| 26021. |
- Castro-Espin, Carlota, et al.
(författare)
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Inflammatory potential of the diet and risk of breast cancer in the European Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Journal of Epidemiology. - : Springer. - 0393-2990 .- 1573-7284. ; 36:9, s. 953-964
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of chronic inflammation on breast cancer (BC) risk remains unclear beyond as an underlying mechanism of obesity and physical activity. We aimed to evaluate the association between the inflammatory potential of the diet and risk of BC overall, according to menopausal status and tumour subtypes. Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, 318,686 women were followed for 14 years, among whom 13,246 incident BC cases were identified. The inflammatory potential of the diet was characterized by an inflammatory score of the diet (ISD). Multivariable Cox regression models were used to assess the potential effect of the ISD on BC risk by means of hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). ISD was positively associated with BC risk. Each increase of one standard deviation (1-Sd) of the score increased by 4% the risk of BC (HR = 1.04; 95% CI 1.01–1.07). Women in the highest quintile of the ISD (indicating a most pro-inflammatory diet) had a 12% increase in risk compared with those in the lowest quintile (HR = 1.12; 95% CI 1.04–1.21) with a significant trend. The association was strongest among premenopausal women, with an 8% increased risk for 1-Sd increase in the score (HR = 1.08; 95% CI 1.01–1.14). The pattern of the association was quite homogeneous by BC subtypes based on hormone receptor status. There were no significant interactions between ISD and body mass index, physical activity, or alcohol consumption. Women consuming more pro-inflammatory diets as measured by ISD are at increased risk for BC, especially premenopausal women.
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| 26022. |
- Castro-Giner, F, et al.
(författare)
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TNFA -308G>A in two international population-based cohorts and risk of asthma
- 2008
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - Sheffield : European respiratory society journals. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 32:2, s. 350-361
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic association studies have related the tumour necrosis factor-alpha gene (TNFA) guanine to adenine substitution of nucleotide -308 (-308G>A) polymorphism to increased risk of asthma, but results are inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to test whether two single-nucleotide polymorphisms, of TNFA and of the lymphotoxin-alpha gene (LTA), are associated with asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and atopy in adults, by combining the results of two large population-based multicentric studies and conducting a meta-analysis of previously published studies. The European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) and Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA) used comparable protocols, including questionnaires for respiratory symptoms and measures of lung function and atopy. DNA samples from 11,136 participants were genotyped at TNFA -308 and LTA 252. Logistic regression employing fixed and random effects models and nonparametric techniques were used. The prevalence of asthma was 6%. The TNFA -308G>A polymorphism was associated with increased asthma prevalence and with bronchial hyperresponsiveness. No consistent association was found for atopy. The LTA 252A>G polymorphism was not associated with any of the outcomes. A meta-analysis of 17 studies showed an increased asthma risk for the TNFA -308 adenine allele. The tumour necrosis factor-alpha gene nucleotide -308 polymorphism is associated with a moderately increased risk of asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, but not with atopy. These results are supported by a meta-analysis of previously published studies.
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| 26023. |
- Castro-Gonzalez, Sergio, et al.
(författare)
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Residues T48 and A49 in HIV-1 NL4-3 Nef are responsible for the counteraction of autophagy initiation, which prevents the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of Gag through autophagosomes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Retrovirology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1742-4690. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Autophagy plays an important role as a cellular defense mechanism against intracellular pathogens, like viruses. Specifically, autophagy orchestrates the recruitment of specialized cargo, including viral components needed for replication, for lysosomal degradation. In addition to this primary role, the cleavage of viral structures facilitates their association with pattern recognition receptors and MHC-I/II complexes, which assists in the modulation of innate and adaptive immune responses against these pathogens. Importantly, whereas autophagy restricts the replicative capacity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), this virus has evolved the gene nef to circumvent this process through the inhibition of early and late stages of the autophagy cascade. Despite recent advances, many details of the mutual antagonism between HIV-1 and autophagy still remain unknown. Here, we uncover the genetic determinants that drive the autophagy-mediated restriction of HIV-1 as well as the counteraction imposed by Nef. Additionally, we also examine the implications of autophagy antagonism in HIV-1 infectivity.Results: We found that sustained activation of autophagy potently inhibits HIV-1 replication through the degradation of HIV-1 Gag, and that this effect is more prominent for nef-deficient viruses. Gag re-localizes to autophagosomes where it interacts with the autophagosome markers LC3 and SQSTM1. Importantly, autophagy-mediated recognition and recruitment of Gag requires the myristoylation and ubiquitination of this virus protein, two post-translational modifications that are essential for Gag’s central role in virion assembly and budding. We also identified residues T48 and A49 in HIV-1 NL4-3 Nef as responsible for impairing the early stages of autophagy. Finally, a survey of pandemic HIV-1 transmitted/founder viruses revealed that these isolates are highly resistant to autophagy restriction.Conclusions: This study provides evidence that autophagy antagonism is important for virus replication and suggests that the ability of Nef to counteract autophagy may have played an important role in mucosal transmission. Hence, disabling Nef in combination with the pharmacological manipulation of autophagy represents a promising strategy to prevent HIV spread.
