Publikationer från Uppsala Universitet
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Boundary behavior of solutions to fractional p-Laplacian equation
No full textIn this work, a generalized Hopf’s lemma and a global boundary Harnack inequality are proved for solutions to fractional p-Laplacian equations. Then the isolation of the first (s,p) -eigenvalue is shown in bounded open sets satisfying the Wiener criterion
Early experience of prostate artery embolization : a retrospective single-centre study
No full textObjective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the early experiences of prostate artery embolization (PAE) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Material and methods: This retrospective study included all patients treated for BPH who were referred to the radiology department for PAE in V & auml;stmanland between 2018 and 2021. Data were collected on patient demographics, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), prostate-specific antigen level, and peri- and post-procedure outcomes. Clinical success was defined as a decrease in the IPSS by <= 3 points or catheter freedom. Results: A total of 96 patients (median age 74 years) underwent PAE. Before PAE, 65% of the patients were treated with alpha-blockers and 83% with 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors. Clinical success was achieved in 60 patients (63%). Among catheterized patients, 33 (53%) achieved catheter freedom. In the non-catheterized group, 27 (79%) experienced clinical success. No significant differences in outcomes were observed based on the presence of a median lobe. Conclusions: PAE appears to be a viable treatment option for BPH and may provide substantial symptom relief and catheter freedom for most patients. These findings suggest that PAE may be an effective alternative to more invasive procedures. Further research is needed to refine the patient selection criteria
The relationship between physical activity and appetite among older adults : A scoping review
No full textBackground: Appetite loss among older adults is common and may lead to malnutrition, reduced function and frailty. Regular physical activity may help regulate appetite and enhance overall wellbeing. However, evidence concerning the relationship between physical activity and appetite in older adults remains scarce. Objectives: This study aims to examine the existing literature for the relationship between appetite and physical activity among older adults, contributing to the identification of existing research gaps. Method: A scoping review was conducted using a block search strategy with keywords including physical activity, exercise, appetite, and older adults. Searches were performed in Web of Science, PubMed, and CINAHL on November 23, 2023. The inclusion criteria were: English language, human studies, population aged 55+ without severe disease, addressing both appetite and physical activity, original articles, and not qualitative studies. Results: Of 1190 articles identified, 25 were included. Females comprised 52% of the participants and most studies focused on community-dwelling older adults, primarily in the US and northern Europe. Research design and methodologies varied widely. Of the 25 studies, 14 were cross-sectional studies, seven randomized controlled trials, three non-randomized controlled trials, and one longitudinal observational study. Associations between physical activity and appetite were found in a longitudinal observational study including 186 participants, two randomized trials involving higher-intensity exercise, all non-randomized studies, and 10 cross-sectional studies. Conclusion: Although an association between appetite and physical activity among older adults has been observed, the lack of randomized controlled trials limits conclusions regarding whether exercise can effectively regulate appetite in older adults
Electroconductive gelatin/hyaluronic acid/hydroxyapatite scaffolds for enhanced cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in bone tissue engineering
No full textAddressing the challenge of bone tissue regeneration requires creating an optimal microenvironment that promotes both osteogenesis and angiogenesis. Electroconductive scaffolds have emerged as promising solutions for bone regeneration; however, existing conductive polymers often lack biofunctionality and biocompatibility. In this study, we synthesized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanoparticles (PEDOT NPs) using chemical oxidation polymerization and incorporated them into gelatin/hyaluronic acid/hydroxyapatite (Gel:HA:HAp) scaffolds to develop Gel:HA:HAp:PEDOT-NP scaffolds. Morphological analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a honeycomb-like structure with pores of 228–250 μm in diameter. The addition of the synthesized PEDOT NPs increased the conductive capabilities of the scaffolds to 1 × 10−6 ± 1.3 × 10−7 S/cm. Biological assessment of PEDOT NP scaffolds using human foetal osteoblastic 1.19 cells (hFOB), and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) revealed enhanced cell proliferation and viability compared to control scaffold without NPs, along with increased osteogenic differentiation, evidenced by higher levels of alkaline phosphatase activity, osteopontin (OPN), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and osteocalcin (OCN) expression, as observed through immunofluorescence, and enhanced expression of osteogenic-related genes. The conductive scaffold shows interesting mineralization capacity, as shown by Alizarin red and Osteoimage staining. Furthermore, PEDOT-NP scaffolds promoted angiogenesis, as indicated by improved tube formation abilities of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), especially at the higher concentrations of NPs. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the integration of PEDOT NPs scaffold enhances their conductive properties and promotes cell proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, and angiogenesis. Gel:HA:HAp:PEDOT-NP scaffolds exhibit promising potential as efficient biomaterials for bone tissue regeneration, offering a potential engineered platform for clinical applications
