| 11. |
- Czamara, D, et al.
(författare)
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Integrated analysis of environmental and genetic influences on cord blood DNA methylation in new-borns
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10:1, s. 2548-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. Here we examine the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs) in 4 independent cohorts (overall n = 2365). We use Akaike’s information criterion to test which factors best explain variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E), genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G + E) or interaction (GxE) effects. Genetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at the majority of VMRs. The CpGs best explained by either G, G + E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of genetic variants from GxE models in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk.
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| 12. |
- de Mello, V. D. F., et al.
(författare)
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Link between plasma ceramides, inflammation and insulin resistance : association with serum IL-6 concentration in patients with coronary heart disease
- 2009
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Ingår i: Diabetologia. - : Springer. - 0012-186X .- 1432-0428. ; 52:12, s. 2612-2615
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Ceramides and IL-6 have a role in immune-inflammatory responses and cardiovascular diseases, and are suggested to be involved in insulin and glucose metabolism. We sought to assess the associations of circulating levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha and high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP), which are inflammatory markers related to insulin resistance (IR), with the plasma lipid metabolites ceramides and diacylglycerols (DAG) in patients with CHD.METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses were carried out on data from 33 patients with CHD. Serum levels of the inflammatory markers and plasma lipid metabolites (lipidomics approach performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionisation MS) were measured at the same time point as insulin resistance (IR) (HOMA-IR index).RESULTS: Serum circulating levels of IL-6 were strongly correlated with plasma ceramide concentrations (r = 0.59, p < 0.001). Adjustments for serum TNF-alpha or hsCRP levels, smoking, BMI, age, sex or HOMA-IR did not change the results (p < 0.001). After adjustments for the effect of serum inflammatory markers (TNF-alpha or hsCRP), HOMA-IR and BMI the correlation between plasma DAG and serum IL-6 (r = 0.33) was also significant (p < 0.03). In a linear regression model, circulating levels of both ceramides and TNF-alpha had a significant independent influence on circulating levels of IL-6, altogether accounting for 41% of its variation (p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our results strongly suggest that the link between ceramides, IR and inflammation is related to the inflammatory marker IL-6. Ceramides may contribute to the induction of inflammation involved in IR states that frequently coexist with CHD.
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| 13. |
- Duursma, R. A., et al.
(författare)
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Contributions of climate, leaf area index and leaf physiology to variation in gross primary production of six coniferous forests across Europe: a model-based analysis
- 2009
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Ingår i: Tree Physiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1758-4469 .- 0829-318X. ; 29:5, s. 621-639
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gross primary production (GPP) is the primary source of all carbon fluxes in the ecosystem. Understanding, variation in this flux is vital to understanding variation in the carbon sink of forest ecosystems, and this would serve as input to forest production models. Using GPP derived from eddy-covariance (EC) Measurements, it is now possible to determine the most important factor to scale GPP across sites. We use long-term EC measurements for six coniferous forest stands in Europe, for a total of 25 site-years, located oil a gradient between Southern France and northern Finland. Eddy-derived GPP varied threefold across the six sites, peak ecosystem leaf area index (LAI) (all-sided) varied from 4 to 22 m(2) m(-2) and mean annual temperature varied from - 1 to 13 degrees C. A process-based model operating at a half-hourly time-step was parameterized with available information for each site, and explained 71-96% in variation between daily totals of GPP within site-years and 62% of annual total GPP across site-years. Using the parameterized model, we performed two simulation experiments: weather datasets were interchanged between sites, so that the model was used to predict GPP at some site using data from either a different year or a different site. The resulting bias in GPP prediction was related to several aggregated weather variables and was found to be closely related to the change in the effective temperature sum or mean annual temperature. High R(2)s resulted even when using weather datasets from unrelated sites, providing a cautionary note on the interpretation of R-2 ill model comparisons. A second experiment interchanged stand-structure information between sites. and the resulting bias was strongly related to the difference in LAI, or the difference in integrated absorbed light. Across the six sites. variation in mean annual temperature had more effect on simulated GPP than the variation in LAI. but both were important determinants of GPP. A sensitivity analysis of leaf physiology parameters showed that the quantum yield was the most influential parameter on annual GPP, followed by a parameter controlling the seasonality of photosynthesis and photosynthetic capacity. Overall, the results are promising for the development of a parsimonious model of GPP.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Horbury, T., et al.
(författare)
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Cross-scale : A multi-spacecraft mission to study cross-scale coupling in space plasmas
- 2006
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Ingår i: European Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP. ; , s. 561-568
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Collisionless astrophysical plasmas exhibit complexity on many scales: if we are to understand their properties and effects, we must measure this complexity. We can identify a small number of processes and phenomena, one of which is dominant in almost every space plasma region of interest: shocks, reconnection and turbulence. These processes act to transfer energy between locations, scales and modes. However, this transfer is characterised by variability and 3D structure on at least three scales: electron kinetic, ion kinetic and fluid. It is the nonlinear interaction between physical processes at these scales that is the key to understanding these phenomena and predicting their effects. However, current and planned multi-spacecraft missions such as Cluster and MMS only study variations on one scale in 3D at any given time - we must measure the three scales simultaneously fully to understand the energy transfer processes. We propose a mission, called Cross-Scale, to study these processes. Cross-Scale would comprise three nested groups, each consisting of up to four spacecraft. Each group would have a different spacecraft separation, at approximately the electron and ion gyroradii, and a larger MHD scale. We would therefore be able to measure variations on all three important physical scales, simultaneously, for the first time. The spacecraft would fly in formation through key regions of near-Earth space: The solar wind, bowshock, magnetosheath, magnetopause and magnetotail.
