| 1. |
- Barber, I., et al.
(author)
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Behavioural responses to simulated avian predation in female three spined sticklebacks the effect of experimental Schistocephalus solidus infections
- 2004
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In: Behaviour. - 0005-7959 .- 1568-539X. ; 141, s. 1425-1440
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Plerocercoid larvae of Schistocephalus solidus are common parasites of three-spined sticklebacks that require the ingestion of stickleback hosts by birds to complete their life cycle. Amongst wild-caught sticklebacks, infection is associated with a reduction in antipredator behaviour; however, to date no study has examined the escape responses of experimentally infected sticklebacks, and thus assigning causality remains difficult. Here, we compare aspects of the antipredator behaviour of five experimentally infected female sticklebacks with shamexposed controls over a 16 post-exposure week period. During weeks 1-7 post-exposure, the escape responses of infected fish did not differ significantly from those of sham-exposed fish. However, over weeks 9-15, when infected fish had developed plerocercoids of >50 mg—the size at which they become infective to birds —a lower proportion of infected fish performed directional responses and reached cover within 2 s of the strike. Infected fish also performed a lower frequency of ‘staggered dashes’, and a higher frequency of ‘slow swims’, than shamexposed fish over weeks 9-15. Amongst sham-exposed fish, re-emergence from cover was uncommon throughout the study, but infected fish regularly left cover during weeks 9-15. Our results support those of previous studies examining behavioural change in naturally infected fish and, although other explanations remain possible, our finding that behaviour change in experimentally-infected fish is limited to hosts harbouring single infective parasites provides further evidence that the behaviour changes may be parasite adaptations.
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| 2. |
- Hawkesworth, Sophie, et al.
(author)
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Early exposure to toxic metals has a limited effect on blood pressure or kidney function in later childhood, rural Bangladesh
- 2013
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In: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 42:1, s. 176-185
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Chronic exposure to toxic metals such as arsenic and cadmium has been implicated in the development of kidney and cardiovascular diseases but few studies have directly measured exposure during in utero and early child development. Methods We investigated the impact of exposure to arsenic (mainly in drinking water) and cadmium (mainly in rice) during pregnancy on blood pressure and kidney function at 4.5 years of age in rural Bangladesh. The effect of arsenic exposure in infancy was also assessed. Results Within a cohort of 1887 children recruited into the MINIMat study, exposure to arsenic (maternal urinary arsenic, U-As), but not cadmium, during in utero development was associated with a minimal increase in blood pressure at 4.5 years. Each 1 mg/l increase in pregnancy U-As was associated with 3.69 mmHg (95% CI: 0.74, 6.63; P: 0.01) increase in child systolic and a 2.91 mmHg (95% CI: 0.41, 5.42; P: 0.02) increase in child diastolic blood pressure. Similarly, a 1 mg/l increase in child U-As at 18 months of age was associated with a 8.25 mmHg (95% CI: 1.37, 15.1; P: 0.02) increase in systolic blood pressure at 4.5 years. There was also a marginal inverse association between infancy U-As and glomerular filtration rate at 4.5 years (-33.4 ml/min/1.72 m(2); 95% CI: -70.2, 3.34; P: 0.08). No association was observed between early arsenic or cadmium exposure and kidney volume at 4.5 years assessed by ultrasound. Conclusions These modest effect sizes provide some evidence that arsenic exposure in early life has long-term consequences for blood pressure and maybe kidney function.
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| 3. |
- Vorobiev, Alexei, et al.
(author)
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Graphene oxide hydration and solvation : an in situ neutron reflectivity study
- 2014
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In: Nanoscale. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2040-3364 .- 2040-3372. ; 6:20, s. 12151-12156
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Graphene oxide membranes were recently suggested for applications in separation of ethanol from water using a vapor permeation method. Using isotope contrast, neutron reflectivity was applied to evaluate the amounts of solvents intercalated into a membrane from pure and binary vapors and to evaluate the selectivity of the membrane permeation. Particularly, the effect of D2O, ethanol and D2O–ethanol vapours on graphene oxide (GO) thin films (25 nm) was studied. The interlayer spacing of GO and the amount of intercalated solvents were evaluated simultaneously as a function of vapour exposure duration. The significant difference in neutron scattering length density between D2O and ethanol allows distinguishing insertion of each component of the binary mixture into the GO structure. The amount of intercalated solvent at saturation corresponds to 1.4 molecules per formula unit for pure D2O (1.4 monolayers) and 0.45 molecules per formula unit (one monolayer) for pure ethanol. This amount is in addition to H2O absorbed at ambient humidity. Exposure of the GO film to ethanol–D2O vapours results in intercalation of GO with both solvents even for high ethanol concentration. A mixed D2O–ethanol layer inserted into the GO structure is water enriched compared to the composition of vapours due to slower ethanol diffusion into GO interlayers
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| 6. |
- Grishin, Alexander M.
(author)
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Amplifying magneto-optical photonic crystal
- 2010
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In: Applied Physics Letters. - : AIP Publishing. - 0003-6951 .- 1077-3118. ; 97:6, s. 061116-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We modeled transmission and Faraday rotation characteristics of Er-doped all-garnet [Bi3Fe5O12/Gd3Ga5O12](m) photonic crystals in view of their application in C-band magneto-optical amplifiers. It is found that 48 layered 11.4 mu m thick crystal at lambda=1532 nm provides 45 degrees Faraday rotation and transmission as high as 85% being pumped with 100 mW/980 nm solid state laser diode. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3479910]
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| 10. |
- Kaspersen, Alexander Emil, et al.
(author)
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Short- and long-term mortality after deep sternal wound infection following cardiac surgery : experiences from
- 2021
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In: European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. - : Oxford University Press. - 1010-7940 .- 1873-734X. ; 60:2, s. 233-241
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) is a serious complication after open-heart surgery. We investigated the association between DSWI and short- and long-term all-cause mortality in a large well-defined nationwide population. METHODS: A retrospective, nationwide cohort study, which included 114676 consecutive patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or valve surgery from 1997 to 2015 in Sweden. Short- and long-term mortality was compared between DSWI patients and non-DSWI patients using propensity score inverse probability weighting adjustment based on patient characteristics and comorbidities. Median follow-up was 8.0 years (range 0-18.9). RESULTS: Altogether, 1516 patients (1.3%) developed DSWI, most commonly in patients undergoing combined CABG and valve surgery (2.1%). DSWI patients were older and had more disease burden than non-DSWI patients. The unadjusted cumulative mortality was higher in the DSWI group compared with the non-DSWI group at 90 days (7.9% vs 3.0%, P < 0.001) and at 1 year (12.8% vs 4.5%, P < 0.001). The adjusted absolute difference in risk of death was 2.3% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8-3.9] at 90 days and 4.7% (95% CI: 2.6-6.7) at 1 year. DSWI was independently associated with 90-day [adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.89 (95% CI: 1.38-2.59)], 1-year [aRR 2.13 (95% CI: 1.68-2.71)] and long-term all-cause mortality [adjusted hazard ratio 1.56 (95% CI: 1.30-1.88)]. CONCLUSIONS: Both short- and long-term mortality risks are higher in DSWI patients compared to non-DSWI patients. These results stress the importance of preventing these infections and careful postoperative monitoring of DSWI patients.
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