Cd and Hg were 0.08, 13 and 0.21 mu g/g, respectively. There were signs of tubular atrophy in 63%, interstitial fibrosis in 21%, glomerulosclerosis in 71%, arteriosclerosis in 47%, and arteriolohyalinosis in 36% of the donors, but, as could be expected, the histopathological findings were limited, mostly Banff grade 1. In models adjusted for age, sex and smoking, kidney Cd was positively associated with tubular atrophy (p = 0.03) and possibly with arteriolohyalinosis (p = 0.06). Kidney Hg was associated with arteriosclerosis (p = 0.004).& nbsp;Discussion and conclusions: The results suggest that even low levels of Cd in the kidney can induce a mild degree of tubular atrophy. This is in line with previous findings at high-level Cd exposure. The association between kidney Hg and renal arteriosclerosis was unexpected, and may be a chance finding.
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3557. |
- Barreiro, D., et al.
(författare)
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Deepening into the nucleation and fission processes of nano-hydrated ammonia clusters - A combined theoretical and experimental study
- 2020. - 20
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Ingår i: Clusters / Nanosystems / Surfaces / Solids. - : IOP Publishing. - 1742-6588. ; 1412
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- While largely studied in the macroscopic scale, the dynamics leading to the nucleation and fission of atmospheric aerosols are very poorly understood at the nano or molecular scale. A model system consisting on ionized hydrogen-bonded ammonia and water molecules have been studied experimentally using mass- and 3D momentum spectroscopy and theoretically using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.
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3558. |
- Barreiro, Karina, et al.
(författare)
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Capturing the Kidney Transcriptome by Urinary Extracellular Vesicles—From Pre-Analytical Obstacles to Biomarker Research
- 2023
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Ingår i: Genes. - 2073-4425. ; 14:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urinary extracellular vesicles (uEV) hold non-invasive RNA biomarkers for genitourinary tract diseases. However, missing knowledge about reference genes and effects of preanalytical choices hinder biomarker studies. We aimed to assess how preanalytical variables (urine storage temperature, isolation workflow) affect diabetic kidney disease (DKD)—linked miRNAs or kidney—linked miRNAs and mRNAs (kidney-RNAs) in uEV isolates and to discover stable reference mRNAs across diverse uEV datasets. We studied nine raw and normalized sequencing datasets including healthy controls and individuals with prostate cancer or type 1 diabetes with or without albuminuria. We focused on kidney-RNAs reviewing literature for DKD-linked miRNAs from kidney tissue, cell culture and uEV/urine experiments. RNAs were analyzed by expression heatmaps, hierarchical clustering and selecting stable mRNAs with normalized counts (>200) and minimal coefficient of variation. Kidney-RNAs were decreased after urine storage at −20 °C vs. −80 °C. Isolation workflows captured kidney-RNAs with different efficiencies. Ultracentrifugation captured DKD -linked miRNAs that separated healthy and diabetic macroalbuminuria groups. Eleven mRNAs were stably expressed across the datasets. Hence, pre-analytical choices had variable effects on kidney-RNAs—analyzing kidney-RNAs complemented global correlation, which could fade differences in some relevant RNAs. Replicating prior DKD-marker results and discovery of candidate reference mRNAs encourages further uEV biomarker studies.
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3559. |
- Barreiro, Karina, et al.
(författare)
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Urinary extracellular vesicles : Assessment of pre-analytical variables and development of a quality control with focus on transcriptomic biomarker research
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Extracellular Vesicles. - : Wiley. - 2001-3078. ; 10:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urinary extracellular vesicles (uEV) are a topical source of non-invasive biomarkers for health and diseases of the urogenital system. However, several challenges have become evident in the standardization of uEV pipelines from collection of urine to biomarker analysis. Here, we studied the effect of pre-analytical variables and developed means of quality control for uEV isolates to be used in transcriptomic biomarker research. We included urine samples from healthy controls and individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and normo-, micro- or macroalbuminuria and isolated uEV by ultracentrifugation. We studied the effect of storage temperature (-20°C vs. -80°C), time (up to 4 years) and storage format (urine or isolated uEV) on quality of uEV by nanoparticle tracking analysis, electron microscopy, Western blotting and qPCR. Urinary EV RNA was compared in terms of quantity, quality, and by mRNA or miRNA sequencing. To study the stability of miRNA levels in samples isolated by different methods, we created and tested a list of miRNAs commonly enriched in uEV isolates. uEV and their transcriptome were preserved in urine or as isolated uEV even after long-term storage at -80°C. However, storage at -20°C degraded particularly the GC-rich part of the transcriptome and EV protein markers. Transcriptome was preserved in RNA samples extracted with and without DNAse, but read distributions still showed some differences in e.g. intergenic and intronic reads. MiRNAs commonly enriched in uEV isolates were stable and concordant between different EV isolation methods. Analysis of never frozen uEV helped to identify surface characteristics of particles by EM. In addition to uEV, qPCR assays demonstrated that uEV isolates commonly contained polyoma viruses. Based on our results, we present recommendations how to store and handle uEV isolates for transcriptomics studies that may help to expedite standardization of the EV biomarker field.
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3560. |
- Barrett, Jill, et al.
(författare)
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Handbook on Good Treaty Practice
- 2020. - 1
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This Handbook aims to provide practical guidance on good treaty practice. It presents a range of examples from the practice of several States and international organisations and explains the actions that need to be taken to create a new treaty, bring it into force, operate it, amend it and wind it up, on both the international and the domestic plane. It also explores what constitutes good treaty practice, and develops generic principles or criteria against which to evaluate these examples. It provides a useful analytical tool to enable each government and international organisation to identify and develop the best treaty practice for their circumstances, recognising that one size does not necessarily fit all. It will be of interest to those working with treaties and treaty procedures in governments, international organisations and legal practice, as well as legal academics and students wishing to gain insight into the realities of treaty practice.
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