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| 2. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(författare)
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The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
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| 3. |
- López-Isac, Elena, et al.
(författare)
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Brief Report : IRF4 Newly Identified as a Common Susceptibility Locus for Systemic Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis in a Cross-Disease Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies
- 2016
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Ingår i: Arthritis & Rheumatology. - : Wiley. - 2326-5191 .- 2326-5205. ; 68:9, s. 2338-2344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are autoimmune diseases that have similar clinical and immunologic characteristics. To date, several shared SSc–RA genetic loci have been identified independently. The aim of the current study was to systematically search for new common SSc–RA loci through an interdisease meta–genome-wide association (meta-GWAS) strategy. Methods: The study was designed as a meta-analysis combining GWAS data sets of patients with SSc and patients with RA, using a strategy that allowed identification of loci with both same-direction and opposite-direction allelic effects. The top single-nucleotide polymorphisms were followed up in independent SSc and RA case–control cohorts. This allowed an increase in the sample size to a total of 8,830 patients with SSc, 16,870 patients with RA, and 43,393 healthy controls. Results: This cross-disease meta-analysis of the GWAS data sets identified several loci with nominal association signals (P < 5 × 10−6) that also showed evidence of association in the disease-specific GWAS scans. These loci included several genomic regions not previously reported as shared loci, as well as several risk factors that were previously found to be associated with both diseases. Follow-up analyses of the putatively new SSc–RA loci identified IRF4 as a shared risk factor for these 2 diseases (Pcombined = 3.29 × 10−12). Analysis of the biologic relevance of the known SSc–RA shared loci identified the type I interferon and interleukin-12 signaling pathways as the main common etiologic factors. Conclusion: This study identified a novel shared locus, IRF4, for the risk of SSc and RA, and highlighted the usefulness of a cross-disease GWAS meta-analysis strategy in the identification of common risk loci.
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| 4. |
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- 2019
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 5. |
- Betancourt, Fernando, et al.
(författare)
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A Model of Froth Flotation with Drainage : Simulations and Comparison with Experiments
- 2023
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Ingår i: Minerals. - : MDPI AG. - 2075-163X. ; 13:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The operation of a froth flotation column can be described by a nonlinear convection–diffusion partial differential equation that incorporates the solids–flux and drift–flux theories as well as a model of foam drainage. The resulting model predicts the bubble and (gangue) particle volume fractions as functions of height and time. The steady-state (time-independent) version of the model defines so-called operating charts that map conditions on the gas and pulp feed rates that allow for operation with a stationary froth layer. Operating charts for a suitably adapted version of the model are compared with experimental results obtained with a laboratory flotation column. Experiments were conducted with a two-phase liquid–bubble flow. The results indicate good agreement between the predicted and measured conditions for steady states. Numerical simulations for transient operation, in part for the addition of solid particles, are presented.
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| 6. |
- Biurrun, Idoia, et al.
(författare)
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Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Vegetation Science. - Oxford : John Wiley & Sons. - 1100-9233 .- 1654-1103. ; 32:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Journal of Vegetation Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for Vegetation Science.Aims: Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the former three groups). Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 126,524 plots of eight standard grain sizes from the GrassPlot database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m2 and calculated the mean richness and standard deviations, as well as maximum, minimum, median, and first and third quartiles for each combination of grain size, taxonomic group, biome, region, vegetation type and phytosociological class. Results: Patterns of plant diversity in vegetation types and biomes differ across grain sizes and taxonomic groups. Overall, secondary (mostly semi-natural) grasslands and natural grasslands are the richest vegetation type. The open-access file ”GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks” and the web tool “GrassPlot Diversity Explorer” are now available online (https://edgg.org/databases/GrasslandDiversityExplorer) and provide more insights into species richness patterns in the Palaearctic open habitats. Conclusions: The GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks provide high-quality data on species richness in open habitat types across the Palaearctic. These benchmark data can be used in vegetation ecology, macroecology, biodiversity conservation and data quality checking. While the amount of data in the underlying GrassPlot database and their spatial coverage are smaller than in other extensive vegetation-plot databases, species recordings in GrassPlot are on average more complete, making it a valuable complementary data source in macroecology. © 2021 The Authors.
