| 1. |
- de Vera, Jean-Pierre, et al.
(författare)
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Limits of Life and the Habitability of Mars : The ESA Space Experiment BIOMEX on the ISS
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astrobiology. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 1531-1074 .- 1557-8070. ; 19:2, s. 145-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BIOMEX (BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment) is an ESA/Roscosmos space exposure experiment housed within the exposure facility EXPOSE-R2 outside the Zvezda module on the International Space Station (ISS). The design of the multiuser facility supports-among others-the BIOMEX investigations into the stability and level of degradation of space-exposed biosignatures such as pigments, secondary metabolites, and cell surfaces in contact with a terrestrial and Mars analog mineral environment. In parallel, analysis on the viability of the investigated organisms has provided relevant data for evaluation of the habitability of Mars, for the limits of life, and for the likelihood of an interplanetary transfer of life (theory of lithopanspermia). In this project, lichens, archaea, bacteria, cyanobacteria, snow/permafrost algae, meristematic black fungi, and bryophytes from alpine and polar habitats were embedded, grown, and cultured on a mixture of martian and lunar regolith analogs or other terrestrial minerals. The organisms and regolith analogs and terrestrial mineral mixtures were then exposed to space and to simulated Mars-like conditions by way of the EXPOSE-R2 facility. In this special issue, we present the first set of data obtained in reference to our investigation into the habitability of Mars and limits of life. This project was initiated and implemented by the BIOMEX group, an international and interdisciplinary consortium of 30 institutes in 12 countries on 3 continents. Preflight tests for sample selection, results from ground-based simulation experiments, and the space experiments themselves are presented and include a complete overview of the scientific processes required for this space experiment and postflight analysis. The presented BIOMEX concept could be scaled up to future exposure experiments on the Moon and will serve as a pretest in low Earth orbit.
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| 4. |
- Bauer, C., et al.
(författare)
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Prolate shape of Ba-140 from a first combined Doppler-shift and Coulomb-excitation measurement at the REX-ISOLDE facility
- 2012
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Ingår i: Physical Review C (Nuclear Physics). - 0556-2813. ; 86:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Quadrupole moments of excited nuclear states are important observables for geometrically interpreting nuclear structure in terms of deformed shapes, although data are scarce and sometimes ambiguous, in particular, in neutron-rich nuclides. Purpose: A measurement was performed for determining the spectroscopic quadrupole moment of the 2(1)(+) state of Ba-140 in order to clarify the character of quadrupole deformation (prolate or oblate) of the state in its yrast sequence of levels. Method: We have utilized a new combined technique of lifetime measurement at REX-ISOLDE and MINIBALL using the Doppler-shift attenuation method (DSAM) and a reorientation analysis of Coulomb-excitation yields. Results: On the basis of the new lifetime of tau(2(1)(+)) = 10.4(-0.8)(+2.2) ps the electric quadrupole moment was determined to be Q(2(1)(+)) = -0.52(34) eb, indicating a predominant prolate deformation. Conclusions: This finding is in agreement with beyond-mean-field calculations using the Gogny D1S force and with results from the Monte Carlo shell-model approach.
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| 5. |
- Buerger, Katharina, et al.
(författare)
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Prediction of Alzheimer's disease using midregional proadrenomedullin and midregional proatrial natriuretic peptide: a retrospective analysis of 134 patients with mild cognitive impairment.
- 2011
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Ingår i: The Journal of clinical psychiatry. - 1555-2101 .- 0160-6689. ; 72:4, s. 556-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Development of biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major clinical research goal. On the basis of the hypothesis that cardiovascular risk factors contribute to the pathogenesis of AD, we investigated whether the cardiovascular risk markers midregional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) and midregional proatrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) predict a major clinical milestone, ie, conversion from predementia mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to manifest AD. METHOD: A group of 134 MCI patients, among 137 originally prospectively recruited at the memory disorder clinic at Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden, between July 1998 and June 2001, was clinically followed for 4-6 years. We determined whether plasma concentrations of MR-proADM and MR-proANP at baseline predicted time to conversion from MCI to clinically diagnosed AD (DSM-III-R). MCI was diagnosed according to Petersen criteria. RESULTS: During follow-up, 41.8% of MCI patients remained cognitively stable, 42.5% converted to possible and probable AD, and 15.7% converted to other forms of dementia (MCI-other). MCI converters and MCI-other patients showed increased concentrations of MR-proANP and MR-proADM compared to the stable MCI patients (P = .0001). At a cutoff of 87 pmol/L, MR-proANP yielded a sensitivity of 73.7% and a specificity of 64.3% for predicting conversion to AD. The survival analysis showed that higher values of MR-proANP and MR-proADM were associated with progression to AD. In a multivariate Cox regression model including known risk factors, MR-proANP and MR-proADM remained independent risk factors for conversion to AD for patients below the age of 72 years. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that plasma concentrations of MR-proANP and MR-proADM have predictive value in the progression from predementia MCI to clinical AD. Sensitivity was particularly high, which may recommend this test for first-stage screening in patients at risk for AD.
