| 1. |
- Hulting, Greta, et al.
(författare)
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Two novel IgG endopeptidases of Streptococcus equi
- 2009
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Ingår i: FEMS Microbiology Letters. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1574-6968 .- 0378-1097. ; 298:1, s. 44-50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Streptococcus equi ssp. equi causes strangles, a highly contagious and serious disease in the upper respiratory tract of horses. Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus, another subspecies of this genus, is regarded as an opportunistic commensal in horses. The present study describes the characterization of two novel immunoglobulin G (IgG) endopeptidases of these subspecies, IdeE2 and IdeZ2. Both enzymes display sequence similarities with two previously characterized IgG endopeptidases, IdeE of S. equi ssp. equi and IdeZ of S. equi ssp. zooepidemicus. IdeE2 and IdeZ2 display high substrate-specificity in comparison with IdeE and IdeZ, as they both completely cleave horse IgG, while the activity against IgG from mouse, rabbit, cat, cow, sheep and goat is low or absent. The potential use of IdeE and IdeE2 as vaccine components was studied in a mouse infection model. In this vaccination and challenge study, both enzymes induced protection against S. equi ssp. equi infection.
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| 2. |
- Lood, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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C1q inhibits immune complex-induced interferon-alpha production in plasmacytoid dendritic cells : a novel link between C1q deficiency and systemic lupus erythematosus pathogenesis
- 2009
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Ingår i: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 0004-3591 .- 1529-0131. ; 60:10, s. 3081-3090
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: C1q deficiency is the strongest risk factor known for the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), since almost all humans with a genetic deficiency of C1q develop this disease. Low C1q serum concentration is also a typical finding in SLE during flares, emphasizing the involvement of C1q in SLE pathogenesis. Recent studies have revealed that C1q has a regulatory effect on Toll-like receptor-induced cytokine production. Therefore, we undertook this study to investigate whether C1q could regulate production of interferon-alpha (IFNalpha). METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs) were stimulated with 3 known interferogenic stimuli and cultured with physiologic concentrations of C1q. IFNalpha production was determined by an immunoassay. RESULTS: C1q significantly inhibited PBMC IFNalpha production induced by RNA-containing immune complexes (ICs), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and CpG DNA. C1q also inhibited PDC IFNalpha production induced by ICs and CpG DNA but increased PDC IFNalpha production induced by HSV. The regulatory role of C1q was not specific for IFNalpha but was also seen for interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. We demonstrated binding of C1q to PDCs both by surface plasmon resonance interaction analysis and by flow cytometry, and we also demonstrated intracellular detection of 2 C1q binding proteins. CONCLUSION: Our findings contribute to the understanding of why C1q deficiency is such a strong risk factor for SLE and suggest an explanation for the up-regulation of the type I IFN system seen in SLE patients.
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| 3. |
- Nordmark, Gunnel, et al.
(författare)
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Additive effects of the major risk alleles of IRF5 and STAT4 in primary Sjögren's syndrome
- 2009
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Ingår i: Genes and Immunity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1466-4879 .- 1476-5470. ; 10:1, s. 68-76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) shares many features with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here we investigated the association of the three major polymorphisms in IRF5 and STAT4 found to be associated with SLE, in patients from Sweden and Norway with primary SS. These polymorphisms are a 5-bp CGGGG indel in the promoter of IRF5, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs10488631 downstream of IRF5 and the STAT4 SNP rs7582694, which tags the major risk haplotype of STAT4. We observed strong signals for association between all three polymorphisms and primary SS, with odds ratios (ORs) >1.4 and P-values <0.01. We also found a strong additive effect of the three risk alleles of IRF5 and STAT4 with an overall significance between the number of risk alleles and primary SS of P=2.5 × 10−9. The OR for primary SS increased in an additive manner, with an average increase in OR of 1.78. For carriers of two risk alleles, the OR for primary SS is 1.43, whereas carriers of five risk alleles have an OR of 6.78. IRF5 and STAT4 are components of the type I IFN system, and our findings emphasize the importance of this system in the etiopathogenesis of primary SS.
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| 4. |
- Rengman, Sofia, et al.
