University of Gothenburg

About: University of Gothenburg is a education organization based out in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 23855 authors who have published 65241 publications receiving 2606327 citations. The organization is also known as: Göteborg University & Gothenburg University.

Information state and dialogue management in the TRINDI dialogue move engine toolkit

Abstract: We introduce an architecture and toolkit for building dialogue managers currently being developed in the TRINDI project, based on the notions of information state and dialogue move engine. The aim is to provide a framework for experimenting with implementations of different theories of information state, information state update and dialogue control. A number of dialogue managers are currently being built using the toolkit, and we present overviews of two of them. We believe that this framework will make implementation of dialogue processing theories easier, also facilitating comparison of different types of dialogue systems, thus helping to achieve a prerequisite for arriving at a best practice for the development of the dialogue management component of a spoken dialogue system.

The two isoenzymes for yeast NAD+-dependent glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase encoded by GPD1 and GPD2 have distinct roles in osmoadaptation and redox regulation

Abstract: The two homologous genes GPD1 and GPD2 encode the isoenzymes of NAD-dependent glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Previous studies showed that GPD1 plays a role in osmoadaptation since its expression is induced by osmotic stress and gpd1 delta mutants are osmosensitive. Here we report that GPD2 has an entirely different physiological role. Expression of GPD2 is not affected by changes in external osmolarity, but is stimulated by anoxic conditions. Mutants lacking GPD2 show poor growth under anaerobic conditions. Mutants deleted for both GPD1 and GPD2 do not produce detectable glycerol, are highly osmosensitive and fail to grow under anoxic conditions. This growth inhibition, which is accompanied by a strong intracellular accumulation of NADH, is relieved by external addition of acetaldehyde, an effective oxidizer of NADH. Thus, glycerol formation is strictly required as a redox sink for excess cytosolic NADH during anaerobic metabolism. The anaerobic induction of GPD2 is independent of the HOG pathway which controls the osmotic induction of GPD1. Expression of GPD2 is also unaffected by ROX1 and ROX3, encoding putative regulators of hypoxic and stress-controlled gene expression. In addition, GPD2 is induced under aerobic conditions by the addition of bisulfite which causes NADH accumulation by inhibiting the final, reductive step in ethanol fermentation and this induction is reversed by addition of acetaldehyde. We conclude that expression of GPD2 is controlled by a novel, oxygen-independent, signalling pathway which is required to regulate metabolism under anoxic conditions.

The gut microbiota regulates bone mass in mice

Abstract: The gut microbiota modulates host metabolism and development of immune status. Here we show that the gut microbiota is also a major regulator of bone mass in mice. Germ-free (GF) mice exhibit increased bone mass associated with reduced number of osteoclasts per bone surface compared with conventionally raised (CONV-R) mice. Colonization of GF mice with a normal gut microbiota normalizes bone mass. Furthermore, GF mice have decreased frequency of CD4+ T cells and CD11b+/GR 1 osteoclast precursor cells in bone marrow, which could be normalized by colonization. GF mice exhibited reduced expression of inflammatory cytokines in bone and bone marrow compared with CONV-R mice. In summary, the gut microbiota regulates bone mass in mice, and we provide evidence for a mechanism involving altered immune status in bone and thereby affected osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. Further studies are required to evaluate the gut microbiota as a novel therapeutic target for osteoporosis. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Commitment and opportunity development in the internationalization process: A note on the Uppsala internationalization process model

