| 1. |
- Hendrickson, Sara J., et al.
(författare)
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Plasma Carotenoid- and Retinol-Weighted Multi-SNP Scores and Risk of Breast Cancer in the National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium
- 2013
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Ingår i: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - Philadelphia, PA, USA : American Association for Cancer Research. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 22:5, s. 927-936
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Dietary and circulating carotenoids have been inversely associated with breast cancer risk, but observed associations may be due to confounding. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase 1 (BCMO1), a gene encoding the enzyme involved in the first step of synthesizing vitamin A from dietary carotenoids, have been associated with circulating carotenoid concentrations and may serve as unconfounded surrogates for those biomarkers. We determined associations between variants in BCMO1 and breast cancer risk in a large cohort consortium. Methods: We used unconditional logistic regression to test four SNPs in BCMO1 for associations with breast cancer risk in 9,226 cases and 10,420 controls from the National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3). We also tested weighted multi-SNP scores composed of the two SNPs with strong, confirmed associations with circulating carotenoid concentrations. Results: Neither the individual SNPs nor the weighted multi-SNP scores were associated with breast cancer risk [OR (95% confidence interval) comparing extreme quintiles of weighted multi-SNP scores = 1.04 (0.94-1.16) for beta-carotene, 1.08 (0.98-1.20) for alpha-carotene, 1.04 (0.94-1.16) for beta-cryptoxanthin, 0.95 (0.87-1.05) for lutein/zeaxanthin, and 0.92 (0.83-1.02) for retinol]. Furthermore, no associations were observed when stratifying by estrogen receptor status, but power was limited. Conclusions: Our results do not support an association between SNPs associated with circulating carotenoid concentrations and breast cancer risk. Impact: Future studies will need additional genetic surrogates and/or sample sizes at least three times larger to contribute evidence of a causal link between carotenoids and breast cancer. (C) 2013 AACR.
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| 2. |
- Klein, Alison P., et al.
(författare)
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An absolute risk model to identify individuals at elevated risk for pancreatic cancer in the general population.
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 8:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: We developed an absolute risk model to identify individuals in the general population at elevated risk of pancreatic cancer.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using data on 3,349 cases and 3,654 controls from the PanScan Consortium, we developed a relative risk model for men and women of European ancestry based on non-genetic and genetic risk factors for pancreatic cancer. We estimated absolute risks based on these relative risks and population incidence rates.RESULTS: Our risk model included current smoking (multivariable adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval: 2.20 [1.84-2.62]), heavy alcohol use (>3 drinks/day) (OR: 1.45 [1.19-1.76]), obesity (body mass index >30 kg/m(2)) (OR: 1.26 [1.09-1.45]), diabetes >3 years (nested case-control OR: 1.57 [1.13-2.18], case-control OR: 1.80 [1.40-2.32]), family history of pancreatic cancer (OR: 1.60 [1.20-2.12]), non-O ABO genotype (AO vs. OO genotype) (OR: 1.23 [1.10-1.37]) to (BB vs. OO genotype) (OR 1.58 [0.97-2.59]), rs3790844(chr1q32.1) (OR: 1.29 [1.19-1.40]), rs401681(5p15.33) (OR: 1.18 [1.10-1.26]) and rs9543325(13q22.1) (OR: 1.27 [1.18-1.36]). The areas under the ROC curve for risk models including only non-genetic factors, only genetic factors, and both non-genetic and genetic factors were 58%, 57% and 61%, respectively. We estimate that fewer than 3/1,000 U.S. non-Hispanic whites have more than a 5% predicted lifetime absolute risk.CONCLUSION: Although absolute risk modeling using established risk factors may help to identify a group of individuals at higher than average risk of pancreatic cancer, the immediate clinical utility of our model is limited. However, a risk model can increase awareness of the various risk factors for pancreatic cancer, including modifiable behaviors.
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| 3. |
- Lindström, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Nanoporous titania coating of microwell chips for stem cell culture and analysis
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Biomechanical Science and Engineering. - : Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. - 1880-9863. ; 5:3, s. 272-279
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stem cell research is today an active and promising field of research. To learn more about the biology of stem cells, technical improvements are needed such as tools to study stem cells in order to characterize them further and to gain insights to the molecular regulations of their maintenance, differentiation and identification. Common procedure when studying stem cells is to coat the surface where the stem cells are to be cultured with organic materials like matri-gel, poly-L-lysine and fibronectin. The resulting coating is usually relatively fragile and it is difficult to know if the coating is evenly distributed. In addition, these forms of coatings cannot be sterilized and re-used, but must be added as an initial, time-consuming step in the daily protocol. A microwell chip with hundreds of 500 nl wells has recently been shown to be a useful tool for stem cell culturing. This platform is here modified to facilitate and improve the coating conditions for adherent cell culture. A robust and highly porous film of TiO2 is deposited in the wells prior cell seeding. TiO2 is known to be biocompatible and provides a surface that is even and well characterized, simple to produce and re-usable. Furthermore it enables the microwell chips to be stored pre-coated for longer periods of time before use. We investigated the growth of rat mesenchymal stem cells on nanoporous titania films and found that they proliferated much faster than on conventional coatings. The combination of the robust TiO2 coating of the microwell chip enables thousands of individually separated single, or clones of, stem cells to be studied simultaneously and opens up the possibility for more user-friendly cell culturing.
