Uppsala University

About: Uppsala University is a education organization based out in Uppsala, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 36485 authors who have published 107509 publications receiving 4220668 citations. The organization is also known as: Uppsala universitet & uu.se.

Clinical and Economic Impact of Common Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacilli

Abstract: During the last decade, the efforts to combat multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms mainly focused on gram-positive bacteria, namely, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. While a large number of hospitals have implemented more rigorous infection

Stable knot-like structures in classical field theory

Abstract: In 1867, Lord Kelvin proposed that atoms—then considered to be elementary particles—could be described as knotted vortex tubes in either1. For almost two decades, this idea motivated an extensive study of the mathematical properties of knots, and the results obtained at that time by Tait2 remain central to mathematical knot theory3,4. But despite the clear relevance of knots to a large number of physical, chemical and biological systems, the physical properties of knot-like structures have not been much investigated. This is largely due to the absence of a theoretical means for generating stable knots in the nonlinear field equations that can be used to describe such systems. Here we show that knot-like structures can emerge as stable, finite-energy solutions in one such class of equations—local, three-dimensional langrangian field-theory models. Our results point to several experimental and theoretical situations where such structures may be relevant, ranging from defects in liquid crystals and vortices in superfluid helium to the structure-forming role of cosmic strings in the early Universe.

Pre- or postoperative radiotherapy in rectal and rectosigmoid carcinoma. Report from a randomized multicenter trial.

Abstract: Between October 1980 and December 1985, 471 patients with a resectable rectal carcinoma entered a randomized multicenter trial for comparison of pre- and postoperative irradiation. Two hundred thirty-six patients were allocated to receive high-dose fractionated preoperative irradiation (total dosage, 25.5 Gy in five to seven days) and 235 patients to receive postoperative irradiation to a very high dosage level with conventional fractionation (60 Gy in a total 8 weeks). The postoperative treatment was delivered only to a high-risk group of patients (Astler-Coller stages B2, C1, and C2). The preoperative irradiation was well tolerated, with no immediate irradiation-related complications and no increased postoperative mortality (3%, 7 of 217 patients, compared to 5%, 10 of 215 patients in the postoperatively irradiated group). More patients in the preoperative irradiation group had perineal wound sepsis after abdominoperineal resection and this prolonged the stay in hospital after surgery. In 50% of the patients the postoperative treatment could not be commenced until more than 6 weeks after surgery. The postoperative treatment was not as well tolerated as the preoperative one. The local recurrence rate was statistically significantly lower after preoperative than after postoperative radiotherapy (12% versus 21%; p = 0.02). In both groups more patients developed a local recurrence if the bowel was perforated at surgery or if the resection line was microscopically close to the tumor. To date, with a minimum follow-up of 3 years and a mean follow-up of 6 years, there is no difference in survival rates between the two groups.

The repertoire of G-protein-coupled receptors in fully sequenced genomes.

Abstract: The superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is one of the largest and most studied families of proteins. We created Hidden Markov Models derived from sorted groups of GPCRs from our previous detailed phylogenetic classification of human GPCRs and added several other models derived from receptors not found in mammals. We used these models to search entire Genscan data sets from 13 species whose genomes are nearly completely sequenced. We found more than 5000 unique GPCRs that were divided into 15 main groups, and the largest one, the Rhodopsin family, was subdivided into 13 subclasses. The results show that the main families in the human genome, Glutamate, Rhodopsin, Adhesion, Frizzled, and Secretin, arose before the split of nematodes from the chordate lineage. Moreover, several of the subgroups of the Rhodopsin family arose before the split of the linage leading to vertebrates. We also searched expressed sequence tag (EST) databases and identified more than 20,000 sequences that match GPCRs. Although the GPCRs represent typically 1 to 2% of the Genscan predictions, the ESTs that match GPCRs are typically only 0.01 to 0.001%, indicating that GPCRs in most of the groups are expressed at low levels. We also provide searchable data sets that may be used for annotation and further detailed analysis of the GPCR family. This study provides an extensive overview of the expansion of the gene repertoire for families and subgroups of GPCRs.