| 1. |
- Günther, Torsten, et al.
(författare)
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Population genomics of Mesolithic Scandinavia : Investigating early postglacial migration routes and high-latitude adaptation
- 2018
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Ingår i: PLoS biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1544-9173 .- 1545-7885. ; 16:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scandinavia was one of the last geographic areas in Europe to become habitable for humans after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). However, the routes and genetic composition of these postglacial migrants remain unclear. We sequenced the genomes, up to 57x coverage, of seven hunter-gatherers excavated across Scandinavia and dated from 9,500-6,000 years before present (BP). Surprisingly, among the Scandinavian Mesolithic individuals, the genetic data display an east-west genetic gradient that opposes the pattern seen in other parts of Mesolithic Europe. Our results suggest two different early postglacial migrations into Scandinavia: initially from the south, and later, from the northeast. The latter followed the ice-free Norwegian north Atlantic coast, along which novel and advanced pressure-blade stone-tool techniques may have spread. These two groups met and mixed in Scandinavia, creating a genetically diverse population, which shows patterns of genetic adaptation to high latitude environments. These potential adaptations include high frequencies of low pigmentation variants and a gene region associated with physical performance, which shows strong continuity into modern-day northern Europeans.
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| 2. |
- Loskog, Angelica, et al.
(författare)
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Immunostimulatory AdCD40L gene therapy combined with low-dose cyclophosphamide in metastatic melanoma patients
- 2016
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Ingår i: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0007-0920 .- 1532-1827. ; 114:8, s. 872-880
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Current approaches for treating metastatic malignant melanoma (MM) are not effective enough and are associated with serious adverse events. Due to its immunogenicity, melanoma is an attractive target for immunostimulating therapy. In this phase I/IIa study, local AdCD40L immunostimulatory gene therapy was evaluated in patients with MM.METHODS: AdCD40L is an adenovirus carrying the gene for CD40 ligand. Patients that failed standard treatments were enrolled. Six patients received four weekly intratumoral AdCD40L injections. Next, nine patients received low-dose cyclophosphamide conditioning before the first and fourth AdCD40L injection. The blood samples were collected at multiple time points for chemistry, haematology and immunology evaluations. Radiology was performed at enrolment and repeated twice after the treatment.RESULTS: AdCD40L was safe with mild transient reactions. No objective responses were recorded by MRI, however, local and distant responses were seen on FDG-PET. The overall survival at 6 months was significantly better when cyclophosphamide was added to AdCD40L. The patients with the best survival developed the highest levels of activated T cells and experienced a pronounced decrease of intratumoral IL8.CONCLUSIONS: AdCD40L therapy for MM was well tolerated. Local and distant responses along with better survival in the low-dose cyclophosphamide group are encouraging.
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| 3. |
- Seersholm, Frederik Valeur, et al.
(författare)
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Repeated plague infections across six generations of Neolithic Farmers
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 632:8023, s. 114-121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the period between 5,300 and 4,900 calibratedyears before present (cal. bp), populations across large parts of Europe underwent a period of demographic decline1,2. However, the cause of this so-called Neolithic decline is still debated. Some argue for an agricultural crisis resulting in the decline3, others for the spread of an early form of plague4. Here we use population-scale ancient genomics to infer ancestry, social structure and pathogen infection in 108 Scandinavian Neolithic individuals from eight megalithic graves and a stone cist. We find that the Neolithic plague was widespread, detected in at least 17% of the sampled population and across large geographical distances. We demonstrate that the disease spread within the Neolithic community in three distinct infection events within a period of around 120 years. Variant graph-based pan-genomics shows that the Neolithic plague genomes retained ancestral genomic variation present in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, including virulence factors associated with disease outcomes. In addition, we reconstruct four multigeneration pedigrees, the largest of which consists of 38 individuals spanning six generations, showing a patrilineal social organization. Lastly, we document direct genomic evidence for Neolithic female exogamy in a woman buried in a different megalithic tomb than her brothers. Taken together, our findings provide a detailed reconstruction of plague spread within a large patrilineal kinship group and identify multiple plague infections in a population dated to the beginning of the Neolithic decline.