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| 26024. |
- Castronovo, Matteo, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanical stabilization effect of water on a membrane-like system
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 129:9, s. 2636-2641
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The penetration resistance of a prototypical model-membrane system (HS−(CH2)11−OH self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on Au(111)) to the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM) is investigated in the presence of different solvents. The compressibility (i.e., height vs tip load) of the HS−(CH2)11−OH SAM is studied differentially, with respect to a reference structure. The reference consists of hydrophobic alkylthiol molecules (HS−(CH2)17−CH3) embedded as nanosized patches into the hydrophilic SAM by nanografting, an AFM-assisted nanolithography technique. We find that the penetration resistance of the hydrophilic SAM depends on the nature of the solvent and is much higher in the presence of water than in 2-butanol. In contrast, no solvent-dependent effect is observed in the case of hydrophobic SAMs. We argue that the mechanical resistance of the hydroxyl-terminated SAM is a consequence of the structural order of the solvent−SAM interface, as suggested by our molecular dynamics simulations. The simulations show that in the presence of 2-butanol the polar head groups of the HS−(CH2)11−OH SAM, which bind only weakly to the solvent molecules, try to bind to each other, disrupting the local order at the interface. On the contrary, in the presence of water the polar head groups bind preferentially to the solvent that, in turn, mediates the release of the surface strain, leading to a more ordered interface. We suggest that the mechanical stabilization effect induced by water may be responsible for the stability of even more complex, real membrane systems.
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| 26025. |
- Catalá, Rafael, et al.
(författare)
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Emerging Roles of LSM Complexes in Posttranscriptional Regulation of Plant Response to Abiotic Stress
- 2019
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Plant Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-462X. ; 10
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- It has long been assumed that the wide reprogramming of gene expression that modulates plant response to unfavorable environmental conditions is mainly controlled at the transcriptional level. A growing body of evidence, however, indicates that posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms also play a relevant role in this control. Thus, the LSMs, a family of proteins involved in mRNA metabolism highly conserved in eukaryotes, have emerged as prominent regulators of plant tolerance to abiotic stress. Arabidopsis contains two main LSM ring-shaped heteroheptameric complexes, LSM1-7 and LSM2-8, with different subcellular localization and function. The LSM1-7 ring is part of the cytoplasmic decapping complex that regulates mRNA stability. On the other hand, the LSM2-8 complex accumulates in the nucleus to ensure appropriate levels of U6 snRNA and, therefore, correct pre-mRNA splicing. Recent studies reported unexpected results that led to a fundamental change in the assumed consideration that LSM complexes are mere components of the mRNA decapping and splicing cellular machineries. Indeed, these data have demonstrated that LSM1-7 and LSM2-8 rings operate in Arabidopsis by selecting specific RNA targets, depending on the environmental conditions. This specificity allows them to actively imposing particular gene expression patterns that fine-tune plant responses to abiotic stresses. In this review, we will summarize current and past knowledge on the role of LSM rings in modulating plant physiology, with special focus on their function in abiotic stress responses.
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| 26026. |
- Catalan, Jordi, et al.
(författare)
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Global change revealed by palaeolimnological records from remote lakes : a review
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Paleolimnology. - : Springer Netherlands. - 0921-2728 .- 1573-0417. ; 49:3, s. 513-535
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over recent decades, palaeolimnological records from remote sites have provided convincing evidence for the onset and development of several facets of global environmental change. Remote lakes, defined here as those occurring in high latitude or high altitude regions, have the advantage of not being overprinted by local anthropogenic processes. As such, many of these sites record broad-scale environmental changes, frequently driven by regime shifts in the Earth system. Here, we review a selection of studies from North America and Europe and discuss their broader implications. The history of investigation has evolved synchronously with the scope and awareness of environmental problems. An initial focus on acid deposition switched to metal and other types of pollutants, then climate change and eventually to atmospheric deposition-fertilising effects. However, none of these topics is independent of the other, and all of them affect ecosystem function and biodiversity in profound ways. Currently, remote lake palaeolimnology is developing unique datasets for each region investigated that benchmark current trends with respect to past, purely natural variability in lake systems. Fostering conceptual and methodological bridges with other environmental disciplines will upturn contribution of remote lake palaeolimnology in solving existing and emerging questions in global change science and planetary stewardship.
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| 26027. |
- Catalfamo, Alessio, et al.