(författare)
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An elemental diet fed, enteral or parenteral, does not support growth in young pigs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Clinical Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 1532-1983 .- 0261-5614. ; 28, s. 325-330
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: & aims: Young individuals with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) show growth reduction that can be reversed by dietary pancreatic enzyme supplementation. Here we investigated whether feeding an elemental diet could replace the growth-promoting effect of enzyme supplementation in EPI pigs. METHODS: Weaned pigs with intact pancreas (control) or pancreatic duct-ligated (EPI pigs) were given a commercial pig feed, a fat-enriched diet, or an elemental diet, intragastrically and intravenously, with or without porcine pancreatin (Creon((R))) supplementation for 1week. RESULTS: Control pigs, irrespective of receiving pig feed or an elemental diet, increased their body weight by 13.4-20.1%, while EPI pigs showed negligible weight gain. Giving a fat-enriched diet did not improve growth of the EPI pigs. However, if the EPI pigs were supplemented with pancreatin in combination with fat-enriched feed or the elemental diet, i.v., their body weight increased by 16.6 %and 8.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Control pigs maintained normal growth, independently of the diet being given in polymeric or elemental form, while EPI pigs showed impaired growth when receiving the same diets without enzyme supplementation. Pancreatic juice and enzyme preparations, in addition to their digestive properties, also appear to affect nutrient assimilation and anabolism in young individuals.
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| 5. |
- Blennow, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Climate change: Motivation for taking measure to adapt
- 2009
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-9495 .- 0959-3780. ; 19, s. 100-104
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We tested two consequences of a currently influential theory based on the notion of seeing adaptations to climate change as local adjustments to deal with changing conditions within the constraints of the broader economic-social-political arrangements. The notion leaves no explicit role for the strength of personal beliefs in climate change and adaptive capacity. The consequences were: (i) adaptive action to climate change taken by an individual who is exposed to and sensitive to climate change is not influenced to a considerable degree by their strength of belief in climate change and (ii) adaptive action to climate change taken by an individual who is exposed to and sensitive to climate change is not influenced to a considerable degree by their strength of belief in an adaptive capacity. Data from a 2004 questionnaire of 1950 Swedish private individual forest owners, who were assumed exposed to and sensitive to climate change, were used. Strength of belief in climate change and adaptive capacities were found to be crucial factors for explaining observed differences in adaptation among Swedish forest owners. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Doan, Thuy, et al.
(författare)
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Functional expression of five Arabidopsis fatty acyl-CoA reductase genes in Escherichia coli
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Plant Physiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0176-1617 .- 1618-1328. ; 166:8, s. 787-796
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Very long chain primary alcohols are significant components in cuticle waxes of plants. Fatty acyl-CoA reductases (FARs) catalyze the formation of a fatty alcohol from an acyl-CoA. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome contains eight genes homologous to FAR genes from jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), silk moth, wheat and mouse. Expression of six Arabidopsis FAR homologs in Escherichia coli resulted in production of alcohols from endogenous E. coli fatty acids by five of these genes, confirming that they encode for FAR enzymes. Only a truncated splicing version of the sixth gene was found, and this gene yielded a protein with no FAR activity. The five functional FAR enzymes yielded distinctly different compositions of fatty alcohols when expressed in E. coli, indicating that the different enzymes may be involved in the production of different types of alcohols in plant cells. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Jarvis, Åsa, et al.
(författare)
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Activity and composition of ammonia oxidizing bacterial communities and emission dynamics of NH3 and N2O in a compost reactor treating organic household waste
- 2009
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1364-5072 .- 1365-2672. ; 106:5, s. 1502-1511
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To monitor emissions of NH3 and N2O during composting and link these to ammonia oxidation rates and the community structure of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). A laboratory-scale compost reactor treating organic household waste was run for 2 months. NH3 emissions peaked when pH started to increase. Small amounts of N2O and CH4 were also produced. In total, 16% and less than 1% of the initial N was lost as NH3-N and N2O-N respectively. The potential ammonia oxidation rate, determined by a chlorate inhibition assay, increased fourfold during the first 9 days and then remained high. Initially, both Nitrosospira and Nitrosomonas populations were detected using DGGE analysis of AOB specific 16S rRNA fragments. Only Nitrosomonas europaea was detected under thermophilic conditions, but Nitrosospira populations re-established during the cooling phase. Thermophilic conditions favoured high potential ammonia oxidation rates, suggesting that ammonia oxidation contributed to reduced NH3 emissions. Small but significant amounts of N2O were emitted during the thermophilic phase. The significance of different AOBs detected in the compost for ammonia oxidation is not clear. This study shows that ammonia oxidation occurs at high temperature composting and therefore most likely reduces NH3 emissions.