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| 7. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N., et al.
(författare)
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The PREDICTS database : a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:24, s. 4701-4735
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - ). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.
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| 8. |
- Kozyrev, Sergey V, et al.
(författare)
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Functional variants in the B-cell gene BANK1 are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 40:2, s. 211-216
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypical autoimmune disease characterized by production of autoantibodies and complex genetic inheritance(1-3). In a genome-wide scan using 85,042 SNPs, we identified an association between SLE and a nonsynonymous substitution (rs10516487, R61H) in the B-cell scaffold protein with ankyrin repeats gene, BANK1. We replicated the association in four independent case-control sets (combined P = 3.7 x 10(-10); OR = 1.38). We analyzed BANK1 cDNA and found two isoforms, one full-length and the other alternatively spliced and lacking exon 2 (Delta 2), encoding a protein without a putative IP3R-binding domain. The transcripts were differentially expressed depending on a branch point-site SNP, rs17266594, in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs10516487. A third associated variant was found in the ankyrin domain (rs3733197, A383T). Our findings implicate BANK1 as a susceptibility gene for SLE, with variants affecting regulatory sites and key functional domains. The disease-associated variants could contribute to sustained B cell-receptor signaling and B-cell hyperactivity characteristic of this disease.
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| 9. |
- Morán, Diana, et al.
(författare)
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Bio-based starch nanoparticles with controlled size as antimicrobial agents nanocarriers
- 2024
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Ingår i: Reactive and Functional Polymers. - 1381-5148. ; 198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Starch nanoparticles (SNPs) have been synthesized by nanoprecipitation method using starches from different botanical sources in native form and modified with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA). SNPs were characterized in terms of size, morphology, charge, XRPD, FTIR and thermal properties. Spherical particles were obtained with sizes ranging from 54 to 108 nm and zeta potential values from −2 to −27 mV. Changes in size and stability related to the % OSA were observed for each starch. Starch granules showed A-type crystalline pattern while a loss of crystallinity was observed for SNPs. FTIR spectra demonstrated that OSA modification was barely affected by the nanoprecipitation and SNPs showed thermal properties similar to those of starch granules. SNPs with specific size can be synthesized by selecting the appropriate starch granules as raw material. This is especially relevant in certain bio-applications, where size must be precisely controlled, e.g., as nanocarriers for drug release or food fortification. To investigate the feasibility of SNPs as nanocarriers, vanillin-loaded SNPs were synthesized, achieving encapsulation efficiencies of 30% and loading capacities of 60%. The antimicrobial activity of vanillin-loaded SNPs was tested against Escherichia Coli (E. coli) with satisfactory results.
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| 10. |
- Morán, Diana, et al.
(författare)
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Synthesis of controlled-size starch nanoparticles and superparamagnetic starch nanocomposites by microemulsion method
- 2023
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Ingår i: Carbohydrate Polymers. - : Elsevier BV. - 0144-8617. ; 299
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, a synthesis process based on the microemulsion method (ME) was developed with the aim to produce controlled-size starch nanoparticles (SNPs). Several formulations were tested for the preparation of the W/O microemulsions varying the organic/aqueous phase ratios and co-stabilizers concentrations. SNPs were characterized in terms of size, morphology, monodispersity and crystallinity. Spherical shape particles with mean sizes 30–40 nm were prepared. The method was then used to simultaneously synthesize SNPs and iron oxide nanoparticles with superparamagnetic properties. Starch-based nanocomposites with superparamagnetic properties and controlled size were obtained. Therefore, the microemulsion method developed could be considered an innovative technology for the design and development of novel functional nanomaterials. The starch-based nanocomposites were evaluated in terms of morphology and magnetic properties, and they are being considered as promising sustainable nanomaterials for different biomedical applications.
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