Healthcare costs in relation to increased use of preoperative renal tumour biopsies
No full textObjective: To analyse the budget impact of adopting routine renal tumour biopsy (RTB) prior to decision on surgical treatment for clinical T1 renal tumours in Sweden. Material and methods: This study used data from the National Swedish Kidney Cancer Register including 4,109 T1N0M0 renal tumours surgically treated during the years 2018-2022. We modelled a gradual increase in the proportion of preoperative RTBs over a five-year period, from 15.6 % of surgically removed clinical T1N0M0 renal tumors up to 90 % preoperative RTBs by 2029. Average costs per patient were calculated primarily using the Swedish cost-per-patient database. The analyses were stratified by tumour diameter: ≤40 mm (cT1a) and 41-70 mm (cT1b). The proportion of patients with benign RTB, complication rate and false negative RTBs was estimated from register data and previous research. A healthcare perspective was used and accounted for costs related to biopsy, surgery, follow-up of benign RTBs, complications and re-biopsy in cases of inconclusive RTBs. Results: For cT1a, increasing preoperative RTBs to 90% of the study population reduced the net annual costs by €691,620, whilst for cT1b, costs increased by €67,630. Overall, an increase in preoperative RTBs to 90% of all patients with cT1 renal tumours was projected to reduce spending by €623,990 annually. Conclusions: The budget impact analysis of routine preoperative RTBs in suspected renal cell carcinoma indicates net healthcare cost savings in cT1a and potentially for all cT1 tumours.De två första författarna delar förstaförfattarskapet</p
Att hantera komplexiteten : Geografilärares strategier och pedagogiska val i högstadieundervisning
No full textGeografi är ett tvärvetenskapligt ämne som förenar naturvetenskap och samhällsvetenskap för att hjälpa elever att förstå de komplexa relationerna mellan människor och miljö. I en värld som står inför globala utmaningar som klimatförändringar, migration och hållbar utveckling är det avgörande att geografiundervisningen inte bara förmedlar faktakunskaper utan också ger verktyg för att analysera och agera i en sammanlänkad värld. Denna studie undersöker hur geografilärare i högstadiet planerar och genomför sin undervisning för att främja elevernas förståelse av geografi som ett tvärvetenskapligt ämne. Studien belyser hur lärare balanserar teoretiska och praktiska metoder, särskilt behavioristiska och pragmatiska ansatser i sina klassrum. Genom att undersöka hur lärare använder olika strategier, som fältstudier och interaktiva undervisningsmetoder, framträder hur geografiundervisningen kan skapa meningsfulla lärandeupplevelser som både stärker grundläggande färdigheter och kritiskt tänkande. Resultaten visar att både behavioristiska och pragmatiska undervisningsmetoder är viktiga, men att faktorer som begränsade resurser och tidsbrist ofta påverkar hur dessa metoder tillämpas i praktiken
Breaking to Understand: DNA Repair in Response to Cancer Therapy
No full textHuman DNA constantly faces endogenous and exogenous damage, with DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) posing the greatest threat to genome integrity. However, DSBs can be leveraged to kill cancer cells, as many treatments act as DSB inducers. The dominant repair pathway, non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), resolves the majority of DSBs. This thesis explores strategies to sensitize resistant cancer cells through combination therapy and investigates NHEJ’s response to varying DSB complexities. Paper I addresses cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer. We found that combining cisplatin with the HSP90 inhibitor onalespib enhances sensitivity by increasing DSB levels, inducing apoptosis, and causing G2/M arrest, making it a promising strategy. Paper II focuses on glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive brain tumor with limited treatment options. We demonstrated that onalespib enhances radiosensitivity in 2D and 3D GBM models by increasing DSB levels, promoting apoptosis, and altering protein expression, suggesting that HSP90 inhibition could improve radiotherapy outcomes. Paper III investigates the alpha emitter Ra-223, used in bone-metastatic prostate cancer. Our findings revealed that Ra-223 generates clustered DSBs, triggering NHEJ activation, growth inhibition, and apoptosis in prostate cancer cells, with no detectable cellular uptake. Paper IV explores pharmacological ascorbate (Asc) effect on NHEJ pathway. We found that Asc induces delayed DSBs, extensive pan-nuclear γH2AX formation, necrosis, and G2/M arrest in colorectal cancer cells, with stronger effects in XRCC4 KO cells. We concluded that Asc does not generate prompt DSBs, and the delayed