| 1. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(författare)
-
The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Holmes, Michael V., et al.
(författare)
-
Secretory Phospholipase A(2)-IIA and Cardiovascular Disease
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Journal of the American College of Cardiology. - : Elsevier. - 0735-1097 .- 1558-3597. ; 62:21, s. 1966-1976
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives This study sought to investigate the role of secretory phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2))-IIA in cardiovascular disease. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanBackground Higher circulating levels of sPLA(2)-IIA mass or sPLA(2) enzyme activity have been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events. However, it is not clear if this association is causal. A recent phase III clinical trial of an sPLA(2) inhibitor (varespladib) was stopped prematurely for lack of efficacy. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanMethods We conducted a Mendelian randomization meta-analysis of 19 general population studies (8,021 incident, 7,513 prevalent major vascular events [MVE] in 74,683 individuals) and 10 acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cohorts (2,520 recurrent MVE in 18,355 individuals) using rs11573156, a variant in PLA2G2A encoding the sPLA(2)-IIA isoenzyme, as an instrumental variable. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults PLA2G2A rs11573156 C allele associated with lower circulating sPLA(2)-IIA mass (38% to 44%) and sPLA(2) enzyme activity (3% to 23%) per C allele. The odds ratio (OR) for MVE per rs11573156 C allele was 1.02 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98 to 1.06) in general populations and 0.96 (95% CI: 0.90 to 1.03) in ACS cohorts. In the general population studies, the OR derived from the genetic instrumental variable analysis for MVE for a 1-log unit lower sPLA(2)-IIA mass was 1.04 (95% CI: 0.96 to 1.13), and differed from the non-genetic observational estimate (OR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.61 to 0.79). In the ACS cohorts, both the genetic instrumental variable and observational ORs showed a null association with MVE. Instrumental variable analysis failed to show associations between sPLA2 enzyme activity and MVE. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions Reducing sPLA(2)-IIA mass is unlikely to be a useful therapeutic goal for preventing cardiovascular events.
|
|
| 4. |
- Krauss, J, et al.
(författare)
-
Habitat fragmentation causes immediate and time-delayed biodiversity loss at different trophic levels
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 13:5, s. 597-605
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intensification or abandonment of agricultural land use has led to a severe decline of semi-natural habitats across Europe. This can cause immediate loss of species but also time-delayed extinctions, known as the extinction debt. In a pan-European study of 147 fragmented grassland remnants, we found differences in the extinction debt of species from different trophic levels. Present-day species richness of long-lived vascular plant specialists was better explained by past than current landscape patterns, indicating an extinction debt. In contrast, short-lived butterfly specialists showed no evidence for an extinction debt at a time scale of c. 40 years. Our results indicate that management strategies maintaining the status quo of fragmented habitats are insufficient, as time- delayed extinctions and associated co-extinctions will lead to further biodiversity loss in the future.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
- Serrano, Inmaculada, et al.
(författare)
-
C4BP(β-)-mediated immunomodulation attenuates inflammation in DSS-induced murine colitis and in myeloid cells from IBD patients
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Pharmacological Research. - 1043-6618. ; 197
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The most recent and promising therapeutic strategies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have engaged biologics targeting single effector components involved in major steps of the immune-inflammatory processes, such as tumor necrosis factor, interleukins or integrins. Nevertheless, these molecules have not yet met expectations regarding efficacy and safety, resulting in a significant percentage of refractory or relapsing patients. Thus, novel treatment options are urgently needed. The minor isoform of the complement inhibitor C4b-binding protein, C4BP(β-), has been shown to confer a robust anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory phenotype over inflammatory myeloid cells. Here we show that C4BP(β-)-mediated immunomodulation can significantly attenuate the histopathological traits and preserve the intestinal epithelial integrity in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced murine colitis. C4BP(β-) downregulated inflammatory transcripts, notably those related to neutrophil activity, mitigated circulating inflammatory effector cytokines and chemokines such as CXCL13, key in generating ectopic lymphoid structures, and, overall, prevented inflammatory immune cell infiltration in the colon of colitic mice. PRP6-HO7, a recombinant curtailed analogue with only immunomodulatory activity, achieved a similar outcome as C4BP(β-), indicating that the therapeutic effect is not due to the complement inhibitory activity. Furthermore, both C4BP(β-) and PRP6-HO7 significantly reduced, with comparable efficacy, the intrinsic and TLR-induced inflammatory markers in myeloid cells from both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease patients, regardless of their medication. Thus, the pleiotropic anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity of PRP6-HO7, able to “reprogram” myeloid cells from the complex inflammatory bowel environment and to restore immune homeostasis, might constitute a promising therapeutic option for IBD.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- Noguera-Salva, M. A., et al.
(författare)
-
Role of the C-terminal basic amino acids and the lipid anchor of the G gamma(2) protein in membrane interactions and cell localization
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta-Biomembranes. - : Elsevier BV. - 0005-2736. ; 1859:9, s. 1536-1547
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Heterotrimeric G proteins are peripheral membrane proteins that frequently localize to the plasma membrane where their presence in molar excess over G protein coupled receptors permits signal amplification. Their distribution is regulated by protein-lipid interactions, which has a clear influence on their activity. G beta gamma dimer drives the interaction between G protein heterotrimers with cell membranes. We focused our study on the role of the C-terminal region of the G gamma(2) protein in G protein interactions with cell membranes. The G gamma(2) subunit is modified at cysteine (Cys) 68 by the addition of an isoprenyl lipid, which is followed by the proteolytic removal of the last three residues that leaves an isoprenylated and carboxyl methylated Cys-68 as the terminal amino acid. The role of Cys isoprenylation of the CAAX box has been defined for other proteins, yet the importance of proteolysis and carboxyl methylation of isoprenylated proteins is less clear. Here, we showed that not only geranylgeranylation but also proteolysis and carboxyl methylation are essential for the correct localization of G gamma(2) in the plasma membrane. Moreover, we showed the importance of electrostatic interactions between the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane and the positively charged C-terminal domain of the G gamma(2) subunit (amino acids Arg-62, Lys-64 and Lys-65) as a second signal to reach the plasma membrane. Indeed, single or multiple point mutations at G gamma(2) C-terminal amino acids have a significant effect on G gamma(2) protein-plasma membrane interactions and its localization to charged Ld (liquid disordered) membrane microdomains. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane Lipid Therapy: Drugs Targeting Biomembranes edited by Pablo V. Escriba. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.
|
|
| 10. |
- Guardiola, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Circular microwave tomographic imaging. Experimental comparison between quantitative and qualitative algorithms
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation, EUCAP 2011. Rome, 11-15 April 2011. - 9788882020743 ; , s. 2800-2804
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The iterative Time Domain Inversion tomographic algorithm (TDI) proposed by Chalmers University of Technology is compared in terms of image quality to the UWB Magnitude Combined tomographic algorithm (MC-UWB) proposed by the Universitat Politcnica de Catalunya (UPC). The first is able to provide quantitative permittivity images of the object under test, while the second provides quantitative images, being its major strength the short reconstruction time (real time) and robustness. The comparison between the algorithms will be performed based on experimental measurements acquired with two tomographic setups, available at both universities. The Chalmers setup provides a short acquisition time but a narrow band behavior due to the monopole antennas, while the UPC setup is slower but uses broadband antennas.
|
|