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| 4. |
- Cao, Yin, et al.
(författare)
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Insulin-like growth factor pathway genetic polymorphisms, circulating IGF1 and IGFBP3, and prostate cancer survival
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : Oxford University Press. - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 106:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway has been implicated in prostate cancer (PCa) initiation, but its role in progression remains unknown.METHODS: Among 5887 PCa patients (704 PCa deaths) of European ancestry from seven cohorts in the National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium, we conducted Cox kernel machine pathway analysis to evaluate whether 530 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 26 IGF pathway-related genes were collectively associated with PCa mortality. We also conducted SNP-specific analysis using stratified Cox models adjusting for multiple testing. In 2424 patients (313 PCa deaths), we evaluated the association of prediagnostic circulating IGF1 and IGFBP3 levels and PCa mortality. All statistical tests were two-sided.RESULTS: The IGF signaling pathway was associated with PCa mortality (P = .03), and IGF2-AS and SSTR2 were the main contributors (both P = .04). In SNP-specific analysis, 36 SNPs were associated with PCa mortality with P-trend less than .05, but only three SNPs in the IGF2-AS remained statistically significant after gene-based corrections. Two were in linkage disequilibrium (r(2) = 1 for rs1004446 and rs3741211), whereas the third, rs4366464, was independent (r(2) = 0.03). The hazard ratios (HRs) per each additional risk allele were 1.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06 to 1.34; P-trend = .003) for rs3741211 and 1.44 (95% CI = 1.20 to 1.73; P-trend < .001) for rs4366464. rs4366464 remained statistically significant after correction for all SNPs (P-trend.corr = .04). Prediagnostic IGF1 (HRhighest (vs lowest quartile) = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.48 to 1.04) and IGFBP3 (HR = 0.93; 95% Cl = 0.65 to 1.34) levels were not associated with PCa mortality.CONCLUSIONS: The IGF signaling pathway, primarily IGF2-AS and SSTR2 genes, may be important in PCa survival.
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| 5. |
- Fröcklin, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Fish Traders as Key Actors in Fisheries : Gender and Adaptive Management
- 2013
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 42:8, s. 951-962
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper fills an important gap towards adaptive management of small-scale fisheries by analyzing the gender dimension of fish trade in Zanzibar, Tanzania. We hypothesize that gender-based differences are present in the fish value chain and to test the hypothesis interviews were performed to analyze: (i) markets, customers, and mobility, (ii) material and economic resources, (iii) traded fish species, (iv) contacts and organizations, and (v) perceptions and experiences. Additionally, management documents were analyzed to examine the degree to which gender is considered. Results show that women traders had less access to social and economic resources, profitable markets, and high-value fish, which resulted in lower income. These gender inequalities are linked, among others, to women’s reproductive roles such as childcare and household responsibilities. Formal fisheries management was found to be gender insensitive, showing how a crucial feedback element of adaptive management is missing in Zanzibar’s management system, i.e., knowledge about key actors, their needs and challenges.
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| 6. |
- Fröcklin, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Seaweed mariculture as a development project in Zanzibar, East Africa : A price too high to pay?
- 2012
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Ingår i: Aquaculture. - : Elsevier BV. - 0044-8486 .- 1873-5622. ; 356, s. 30-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Seaweed mariculture has been promoted as a development project in tropical countries and Zanzibar, Tanzania, is commonly presented as a successful story. However, the results of the present research provide a nuanced picture of the activity identifying serious health problems among farmers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with female seaweed farmers (n=140) and non-seaweed farmers (n=140) in Zanzibar to evaluate health and working conditions. In-depth interviews with additional 28 female seaweed farmers were performed to deepen the understanding of the working conditions and related problems. The research was undertaken at seven different locations to cover areas where seaweed is extensively executed during August to September 2009 and May to June 2010. Seaweed farmers considered their health significantly poorer than non-seaweed farmers with fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, hunger, respiratory problems, eye related problems, injuries from hazardous animals and sharp shells in the water and allergies as the most serious issues (p<0.05). Income was further reported below the extreme poverty line. Since seaweed farming affects thousands of households in the tropics these results should encourage changes towards better working conditions and sustainability.