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| 6. |
- Esteve-Codina, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Gender specific airway gene expression in COPD sub-phenotypes supports a role of mitochondria and of different types of leukocytes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a destructive inflammatory disease and the genes expressed within the lung are crucial to its pathophysiology. We have determined the RNAseq transcriptome of bronchial brush cells from 312 stringently defined ex-smoker patients. Compared to healthy controls there were for males 40 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 73 DEGs for females with only 26 genes shared. The gene ontology (GO) term "response to bacterium" was shared, with several different DEGs contributing in males and females. Strongly upregulated genes TCN1 and CYP1B1 were unique to males and females, respectively. For male emphysema (E)-dominant and airway disease (A)-dominant COPD (defined by computed tomography) the term "response to stress" was found for both sub-phenotypes, but this included distinct up-regulated genes for the E-sub-phenotype (neutrophil-related CSF3R, CXCL1, MNDA) and for the A-sub-phenotype (macrophage-related KLF4, F3, CD36). In E-dominant disease, a cluster of mitochondria-encoded (MT) genes forms a signature, able to identify patients with emphysema features in a confirmation cohort. The MT-CO2 gene is upregulated transcriptionally in bronchial epithelial cells with the copy number essentially unchanged. Both MT-CO2 and the neutrophil chemoattractant CXCL1 are induced by reactive oxygen in bronchial epithelial cells. Of the female DEGs unique for E- and A-dominant COPD, 88% were detected in females only. In E-dominant disease we found a pronounced expression of mast cell-associated DEGs TPSB2, TPSAB1 and CPA3. The differential genes discovered in this study point towards involvement of different types of leukocytes in the E- and A-dominant COPD sub-phenotypes in males and females.
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| 7. |
- Kirchhof, Paulus, et al.
(författare)
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A roadmap to improve the quality of atrial fibrillation management : proceedings from the fifth Atrial Fibrillation Network/European Heart Rhythm Association consensus conference
- 2016
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Ingår i: Europace. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1099-5129 .- 1532-2092. ; 18:1, s. 37-50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- At least 30 million people worldwide carry a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF), and many more suffer from undiagnosed, subclinical, or 'silent' AF. Atrial fibrillation-related cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, including cardiovascular deaths, heart failure, stroke, and hospitalizations, remain unacceptably high, even when evidence-based therapies such as anticoagulation and rate control are used. Furthermore, it is still necessary to define how best to prevent AF, largely due to a lack of clinical measures that would allow identification of treatable causes of AF in any given patient. Hence, there are important unmet clinical and research needs in the evaluation and management of AF patients. The ensuing needs and opportunities for improving the quality of AF care were discussed during the fifth Atrial Fibrillation Network/European Heart Rhythm Association consensus conference in Nice, France, on 22 and 23 January 2015. Here, we report the outcome of this conference, with a focus on (i) learning from our 'neighbours' to improve AF care, (ii) patient-centred approaches to AF management, (iii) structured care of AF patients, (iv) improving the quality of AF treatment, and (v) personalization of AF management. This report ends with a list of priorities for research in AF patients.
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| 8. |
- Moeller, Steffen, et al.
(författare)
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Community-driven development for computational biology at Sprints, Hackathons and Codefests
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Bioinformatics. - 1471-2105. ; 15, s. S7-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Computational biology comprises a wide range of technologies and approaches. Multiple technologies can be combined to create more powerful workflows if the individuals contributing the data or providing tools for its interpretation can find mutual understanding and consensus. Much conversation and joint investigation are required in order to identify and implement the best approaches. Traditionally, scientific conferences feature talks presenting novel technologies or insights, followed up by informal discussions during coffee breaks. In multi-institution collaborations, in order to reach agreement on implementation details or to transfer deeper insights in a technology and practical skills, a representative of one group typically visits the other. However, this does not scale well when the number of technologies or research groups is large. Conferences have responded to this issue by introducing Birds-of-a-Feather (BoF) sessions, which offer an opportunity for individuals with common interests to intensify their interaction. However, parallel BoF sessions often make it hard for participants to join multiple BoFs and find common ground between the different technologies, and BoFs are generally too short to allow time for participants to program together. Results: This report summarises our experience with computational biology Codefests, Hackathons and Sprints, which are interactive developer meetings. They are structured to reduce the limitations of traditional scientific meetings described above by strengthening the interaction among peers and letting the participants determine the schedule and topics. These meetings are commonly run as loosely scheduled unconferences (self-organized identification of participants and topics for meetings) over at least two days, with early introductory talks to welcome and organize contributors, followed by intensive collaborative coding sessions. We summarise some prominent achievements of those meetings and describe differences in how these are organised, how their audience is addressed, and their outreach to their respective communities. Conclusions: Hackathons, Codefests and Sprints share a stimulating atmosphere that encourages participants to jointly brainstorm and tackle problems of shared interest in a self-driven proactive environment, as well as providing an opportunity for new participants to get involved in collaborative projects.
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| 10. |
- Presneau, Nadege, et al.
(författare)
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Role of the transcription factor T (brachyury) in the pathogenesis of sporadic chordoma: a genetic and functional-based study
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Pathology. - : Wiley. - 0022-3417. ; 223:3, s. 327-335
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A variety of analyses, including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), quantitative PCR (qPCR) and array CGH (aCGH), have been performed on a series of chordomas from 181 patients. Twelve of 181 (7%) tumours displayed amplification of the T locus and an additional two cases showed focal amplification; 70/181 (39%) tumours were polysomic for chromosome 6, and 8/181 (4.5%) primary tumours showed a minor allelic gain of T as assessed by FISH. No germline alteration of the T locus was identified in non-neoplastic tissue from 40 patients. Copy number gain of T was seen in a similar percentage of sacrococcygeal, mobile spine and base of skull tumours. Knockdown of T in the cell line, U-CH1, which showed polysomy of chromosome 6 involving 6q27, resulted in a marked decrease in cell proliferation and morphological features consistent with a senescence-like phenotype. The U-CH1 cell line was validated as representing chordoma by the generation of xenografts, which showed typical chordoma morphology and immunohistochemistry in the NOD/SCID/interleukin 2 receptor [IL2r]gamma(null) mouse model. In conclusion, chromosomal aberrations resulting in gain of the T locus are common in sporadic chordomas and expression of this gene is critical for proliferation of chordoma cells in vitro. Copyright (C) 2010 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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