Rhinitis phenotypes correlate with different symptom presentation and risk factor patterns of asthma

SummaryBackgroundAsthma and rhinitis frequently coexist, but no population study has previously determined the relationship between nasal comorbidities and symptom expression and risk factors of asthma.MethodsIn 2008, a postal questionnaire on respiratory health was sent to 30 000 randomly selected subjects aged 16–75 years in West Sweden; 29218 could be traced and 18 087 (62%) responded. The questionnaire included questions on asthma, rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, respiratory symptoms and possible determinants.ResultsPrevalence of allergic rhinitis in asthma was 63.9% and of asthma in allergic rhinitis 19.8%. Prevalence of chronic rhinosinusitis in asthma was 8.4% and of asthma in chronic rhinosinusitis 24.4%. Asthma subjects with chronic rhinitis, or chronic rhinosinusitis, had more symptoms of asthma and bronchitis than those without rhinitis (p < 0.001). There was an obvious trend of higher ORs for various environmental exposures including occupational exposure to dust, gases and fumes (OR 2.32 vs. OR 1.44), visible mould at home (OR 1.72 vs. OR 1.27) and water damage at home (OR 1.82 vs. OR 1.06) for asthma with chronic rhinosinusitis than for asthma with allergic rhinitis. Family history of allergy yielded a higher OR for asthma with allergic rhinitis than with asthma with chronic rhinosinusitis (OR 7.15 vs. OR 4.48).ConclusionConsiderable overlap between asthma and nasal comorbidities was documented, confirming a close relationship between nasal disease and asthma. Allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinitis and chronic rhinosinusitis were associated with different risk factor patterns and symptom expression of asthma. Thus, different nasal comorbidities may reflect different phenotypes of asthma

State diagrams of the heart – a new approach to describing cardiac mechanics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiac time intervals have been described as a measure of cardiac performance, where prolongation, shortening and delay of the different time intervals have been evaluated as markers of cardiac dysfunction. A relatively recently developed method with improved ability to measure cardiac events is Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI), allowing accurate measurement of myocardial movements.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We propose the state diagram of the heart as a new visualization tool for cardiac time intervals, presenting comparative, normalized data of systolic and diastolic performance, providing a more complete overview of cardiac function. This study aimed to test the feasibility of the state diagram method by presenting examples demonstrating its potential use in the clinical setting and by performing a clinical study, which included a comparison of the state diagram method with established echocardiography methods (E/E' ratio, LVEF and WMSI). The population in the clinical study consisted of seven patients with non ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and seven control subjects, individually matched according to age and gender. The state diagram of the heart was generated from TDI curves from seven positions in the myocardium, visualizing the inter- and intraventricular function of the heart by displaying the cardiac phases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The clinical examples demonstrated that the state diagram allows for an intuitive visualization of pathological patterns as ischemia and dyssynchrony. Further, significant differences in percentage duration between the control group and the NSTEMI group were found in eight of the totally twenty phases (10 phases for each ventricle), e.g. in the transition phases (Pre-Ejection and Post-Ejection). These phases were significantly longer (> 2.18%) for the NSTEMI group than for the control group (p < 0.05). No significant differences between the groups were found for the established echocardiography methods.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The test results clearly indicate that the state diagram has potential to be an efficient tool for visualization of cardiac dysfunction and for detection of NSTEMI.</p

Nowhere to meet : A qualitative study about the development of social bonds in a small industrial community during the last decades

Bruksorter har en speciell historia med en dominerande industri på orten. I den här uppsatsen undersöker jag de sociala banden på orten, som jag kallar Hammarviken, genom de teoretiska begreppen inbäddning, avtraditionalisering, centrum och periferi. Syftet är att undersöka hur och om de sociala banden förändrats under de senaste årtiondena. Personerna i undersökningen berättar sin historia om att leva på en bruksort. Jag försöker att se hur de sociala banden sett ut genom att använda narrativ metod och tolka livsberättelserna som de intervjuade återger i undersökningen. Jag har intervjuat fem personer som alla bor på bruksorten som jag kallar Hammarviken. De är mellan 45 – 75 år. I undersökningen framkommer att det finns färre mötesplatser på orten under senare år och att det verkar som att de sociala banden har blivit svagar

