| 51. |
- Ley, Charles, et al.
(författare)
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Osteochondral lesions in distal tarsal joints of Icelandic horses reveal strong associations between hyaline and calcified cartilage abnormalities.
- 2014
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Ingår i: eCells and Materials Journal. - 1473-2262. ; 27, s. 213-236
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Osteochondral lesions in the joints of the distal tarsal region of young Icelandic horses provide a natural model for the early stages of osteoarthritis (OA) in low-motion joints. We describe and characterise mineralised and non-mineralised osteochondral lesions in left distal tarsal region joint specimens from twenty-two 30 ±1 month-old Icelandic horses. Combinations of confocal scanning light microscopy, backscattered electron scanning electron microscopy (including, importantly, iodine staining) and three-dimensional microcomputed tomography were used on specimens obtained with guidance from clinical imaging. Lesion-types were described and classified into groups according to morphological features. Their locations in the hyaline articular cartilage (HAC), articular calcified cartilage (ACC), subchondral bone (SCB) and the joint margin tissues were identified and their frequency in the joints recorded. Associations and correlations between lesion-types were investigated for centrodistal joints only. In centrodistal joints the lesion-types HAC chondrocyte loss, HAC fibrillation, HAC central chondrocyte clusters, ACC arrest and ACC advance had significant associations and strong correlations. These lesion-types had moderate to high frequency in centrodistal joints but low frequencies in tarsometatarsal and talocalcaneal-centroquartal joints. Joint margin lesion-types had no significant associations with other lesion-types in the centrodistal joints but high frequency in both the centrodistal and tarsometatarsal joints. The frequency of SCB lesion-types in all joints was low. Hypermineralised infill phase lesion-types were detected. Our results emphasise close associations between HAC and ACC lesions in equine centrodistal joints and the importance of ACC lesions in the development of OA in low-motion compression-loaded equine joints.
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| 56. |
- Hajkazemian, Melika, 1988-
(författare)
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Decoding the language of transmission among vector-pathogen-host
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Vector-borne diseases account for over 17 percent of all infectious diseases and lead to more than 700,000 mortalities annually. Importantly, there is a complex interaction between infectious organisms and their host. Vectors spread pathogens, which have a significant negative health effect on humans and animals and therefore detrimental economic and environmental impacts. Only 2% of the more than 3,600 mosquito species are blood feeders, primarily; the Anopheles, Culex, and Aedes which spread the Malaria parasite, Zika, Chikungunya, West Nile, and Dengue viruses. Therefore, understanding the complex chemical signaling and the molecular mechanisms that mediate pathogen and vector interaction, and allow the pathogen to survive and spread, are the subjects of this thesis.In project I, we determined the production and release of Anopheles male aggregation Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that initiate swarming, and enhance mating success. In addition, we compared the RNA-sequencing libraries of swarming to flag for chemosensory and circadian genes. The goal was to identify the molecular mechanisms of swarming and metabolite roles in mating success.In project II, we evaluated the phagostimulant effects of (E)-4-Hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate (HMBPP) on an artificial feeding system for some important vectors (Anopheles coluzzii, An. arabiensis, An. gambiae s.s., Culex pipiens/Culex torrentium, and Aedes aegypti). We showed that our toxic plant-based solution can kill the five lethal vectors.In project III, we studied the alteration of An. gambiae behavior by the Plasmodium falciparum at infected (oocyst-carrying, 7 days post-infection) and infective (sporozoite-carrying, 14 days post-infection) stages. To discover whether antennal chemosensory genes expression changes at different stages of infection, we performed RNA-seq and examined the candidate olfactory genes’ abundance to provide a possible molecular mechanism for manipulating the parasite-carrying mosquitoes' behavior.Finally, in project IV, we presented the results of RNA-seq analysis that revealed the network connection between developmental genes and the physiological plasticity in male mosquitoes of An. funestus. We identified the transcripts that associated with the male An. funestus sexual maturation and mating success.In summary, this thesis focuses on understanding how vector-pathogen interaction manipulates the vector’s transcriptome, physiology, and behavior to enhance transmission success and thereby identify novel targets for vector-borne disease control.
