| 21. |
- Bagerius, Henric, 1974, et al.
(författare)
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Skönlitteraturen i historievetenskapen – några metodologiska reflektioner
- 2013
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Ingår i: Historisk Tidskrift. - 0345-469X. ; 133:3:3, s. 384-410
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How can novels and short stories be used in historical research? There seems to be three different approaches to the relationship between fiction and so- ciety among Swedish historians today: Fiction as reflection of society, fiction as action that influences society and fiction as dialogue between text and society. The main advantage of using literary sources is that they can contribute to a deeper understanding of social phenomena. This is because novels and short stories are often biased, subjective and fictitious. Although the selec- tion of appropriate novels and short stories for use in historical research raises questions of representativeness, similar methodological problems are part of all historical research. In general, it probably seems more proper to historians to choose realistic fiction that describes the contemporary society of the novelist, but this is not an absolute rule. Historians should not view the research methods employed to analyze fiction as particularly unique. Common historical approaches such as comparisons, argument analysis, discourse analysis of ideas, constructions and representations etc. can be ap- plied to novels and short stories as well as to other types of written sources. In three readings of the same short story, ‘Tvifvel’ by Anne Charlotte Lef- fler, we provide three examples, based on different research interests, of how historians can analyze a fictional text. These examples also demonstrate dif- ferent methodological approaches. One reading takes individual words and their meanings and connotations as a starting point. Another emphasizes dialogue in order to scrutinize the fictional characters’ views and positions. A third reading focuses on key episodes in the story. As these readings show, fiction can be valuable in historical research by complicating, refining, and qualifying our understanding of the past.
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Benedict, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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Acute sleep deprivation increases serum levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100 calcium binding protein B (S-100B) in healthy young men.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Sleep. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1550-9109 .- 0161-8105. ; 37:1, s. 195-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To investigate whether total sleep deprivation (TSD) affects circulating concentrations of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and S100 calcium binding protein B (S-100B) in humans. These factors are usually found in the cytoplasm of neurons and glia cells. Increasing concentrations of these factors in blood may be therefore indicative for either neuronal damage, impaired blood brain barrier function, or both. In addition, amyloid β (Aβ) peptides 1-42 and 1-40 were measured in plasma to calculate their ratio. A reduced plasma ratio of Aβ peptides 1-42 to 1-40 is considered an indirect measure of increased deposition of Aβ 1-42 peptide in the brain.
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Berger, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Cereal Byproducts Have Prebiotic Potential in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0021-8561 .- 1520-5118. ; 62:32, s. 8169-8178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Barley husks, rye bran, and a fiber residue from oat milk production were processed by heat pretreatment, various separation steps, and treatment with an endoxylanase in order to improve the prebiotic potential of these cereal byproducts. Metabolic functions were intended to improve along with improved microbial activity. The products obtained were included in a high-fat mouse diet so that all diets contained 5% dietary fiber. In addition, high-fat and low-fat controls as well as partially hydrolyzed guar gum were included in the study. The soluble fiber product obtained from rye bran caused a significant increase in the bifidobacteria (log copies of 16S rRNA genes; median (25−75 percentile): 6.38 (6.04−6.66) and 7.47 (7.30−7.74), respectively; p < 0.001) in parallel with a tendency of increased production of propionic acid and indications of improved metabolic function compared with high-fat fed control mice. The oat-derived product caused an increase in the pool of cecal propionic (from 0.62 ± 0.12 to 0.94 ± 0.08) and butyric acid (from 0.38 ± 0.04 to 0.60 ± 0.04) compared with the high-fat control, and it caused a significant increase in lactobacilli (log copies of 16S rRNA genes; median (25−75 percentile): 6.83 (6.65−7.53) and 8.04 (7.86−8.33), respectively; p < 0.01) in the cecal mucosa. However, no changes in measured metabolic parameters were observed by either oat or barley products.
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| 26. |
- Blank Savukinas, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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Angptl4 maintains in vivo repopulation capacity of CD34(+) human cord blood cells.
- 2012
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Ingår i: European Journal of Haematology. - : Wiley. - 1600-0609 .- 0902-4441. ; 89:3, s. 198-205
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Methods to expand hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) ex vivo encompass an attractive approach that would substantially broaden the clinical applicability of HSCs derived from cord blood. Recently, members of the Angiopoietin-like (Angptl) family of growth factors were shown to expand both murine and human HSCs. Specifically, Angptl5 has been implicated in the expansion of human NOD-SCID-repopulating cells (SRCs) ex vivo. Here, we sought to evaluate the potential of additional Angptls to expand human SRCs from cord blood. Additionally, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of Angptl-mediated expansion of SRCs across independent experiments. METHODS: Human CD34(+) cells from cord blood were cultured in vitro for eleven or eight days in the presence or absence of Angptls. The reconstitution capacity of expanded cells was subsequently measured in vivo by transplantation into NOD-SCID or NSG mice, and compared to that of uncultured cells. RESULTS: We report here that Angptl4 functions to maintain SRC-activity of CD34(+) CB-derived cells ex vivo as assayed in NOD-SCID and NSG mice. However, all Angptls tested, including Angptl1, 4, and 5, were associated with variation between experiments. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that Angptl4 and Angptl5 can lead to increased engraftment capacity of SRCs, but more frequently these factors are associated with maintenance of SRC-activity during ex vivo culture. Thus, Angptl-mediated expansion of SRCs ex vivo is associated with more inter-experimental variation than previously thought. We conclude that Angptls would be useful in instances where there is a need to maintain HSCs ex vivo, such as during transduction for gene therapy applications.