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| 8. |
- Lindroth, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Storms can cause Europe-wide reduction in forest carbon sink
- 2009
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 15:2, s. 346-355
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disturbance of ecosystems is a major factor in regional carbon budgets, and it is believed to be partly responsible for the large inter-annual variability of the terrestrial part of the carbon balance. Forest fires have so far been considered as the most important disturbance but also other forms of disturbance such as insect outbreaks or wind-throw might contribute significantly to the largely unexplained inter-annual variability, at least in specific regions. The effect of wind-throw has not yet been estimated because of lack of data on how carbon fluxes are affected. The Gudrun storm, which hit Sweden in January 2005, resulted in ca. 66 million m(3) of wind-thrown stem wood on an area of ca. 272 000 ha. Using a model (BIOME-BGC) calibrated to CO2 flux measurements at two sites, the annual net ecosystem productivity during the first year after the storm was estimated to be in the range -897 to -1259 g C m(-2) yr(-1). This is a much higher loss compared with harvested (clear-cut) forests in Europe, which ranged between ca. -420 and -100 g m(-2) yr(-1). The reduction in the carbon sink scaled to the whole wind-thrown area was estimated at ca. 3 million tons C during the first year. By historical data on wind-throw in Europe combined with modelling, we estimated that the large Lothar storm in 1999 reduced the European carbon balance by ca. 16 million tons C, this is ca. 30% of the net biome production in Europe. We conclude that the impact of increased forest damage by more frequent storms in future climate change scenarios must be considered and that intermittent large wind-throw events may explain a part of the large inter-annual variability in the terrestrial carbon sink.
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| 9. |
- Mårtensson, Fredrika, et al.
(författare)
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Outdoor environmental assessment of attention promoting settings for preschool children
- 2009
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Ingår i: Health and Place. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-2054 .- 1353-8292. ; 15:4, s. 1149-1157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The restorative potential of green outdoor environments for children in preschool settings was investigated by measuring the attention of children playing in settings with different environmental features. Eleven preschools with outdoor environments typical for the Stockholm area were assessed using the outdoor play environment categories (OPEC) and the fraction of visible sky from play structures (sky view factor), and 198 children, aged 4.5-6.5 years, were rated by the staff for inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive behaviors with the ECADDES tool. Children playing in large and integrated outdoor areas containing large areas of trees, shrubbery and a hilly terrain showed less often behaviors of inattention (p<.05). The choice of tool for assessment of attention is discussed in relation to outdoor stay and play characteristics in Swedish preschool settings. The results indicate that the restorative potential of green outdoor environments applies also to preschool children and that environmental assessment tools as OPEC can be useful when to locate and develop health-promoting land adjacent to preschools. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Alklint, Charlotte, et al.
(författare)
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Accelerated storage and isothermal microcalorimetry as methods of predicting carrot juice shelf-life
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. - : Wiley. - 1097-0010 .- 0022-5142. ; 85:2, s. 281-285
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The possibility of predicting the shelf-life of pasteurized carrot juice by isothermal microcalorimetry or change in pH was investigated and compared with traditional plate count results. A small increase in thermal power (2 muW), maximal increase of and acceleration of thermal power all gave rapid, well-correlated results for the shelf-life, as did pH, during accelerated storage. The effect of accelerated storage (17degreesC) on the microbial flora of pasteurized carrot juice was also compared with the flora from storage at 8degreesC, and it was found that accelerated storage is feasible for the rapid evaluation of shelf-life, but that the microbial flora in the spoilt juice will be different. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.
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