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| 17. |
- Lockwood, M, et al.
(författare)
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Coordinated Cluster and ground-based instrument observations of transient changes in the magnetopause boundary layer during an interval of predominantly northward IMF : relation to reconnection pulses and FTE signatures
- 2001
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Ingår i: Annales Geophysicae. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 0992-7689 .- 1432-0576. ; 19:10-12, s. 1613-1640
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study a series of transient entries into the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) of all four Cluster spacecraft during an outbound pass through the mid-afternoon magnetopause ([X(GSM), Y(GSM), Z(GSM)] approximate to [2, 7, 9] R(E)). The events take place during an interval of northward IMF, as seen in the data from the ACE satellite and lagged by a propagation delay of 75 min that is well-defined by two separate studies: (1) the magnetospheric variations prior to the northward turning (Lockwood et al., 2001, this issue) and (2) the field clock angle seen by Cluster after it had emerged into the magnetosheath (Opgenoorth et al., 2001, this issue). With an additional lag of 16.5 min, the transient LLBL events cor-relate well with swings of the IMF clock angle (in GSM) to near 90degrees. Most of this additional lag is explained by ground-based observations, which reveal signatures of transient reconnection in the pre-noon sector that then take 10-15 min to propagate eastward to 15 MLT, where they are observed by Cluster. The eastward phase speed of these signatures agrees very well with the motion deduced by the cross-correlation of the signatures seen on the four Cluster spacecraft. The evidence that these events are reconnection pulses includes: transient erosion of the noon 630 nm (cusp/cleft) aurora to lower latitudes; transient and travelling enhancements of the flow into the polar cap, imaged by the AMIE technique; and poleward-moving events moving into the polar cap, seen by the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR). A pass of the DMSP-F15 satellite reveals that the open field lines near noon have been opened for some time: the more recently opened field lines were found closer to dusk where the flow transient and the poleward-moving event intersected the satellite pass. The events at Cluster have ion and electron characteristics predicted and observed by Lockwood and Hapgood (1998) for a Flux Transfer Event (FTE), with allowance for magnetospheric ion reflection at Alfvenic disturbances in the magnetopause reconnection layer. Like FTEs, the events are about 1 R(E) in their direction of motion and show a rise in the magnetic field strength, but unlike FTEs, in general, they show no pressure excess in their core and hence, no characteristic bipolar signature in the boundary-normal component. However, most of the events were observed when the magnetic field was southward, i.e. on the edge of the interior magnetic cusp, or when the field was parallel to the magnetic equatorial plane. Only when the satellite begins to emerge from the exterior boundary (when the field was northward), do the events start to show a pressure excess in their core and the consequent bipolar signature. We identify the events as the first observations of FTEs at middle altitudes.
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| 18. |
- Middeldorp, Christel M., et al.
(författare)
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The Early Growth Genetics (EGG) and EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortia : design, results and future prospects
- 2019
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Ingår i: European Journal of Epidemiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0393-2990 .- 1573-7284. ; 34:3, s. 279-300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The impact of many unfavorable childhood traits or diseases, such as low birth weight and mental disorders, is not limited to childhood and adolescence, as they are also associated with poor outcomes in adulthood, such as cardiovascular disease. Insight into the genetic etiology of childhood and adolescent traits and disorders may therefore provide new perspectives, not only on how to improve wellbeing during childhood, but also how to prevent later adverse outcomes. To achieve the sample sizes required for genetic research, the Early Growth Genetics (EGG) and EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortia were established. The majority of the participating cohorts are longitudinal population-based samples, but other cohorts with data on early childhood phenotypes are also involved. Cohorts often have a broad focus and collect(ed) data on various somatic and psychiatric traits as well as environmental factors. Genetic variants have been successfully identified for multiple traits, for example, birth weight, atopic dermatitis, childhood BMI, allergic sensitization, and pubertal growth. Furthermore, the results have shown that genetic factors also partly underlie the association with adult traits. As sample sizes are still increasing, it is expected that future analyses will identify additional variants. This, in combination with the development of innovative statistical methods, will provide detailed insight on the mechanisms underlying the transition from childhood to adult disorders. Both consortia welcome new collaborations. Policies and contact details are available from the corresponding authors of this manuscript and/or the consortium websites.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Sundén, Henrik, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Second-Generation Tropanol-Based Androgen Receptor Modulators
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-4804 .- 0022-2623. ; 58:3, s. 1569-1574
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To circumvent antiandrogen resistance in prostate cancer, antiandrogens effective for both the androgen receptor (AR) and AR mutants are required. The AR antagonists in this study originate from previous findings, which showed that subtle differences in substitution pattern lead to a conformational change that alters the ligand activity, rendering an agonist to an antagonist. We have identified small yet potent tropanol-based ligands possessing significant antiandrogenic activity with both wild-type AR and the two most common AR ligand binding domain (LBD) mutants.
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