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- Ittermann, T., et al.
(författare)
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Standardized Map of Iodine Status in Europe
- 2020
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Ingår i: Thyroid. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1050-7256 .- 1557-9077. ; 30:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Knowledge about the population's iodine status is important, because it allows adjustment of iodine supply and prevention of iodine deficiency. The validity and comparability of iodine-related population studies can be improved by standardization, which was one of the goals of the EUthyroid project. The aim of this study was to establish the first standardized map of iodine status in Europe by using standardized urinary iodine concentration (UIC) data. Materials and Methods:We established a gold-standard laboratory in Helsinki measuring UIC by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A total of 40 studies from 23 European countries provided 75 urine samples covering the whole range of concentrations. Conversion formulas for UIC derived from the gold-standard values were established by linear regression models and were used to postharmonize the studies by standardizing the UIC data of the individual studies. Results:In comparison with the EUthyroid gold-standard, mean UIC measurements were higher in 11 laboratories and lower in 10 laboratories. The mean differences ranged from -36.6% to 49.5%. Of the 40 postharmonized studies providing data for the standardization, 16 were conducted in schoolchildren, 13 in adults, and 11 in pregnant women. Median standardized UIC was <100 mu g/L in 1 out of 16 (6.3%) studies in schoolchildren, while in adults 7 out of 13 (53.8%) studies had a median standardized UIC <100 mu g/L. Seven out of 11 (63.6%) studies in pregnant women revealed a median UIC Conclusions:We demonstrate that iodine deficiency is still present in Europe, using standardized data from a large number of studies. Adults and pregnant women, particularly, are at risk for iodine deficiency, which calls for action. For instance, a more uniform European legislation on iodine fortification is warranted to ensure that noniodized salt is replaced by iodized salt more often. In addition, further efforts should be put on harmonizing iodine-related studies and iodine measurements to improve the validity and comparability of results.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Björn, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in metal tolerance among strains, populations, and species of marine diatoms – Importance of exponential growth for quantification
- 2020
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Ingår i: Aquatic Toxicology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0166-445X .- 1879-1514. ; 226
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2020 The Author(s) Strains of microalgae vary in traits between species and populations due to adaptation or stochastic processes. Traits of individual strains may also vary depending on the acclimatization state and external forces, such as abiotic stress. In this study we tested how metal tolerance differs among marine diatoms at three organizational levels: species, populations, and strains. At the species level we compared two pelagic Baltic Sea diatoms (Skeletonema marinoi and Thalassiosira baltica). We found that the between-species differences in tolerance (EC50) to the biologically active metals (Cu, Co, Ni, and Zn) was similar to that within-species. In contrast, the two species differed significantly in tolerance towards the non-essential metals, Ag (three-fold higher in T. baltica), Pb and Cd (two and three-fold higher in S. marinoi). At the population level, we found evidence that increased tolerance against Cu and Co (17 and 41 % higher EC50 on average, respectively) had evolved in a S. marinoi population subjected to historical mining activity. On a strain level we demonstrate how the growth phase of cultures (i.e., cellular densities above exponential growth) modulated dose-response relationships to Ag, Cd, Co, Cu, and Zn. Specifically, the EC50's were reduced by 10–60 % in non-exponentially growing S. marinoi (strain RO5AC), depending on metal. For the essential metals these differences were often larger than the average differences between the two species and populations. Consequently, without careful experimental design, interactions between nutrient limitation and metal stress may interfere with detection of small, but evolutionary and ecologically important, differences in tolerance between microalgae. To avoid such artifacts, we outline a semi-continuous cultivation approach that maintains, and empirically tests, that exponential growth is achieved. We argue that such an approach is essential to enable comparison of population or strain differences in tolerance using dose-response tests on cultures of microalgae.
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| 3. |
- Bird, Clare, et al.
(författare)
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Heterotrophic Foraminifera Capable of Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nitrogen availability often limits biological productivity in marine systems, where inorganic nitrogen, such as ammonium is assimilated into the food web by bacteria and photoautotrophic eukaryotes. Recently, ammonium assimilation was observed in kleptoplast-containing protists of the phylum foraminifera, possibly via the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase (GS/GOGAT) assimilation pathway imported with the kleptoplasts. However, it is not known if the ubiquitous and diverse heterotrophic protists have an innate ability for ammonium assimilation. Using stable isotope incubations (15N-ammonium and 13C-bicarbonate) and combining transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with quantitative nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) imaging, we investigated the uptake and assimilation of dissolved inorganic ammonium by two heterotrophic foraminifera; a non-kleptoplastic benthic species, Ammonia sp., and a planktonic species, Globigerina bulloides. These species are heterotrophic and not capable of photosynthesis. Accordingly, they did not assimilate 13C-bicarbonate. However, both species assimilated dissolved 15N-ammonium and incorporated it into organelles of direct importance for ontogenetic growth and development of the cell. These observations demonstrate that at least some heterotrophic protists have an innate cellular mechanism for inorganic ammonium assimilation, highlighting a newly discovered pathway for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) assimilation within the marine microbial loop.
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| 4. |
- Bird, Clare, et al.
(författare)
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The genetic diversity, morphology, biogeography, and taxonomic designations of Ammonia (Foraminifera) in the Northeast Atlantic
- 2020
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Ingår i: Marine Micropaleontology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0377-8398.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The genetic diversity, morphology and biogeography of Ammonia specimens was investigated across the Northeast (NE) Atlantic margins, to enhance the regional (palaeo)ecological studies based on this genus. Living specimens were collected from 22 sampling locations ranging from Shetland to Portugal to determine the distribution of Ammonia genetic types across the NE Atlantic shelf biomes. We successfully imaged (via scanning electron microscopy, SEM) and genotyped 378 Ammonia specimens, based on the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene, linking morphology to genetic type. Phylogenetic analyses enabled identification of seven genetic types and subtypes inhabiting the NE Atlantic margins. Where possible, we linked SSU genetic types to the established large subunit (LSU) T-type nomenclature of Hayward et al. (2004). SSU genetic types with no matching T-type LSU gene sequences in GenBank were allocated new T-numbers to bring them in line with the widely adopted T-type nomenclature. The genetic types identified in the NE Atlantic margins are T1, T2, T3, T6, and T15, with both T2 and T3 being split further into the subtypes T2A and T2B, and T3S and T3V respectively. The seven genetic types and subtypes exhibit different biogeographical distributions and/or ecological preferences, but co-occurrence of two or more genetic types is common. A shore-line transect at Dartmouth (South England) demonstrates that sampling position on shore (high, middle or low shore) influences the genetic type collected, the numbers of genetic types that co-occur, and the numbers of individuals collected. We performed morphometric analysis on the SEM images of 158 genotyped Ammonia specimens. T15 and the subtypes T3S and T3V can be morphologically distinguished. We can unequivocally assign the taxonomic names A. batava and A. falsobeccarii to T3S and T15, respectively. However, the end members of T1, T2A, T2B and T6 cannot be unambiguously distinguished, and therefore these genetic types are partially cryptic. However, we confirm that T2A can be assigned to A. aberdoveyensis, but caution must be taken in warm provinces where the presence of T2B will complicate the morphological identification of T2A. We suggest that T6 should not currently be allocated to the Pliocene species A. aomoriensis due to morphological discrepancies with the taxonomic description and to the lack of genetic information. Of significance is that these partially cryptic genetic types frequently co-occur, which has considerable implications for precise species identification and accurate data interpretation.
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