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| 57. |
- Hansson, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Measuring farmers' attitudes to animal welfare and health
- 2012
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Ingår i: British Food Journal. - : Emerald. - 0007-070X .- 1758-4108. ; 114, s. 840-852
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to develop a behavioural framework for developing a scale to measure farmers' attitudes to animal welfare and health and to take an explorative approach to initiating development of such a scale.Design/methodology/approachA literature review was used to develop the behavioural framework. Exploratory factor analysis was then used to initiate development of a measurement scale, based on a sample of 108 Swedish livestock farmers.FindingsBased on the framework developed, the authors' data suggest unidimensionality of farmers' attitudes to animal welfare and health; and that farmers perceive animal welfare as being about animal health and comfort in particular.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research should be devoted to this area to develop a more final measurement scale. This could be done by re‐evaluating the scale obtained in this paper in both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis settings. The behavioural framework proposed here provides a basis for such scale development and a more rigid framework for evaluating and comparing farmers' attitudes to animal welfare.Practical implicationsThe behavioural framework and scale development initiated in this paper can be used by policymakers and organizations responsible for quality assurance schemes to develop policy measures and education programmes to re‐train farmers' behaviour into a system that supports higher animal welfare and health standards.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper is that it develops and uses a behavioural framework based on psychological and psychometric theory to initiate development of a scale to measure farmers' attitudes to animal welfare and health.
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| 59. |
- Åsberg, Cecilia, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Biology is a feminist issue : Interview with Lynda Birke
- 2010
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Ingår i: The European Journal of Women's Studies. - London : Sage Publications. - 1350-5068 .- 1461-7420. ; 17:4, s. 413-423
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This is an interview with Professor Lynda Birke (University of Chester, UK), one of the key figures of feminist science studies. She is a pioneer of feminist biology and of materialist feminist thought, as well as of the new and emerging field of hum-animal studies (HAS). This interview was conducted over email in two time periods, in the spring of 2008 and 2010. The format allowed for comments on previous writings and an engagement in an open-ended dialogue. Professor Birke talks about her key arguments and outlooks on a changing field of research. The work of this English biologist is typical of a long and continuous feminist engagement with biology and ontological matters that reaches well beyond the more recently articulated material turn of feminist theory. It touches upon feminist issues beyond the usual comfort zones of gender constructionism and human-centred research. Perhaps less recognized than for instance the names of Donna Haraway or Karen Barad, Lynda Birkes oeuvre is part of the same long-standing and twofold critique from feminist scholars qua trained natural scientists. On the one hand, theirs is a powerful critique of biological determinism; on the other, an acutely observed contemporary critique of how merely cultural or socially reductionist approaches to the effervescently lively and biological might leave the corporeal, environmental or non-human animal critically undertheorized within feminist scholarship. In highlighting the work and arguments of Lynda Birke, it is hoped here to provide an accessible introduction to the critical questions and challenges that circumvent contemporary discussions within feminist technoscience as theory and political practice.
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| 60. |
- Melin, Petter, et al.
(författare)
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Formulation and stabilisation of the biocontrol yeast Pichia anomala
- 2011
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Ingår i: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology. - Dordrecht, Netherlands : Springer Netherlands. - 0003-6072 .- 1572-9699. ; 99:1, s. 107-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The yeast Pichia anomala has antifungal activities and its potential in biocontrol and biopreservation has previously been demonstrated. To practically use an organism in such applications on a larger scale the microbe has to be formulated and stabilised. In this review we give an overview of our experience of formulating and stabilising P. anomala strain J121 in a wider perspective. The stabilisation techniques we have evaluated were liquid formulations, fluidised bed drying, lyophilisation (freeze-drying) and vacuum drying. With all methods tested it was possible to obtain yeast cells with shelf lives of at least a few months and in all cases the biocontrol activity was retained. Fluidised bed drying was dependent on the addition of cottonseed flour as a carrier during the drying process. In liquid formulations a sugar, preferentially trehalose, was a required additive. These two kinds of microbial stabilisation are easily performed and relatively inexpensive but in order to keep the cells viable the biomaterial has to be stored at cool temperatures. However, there is room for optimization, such as improving the growth conditions, or include preconditioning steps to enable the cells to produce more compatible solutes necessary to survive formulation, desiccation and storage. In contrast, lyophilisation and vacuum drying require a lot of energy and are thus expensive. On the other hand, the dried cells were mostly intact after one year of storage at 30A degrees C. Inevitably, the choice of formulation and stabilisation techniques will be dependent also on the intended use.
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