| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Bergström, Ulf, et al.
(author)
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Stickleback increase in the Baltic Sea - A thorny issue for coastal predatory fish
- 2015
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In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0272-7714 .- 1096-0015. ; 163, s. 134-142
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In the Baltic Sea, the mesopredator three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) spends a large part of its life cycle in the open sea, but reproduces in shallow coastal habitats. In coastal waters, it may occur in high abundances, is a potent predator on eggs and larvae of fish, and has been shown to induce trophic cascades with resulting eutrophication symptoms through regulation of invertebrate grazers. Despite its potential significance for the coastal food web, little is known about its life history and population ecology. This paper provides a description of life history traits, migration patterns and spatiotemporal development of the species in the Baltic Sea during the past decades, and tests the hypothesis that stickleback may have a negative impact on populations of coastal predatory fish. Offshore and coastal data during the last 30 years show that stickleback has increased fourfold in the Bothnian Sea, 45-fold in the Central Baltic Sea and sevenfold in the Southern Baltic Sea. The abundances are similar in the two northern basins, and two orders of magnitude lower in the Southern Baltic Sea. The coastward spawning migration of sticklebacks from offshore areas peaks in early May, with most spawners being two years of age at a mean length of 65 mm. The early juvenile stage is spent at the coast, whereafter sticklebacks perform a seaward feeding migration in early autumn at a size of around 35 mm. A negative spatial relation between the abundance of stickleback and early life stages of perch and pike at coastal spawning areas was observed in spatial survey data, indicating strong interactions between the species. A negative temporal relationship was observed also between adult perch and stickleback in coastal fish monitoring programmes supporting the hypothesis that stickleback may have negative population level effects on coastal fish predators. The recent increase in stickleback populations in different basins of the Baltic Sea in combination with negative spatiotemporal patterns and previously observed interactions between stickleback and coastal predatory fish suggests that this species may have gained a key role in the coastal food webs of the Baltic Sea. Through its migrations, stickleback may also constitute an important vector linking coastal and open sea ecosystem dynamics. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 13. |
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| 14. |
- Berkström, Charlotte, et al.
(author)
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Rapid effects of a fishing closure on whitefish (Coregonus maraena) in the northern Baltic Sea
- 2021
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In: Boreal Environment Research. - 1239-6095 .- 1797-2469. ; 26, s. 89-104
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Areas closed to fishing year-round (no-take zones, NTZs) or during spawning time (spawning closures) are used as a management tool to increase declining fish populations. We evaluated the effects of a 147 km2 NTZ and a 3980 km2 spawning closure on whitefish populations in the northern Baltic Sea, and also accounted for fish consumption by seals and cormorants. Fish monitoring with multimesh gillnets in 2011–2016 showed a significant increase in catch per unit effort (CPUE) of mature whitefish (> 30 cm) both in the spawning closure and the NTZ compared with the reference area open to fishing. The rate of increase was significantly higher in the NTZ than in the spawning closure. Our results suggest that NTZs may strengthen coastal fish populations in temperate regions and that also seasonal closures under a critical period of the life cycle may benefit the populations.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Bryhn, Andreas, et al.
(author)
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External nutrient loading from land, sea and atmosphere to all 656 Swedish coastal water bodies
- 2017
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In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0025-326X .- 1879-3363. ; 114:2, s. 664-670
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Identifying the main sources of nutrient loading is a key factor for efficient mitigation of eutrophication. This study has investigated the pathways of external nutrient loading to 656 coastal water bodies along the entire Swedish coastline. The studied water bodies have been delineated to meet requirements in the European Union's Water Framework Directive, and recent status assessments have shown that 57% of them fail to attain good or high ecological status with respect to nutrients. The analysis in the study was performed on data from mass balance based nutrient budgets computed using the modelling framework Vattenwebb. The external nutrient contribution from the sea to the water bodies was highly variable, ranging from about 1% to nearly 100%, but the median contribution was >99% of the total external loading regarding both nitrogen and phosphorus. External loading from the atmosphere and local catchment area played a minor role in general. However, 45 coastal water bodies received >25% of the external nitrogen and phosphorus from their catchments. Loading from land typically peaked in April following ice-break and snow melting and was comparatively low during summer. The results indicate that for many eutrophicated Swedish coastal water bodies, nutrient abatement is likely to be optimally effective when potential measures in all of the catchment area of the concerned sea basin are considered. Local-scale mitigation in single water bodies will likely be locally effective only in the small proportion of areas where water and thereby also nutrient input from the catchment is high compared to the influx from the sea. Future studies should include nutrient reduction scenarios in order to refine these conclusions and to identify relevant spatial scales for coastal eutrophication mitigation measures from a water body perspective.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Carm, Ellen, 1954-
(author)
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Caught in Culture? : Cultural Transformation through HIV/AIDS Prevention Education in Zambia