Abstract: * This paper starts from the observation that the internationalisation process (IP) model frequently is interpreted as a model of risk reduction in the internationalization of the firm. The dominating view of the model seems to be that commitment is the dependent variable and experience is the independent variable. A basic assumption of the original model, however, is that opportunity development is an important outcome of commitment. The purpose of this note is to articulate this relation, which is not stressed enough in earlier writings. Key Results * A causal chain from relationship commitment over relationship knowledge development and network knowledge development to opportunity development is specified. Two propositions are formulated regarding the effects of mutual relationship commitment and of network embeddedness in a country market on opportunity development in the market. Introduction 25 years afterwards, we are surprised. Firstly, we never expected this longevity of the model. Secondly, we are surprised, because after some thinking we have arrived at the conclusion, that we would not have built the model differently today, but with somewhat different underpinning. In a way we were lucky in using concepts such as "knowledge" and "commitment", which later came to be widely used in research on the theory of the firm but also in some functional disciplines. We were left with our inductively produced understanding of these concepts. We are grateful to the organizers of the conference and editors of this issue of MIR for focusing on the IP model and giving us this opportunity to elaborate on it. But, we must point out that the model is not "the establishment chain", going from ad hoc exports to the establishment of manufacturing subsidiaries. This was the empirical phenomenon we observed, giving the impetus to construct the model. The model is on learning and commitment building or, more precisely, on the interplay between knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. While the effect of knowledge development on foreign market commitment has been recognized and studied by many researchers the effect of commitment on knowledge development has been less noticed. The purpose of this note is to elaborate on this latter effect. In particular, we are here interested in the effect on opportunity development. Admittedly, this note is written in a way that it presupposes the reader is familiar with the original version of the internationalization model published in 1977 (Johanson/Vahlne 1977). In that article we tried to explain the gradual internationalization process observed by relying on two interdependent sub-processes--experiential learning and commitment building. We related those processes to the focal company only, later realizing that indeed these processes occur as interplay between at least two (potential) partners (Johanson and Vahlne 1990). In Johanson/Vahlne (2003), we tied the mechanisms of our original model closer to the network view of industrial markets by focusing on the critical role of building and changing relationships. One implication is that the concept of a "country market" is no longer seen as a valid unit of analysis. In this note, we focus on network or partner commitment and its role not only for uncertainty reduction, but on a sub-set of issues, notably--opportunity development. We believe we have under-estimated this aspect and the purpose of this note is to make up for that. The paper is structured as follows. After a short introductory review of important applications of the IP model in international business research, we discuss the change from market commitment to relationship commitment. In a following section, we discuss the relations between relationship commitment and knowledge development. Next, we widen the discussion to include network relationships, social capital and knowledge development. …

The significance of maintenance care in the treatment of periodontal disease.

Abstract: The present investigation was performed to assess the efficacy of a maintenance care program to prevent recurrence of disease in patients subjected to treatment of advanced periodontitis. In addition, the periodontal status was monitored of a group of patients who following the end of active treatment were referred back to genera] practitioners for maintenance care. The material consisted of 90 patients who in 1972 were referred for specialist treatment of advanced periodontal disease. The patients were first subjected to an initial examination including assessment of oral hygiene, gingivitis, probing depths and attachment levels. They were on an individual basis given case presentation, instructed how to practice proper tooth-cleaning methods, their teeth were scaled and eventually the periodontal pockets were treated using the modified Widman technique. During the first 2 months following surgery the patients were recalled once every 2 weeks for professional tooth cleaning. Two months after the end of surgical treatment, the patients were reexamined to provide baseline data. Every third patient was thereafter referred back to the general dentist for maintenance care. Two out of three patients were maintained in a carefully designed and controlled maintenance care program at the university clinic. This program involved recalls once every 2–3 months and included instruction and practice in oral hygiene, meticulous scaling and professional tooth cleaning. The patients were reexamined 3 and 6 years after the baseline examination. The results demonstrated that in patients suffering from destructive periodontitis, a treatment program that involved oral hygiene instruction, scaling, root planing and modified Widman flap procedures resulted in the establishment of clinically healthy gingiva and shallow pockets. Patients who were placed on a carefully designed recall program were over a 6-year period able to maintain excellent oral hygiene standards and unaltered attachment levels. In contrast patients who subsequent to active treatment were not maintained in a supervised program showed obvious signs of recurrent periodontitis at the follow-up examinations.