University of Southern Denmark

About: University of Southern Denmark is a education organization based out in Odense, Syddanmark, Denmark. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Randomized controlled trial. The organization has 11928 authors who have published 37918 publications receiving 1258559 citations. The organization is also known as: SDU.

Six-minute-walk test in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: minimal clinically important difference for death or hospitalization.

Abstract: Rationale: Outcomes other than spirometry are required to assess nonbronchodilator therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Estimates of the minimal clinically important difference for the 6-minute-walk distance (6MWD) have been derived from narrow cohorts using nonblinded intervention.Objectives: To determine minimum clinically important difference for change in 6MWD over 1 year as a function of mortality and first hospitalization in an observational cohort of patients with COPD.Methods: Data from the ECLIPSE cohort were used (n = 2,112). Death or first hospitalization were index events; we measured change in 6MWD in the 12-month period before the event and related change in 6MWD to lung function and St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (health status).Measurement and Main Results: Of subjects with change in the 6MWD data, 94 died, and 323 were hospitalized. 6MWD fell by 29.7 m (SD, 82.9 m) more among those who died than among survivors (P < 0.001). A reduction in distance of more than 30 m...

Oncogenic cancer/testis antigens: prime candidates for immunotherapy

Abstract: // Morten F. Gjerstorff 1 , Mads H. Andersen 2 and Henrik J. Ditzel 1,3 1 Department of Cancer and Inflammation Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark 2 Department of Haematology, Center for Cancer Immune Therapy (CCIT), Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev, Denmark 3 Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark Correspondence to: Morten Gjerstorff, email: // Keywords : cancer/testis antigen, oncogenesis, immunotherapy Received : May 19, 2015 Accepted : June 21, 2015 Published : June 30, 2015 Abstract Recent developments have set the stage for immunotherapy as a supplement to conventional cancer treatment. Consequently, a significant effort is required to further improve efficacy and specificity, particularly the identification of optimal therapeutic targets for clinical testing. Cancer/testis antigens are immunogenic, highly cancer-specific, and frequently expressed in various types of cancer, which make them promising candidate targets for cancer immunotherapy, including cancer vaccination and adoptive T-cell transfer with chimeric T-cell receptors. Our current understanding of tumor immunology and immune escape suggests that targeting oncogenic antigens may be beneficial, meaning that identification of cancer/testis antigens with oncogenic properties is of high priority. Recent work from our lab and others provide evidence that many cancer/testis antigens, in fact, have oncogenic functions, including support of growth, survival and metastasis. This novel insight into the function of cancer/testis antigens has the potential to deliver more effective cancer vaccines. Moreover, immune targeting of oncogenic cancer/testis antigens in combination with conventional cytotoxic therapies or novel immunotherapies such as checkpoint blockade or adoptive transfer, represents a highly synergistic approach with the potential to improve patient survival.

“Cost of Capital” in Residual Income for Performance Evaluation

Abstract: We consider a setting in which a firm uses residual income to motivate a manager's investment decision. Textbooks often recommend adjusting the residual income capital charge for market risk, but n...

Comparing lumbo-pelvic kinematics in people with and without back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract: Clinicians commonly examine posture and movement in people with the belief that correcting dysfunctional movement may reduce pain. If dysfunctional movement is to be accurately identified, clinicians should know what constitutes normal movement and how this differs in people with low back pain (LBP). This systematic review examined studies that compared biomechanical aspects of lumbo-pelvic movement in people with and without LBP. MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, EMBASE, AMI, CINAHL, Scopus, AMED, ISI Web of Science were searched from inception until January 2014 for relevant studies. Studies had to compare adults with and without LBP using skin surface measurement techniques to measure lumbo-pelvic posture or movement. Two reviewers independently applied inclusion and exclusion criteria, and identified and extracted data. Standardised mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were estimated for group differences between people with and without LBP, and where possible, meta-analyses were performed. Within-group variability in all measurements was also compared. The search identified 43 eligible studies. Compared to people without LBP, on average, people with LBP display: (i) no difference in lordosis angle (8 studies), (ii) reduced lumbar ROM (19 studies), (iii) no difference in lumbar relative to hip contribution to end-range flexion (4 studies), (iv) no difference in standing pelvic tilt angle (3 studies), (v) slower movement (8 studies), and (vi) reduced proprioception (17 studies). Movement variability appeared greater for people with LBP for flexion, lateral flexion and rotation ROM, and movement speed, but not for other movement characteristics. Considerable heterogeneity exists between studies, including a lack of detail or standardization between studies on the criteria used to define participants as people with LBP (cases) or without LBP (controls). On average, people with LBP have reduced lumbar ROM and proprioception, and move more slowly compared to people without LBP. Whether these deficits exist prior to LBP onset is unknown.