| 1. |
- 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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| 2. |
- Halme, P., et al.
(författare)
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Challenges of ecological restoration : Lessons from forests in northern Europe
- 2013
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Ingår i: Biological Conservation. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3207 .- 1873-2917. ; 167, s. 248-256
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The alarming rate of ecosystem degradation has raised the need for ecological restoration throughout different biomes and continents. North European forests may appear as one of the least vulnerable ecosystems from a global perspective, since forest cover is not rapidly decreasing and many ecosystem services remain at high level. However, extensive areas of northern forests are heavily exploited and have lost a major part of their biodiversity value. There is a strong requirement to restore these areas towards a more natural condition in order to meet the targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Several northern countries are now taking up this challenge by restoring forest biodiversity with increasing intensity. The ecology and biodiversity of boreal forests are relatively well understood making them a good model for restoration activities in many other forest ecosystems. Here we introduce northern forests as an ecosystem, discuss the historical and recent human impact and provide a brief status report on the ecological restoration projects and research already conducted there. Based on this discussion, we argue that before any restoration actions commence, the ecology of the target ecosystem should be established with the need for restoration carefully assessed and the outcome properly monitored. Finally, we identify the most important challenges that need to be solved in order to carry out efficient restoration with powerful and long-term positive impacts on biodiversity: coping with unpredictability, maintaining connectivity in time and space, assessment of functionality, management of conflicting interests and social restrictions and ensuring adequate funding. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
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| 3. |
- Sundström, Johan, Professor, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Risk factors for subarachnoid haemorrhage : a nationwide cohort of 950 000 adults
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 48:6, s. 2018-2025
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating disease, with high mortality rate and substantial disability among survivors. Its causes are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate risk factors for SAH using a novel nationwide cohort consortium.METHODS: We obtained individual participant data of 949 683 persons (330 334 women) between 25 and 90 years old, with no history of SAH at baseline, from 21 population-based cohorts. Outcomes were obtained from the Swedish Patient and Causes of Death Registries.RESULTS: During 13 704 959 person-years of follow-up, 2659 cases of first-ever fatal or non-fatal SAH occurred, with an age-standardized incidence rate of 9.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) (7.4-10.6)/100 000 person-years] in men and 13.8 [(11.4-16.2)/100 000 person-years] in women. The incidence rate increased exponentially with higher age. In multivariable-adjusted Poisson models, marked sex interactions for current smoking and body mass index (BMI) were observed. Current smoking conferred a rate ratio (RR) of 2.24 (95% CI 1.95-2.57) in women and 1.62 (1.47-1.79) in men. One standard deviation higher BMI was associated with an RR of 0.86 (0.81-0.92) in women and 1.02 (0.96-1.08) in men. Higher blood pressure and lower education level were also associated with higher risk of SAH.CONCLUSIONS: The risk of SAH is 45% higher in women than in men, with substantial sex differences in risk factor strengths. In particular, a markedly stronger adverse effect of smoking in women may motivate targeted public health initiatives.
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| 4. |
- Taal, H. Rob, et al.
(författare)
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Common variants at 12q15 and 12q24 are associated with infant head circumference
- 2012
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 44:5, s. 532-538
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To identify genetic variants associated with head circumference in infancy, we performed a meta-analysis of seven genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (N = 10,768 individuals of European ancestry enrolled in pregnancy and/or birth cohorts) and followed up three lead signals in six replication studies (combined N = 19,089). rs7980687 on chromosome 12q24 (P = 8.1 x 10(-9)) and rs1042725 on chromosome 12q15 (P = 2.8 x 10(-10)) were robustly associated with head circumference in infancy. Although these loci have previously been associated with adult height(1), their effects on infant head circumference were largely independent of height (P = 3.8 x 10(-7) for rs7980687 and P = 1.3 x 10(-7) for rs1042725 after adjustment for infant height). A third signal, rs11655470 on chromosome 17q21, showed suggestive evidence of association with head circumference (P = 3.9 x 10(-6)). SNPs correlated to the 17q21 signal have shown genome-wide association with adult intracranial volume(2), Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases(3-5), indicating that a common genetic variant in this region might link early brain growth with neurological disease in later life.
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| 5. |
- Bergman, Olle, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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Association between amygdala reactivity and a dopamine transporter gene polymorphism.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Translational psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2158-3188. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Essential for detection of relevant external stimuli and for fear processing, the amygdala is under modulatory influence of dopamine (DA). The DA transporter (DAT) is of fundamental importance for the regulation of DA transmission by mediating reuptake inactivation of extracellular DA. This study examined if a common functional variable number tandem repeat polymorphism in the 3' untranslated region of the DAT gene (SLC6A3) influences amygdala function during the processing of aversive emotional stimuli. Amygdala reactivity was examined by comparing regional cerebral blood flow, measured with positron emission tomography and [(15)O]water, during exposure to angry and neutral faces, respectively, in a Swedish sample comprising 32 patients with social anxiety disorder and 17 healthy volunteers. In a separate US sample, comprising 85 healthy volunteers studied with blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging, amygdala reactivity was assessed by comparing the activity during exposure to threatening faces and neutral geometric shapes, respectively. In both the Swedish and the US sample, 9-repeat carriers displayed higher amygdala reactivity than 10-repeat homozygotes. The results suggest that this polymorphism contributes to individual variability in amygdala reactivity.
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| 6. |
- Eriksson, Carina, et al.
