| 1. |
- Carlberg, Inger, et al.
(författare)
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A novel plant protein undergoing light-induced phosphorylation and release from the photosynthetic thylakoid membranes
- 2003
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 100:2, s. 757-62
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The characteristics of a phosphoprotein with a relative electrophoretic mobility of 12 kDa have been unknown during two decades of studies on redox-dependent protein phosphorylation in plant photosynthetic membranes. Digestion of this protein from spinach thylakoid membranes with trypsin and subsequent tandem nanospray-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry of the peptides revealed a protein sequence that did not correspond to any previously known protein. Sequencing of the corresponding cDNA uncovered a gene for a precursor protein with a transit peptide followed by a strongly basic mature protein with a molecular mass of 8,640 Da. Genes encoding homologous proteins were found on chromosome 3 of Arabidopsis and rice as well as in ESTs from 20 different plant species, but not from any other organisms. The protein can be released from the membrane with high salt and is also partially released in response to light-induced phosphorylation of thylakoids, in contrast to all other known thylakoid phosphoproteins, which are integral to the membrane. On the basis of its properties, this plant-specific protein is named thylakoid soluble phosphoprotein of 9 kDa (TSP9). Mass spectrometric analyses revealed the existence of non-, mono-, di-, and triphosphorylated forms of TSP9 and phosphorylation of three distinct threonine residues in the central part of the protein. The phosphorylation and release of TSP9 from the photosynthetic membrane on illumination favor participation of this basic protein in cell signaling and regulation of plant gene expression in response to changing light conditions.
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| 2. |
- Nyström, Josefina, et al.
(författare)
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Combined near-infrared spectroscopy and multifrequency bio-impedance investigation of skin alterations in diabetes patients based on multivariate analyses
- 2003
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Ingår i: Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing. - : Springer. - 0140-0118 .- 1741-0444. ; 41:3, s. 324-329
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A group of 34 diabetic men, with different degrees of diabetes complications, including skin changes, were studied by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and total body multi-frequency bio-impedance analyses (MFBIA-body). Skin reflectance spectra were measured with a fibre-optic probe in four locations (sites): hand, arm, leg and foot. As control subjects, a group of 23 healthy males were also measured. A combined multivariate analysis of the two types of spectrum was performed. It was concluded that the NIR method has the potential to detect diabetes-related skin conditions and also that the combination of the two techniques provides a higher potential for classification and discrimination of the skin conditions, with correct classification increasing from 63% to 85%.
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| 3. |
- Sjöberg, Rickard L, et al.
(författare)
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Gender biases in decisions on euthanasia among Swedish jurors
- 2003
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0803-9488 .- 1502-4725. ; 57:6, s. 469-471
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study set out to investigate whether group- based biases may influence decisions regarding euthanasia in Swedish jurors ( namndeman). Thirty- eight Swedish jurors were presented with a case description of euthanasia in a severely brain- damaged patient. Age and gender of the patient were systematically varied. The jurors were asked to what extent they believed that euthanasia was ethical in the case presented to them and whether they thought that it should be legal. Jurors tended to be supportive of euthanasia and were more so when it was used on patients who belonged to the opposite gender. These results suggest that group- based biases may influence decisions regarding euthanasia in Swedish jurors. The finding has implication for the Swedish debate regarding a possible legalization of such procedures.
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| 4. |
- Daşu, Alexandru, et al.