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| 4. |
- Svensson, Emma M., 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Coat colour and sex identification in horses from Iron Age Sweden
- 2012
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Ingår i: Annals of Anatomy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0940-9602 .- 1618-0402. ; 194:1, s. 82-87
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Domestication of animals and plants marked a turning point in human prehistory. To date archaeology, archaeozoology and genetics have shed light on when and where all of our major livestock species were domesticated. Phenotypic changes associated with domestication have occurred in all farm animals. Coat colour is one of the traits that have been subjected to the strongest human selection throughout history. Here we use genotyping of coat colour SNPs in horses to investigate whether there were any regional differences or preferences for specific colours associated with specific cultural traditions in Iron Age Sweden. We do this by identifying the sex and coat colour of horses sacrificed at Skedemosse, Oland (Sweden) during the Iron Age, as well as in horses from two sites in Uppland, Ultuna and Valsgarde (dated to late Iron Age). We show that bay, black and chestnut colours were all common and two horses with tobiano spotting were found. We also show how the combination of sex identification with genotyping of just a few SNPs underlying the basic coat colours can be used to identify the minimum number of individuals at a site on a higher level than morphological methods alone. Although separated by 500 km and from significantly different archaeological contexts the horses at Skedemosse and Ultuna are quite homogenous when it comes to coat colour phenotypes, indicating that there were no clear geographical variation in coat colouration in Sweden during the late Iron Age and early Viking Age.
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| 5. |
- Blank, Malou, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Mobility patterns in inland southwestern Sweden during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age
- 2021
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Ingår i: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1866-9557 .- 1866-9565. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we investigate population dynamics in the Scandinavian Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in southwestern Sweden. Human mobility patterns in Falbygden were studied by applying strontium isotope analysis combined with archaeological and bioarchaeological data, including mtDNA and sex assessment on a large dataset encompassing 141 individuals from 21 megalithic graves. In combination with other archaeological and anthropological records, we investigated the temporal and spatial scale of individual movement, mobility patterns of specific categories of people and possible social drivers behind them. Our results of strontium and biomolecular analyses suggest that mobility increased in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age compared to the earlier parts of the Neolithic. The data indicate individuals moving both into and away from Falbygden. Mobility patterns and contact networks also shift over time.
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| 6. |
- Burman, Joachim, et al.
(författare)
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The cerebrospinal fluid cytokine signature of multiple sclerosis : A homogenous response that does not conform to the Th1/Th2/Th17 convention
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Neuroimmunology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0165-5728 .- 1872-8421. ; 277:1-2, s. 153-159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this cross-sectional study, we wanted to identify key cytokines characteristic of different stages of multiple sclerosis (MS). To this end, cerebrospinal fluid from patients with MS was investigated with a multiplexed fluorescent bead-based immunoassay. In total 43 cytokines were assessed and related to clinical and imaging data. Increased levels of CCL22, CXCL10 and sCD40L characterized relapsing-remitting MS patients with the presence of gadolinium-enhancing lesions; decreased CCL2 and increased CXCL1 and CCL5 were typical of relapsing-remitting MS patients irrespectively of the presence of gadolinium-enhancing lesions. These homogenous patterns of cytokine activation do not conform to conventional Th1/Th2/Th17 responses. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Burman, Joachim, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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The cerebrospinal fluid cytokine signature of multiple sclerosis: a homogenous response that does not conform to the Th1/Th2/Th17 convention
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this cross-sectional study, we wanted to identify key cytokines characteristic of different stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) that could be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials. To this end, cerebrospinal fluid from a cohort of patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS) was investigated with a multiplexed fluorescent bead-based immunoassay. In total 43 cytokines were assessed and related to clinical and imaging data. Cerebrospinal fluid from a separate confirmatory cohort was used to validate cytokines pertinent to SPMS. Increased levels of CCL22, CXCL10 and sCD40L characterized RRMS patients with presence of gadolinium-enhancing lesions; decreased CCL2 and increased CXCL1 and CCL5 were typical of RRMS patients irrespectively of presence of gadolinium-enhancing lesions. IL-15 and IL-27 were increased in SPMS patients, but non-significantly in the confirmation cohort. These homogenous patterns of cytokine activation do not conform to conventional Th1/Th2/Th17 responses.