(författare)
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Antifeedants and feeding stimulants in bark extracts of ten woody non-host species of the pine weevil, Hylobius abietis
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0098-0331 .- 1573-1561. ; 34:10, s. 1290-1297
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bark of ten woody species, known to be rejected as a food source by the pine weevil, Hylobius abietis, were sequentially extracted by a Soxhlet apparatus with pentane followed by methanol. Species were alder (Alnus glutinosa), aspen (Populus tremula), beech (Fagus sylvatica), guelder rose (Viburnum opulus), holly (Ilex aquifolium), horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), lilac (Syringa vulgaris), spindle tree (Evonymus europaeus), walnut (Juglans regia), and yew (Taxus baccata). Bark of each species was collected in southern Scandinavia during the summer. Resulting extracts were tested for antifeedant activity against the pine weevil by a micro-feeding choice assay. At a dose corresponding to that in the bark, methanol extracts from Aesculus, Taxus, Ilex, and Populus were antifeedant active, while pentane extracts of Aesculus, Fagus, Syringa, and Viburnum were stimulatory. Four known antifeedants against H. abietis, the straight-chained carboxylic acids, hexanoic and nonanoic acid (C6 and C9), carvone, and carvacrol were identified by gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) in several extracts. The major constituents were identified and tested for feeding deterrence. The aromatic compounds benzyl alcohol and 2-phenylethanol are new non-host plant-derived feeding deterrents for the pine weevil. Additionally, two feeding stimulants, beta-sitosterol and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde, were identified. One active methanol extract of Aesculus bark was sequentially fractionated by liquid chromatography, and major compounds were tentatively identified as branched alcohols and esters of hexanoic acid. Five commercially available hexanoate esters and two commercially available branched alcohols were identified as new active antifeedants. Both stimulatory and inhibiting compounds were found in the same extracts and co-eluted in the same or adjacent fractions. The mix of semiochemicals of opposite activity in each extract or fraction could explain the stimulatory-, inhibitory-, or sometimes neutral activity. Generally, such co-occurrence confounds the isolation of antifeedants.
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| 7. |
- Eriksson, Jerry, et al.
(författare)
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Local results for the Gauss-Newton method on constrained rank-deficient nonlinear least squares
- 2004
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Ingår i: Mathematics of Computation. - 0025-5718 .- 1088-6842. ; 73:248, s. 1865-1883
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A nonlinear least squares problem with nonlinear constraints may be ill posed or even rank-deficient in two ways. Considering the problem formulated as $min_{x} 1/2Vert f_{2}(x) Vert _{2}^{2}$subject to the constraints $f_{1}(x) = 0$, the Jacobian $J_{1} = partial f_{1}/ partial x$ and/or the Jacobian $J = partial f/ partial x$, $f = [f_{1};f_{2}]$, may be ill conditioned at the solution. We analyze the important special case when $J_{1}$ and/or $J$ do not have full rank at the solution. In order to solve such a problem, we formulate a nonlinear least norm problem. Next we describe a truncated Gauss-Newton method. We show that the local convergence rate is determined by the maximum of three independent Rayleigh quotients related to three different spaces in $mathbb{R} ^{n}$. Another way of solving an ill-posed nonlinear least squares problem is to regularize the problem with some parameter that is reduced as the iterates converge to the minimum. Our approach is a Tikhonov based local linear regularization that converges to a minimum norm problem. This approach may be used both for almost and rank-deficient Jacobians. Finally we present computational tests on constructed problems verifying the local analysis.
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| 8. |
- Kehoe, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 364:6438, s. 341-
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 9. |
- Månsson, P. E., et al.
(författare)
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Nonanoic acid, other alkanoic acids and related compounds as antifeedants in Hylobius abietis pine weevils
- 2006
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Ingår i: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. - : Wiley. - 0013-8703 .- 1570-7458. ; 121:3, s. 191-201
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A medium-length, straight-chain alkanoic acid, nonanoic acid, is known from laboratory microassays to be an antifeedant in adults of the large pine weevil, Hylobius abietis (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Our hypothesis was that we could find new, less volatile alkanoic acids or related compounds suitable for field application and with improved long-term duration. Alkanoic acids of varying chain lengths (C6-C13) were tested for antifeedant activity in H. abietis adults. Microassay choice tests showed that straight-chain (C6-C11) alkanoic acids were active. However, high activities were restricted to the (C6-C10) acids, with the C9 (nonanoic acid) at 4 μmol cm-2 being the most active one. In a no-choice test on pine twigs, the antifeedant effect of C10 acid was lower than that of the C8 and C9 acids. In microassays, less volatile methyl-branched alkanoic acids exhibited lower antifeedant activities than did the corresponding straight-chain ones. However, the most active of the methyl-branched acids, 2-methyldecanoic acid, had an activity similar to that of nonanoic acid. Compounds related to nonanoic acid were either active (1-nonanol), weakly active (nonanoic anhydride), or inactive (nonanal, sodium nonanoate). The anhydride was highly active in the microassay, but less active on twigs. The antifeedant effects of the straight chain (C8-C10) alkanoic acids against pine weevil feeding were tested in the field. In contrast to the results from the twig tests, the less volatile C10 acid was more active in the field for the protection of transplants on fresh clear cuts over a 3-month period than both the C8 and C9 acids. Phytotoxic effects of the alkanoic acids were observed both in the field and in laboratory studies. If a protective layer of paraffin was applied to the stem prior to application of the alkanoic acids, these undesired side effects were reduced.
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| 10. |
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