| 1. |
- af Sillén, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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Self-rated health in relation to age and gender: influence on mortality risk in the Malmö Preventive Project.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1651-1905 .- 1403-4948. ; 33:3, s. 9-183
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims: A study was undertaken to examine whether poor self-rated health (SRH) can independently predict all-cause mortality during 22-year follow-up in middle-aged men and women. Subjects and methods: Data are derived from a population-based study in Malmo¨ , Sweden. This included baseline laboratory testing and a self-administered questionnaire. The question on global SRH was answered by 15,590 men (mean age 46.4 years) and 10,089 women (49.4 years). Social background characteristics (occupation, marital status) were based on data from national censuses. Mortality was retrieved from national registers. Results: At screening 4,261 (27.3%) men and 3,085 (30.6%) women reported poor SRH. Among subjects rating their SRH as low, 1,022 (24.0%) men and 228 (7.4%) women died during follow-up. Corresponding figures for subjects rating their SRH as high were 1801 (15.9%) men and 376 (5.4%) women. An analysis of survival in subjects reporting poor SRH revealed an age-adjusted hazard risk ratio (HR, 95%CI) for men HR 1.5 (1.4–1.7), and for women HR 1.4 (1.2–1.6). The corresponding HR after adjusting for possible social confounders was for men HR 1.3 (1.1–1.4), and women HR 1.1 (0.9–1.4). When additional adjustment was made for biological risk factors the association for men was still significant, HR 1.2 (1.1–1.3). Conclusion: Poor SRH predicts increased long-term mortality in healthy, middle-aged subjects. For men the association is independent of both social background and selected biological variables. The adjustment for biological variables can be questioned as they might represent mediating mechanisms in a possible causal chain of events.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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A transcriptional timetable of autumn senescence
- 2004
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Ingår i: Genome Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-6906 .- 1474-760X. ; 5:4, s. R24-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background We have developed genomic tools to allow the genus Populus (aspens and cottonwoods) to be exploited as a full-featured model for investigating fundamental aspects of tree biology. We have undertaken large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing programs and created Populus microarrays with significant gene coverage. One of the important aspects of plant biology that cannot be studied in annual plants is the gene activity involved in the induction of autumn leaf senescence. Results On the basis of 36,354 Populus ESTs, obtained from seven cDNA libraries, we have created a DNA microarray consisting of 13,490 clones, spotted in duplicate. Of these clones, 12,376 (92%) were confirmed by resequencing and all sequences were annotated and functionally classified. Here we have used the microarray to study transcript abundance in leaves of a free-growing aspen tree (Populus tremula) in northern Sweden during natural autumn senescence. Of the 13,490 spotted clones, 3,792 represented genes with significant expression in all leaf samples from the seven studied dates. Conclusions We observed a major shift in gene expression, coinciding with massive chlorophyll degradation, that reflected a shift from photosynthetic competence to energy generation by mitochondrial respiration, oxidation of fatty acids and nutrient mobilization. Autumn senescence had much in common with senescence in annual plants; for example many proteases were induced. We also found evidence for increased transcriptional activity before the appearance of visible signs of senescence, presumably preparing the leaf for degradation of its components.
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| 3. |
- Carlsson, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Mode of growth determines differential expression of prostasomes in cultures of prostate cancer cell lines and opens for studies of prostasome gene expression
- 2006
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Ingår i: Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. - : Uppsala Medical Society. - 0300-9734 .- 2000-1967. ; 111:3, s. 293-301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The exocrine secretion of the acinar gland cells in the human prostate consists of, among other components, a serous secretion and prostasomes. The prostasomes are functionally associated with both reproduction and prostate cancer development and are capable to raise autoantibodies at various pathologies. Therefore, we are trying to characterize prostasome antigens by analysing prostasome- producing cell lines of prostate cancers with the cDNA microarray technique. To obtain one state with synthesis of prostasomes and another state without synthesis, we checked whether the prostasome differentiation was influenced by the mode of growing the cells, that is, whether the cells had been growing on a solid support or on a flexible one. We studied the expression of prostasomes in the cell lines PC3, DU145 and LNCaP. We grew the cells with the following methods: Monocellular layers on microbeads, multicellular spheroids, single cells in suspension cultures, and xenotransplants in nude rats. The presence of prostasomes was examined by ELISA, immunocytochemistry or electron microscopy. The results showed that growing the cells on microbeads (solid support) produced a differentiation of prostasomes, while growing the cells in multicellular spheroids (flexible support) did not. Thus it should be possible to apply cDNA microarray analyses for characterizing the genes which are active at the cellular expression of prostasomes and then deduce the prostasome antigens.