On Parameter Estimation - Applications in Radio Astronomy and Power Networks

Signal processing is a common part of the modern society used to obtain high functionality in a vast number of applications. As the development of advanced electronics and powerful computers continue, the limit of the functionality in many systems is increased. Furthermore, as the signal processing can be performed on digitalized signals more advanced methods and algorithms can be employed and enhance the results. In radio-based astronomy a new window of discovery against space has opened using digitally based antenna array systems to observe signals with spectral contents ranging up to a major part of the VHF-band. This enables a high degree of flexibility and incorporates several areas e.g. radio astronomy, signal processing and advanced electronic design, in the development and construction of the technology. The usage of digital signal processing is also seen in power networks to control and monitor the state of the system. The power network is a complex and vital construction for the population that demand a high degree of security and reliability. Methods for monitoring and diagnostics are needed. If a fault can be found with high accuracy the time spent on repairs can be kept low reducing the cost and the consumers discontent. This thesis concerns parameter estimation within radio-based astronomy and fault localization on power lines. In this thesis the connection between the two areas is the use of electromagnetic modelling of underlying physical properties, parameter estimation and digitally based equipment used for advanced signal processing. The first area concerns the estimation of properties of electromagnetic waves e.g. direction of arrival and state of polarization, using an antenna array consisting of Tripole antennas. The properties of this antenna and the corresponding array configuration are investigated in part I-III of this thesis. The second area concerns fault localization on power lines using frequency modulated radar techniques. Part IV and V of this thesis present the concept and properties of this fault locator

On signal processing and electromagnetic modelling : applications in antennas and transmission lines

This doctoral thesis is comprised of five parts. The first three parts concern signal processing and electromagnetic modelling of multiport antennas. The last two parts concern signal processing and transmission line theory applied to wave splitting on transmission lines. In Part I, the spherical vector wave expansion of the electromagnetic field is used to completely characterize a multiport antenna. A general framework for modelling an antenna configuration based on measurement data and numerical computation is obtained. The generic electromagnetic model for arbitrary multiport antennas or vector sensors is applied in direction of arrival (DOA) estimation. Next, in Part II using the generic electromagnetic model (from Part I), we obtain the Cramér–Rao bound (CRB) for DOA and polarization estimation using arbitrary multiport antennas. In the Gaussian case, the CRB is given in terms of the transmission matrix, the spherical vector harmonics and its spatial derivatives. Numerical examples using an ideal Tripole antenna array and a non-ideal Tetrahedron antenna array are included. In Part III, the theory of optimal experiments is applied to a cylindrical antenna near-field measurement setup. The D-optimal (determinant) formulation using the Fisher information matrix of the multipole coefficients in the spherical wave expansion of the electrical field result in the optimal measurement positions. The estimation of the multipole coefficients and corresponding electric field using the optimal measurement points is studied using numerical examples and singular value analysis. Further, Part IV describes a Digital Directional Coupler (DDC), a device for wave splitting on a transmission line. The DDC is a frequency domain digital wave splitter based on two independent wide-band measurements of the voltage and the current. A calibration of the digital processor is included to account for the particular transmission line and the sensors that are employed. Properties of the DDC are analyzed using the CRB and an experiment where wave splitting was conducted on a coaxial–cable is accounted for. Finally, in Part V the DDC has been designed and implemented for wave splitting on a medium voltage power cable in a power distribution station using low cost wide–band sensors. Partial discharge measurements are conducted on cross–linked polyethylene insulated power cables. The directional separation capabilities of the DDC are visualized and utilized to separate multiple reflections from partial discharges based on the direction of travel

A Generic Electromagnetic Model for DOA Estimation Using Arbitrary Multiport Antennas

In this paper, a generic electromagnetic model is utilized for arbitrary multiport antennas e.g., vector sensors applied in DOA estimation, which was exploited for the statistical analysis of DOA and polarization estimation. By utilizing the spherical vector wave expansion of the electromagnetic field to completely characterize the multiport antennas a general framework for modelling an antenna configuration based on measurements or computations including e.g., mutual coupling is obtained. The array manifold can easily be expanded over a dense spatial grid to enable high-resolution DOA estimation without demanding further measurements of the antenna characteristics

3PO inhibits inflammatory NFκB and stress-activated kinase signaling in primary human endothelial cells independently of its target PFKFB3

Inhibition of the key glycolytic activator 6-phosphofructokinase 2/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase-3 (PFKFB3) by 3-(3-pyridinyl)-1-(4-pyridinyl)-2-propen-1-one (3PO) strongly attenuates pathological angiogenesis in cancer and inflammation. In addition to modulating endothelial proliferation and migration, 3PO also dampens proinflammatory activation of endothelial cells and experimental inflammation in vivo, suggesting a potential for 3PO in the treatment of chronic inflammation. The aim of our study was to explore if the anti-inflammatory action of 3PO in human endothelial cells was mediated by inhibition of PFKFB3 and glycolysis and assess if other means of PFKFB3 inhibition reduced inflammatory activation in a similar manner. We found that 3PO caused a rapid and transient reduction in IL-1β- and TNF-induced phosphorylation of both IKKα/β and JNK, thus inhibiting signaling through the NFκB and the stress-activated kinase pathways. However, in contrast to 3PO-treatment, neither shRNA-mediated silencing of PFKFB3 nor treatment with the alternative PFKFB3 inhibitor 7,8-dihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxy-phenyl)-chromen-4-one (YN1) prevented cytokine-induced NFκB signaling and upregulation of the adhesion molecules VCAM-1 and E-selectin, implying off target effects of 3PO. Collectively, our results suggest that the anti-inflammatory action of 3PO in human endothelial cells is not limited to inhibition of PFKFB3 and cellular glycolysis