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| 2. |
- Bettegowda, Chetan, et al.
(författare)
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Detection of circulating tumor DNA in early- and late-stage human malignancies
- 2014
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Ingår i: Science Translational Medicine. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1946-6234 .- 1946-6242. ; 6:224, s. 224ra24-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of noninvasive methods to detect and monitor tumors continues to be a major challenge in oncology. We used digital polymerase chain reaction-based technologies to evaluate the ability of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to detect tumors in 640 patients with various cancer types. We found that ctDNA was detectable in >75% of patients with advanced pancreatic, ovarian, colorectal, bladder, gastroesophageal, breast, melanoma, hepatocellular, and head and neck cancers, but in less than 50% of primary brain, renal, prostate, or thyroid cancers. In patients with localized tumors, ctDNA was detected in 73, 57, 48, and 50% of patients with colorectal cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and breast adenocarcinoma, respectively. ctDNA was often present in patients without detectable circulating tumor cells, suggesting that these two biomarkers are distinct entities. In a separate panel of 206 patients with metastatic colorectal cancers, we showed that the sensitivity of ctDNA for detection of clinically relevant KRAS gene mutations was 87.2% and its specificity was 99.2%. Finally, we assessed whether ctDNA could provide clues into the mechanisms underlying resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor blockade in 24 patients who objectively responded to therapy but subsequently relapsed. Twenty-three (96%) of these patients developed one or more mutations in genes involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Together, these data suggest that ctDNA is a broadly applicable, sensitive, and specific biomarker that can be used for a variety of clinical and research purposes in patients with multiple different types of cancer.
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| 3. |
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Adaptive Mobile Robotics : Proceedings Of The 15th International Conference On Climbing And Walking Robots And The Support Technologies For Mobile Machines, Baltimore, USA, 23–26 July 2012
- 2012
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Proceedings (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- This book provides state-of-the-art scientific and engineering research findings and developments in the area of mobile robotics and associated support technologies. The book contains peer reviewed articles presented at the CLAWAR 2012 conference. Robots are no longer confined to industrial manufacturing environments. A great deal of interest is invested in the use of robots outside the factory environment. The CLAWAR conference series, established as a high profile international event, acts as a platform for dissemination of research and development findings and supports such a trend to address the current interest in mobile robotics to meet the needs of mankind in various sectors of the society. These include personal care, public health, services in the domestic, public and industrial environments. The editors of the book have extensive research experience and publications in the area of robotics in general and in mobile robotics specifically, and their experience is reflected in editing the contents of the book.
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| 4. |
- Fottrell, Edward, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of increased coverage of participatory women's groups on neonatal mortality in Bangladesh : A cluster randomized trial
- 2013
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Ingår i: JAMA pediatrics. - : American Medical Association. - 2168-6211 .- 2168-6203. ; 167:9, s. 816-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- IMPORTANCE: Community-based interventions can reduce neonatal mortality when health systems are weak. Population coverage of target groups may be an important determinant of their effect on behavior and mortality. A women's group trial at coverage of 1 group per 1414 population in rural Bangladesh showed no effect on neonatal mortality, despite a similar intervention having a significant effect on neonatal and maternal death in comparable settings.OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of a participatory women's group intervention with higher population coverage on neonatal mortality in Bangladesh.DESIGN: A cluster randomized controlled trial in 9 intervention and 9 control clusters.SETTING: Rural Bangladesh.PARTICIPANTS: Women permanently residing in 18 unions in 3 districts and accounting for 19 301 births during the final 24 months of the intervention.INTERVENTIONS: Women's groups at a coverage of 1 per 309 population that proceed through a participatory learning and action cycle in which they prioritize issues that affected maternal and neonatal health and design and implement strategies to address these issues.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Neonatal mortality rate.RESULTS: Analysis included 19 301 births during the final 24 months of the intervention. More than one-third of newly pregnant women joined the groups. The neonatal mortality rate was significantly lower in the intervention arm (21.3 neonatal deaths per 1000 live births vs 30.1 per 1000 in control areas), a reduction in neonatal mortality of 38% (risk ratio, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.43-0.89]) when adjusted for socioeconomic factors. The cost-effectiveness was US $220 to $393 per year of life lost averted. Cause-specific mortality rates suggest reduced deaths due to infections and those associated with prematurity/low birth weight. Improvements were seen in hygienic home delivery practices, newborn thermal care, and breastfeeding practices.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Women's group community mobilization, delivered at adequate population coverage, is a highly cost-effective approach to improve newborn survival and health behavior indicators in rural Bangladesh.TRIAL REGISTRATION: isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN01805825.
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| 5. |
- Mattisson, Tobias, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Using CaxLa1-xMn1-yM'yO 3-δ as oxygen carriers for chemical-looping combustion
- 2012
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Ingår i: Conference Proceedings. 2012 AIChE Annual Meeting, AIChE 2012, Pittsburgh, 28 October - 2 November 2012. - 9780816910731
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Oxygen carriers of the type CaxLa1-xMn 1-yM'yO3-δ (CLMM') were investigated as oxygen carrier materials. A matrix of potential substituted Ca xLa1-xMn1-y M'yO3-δ (M' = Fe, Ti, Cu, Mg) perovskites were synthesized using mechanical homogenization of primary solids in a rotary evaporator followed by drying and calcination. The resulting powders were subjected to particle fabrication via extrusion followed by crushing and sieving. The oxygen release properties and the reactivity with methane and syngas was investigated using a batch fluidized batch reactor made of quartz. A sample of 15 g of particles and a fuel flow of 450 Nml/min was used for all reactivity experiments. All of the materials showed high rates of oxygen release in gas phase at 900°C, exhibiting so called oxygen uncoupling behavior. In addition, the reactivity with methane was high, approaching 100% gas yield for all of the materials at 950°C, except the Cu-doped material which defluidized during reduction. All materials also exhibited high rate of oxidation. It can be concluded that the CLMM' materials reacted with fuel through both conventional chemical-looping (direct gas-solid reactions) and via chemical-looping with oxygen uncoupling (with the oxygen released from the particles). The stability of the materials was excellent with very little or no attrition. No agglomeration was noticed for most of these materials. High reactivity and very good oxygen uncoupling properties in combination with the low cost of the primary materials, make this system very interesting for chemical-looping combustion of different types of fuel.