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| 4. |
- Darj, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
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Ki-67 Immunostaining of endometrial biopsies with special reference to hormone replacement therapy
- 1995
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Ingår i: Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation. - 0378-7346 .- 1423-002X. ; 39:2, s. 120-124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the Ki-67 immunostaining method on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded endometrium and to use the method on endometrial biopsies from 30 postmenopausal women treated with 2 mg estradiol and different doses of natural micronized progesterone (50, 100 or 200 mg). METHODS: Two technicians prepared the immunostaining of slides from each of 12 endometrial specimens and 3 different observers estimated the Ki-67 immunostaining. One observer estimated all the slides 3 times on different occasions. The percentage of immunopositive nuclei in glandular epithelium was evaluated. RESULTS: The dominating component of variation for this method was between observers, with a median standard deviation of 20%. A total median variation including all components rendered a standard deviation of 23%. No significant effects of different technicians, preparations, or from the same observer on different occasions were found. In the major part of the biopsies from women on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), only 0-10% of the glandular epithelium was Ki-67 stained. CONCLUSION: Ki-67 immunostaining is an adequate technique to use when evaluating the effects of HRT on the endometrium. The main source of variation is between observers and not the technique of preparing the slides.
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| 5. |
- Darreh-Shori, Taher, et al.
(författare)
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Functional variability in butyrylcholinesterase activity regulates intrathecal cytokine and astroglial biomarker profiles in patients with Alzheimer's disease
- 2013
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Ingår i: Neurobiology of Aging. - : Elsevier BV. - 0197-4580 .- 1558-1497. ; 34:11, s. 2465-2481
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) activity is associated with activated astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease brain. The BuChE-K variant exhibits 30%-60% reduced acetylcholine (ACh) hydrolyzing capacity. Considering the increasing evidence of an immune-regulatory role of ACh, we investigated if genetic heterogeneity in BuChE affects cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of inflammation and cholinoceptive glial function. Alzheimer's disease patients (n = 179) were BCHE-K-genotyped. Proteomic and enzymatic analyses were performed on CSF and/or plasma. BuChE genotype was linked with differential CSF levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein, S100B, interleukin-1 beta, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. BCHE-K noncarriers displayed 100%-150% higher glial fibrillary acidic protein and 64%-110% higher S100B than BCHE-K carriers, who, in contrast, had 40%-80% higher interleukin-1b and 21%-27% higher TNF-alpha compared with noncarriers. A high level of CSF BuChE enzymatic phenotype also significantly correlated with higher CSF levels of astroglial markers and several factors of the innate complement system, but lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines. These individuals also displayed beneficial paraclinical and clinical findings, such as high cerebral glucose utilization, low beta-amyloid load, and less severe progression of clinical symptoms. In vitro analysis on human astrocytes confirmed the involvement of a regulated BuChE status in the astroglial responses to TNF-alpha and ACh. Histochemical analysis in a rat model of nerve injury-induced neuroinflammation, showed focal assembly of astroglial cells in proximity of BuChE-immunolabeled sites. In conclusion, these results suggest that BuChE enzymatic activity plays an important role in regulating intrinsic inflammation and activity of cholinoceptive glial cells and that this might be of clinical relevance. The dissociation between astroglial markers and inflammatory cytokines indicates that a proper activation and maintenance of astroglial function is a beneficial response, rather than a disease-driving mechanism. Further studies are needed to explore the therapeutic potential of manipulating BuChE activity or astroglial functional status. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Elfving, Nils, et al.
(författare)
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The Arabidopsis thaliana Med25 mediator subunit integrates environmental cues to control plant development
- 2011
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 108:20, s. 8245-8250
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Development in plants is controlled by abiotic environmental cues such as day length, light quality, temperature, drought, and salinity. These signals are sensed by a variety of systems and transmitted by different signal transduction pathways. Ultimately, these pathways are integrated to control expression of specific target genes, which encode proteins that regulate development and differentiation. The molecular mechanisms for such integration have remained elusive. We here show that a linear 130-amino-acids-long sequence in the Med25 subunit of the Arabidopsis thaliana Mediator is a common target for the drought response element binding protein 2A, zinc finger homeodomain 1, and Myb-like transcription factors which are involved in different stress response pathways. In addition, our results show that Med25 together with drought response element binding protein 2A also function in repression of PhyB-mediated light signaling and thus integrate signals from different regulatory pathways.