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
- Cabric, Sanja, et al.
(författare)
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Anchoring of vascular endothelial growth factor to surface-immobilized heparin on pancreatic islets : implications for stimulating islet angiogenesis
- 2010
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Ingår i: Tissue engineering. Part A. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1937-3341 .- 1937-335X. ; 16:3, s. 961-970
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In pancreatic islet transplantation, early revascularization is necessary for long-term graft function. We have shown in in vitro and in vivo models that modification with surface-attached heparin protects the islets from acute attack by the innate immune system of the blood following intraportal islet transplantation. In this study, we have investigated the ability of an immobilized conjugate composed of heparin to bind the angiogenic growth factor vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) as a means of attracting endothelial cells (ECs) to induce angiogenesis and revascularization. We analyzed the capacity of VEGF-A to bind to immobilized heparin and how this affected the proliferation and adherence of ECs to both artificial glass surfaces and islets. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring and slot-blot demonstrated the binding of VEGF-A to heparin-coated surfaces upon which ECs showed protein-dependent proliferation. Also, ECs cultured on heparin-coated glass surfaces exhibited effects upon focal contacts. Heparinized islets combined with VEGF-A demonstrated unaffected insulin release. Further, covering islets with heparin also increased the adhesion of ECs to the islet surface. Immobilized heparin on the islet surface may be a useful anchor molecule for achieving complete coverage of islets with angiogenic growth factors, ultimately improving islet revascularization and engraftment in pancreatic islet transplantation.
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| 29. |
- Carlsson, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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LC–MS/MS Screening Strategy for Unknown Adducts to N-Terminal Valine in Hemoglobin Applied to Smokers and Nonsmokers
- 2014
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Ingår i: Chemical Research in Toxicology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0893-228X .- 1520-5010. ; 27:12, s. 2062-2070
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electrophilically reactive compounds have the ability to form adducts with nucleophilic sites in DNA and proteins, constituting a risk for toxic effects. Mass spectrometric detection of adducts to N-terminal valine in hemoglobin (Hb) after detachment by modified Edman degradation procedures is one approach for in vivo monitoring of exposure to electrophilic compounds/metabolites. So far, applications have been limited to one or a few selected reactive species, such as acrylamide and its metabolite glycidamide. This article presents a novel screening strategy for unknown Hb adducts to be used as a basis for an adductomic approach. The method is based on a modified Edman procedure, FIRE, specifically developed for LC-MS/MS analysis of N-terminal valine adducts in Hb detached as fluorescein thiohydantoin (FTH) derivatives. The aim is to detect and identify a priori unknown Hb adducts in human blood samples. Screening of valine adducts was performed by stepwise scanning of precursor ions in small mass increments, monitoring four fragments common for the FTH derivative of valine with different N-substitutions in the multiple-reaction mode, covering a mass range of 135 Da (m/z 503-638). Samples from six smokers and six nonsmokers were analyzed. Control experiments were performed to compare these results with known adducts and to check for artifactual formation of adducts. In all samples of smokers and nonsmokers, seven adducts were identified, of which six have previously been studied. Nineteen unknown adducts were observed, and 14 of those exhibited fragmentation patterns similar to earlier studied FTH derivatives of adducts to valine. Identification of the unknown adducts will be the focus of future work. The presented methodology is a promising screening tool using Hb adducts to indicate exposure to potentially toxic electrophilic compounds and metabolites.
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| 30. |
- Caspersen, Siri, et al.
(författare)
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Phosphorus efficiency of potato varieties differing in maturity type
- 2013
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The objective of the present work was to investigate the effect of phosphorus fertilization on yield and phosphorus uptake and to compare the phosphorus efficiency for six potato varieties. During 2011 and 2012, field experiments were conducted on soils containing low levels of available phosphorus. Phosphorus fertilizer was added in the amounts of 0, 30 and 60 kg phosphorus per ha. In 2011, soil heterogeneity was large and tuber yield was increased by phosphorus addition only as a mean over all varieties. In 2012, an improved tuber yield by phosphorus fertilization was observed for most varieties. The weight of the larger tuber fractions was generally increased by phosphorus fertilization. Phosphorus efficiency, calculated as tuber dry weight per unit of fertilizer phosphorus added, tended to be higher for late than for early or intermediate varieties. The results indicate that late varieties might be more suitable than earlier varieties for locations were the risk of nutrient losses is high.
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