(författare)
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Machine learning workflows in the computing continuum for environmental monitoring
- 2024
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Ingår i: Computational science – ICCS 2024. - Cham : Springer. - 9783031637742 - 9783031637759 ; , s. 368-382
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cloud-Edge Continuum is an innovative approach that exploits the strengths of the two paradigms: Cloud and Edge computing. This new approach gives us a holistic vision of this environment, enabling new kinds of applications that can exploit both the Edge computing advantages (e.g., real-time response, data security, and so on) and the powerful Cloud computing infrastructure for high computational requirements. This paper proposes a Cloud-Edge computing Workflow solution for Machine Learning (ML) inference in a hydrogeological use case. Our solution is designed in a Cloud-Edge Continuum environment thanks to Pegasus Workflow Management System Tools that we use for the implementation phase. The proposed work splits the inference tasks, transparently distributing the computation performed by each layer between Cloud and Edge infrastructure. We use two models to implement a proof-of-concept of the proposed solution.
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| 26028. |
- Catford, Jane A., et al.
(författare)
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Drowned, buried and carried away : effects of plant traits on the distribution of native and alien species in riparian ecosystems
- 2014
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 204:1, s. 19-36
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Riparian vegetation is exposed to stress from inundation and hydraulic disturbance, and is often rich in native and alien plant species. We describe 35 traits that enable plants to cope with riparian conditions. These include traits for tolerating or avoiding anoxia and enabling underwater photosynthesis, traits that confer resistance and resilience to hydraulic disturbance, and attributes that facilitate dispersal, such as floating propagules. This diversity of life-history strategies illustrates that there are many ways of sustaining life in riparian zones, which helps to explain high riparian biodiversity. Using community assembly theory, we examine how adaptations to inundation, disturbance and dispersal shape plant community composition along key environmental gradients, and how human actions have modified communities. Dispersal-related processes seem to explain many patterns, highlighting the influence of regional processes on local species assemblages. Using alien plant invasions like an (uncontrolled) experiment in community assembly, we use an Australian and a global dataset to examine possible causes of high degrees of riparian invasion. We found that high proportions of alien species in the regional species pools have invaded riparian zones, despite not being riparian specialists, and that riparian invaders disperse in more ways, including by water and humans, than species invading other ecosystems.
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| 26029. |
- Catford, Jane A., et al.
(författare)
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Reducing redundancy in invasion ecology by integrating hypotheses into a single theoretical framework
- 2009
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Ingår i: Diversity & distributions. - : Wiley. - 1366-9516 .- 1472-4642. ; 15:1, s. 22-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Invasion ecology includes many hypotheses. Empirical evidence suggests that most of these can explain the success of some invaders to some degree in some circumstances. If they all are correct, what does this tell us about invasion? We illustrate the major themes in invasion ecology, and provide an overarching framework that helps organize research and foster links among subfields of invasion ecology and ecology more generally.Location: Global.Methods: We review and synthesize 29 leading hypotheses in plant invasion ecology. Structured around propagule pressure (P), abiotic characteristics (A) and biotic characteristics (B), with the additional influence of humans (H) on P, A and B (hereon PAB), we show how these hypotheses fit into one paradigm. P is based on the size and frequency of introductions, A incorporates ecosystem invasibility based on physical conditions, and B includes the characteristics of invading species (invasiveness), the recipient community and their interactions. Having justified the PAB framework, we propose a way in which invasion research could progress.Results: By highlighting the common ground among hypotheses, we show that invasion ecology is encumbered by theoretical redundancy that can be removed through integration. Using both holistic and incremental approaches, we show how the PAB framework can guide research and quantify the relative importance of different invasion mechanisms.Main conclusions: If the prime aim is to identify the main cause of invasion success, we contend that a top-down approach that focuses on PAB maximizes research efficiency. This approach identifies the most influential factors first, and subsequently narrows the number of potential causal mechanisms. By viewing invasion as a multifaceted process that can be partitioned into major drivers and broken down into a series of sequential steps, invasion theory can be rigorously tested, understanding improved and effective weed management techniques identified.
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| 26030. |
- Catoire, MilSNe, et al.
(författare)
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Fatty acid-inducible ANGPTL4 governs lipid metabolic response to exercise
- 2014
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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. ; 111:11, s. E1043-E1052
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Physical activity increases energy metabolism in exercising muscle. Whether acute exercise elicits metabolic changes in nonexercising muscles remains unclear. We show that one of the few genes that is more highly induced in nonexercising muscle than in exercising human muscle during acute exercise encodes angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4), an inhibitor of lipoprotein lipase-mediated plasma triglyceride clearance. Using a combination of human, animal, and in vitro data, we show that induction of ANGPTL4 in nonexercising muscle is mediated by elevated plasma free fatty acids via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta, presumably leading to reduced local uptake of plasma triglyceride-derived fatty acids and their sparing for use by exercising muscle. In contrast, the induction of ANGPTL4 in exercising muscle likely is counteracted via AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated down-regulation, promoting the use of plasma triglycerides as fuel for active muscles. Our data suggest that nonexercising muscle and the local regulation of ANGPTL4 via AMPK and free fatty acids have key roles in governing lipid homeostasis during exercise.
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