(författare)
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Theoretical simulation of tumour oxygenation and results from acute and chronic hypoxia
- 2003
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 48:17, s. 2829-2842
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The tumour microenvironment is considered to be responsible for the outcome of cancer treatment and therefore it is extremely important to characterize and quantify it. Unfortunately, most of the experimental techniques available now are invasive and generally it is not known how this influences the results. Non-invasive methods on the other hand have a geometrical resolution that is not always suited for the modelling of the tumour response. Theoretical simulation of the microenvironment may be an alternative method that can provide quantitative data for accurately describing tumour tissues. This paper presents a computerized model that allows the simulation of the tumour oxygenation. The model simulates numerically the fundamental physical processes of oxygen diffusion and consumption in a two-dimensional geometry in order to study the influence of the different parameters describing the tissue geometry. The paper also presents a novel method to simulate the effects of diffusion-limited (chronic) hypoxia and perfusion-limited (acute) hypoxia. The results show that all the parameters describing tissue vasculature are important for describing tissue oxygenation. Assuming that vascular structure is described by a distribution of inter-vessel distances, both the average and the width of the distribution are needed in order to fully characterize the tissue oxygenation. Incomplete data, such as distributions measured in a non-representative region of the tissue, may not give relevant tissue oxygenation. Theoretical modelling of tumour oxygenation also allows the separation between acutely and chronically hypoxic cells, a distinction that cannot always be seen with other methods. It was observed that the fraction of acutely hypoxic cells depends not only on the fraction of collapsed blood vessels at any particular moment, but also on the distribution of vessels in space as well. All these suggest that theoretical modelling of tissue oxygenation starting from the basic principles is a robust method that can be used to quantify the tissue oxygenation and to provide input parameters for other simulations.
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| 5. |
- Friberg, Urban, et al.
(författare)
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Fitness effects of female mate choice : preferred males are detrimental for Drosophila melanogaster females
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of Evolutionary Biology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1010-061X .- 1420-9101. ; 16, s. 797-811
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The evolution of female mate choice, broadly defined to include any female behaviour or morphology which biases matings towards certain male phenotypes, is traditionally thought to result from direct or indirect benefits which females acquire when mating with preferred males. In contrast, new models have shown that female mate choice can be generated by sexual conflict, where preferred males may cause a fitness depression in females. Several studies have shown that female Drosophila melanogaster bias matings towards large males. Here, we use male size as a proxy for male attractiveness and test how female fitness is affected by reproducing with large or small males, under two different male densities. Females housed with large males had reduced lifespan and aged at an accelerated rate compared with females housed with small males, and increased male density depressed female fitness further. These fitness differences were due to effects on several different fitness components. Female fitness covaried negatively with male courtship rate, which suggests a cost of courtship. Mating rate increased with male size, whereas female fitness peaked at an intermediate mating rate. Our results suggest that female mate choice in D. melanogaster is, at least in part, a by-product of sexual conflict over the mating rate.
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| 6. |
- Bergman, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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The relative importance of actual and potential competition: Empirical evidence from the pharmaceuticals market
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of industrial economics. - : Wiley. - 0022-1821 .- 1467-6451. ; 51, s. 455-467
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study actual and potential competition and other factors that determine price paths of brand-name drugs in the Swedish pharmaceuticals market. The results indicate that the price of the incumbent product is lowered by potential competition, entry of (additional) generics, and the introduction of a so-called reference-price system. We also identify a 'ratchet' effect, through which price regulation makes entry-deterring limit-pricing credible.
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| 7. |
- Tajsharghi, Homa, 1968, et al.
(författare)
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Myosin storage myopathy associated with a heterozygous missense mutation in MYH7.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Annals of neurology. - : Wiley. - 0364-5134 .- 1531-8249. ; 54:4, s. 494-500
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Myosin constitutes the major part of the thick filaments in the contractile apparatus of striated muscle. MYH7 encodes the slow/beta-cardiac myosin heavy chain (MyHC), which is the main MyHC isoform in slow, oxidative, type 1 muscle fibers of skeletal muscle. It is also the major MyHC isoform of cardiac ventricles. Numerous missense mutations in the globular head of slow/beta-cardiac MyHC are associated with familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We identified a missense mutation, Arg1845Trp, in the rod region of slow/beta-cardiac MyHC in patients with a skeletal myopathy from two different families. The myopathy was characterized by muscle weakness and wasting with onset in childhood and slow progression, but no overt cardiomyopathy. Slow, oxidative, type 1 muscle fibers showed large inclusions consisting of slow/beta-cardiac MyHC. The features were similar to a previously described entity: hyaline body myopathy. Our findings indicate that the mutated residue of slow/beta-cardiac MyHC is essential for the assembly of thick filaments in skeletal muscle. We propose the term myosin storage myopathy for this disease.