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| 8. |
- Coutinho, Alexandra, et al.
(författare)
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The Neolithic Pitted Ware culture foragers were culturally but not genetically influenced by the Battle Axe culture herders
- 2020
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Ingår i: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. - : Wiley. - 0002-9483 .- 1096-8644. ; 172:4, s. 638-649
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectivesIn order to understand contacts between cultural spheres in the third millennium BC, we investigated the impact of a new herder culture, the Battle Axe culture, arriving to Scandinavia on the people of the sub‐Neolithic hunter‐gatherer Pitted Ware culture. By investigating the genetic make‐up of Pitted Ware culture people from two types of burials (typical Pitted Ware culture burials and Battle Axe culture‐influenced burials), we could determine the impact of migration and the impact of cultural influences.MethodsWe sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 25 individuals from typical Pitted Ware culture burials and from Pitted Ware culture burials with Battle Axe culture influences in order to determine if the different burial types were associated with different gene‐pools.ResultsThe genomic data show that all individuals belonged to one genetic population—a population associated with the Pitted Ware culture—irrespective of the burial style.ConclusionWe conclude that the Pitted Ware culture communities were not impacted by gene‐flow, that is, via migration or exchange of mates. These different cultural expressions in the Pitted Ware culture burials are instead a consequence of cultural exchange.
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| 9. |
- Davis, Simon J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Molecular and osteometric sexing of cattle metacarpals : a case study from 15th century AD Beja, Portugal
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Archaeological Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0305-4403 .- 1095-9238. ; 39:5, s. 1445-1454
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the course of a zooarchaeological survey of Holocene sites in southern Portugal, a substantial size increase of cattle bones was noted following the Christian reconquista of the 11th-13th centuries AD. A size increase in the course of time within a lineage of domestic livestock is usually considered to represent animal improvement. However several other factors including sex may influence the average size of a sample of mammal bones - cattle exhibit considerable sexual size dimorphism, with bulls being larger than cows. A histogram of the distal widths of a large (n = 44) sample of cattle metacarpals from 15th century Beja (Alentejo, Portugal), revealed a bimodal distribution. It was assumed that the large measurements belonged to males and the small to females. In order to rule out the possibility of a post-Moslem change in the sex ratio of cattle, a sub-sample of 21 cattle metacarpals from Beja was selected and we used genetic markers to identify the sex of the animals to which these metacarpals belonged. The ancient DNA sex of all specimens agreed with the previously assumed sex as determined osteometrically. We conclude that the two nearly separated peaks for the metacarpal distal width measurements do indeed indicate sex. A similar bimodal distribution was obtained from another large but earlier sample of cattle metacarpals from Moslem Alcacova de Santarem (9th-12th century AD). Although these have not been molecularly sexed and since osteometric sexing has now been validated, we conclude that both small (female) and large (male) peaks are smaller than the 15th century ones and that there was an overall size increase or improvement of cattle in this region. Why the Christians improved cattle is unclear, but a selection for larger beeves for meat is one possibility as is the selection of more robust cattle for power. The spread of the quadrangular or chariot plough in Iberia is known to have occurred at this time. We then use the genetically sexed metacarpals to determine which measurements provide reasonable distinction between the sexes. Both the distal width (BFd; as already noted by Svensson et al., 2008; in Swedish medieval cattle) and the width of the lateral condyle (WCL) offer the best distinction. We also used them as a reference 'collection' to sex the medieval and post-medieval cattle metacarpals from Launceston Castle in England. This re-visit of the Launceston data corroborates other evidence indicating increased specialisation (milk and veal) in post-medieval cattle husbandry in England.
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