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| 7. |
- Johansson, Karl-Axel, et al.
(författare)
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The quality assurance process for the ARTSCAN head and neck study - a practical interactive approach for QA in 3DCRT and IMRT.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-8140 .- 1879-0887. ; 87:2, s. 290-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM: This paper describes the quality assurance (QA) work performed in the Swedish multicenter ARTSCAN (Accelerated RadioTherapy of Squamous cell CArcinomas in the head and Neck) trial to guarantee high quality in a multicenter study which involved modern radiotherapy such as 3DCRT or IMRT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was closed in June 2006 with 750 randomised patients. Radiation therapy-related data for every patient were sent by each participating centre to the QA office where all trial data were reviewed, analysed and stored. In case of any deviation from the protocol, an interactive process was started between the QA office and the local responsible clinician and/or physicist to increase the compliance to the protocol for future randomised patients. Meetings and workshops were held on a regular basis for discussions on various trial-related issues and for the QA office to report on updated results. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: This review covers the 734 patients out of a total of 750 who had entered the study. Deviations early in the study were corrected so that the overall compliance to the protocol was very high. There were only negligible variations in doses and dose distributions to target volumes for each specific site and stage. The quality of the treatments was high. Furthermore, an extensive database of treatment parameters was accumulated for future dose-volume vs. endpoint evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive QA programme increased the probability to draw firm conclusions from our study and may serve as a concept for QA work in future radiotherapy trials where comparatively small effects are searched for in a heterogeneous tumour population.
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| 8. |
- Kucukoglu, Melis, et al.
(författare)
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WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX4 (WOX4)-like genes regulate cambial cell division activity and secondary growth in Populus trees
- 2017
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 215, s. 642-657
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant secondary growth derives from the meristematic activity of the vascular cambium. In Arabidopsis thaliana, cell divisions in the cambium are regulated by the transcription factor WOX4, a key target of the CLAVATA3 (CLV3)/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION (ESR)-RELATED 41 (CLE41) signaling pathway. However, function of the WOX4-like genes in plants that are dependent on a much more prolific secondary growth, such as trees, remains unclear.Here, we investigate the role of WOX4 and CLE41 homologs for stem secondary growth in Populus trees.In Populus, PttWOX4 genes are specifically expressed in the cambial region during vegetative growth, but not after growth cessation and during dormancy, possibly involving a regulation by auxin. In PttWOX4a/b RNAi trees, primary growth was not affected whereas the width of the vascular cambium was severely reduced and secondary growth was greatly diminished.Our data show that in Populus trees, PttWOX4 genes control cell division activity in the vascular cambium, and hence growth in stem girth. This activity involves the positive regulation of PttWOX4a/b through PttCLE41-related genes. Finally, expression profiling suggests that the CLE41 signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved program for the regulation of vascular cambium activity between angiosperm and gymnosperm tree species.
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| 9. |
- Nilsson, Måns, et al.
(författare)
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The missing link : Bringing institutions and politics into energy future studies
- 2011
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Ingår i: Futures. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-3287 .- 1873-6378. ; 43:10, s. 1117-1128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Energy future studies can be a useful tool for learning about how to induce and manage technical, economic and policy change related to energy supply and use. The private sector has successfully deployed them for strategic planning, examining key parameters such as markets, competition and consumer trends. However in public policy, most energy future studies remain disconnected from policy making. One reason is that they often ignore the key political and institutional factors that underpin much of the anticipated, wished-for or otherwise explored energy systems developments. Still, we know that institutions and politics are critical enablers or constraints to technical and policy change. This paper examines how analytical insights into political and institutional dynamics can enhance energy future studies. It develops an approach that combines systems-technical change scenarios with political and institutional analysis. Using the example of a backcasting study dealing with the long term low-carbon transformation of a national energy system, it applies two levels of institutional and political analysis; at the level of international regimes and at the level of sectoral policy, and examines how future systems changes and policy paths are conditioned by institutional change processes. It finds that the systematic application of these variables significantly enhances and renders more useful backcasting studies of energy futures.
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| 10. |
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