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The study explores the role and contribution of education in developing a localized and relevant HIV/AIDS prevention strategy through a multi-voiced approach, involving the educational institutions, as well as the traditional leaders, community-members, including parents. The study comprised all public schools in one Zambian province from 2002-2008. The study explores, among other factors, the role of traditional culture in mitigating and exacerbating the spread of the disease.Zambia was one of the countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDs epidemic, and one of the few countries in the region that, in 2002, had a clear policy on the role of education in fighting the epidemic. Through the process of developing and implementing a learner-centered interactive HIV/AIDS education program in the province. based upon MOE`s HIV/AIDS policies and strategies, syllabi, and teachers guides, and at the same time emphasizing the broader community as a point of departure.The qualitative and interpretivist research was conducted within a constructivist grounded theoretical approach. The study applies comprehensive and multilayered perspectives while utilizing a broad range of methods. Documentary analyses, structured and semi-structured interviews, in depth conversations with traditional and educational leaders, teachers, parents and pupils, were all carried out during the period of the study. Nvivo, a computer-supported data analysis tool was used to support the process of categorizing the qualitative data and the study applied Cultural- and Historical Activity Theory for analytic purposes.The study revealed the mismatch between the decentralized, national HIV/AIDS prevention education approach, as stated in the policy documents and the global UNAIDS, centralized and cross-sectoral strategies favored by the Zambian government. The uncoordinated efforts did not reach the grassroots level, where professionals, at district and school level, perceived and applied policies in highly different ways, if at all reaching students and the communities.The main categories of drivers of the epidemic were of socio-cultural and economic character, e.g. polygamy, sexual cleansing, local healing, gender inequality and poverty, sexual violence, multiple concurrent sexual partners and prostitution, but there were also variety of local drivers, depending upon context.When analyzing the participatory approaches of the HIV/AIDS prevention strategy, predominantly, at the school-community level, the findings revealed that the traditional leaders, being legitimate leaders in their kingdoms, and the custodians of culture and traditions, were found to be gate openers to promote behavioral change and cultural transformation in their villages.The traditional leaders worked hand in hand with the schools and the villagers. Their involvement legitimated that discourses and HIV/AIDS prevention actions were taken at school as well as within their own chiefdom. Utilizing their traditional leadership structures, the chiefs sustained their cultural rites, e.g. cleansing, in order to chase away the evil spirits, by turning the rites into practices that do no put people at risk for contracting HIV. Particularly at the global and state level, culture has been seen as drivers of the epidemic. The study revealed that the traditional leaders used their role as significant others, became gate-openers, using their legitimate role as custodians of culture to transform cultural rites and practices.
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| 19. |
- Caruso, Vanni, et al.
(author)
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mRNA GPR162 changes are associated with decreased food intake in rat, and its human genetic variants with impairments in glucose homeostasis in two Swedish cohorts
- 2016
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In: Gene. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1119 .- 1879-0038. ; 581:2, s. 139-145
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a class of integral membrane proteins mediating intercellular interactions of fundamental physiological importance for survival including regulation of food intake, blood pressure, and hormonal sensing signaling, among other roles. Homeostatic alterations in the physiological status of GPCRs are often associated with underlying causes of disease, and to date, several orphan GPCRs are still uncharacterized. Findings from our previous study demonstrate that the Rhodopsin family protein GPR162 is widely expressed in GABAergic as well as other neurons within the mouse hippocampus, whereas extensive expression is observed in hypothalamus, amygdala, and ventral tegmental area, regions strictly interconnected and involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis and hedonic feeding. In this study, we provide a further anatomical characterization of GPR162 in mouse brain via in situ hybridization as well as detailed mRNA expression in a panel of rat tissues complementing a specie-specific mapping of the receptor. We also provide an attempt to demonstrate a functional implication of GPR162 in food intake-related behavior via antisense knockdown studies. Furthermore, we performed human genetic studies in which for the first time, variants of the GPR162 gene were associated with impairments in glucose homeostasis.
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| 20. |
- Darmanis, Spyros, et al.
(author)
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Multiplexed solid-phase proximity ligation assays: Highly specific and parallel protein measurements with DNA sequencing readout
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Identification and validation of protein biomarkers is a very important step towards the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of disease, early diagnosis and efficient patient treatment. To carry out this task, methods are needed that would allow us to mine the proteome with sufficient sensitivity and specificity in large sets of samples. We present herein the development of a Multiplexed Proximity Ligation Assay (MultiPLAy), to facilitate efficient protein profiling in a parallel, sensitive and specific manner. We showed that for the simultaneous analysis of 35 proteins MultiPLAy exhibited an improved sensitivity over conventional sandwich assays as well as a smaller susceptibility to background signal increase in the transition from singleplex to multiplex. We used MultiPLAy to identify putative biomarkers in two separate sample cohorts of colorectal cancer (CRC) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and with the use a novel multivariate analysis approach were able to identify new, as well as already known diagnostic biomarkers. Furthermore we were able to combine MultiPLAy with the use of next-generation sequencing allowing for the first time digital recording of protein profiles in blood. We demonstrated good reproducibility of MultiPLAy coupled to next-generation sequencing, as well as a satisfactory correlation to standard real-time PCR readout. We conclude that MultiPLAy has great potential as a basis for highly multiplexed protein detection assays that can be utilized for the identification of large numbers of proteins or protein variants. This will allow extensive validation of protein expression patterns in biobanked samples and in prospective studies, and can provide a much-needed platform for efficient validation of diagnostic markers for clinical use.
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