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| 7. |
- Fröcklin, Sara, 1981-
(författare)
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Women in the Seascape : Gender, Livelihoods and Management of Coastal and Marine Resources in Zanzibar, East Africa
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- All over the world, coastal populations depend on, and influence, the environment in pursue of their livelihoods. Managing the environment, while meeting the growing demand for marine resources, is a challenge. It further requires knowledge about all actors. Women's contribution is often overlooked in research, policy and management of marine and coastal resources. This thesis aims to reduce this gap; a gender analysis is applied to differentiate women and men's access and use of the seascape and to address key gender issues in coastal livelihoods in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Paper I shows that men are typically engaged in fisheries and have access to the whole seascape, whereas women engage in less economically viable activities, such as seaweed farming and invertebrate harvesting, in near-shore areas. A limitation for women to reach the whole seascape is a general lack of boat transport, swimming skills and fishing gear. Paper II analyzes occupational health within seaweed farming and shows that women seaweed farmers suffer from a variety of problems, such as eye infections, musculoskeletal pains, respiratory problems and fatigue, because of poor working conditions. Paper III addresses social and ecological aspects of invertebrate harvesting. This activity lacks proper management and over a five-year period (2005 to 2010), invertebrate abundance and species richness have decreased. It also reveals gender disparities in access to invertebrate collecting grounds and species of higher economic value. Paper IV examines gender within fish trade; women traders have less access to markets, high-value fish, a diverse customer-base, cold-storing facilities and fish trade associations. Income data shows that women's income is always lower. The management system is found to be androcentric and this thesis thus argues for the need to look at the "bigger picture"; the whole seascape, both men and women, and their interests should be considered in coastal and marine management.
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| 8. |
- Guldevall, Karolin, et al.
(författare)
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Imaging Immune Surveillance of Individual Natural Killer Cells Confined in Microwell Arrays
- 2010
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 5:11, s. e15453-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- New markers are constantly emerging that identify smaller and smaller subpopulations of immune cells. However, there is a growing awareness that even within very small populations, there is a marked functional heterogeneity and that measurements at the population level only gives an average estimate of the behaviour of that pool of cells. New techniques to analyze single immune cells over time are needed to overcome this limitation. For that purpose, we have designed and evaluated microwell array systems made from two materials, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silicon, for high-resolution imaging of individual natural killer (NK) cell responses. Both materials were suitable for short-term studies (<4 hours) but only silicon wells allowed long-term studies (several days). Time-lapse imaging of NK cell cytotoxicity in these microwell arrays revealed that roughly 30% of the target cells died much more rapidly than the rest upon NK cell encounter. This unexpected heterogeneity may reflect either separate mechanisms of killing or different killing efficiency by individual NK cells. Furthermore, we show that high-resolution imaging of inhibitory synapse formation, defined by clustering of MHC class I at the interface between NK and target cells, is possible in these microwells. We conclude that live cell imaging of NK-target cell interactions in multi-well microstructures are possible. The technique enables novel types of assays and allow data collection at a level of resolution not previously obtained. Furthermore, due to the large number of wells that can be simultaneously imaged, new statistical information is obtained that will lead to a better understanding of the function and regulation of the immune system at the single cell level.
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| 9. |
- Henriksson, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of PCDD/Fs levels in soil at a contaminated sawmill site in Sweden : a GIS and PCA approach to interpret the contamination pattern and distribution
- 2013
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 180, s. 19-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-furans (PCDD/Fs) were analysed in soil from a Swedish sawmill site where chlorophenols (CPs) had been used more than 40 years ago. The most contaminated area at the site was the preservation subarea where the PCDD/F WHO2005-TEQ level was 3450 times higher than the current Swedish guideline value of 200 ng TEQ/kg soil for land for industrial use. It was also shown that a fire which destroyed the sawmill might have affected the congener distribution at the concerned areas. To get a broader picture of the contamination both GIS (spatial interpolation analysis) and multivariate data analysis (PCA) were applied to visualize and compare PCDD/F levels as well as congener distributions at different areas at the site. It is shown that GIS and PCA are powerful tools in decisions on future investigations, risk assessments and remediation of contaminated sites.
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| 10. |
- Johansson, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Psychodynamic Guided Self-Help for Adult Depression through the Internet : A Randomised Controlled Trial
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:5, s. e38021-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract Background and aims: Psychodynamic psychotherapy (PDT) is an effective treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), but not all clients with MDD can receive psychotherapy. Using the Internet to provide psychodynamic treatments is one way of improving access to psychological treatments for MDD. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to investigate the efficacy of an Internet-based psychodynamic guided self-help treatment for MDD. Methods: Ninety-two participants who were diagnosed with MDD according to the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview were randomised to treatment or an active control. The treatment consisted of nine treatment modules based on psychodynamic principles with online therapist contact. The active control condition was a structured support intervention and contained psychoeducation and scheduled weekly contacts online. Both interventions lasted for 10 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Results: Mixed-effects model analyses of all randomised participants showed that participants receiving Internet-based PDT made large and superior improvements compared with the active control group on the BDI-II (between-group Cohen’s d = 1.11). Treatment effects were maintained at a 10-month follow-up. Conclusions: Internet-based psychodynamic guided self-help is an efficacious treatment for MDD that has the potential to increase accessibility and availability of PDT for MDD.
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