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| 6. |
- Prost, Audrey, et al.
(författare)
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Women's groups practising participatory learning and action to improve maternal and newborn health in low-resource settings : a systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2013
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Ingår i: The Lancet. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 381:9879, s. 1736-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain high in many low-income and middle-income countries. Different approaches for the improvement of birth outcomes have been used in community-based interventions, with heterogeneous effects on survival. We assessed the effects of women's groups practising participatory learning and action, compared with usual care, on birth outcomes in low-resource settings.METHODS: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials undertaken in Bangladesh, India, Malawi, and Nepal in which the effects of women's groups practising participatory learning and action were assessed to identify population-level predictors of effect on maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, and stillbirths. We also reviewed the cost-effectiveness of the women's group intervention and estimated its potential effect at scale in Countdown countries.FINDINGS: Seven trials (119,428 births) met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses of all trials showed that exposure to women's groups was associated with a 37% reduction in maternal mortality (odds ratio 0.63, 95% CI 0.32-0.94), a 23% reduction in neonatal mortality (0.77, 0.65-0.90), and a 9% non-significant reduction in stillbirths (0.91, 0.79-1.03), with high heterogeneity for maternal (I(2)=58.8%, p=0.024) and neonatal results (I(2)=64.7%, p=0.009). In the meta-regression analyses, the proportion of pregnant women in groups was linearly associated with reduction in both maternal and neonatal mortality (p=0.026 and p=0.011, respectively). A subgroup analysis of the four studies in which at least 30% of pregnant women participated in groups showed a 55% reduction in maternal mortality (0.45, 0.17-0.73) and a 33% reduction in neonatal mortality (0.67, 0.59-0.74). The intervention was cost effective by WHO standards and could save an estimated 283,000 newborn infants and 41,100 mothers per year if implemented in rural areas of 74 Countdown countries.INTERPRETATION: With the participation of at least a third of pregnant women and adequate population coverage, women's groups practising participatory learning and action are a cost-effective strategy to improve maternal and neonatal survival in low-resource settings.
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| 7. |
- Seward, Nadine, et al.
(författare)
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Association between clean delivery kit use, clean delivery practices, and neonatal survival : pooled analysis of data from three sites in South Asia
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLoS Medicine. - : PLoS, Public Library of Science. - 1549-1277 .- 1549-1676. ; 9:2, s. e1001180-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Sepsis accounts for up to 15% of an estimated 3.3 million annual neonatal deaths globally. We used data collected from the control arms of three previously conducted cluster-randomised controlled trials in rural Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to examine the association between clean delivery kit use or clean delivery practices and neonatal mortality among home births.METHODS AND FINDINGS: Hierarchical, logistic regression models were used to explore the association between neonatal mortality and clean delivery kit use or clean delivery practices in 19,754 home births, controlling for confounders common to all study sites. We tested the association between kit use and neonatal mortality using a pooled dataset from all three sites and separately for each site. We then examined the association between individual clean delivery practices addressed in the contents of the kit (boiled blade and thread, plastic sheet, gloves, hand washing, and appropriate cord care) and neonatal mortality. Finally, we examined the combined association between mortality and four specific clean delivery practices (boiled blade and thread, hand washing, and plastic sheet). Using the pooled dataset, we found that kit use was associated with a relative reduction in neonatal mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.52, 95% CI 0.39-0.68). While use of a clean delivery kit was not always accompanied by clean delivery practices, using a plastic sheet during delivery, a boiled blade to cut the cord, a boiled thread to tie the cord, and antiseptic to clean the umbilicus were each significantly associated with relative reductions in mortality, independently of kit use. Each additional clean delivery practice used was associated with a 16% relative reduction in neonatal mortality (odds ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.77-0.92).CONCLUSIONS: The appropriate use of a clean delivery kit or clean delivery practices is associated with relative reductions in neonatal mortality among home births in underserved, rural populations.
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| 8. |
- Vinuesa, Ricardo, et al.
(författare)
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Direct numerical simulations of variable-aspect-ratio turbulent duct flows at low to moderate reynolds numbers
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Symposium on Turbulence and Shear Flow Phenomena, TSFP 2013. - : TSFP-8. - 9780000000002
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Three-dimensional effects in turbulent duct flows, i.e., side-wall boundary layers and secondary motions, are studied by means of direct numerical simulations (DNS). The spectral element code Nek5000 is used to compute turbulent duct flows with aspect ratios 1 to 7 (at Reb, c = 2800, Reτ 180) and 1 (at Reb, c = 5600, Reτ 330) in streamwiseperiodic boxes of length 25h. The total number of grid points ranges from 28 to 145 million, and the fluid kinematic viscosity n was adjusted iteratively in order to keep the same bulk Reynolds number at the centerplane with changing aspect ratio. Spanwise variations in wall shear, mean-flow profiles and turbulence statistics are analyzed with aspect ratio, and also compared with the 2D channel. These computations show good agreement with experimental measurements carried out at IIT in parallel, and reinforces one important conclusion: the conditions obtained in the core region of a high-aspect-ratio duct cannot exactly be reproduced by spanwise-periodic DNSs of turbulent channel flows.
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