Model-based Analysis of Temporal Patterns in Atrioventricular Node Conduction During Atrial Fibrillation

The lifetime risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF) is estimated to be between 1in 3 to 1 in 4 individuals, making it the most common arrhythmia in the world.For persistent AF, rate control drugs with the purpose to affect the conduction properties of the atrioventricular (AV) node are the most common treatment. The drug of choice varies between β-blockers and calcium channel blockers, often chosen empirically. This can lead to long periods of time before sufficient treatment is found. However, due to the physiological differences between the drug types, it could be possible to predict the effect of the drugs and thus assist in treatment selection. The main focus of this thesis is therefore to assess drug-dependent differences in the AV node, using non-invasive measurements. This thesis comprises an introduction to the subject as well as two papers. The first paper proposes a framework for assessing the conduction properties of the AV node non-invasively using a mathematical model of the AV node in combination with a genetic algorithm.The second paper is a continuation of the work in paper I, where the proposed workflow was adapted to assess the drug-dependent effect on the AV node of four different rate control drugs during a period of 24 hours.The methods presented in this thesis have made it possible to assess both the refractory period and the conduction delay in the AV node in a robust way using ECG, and by doing so found population-related differences in AV node conduction properties between drug types

How are the forest-living ants affected by the introduced lodgepole pine?

I Sverige finns det intresse för nyintroducerade trädarter inom skogsbruket s.k. exoter. Exoterna kan påverka skogens biodiversitet negativt. Syftet med arbetet är att undersöka hur exoten contortatall (Pinus contorta) påverkar myrpopulationerna i de boreala skogarna. Myror är en stor del av biodiversiteten på marknivå och därför viktiga att undersöka. Underlaget för arbetet är ett storskaligt långtidsförsök där contortatall och inhemsk tall (Pinus sylvestris) har planterats bredvid varandra i en parad försöksdesign. Där har myraktivitet på marknivå undersökts och jämförts med hjälp av fallfällor samt stackinventering. Arbetet gick ut på att undersöka artrikedom, abundans, stackar/ha samt stackvolym/ha. Stackvolym/ha och stackar/ha är nästan dubbelt så höga i P. sylvestris. Artrikedomen och abundansen är något högre i P. sylvestris. Trenden visar tydligt att det är mer av alla kategorier i P. sylvestris. Denna trend kan dock inte säkerställas statistiskt, då variansen var för hög. Den höga variansen beror delvis på myrornas rumsliga ojämna fördelning och för lite insamlat data. Sammanfattningsvis visar arbetet tydligt att det behöver göras mer forskning på området och det här arbetet kan ligga till grund för andra undersökningar om contortatallens påverkan på myror, och bistå med information som annars saknas.In Sweden, there is a general interest for introduced tree species in the forest industry. Introduced tree species can affect the biodiversity in the forest in a negative way. The aim of this study is to evaluate how the introduced lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) affects ant populations in the boreal forests. Ants are a big part of the biodiversity on the ground level and are therefore important to study. The base of this study is a large-scale long-term experiment plantation involving lodgepole pine and scots pine. The ant activity has been studied in ground level with pitfall traps and measuring nest density. The study compared species richness, abundance, nest density and nest volume per hectare. Nest volume and nest density were almost twice as high in stands with scotts pine. Species richness and abundance were slightly higher in scots pine compared to lodgepole pine. There is a clear trend point towards higher levels in all categories in scots pine. Although there is not enough statistical significance, because of high variance. This is partially because of the ants’ uneven distribution in the landscape and lack of sample data. Further research needs to be done in this field to investigate the effects of lodgepole pine in boreal forests

An a posteriori error estimate for Symplectic Euler approximation of optimal control problems

This work focuses on numerical solutions of optimal control problems. A time discretization error representation is derived for the approximation of the associated value function. It concerns Symplectic Euler solutions of the Hamiltonian system connected with the optimal control problem. The error representation has a leading order term consisting of an error density that is computable from Symplectic Euler solutions. Under an assumption of the pathwise convergence of the approximate dual function as the maximum time step goes to zero, we prove that the remainder is of higher order than the leading error density part in the error representation. With the error representation, it is possible to perform adaptive time stepping. We apply an adaptive algorithm originally developed for ordinary differential equations. The performance is illustrated by numerical tests

Ex-Post Assessment of JRC Proof of Concept Projects 2010-2015

The internal JRC Proof of Concept (PoC) programme was established with the aim of encouraging researchers to further develop and exploit innovative technologies arising from research activities, by way of transforming them into products, processes and services for the benefit of society at large as well as for the market place. The program provides financial resources for technology development activities, prototyping, and market feasibility studies. The JRC budget, thus, not only funds research to support all stages of the European level policy cycle, but also allows researchers to undertake innovative work in relation to novel, original, and proprietary technologies.JRC.I.4-Intellectual Property and Technology Transfe

Dynaflow ™ 48, a microfluidic chip solution for increasing throughput and data quality in patch-clamp-based drug screening

Ion channels are transm embrane proteins, found in virtually all cell types throughout the human body. Ion channels underlie neural communication, memory, behavior, every movement and heartbeat, and are as such prone to cause disease if malfunctioning. Therefore ion channels are very important targets in drug discovery. The gold standard technique for obtaining information on ion channel function with high information content and temporal resolution is patch-clamp. The technique measures the minute currents originating from the movement of ions across the cellular membrane, and enables determination of the potency and efficacy of a drug. However, patch-clamp suffers from serious throughput restrictions due to its laborious nature. To address the throughput problems we have developed a microfluidic chip containing 48 microchannels for an extremely rapid, sequential delivery of a large number of completely controlled solution environments to a lifted, patch-clamped cell. In this way, throughput is increased drastically compared to classical patch-clamp perfusion set-ups, with uncompromised data quality. The 48-microchannel chip has been used for the characterization of drugs affecting ligand-gated ion channels including agonists, antagonists and positive modulators with positive effects on both throughput and data quality.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 dofinansowane zostało ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę

The Promise of Patent-Backed Finance for Smes and Universities, and Shifting Patent Eligible Subject Matter

This Article reviews and addresses some of the problems concerning adequate capital to develop patented inventions and products, and inhibiting the widespread use of patents to raise financing. The Article divides the IP finance market into three separate, but interrelated markets and analyzes problems, including U.S. patent-eligible subject matter doctrine, within those markets impeding patent backed financing. The Article provides numerous proposals, some of which are in the literature, and calls for additional research for addressing the issues

Iron and steel technology in Hispano-Arabic and early Castilian written sources

This work comprises an evaluation of Hispano-Arabic and early Castilian literary evidence in relation to iron and steel technology. The study has led to significant conclusions concerning materials and processes involved in the ferrous metallurgy in al-Andalus and Castile during the time period ca 950-1400.Este trabajo ha evaluado fuentes literarias hispano-árabes y castellanas medievales relativas a la tecnología de hierro y acero. El estudio ha rendido conclusiones significativas acerca de la metalurgia férrea en al-Andalus y Castilla durante el período ca 950-1400