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| 8. |
- Augutis, M, et al.
(författare)
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Pediatric spinal cord injury in Sweden : incidence, etiology and outcome.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Spinal Cord. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1362-4393 .- 1476-5624. ; 41:6, s. 328-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study.OBJECTIVES: To assess incidence, causes and early outcome of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) among children in Sweden, thereby identifying high-risk groups and situations as a basis for preventative measures and improved care.METHODS: Data from population registers, County Habilitation Centers as well as from informal sources were used to estimate the incidence of SCI in Sweden during the years 1985-1996 among children aged 0-15 years. Contacts with the treating hospitals, reviews of medical records and/or personal interviews were used to verify primary data. In total, 92 children were thus identified.RESULTS: The incidence was found to be 4.6/million children/year (95% CI 3.6-5.5). When excluding prehospital fatalities, the incidence was 2.4 (95% CI 1.8-3.1). The main cause of injury among fatalities was traffic accidents. Associated injuries occurred in 41% of the children. Among survivors (10-15 years), sports-related injuries (43%) were as common a cause as traffic accidents (39%). The survivors were treated in 18 different hospitals.CONCLUSION: Pediatric SCI in Sweden is rare, presumably because of effective primary prevention. Preventative measures should be further differentiated for each age group of children in accordance with their differing risk profiles. In contrast to the effective preventative measures that have been implemented in Sweden, care of these patients is still too fractionated and decentralized for sufficient specialization to emerge.
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| 9. |
- Augutis, M, et al.
(författare)
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Pediatric spinal cord injury in Sweden; how to identify a cohort of rare events.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Spinal Cord. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1362-4393 .- 1476-5624. ; 41:6, s. 337-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- STUDY DESIGN: Register study enhanced and verified by medical records and personal interviews and examinations.SETTINGS: Sweden.OBJECTIVES: To define a method of identifying a study population of rare events. To point out the relative importance of every step, an example is given of identifying persons who sustained traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in childhood.METHODS: Cases were identified in seven steps that all needed to be fulfilled, from definition of selection criteria through combination of several data sources, to the use of several verification methods.RESULTS: Initial screening by registers identified 384 possible cases, which however were found by subsequent analysis to include a large number of incorrect cases. At completion of all analytic steps, 35 living cases could be fully verified and 14 deceased cases could be partially verified.CONCLUSIONS: Registers offer a practical initial source for study population identification. The screening of International Classification of Diseases codes defining SCI only included less than 30% of 'true' SCIs. Subsequently, further refinement and quality control is necessary in order to ensure validity. Such further verification is time-consuming, but nevertheless necessary in order to verify a true cohort.
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| 10. |
- Budh Norrbrink, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Pain in a Swedish spinal cord injury population
- 2003
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Ingår i: Clinical Rehabilitation. - : SAGE Publications. - 0269-2155 .- 1477-0873. ; 17:6, s. 685-690
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To describe pain and associated variables in a prevalence group of persons with a sustained spinal cord injury (SCI) in the Swedish capital and its surroundings. Setting: Spinalis SCI Unit (outpatient clinic), Stockholm, Sweden. Design: Assessment over a 12-month period in a yearly health control. Subjects: Four hundred and fifty-six SCI patients. Results: Two hundred and ninety-one out of 456 SCI patients (63.7%) suffered from pain, and in 45.7% of these it was classified as being neurogenic. Aching pain was the most used descriptor (38.5%). The onset of pain was commonly within three months (73.5%). In 70.4% of patients pain occurred below the level of the lesion. Most patients identified pain as coming from one (55.0%) or two (28.2%) body regions. Rating of the general pain intensity on a visual analogue scale (VAS) was 46 out of 100 and rating of the worst pain intensity was 78 out of 100. Ninety-four out of 276 patients (32.3%) considered that their quality of life was significantly affected by pain. Conclusion: Pain was most common in patients with incomplete lesions (ASIA impairment grade D) and there was a correlation between pain and higher mean age at injury and between pain and female gender.
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