DSBs are linked to necrotic nuclear degradation, with sensitivity influenced by cell cycle regulation rather than NHEJ deficiency. Paper V examines NHEJ’s role in repairing DSBs of varying complexity in colorectal cancer cells. Wild-type cells exhibited both fast and slow repair kinetics, while NHEJ-deficient cells showed only a fast repair phase, followed by repair failure. Non-DSB clusters increased as the DSB:SSB ratio decreased (from calicheamicin to X-rays, bleomycin, etoposide, and temozolomide). These clusters were rapidly removed, independent of NHEJ, highlighting the impact of DSB type/complexity on repair efficiency. In conclusion, this thesis presents strategies to overcome cisplatin resistance, enhance radiosensitivity in GBM, and elucidate Ra-223 toxicity mechanisms in prostate cancer. It also examines Asc’s effects on DSB induction and repair and reveals NHEJ’s role in processing complex DSBs. Our findings provide new insights into optimizing DSB repair and therapeutic strategies in cancer treatment
Swedish national guidelines on urothelial carcinoma : 2024 update on advanced and metastatic disease
No full textObjective: To overview and summarise the Swedish National Guidelines on Urothelial Carcinoma 2024. Methods: A narrative review of the updated guidelines was performed, highlighting new treatment recommendations for advanced and metastasized disease. Results: Compared to the previous guideline version, the current update includes recommendations for standardised radiological reporting when urothelial carcinomas are detected at CT-urography (CTU), to early identify locally advanced patients and accelerate the care pathway for these patients. The Swedish guidelines apply a more structured and liberal recommendation for the use of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with locally advanced urothelial carcinomas compared to the EAU-guidelines and recommend such examinations prior to transurethral resection. Improved outcomes for radical cystectomy in Sweden after centralised cystectomy care have led to a recommendation for performing more than six nephroureterectomies (NUs) per year for upper tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUC)-based associations with decreased use of invasive diagnostic modalities and better survival outcomes. Additionally, updated recommendations regarding adjuvant systemic therapies for muscle-invasive disease have been included. Whilst awaiting national regulatory approval for enfortumab vedotin/pembrolizumab, the present guideline version aligns with EAU-guidelines by endorsing cisplatin-gemcitabine-nivolumab as a new first-line treatment option in cisplatin-fit patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Conclusions: The current version of the Swedish national guidelines on urothelial carcinoma introduces standardised reporting at CTU to facilitate early identification of advanced disease, includes recommendations for centralisation of NU for UTUC and updated recommendations for adjuvant systemic treatment of muscle-invasive disease and endorses cisplatin-gemcitabine-nivolumab as a new first-line treatment option for non-resectable locally advanced and metastatic disease
The Swedish business elite and the gift explosion of 1947
No full textIn 1948, the social democratic government of Sweden imposed newwealth transfer taxes including an estate tax. Events have beencharacterised as the definite breakdown of the co-operation betweensocial democracy and organised business. This article attacks the topicfrom the perspective of the reproduction of the business elite throughthe inheritance and the gift. The tax reform triggered an epidemic ofgenerosity. In 1947, gift tax revenue was 20 times higher than theannual averages before and after. We have studied the individual actorsof the Swedish business elite as donors and concluded that 76 couplesof the business elite transferred 25.2 msek to above all their children.The joint political campaign of organised business against the reformraised 24.8 msek. The result complicates and questions previousassumptions concerning the motives of the business elite for protestingagainst the tax reform
Medicinal Plant Use in North Karelia, Finland, in the 2010s
No full textFinnish North Karelia is a region with a rich cultural history of ethnomedicinal plant use, shaped by centuries of interactions among various ethnic groups. This study identified both similarities and divergences between local Finns, Karelians war refugees, and individuals of mixed origin compared to historical records. Based on 67 semi-structured interviews, we documented the use of 43 medicinal plant taxa from 25 families, of which 31 remain in use. Notably, the number of medicinal plants continuously used in North Karelia is considerably lower than in other parts of Europe, with less than 25% of historically utilised species still in practice, which reflects the fragile state of this knowledge. Factors such as forced relocation, the loss of traditional lands, and the need to adapt to new environments might have contributed to this decline. Another influencing factor is official healthcare attitudes, which have prompted Finnish residents to shift from traditional herbal remedies to modern medical practices. Understanding the circulation of ethnomedicinal knowledge and its transformation over time is essential for identifying pathways to revitalise these practices within the framework of modern healthcare systems and cultural revitalisation efforts