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| 2. |
- Breitfeld, Jana, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic dissection of serum vaspin highlights its causal role in lipid metabolism
- 2023
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Ingår i: Obesity. - 1930-7381. ; 31:11, s. 2862-2874
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Vaspin (visceral adipose tissue derived serine protease inhibitor, SERPINA12) is associated with obesity-related metabolic traits, but its causative role is still elusive. The role of genetics in serum vaspin variability to establish its causal relationship with metabolically relevant traits was investigated. Methods: A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for serum vaspin from six independent cohorts (N = 7446) was conducted. Potential functional variants of vaspin were included in Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to assess possible causal pathways between vaspin and homeostasis model assessment and lipid traits. To further validate the MR analyses, data from Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) were analyzed, db/db mice were treated with vaspin, and serum lipids were measured. Results: A total of 468 genetic variants represented by five independent variants (rs7141073, rs1956709, rs4905216, rs61978267, rs73338689) within the vaspin locus were associated with serum vaspin (all p < 5×10−8, explained variance 16.8%). MR analyses revealed causal relationships between serum vaspin and triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol. Gene expression correlation analyses suggested that genes, highly correlated with vaspin expression in adipose tissue, are enriched in lipid metabolic processes. Finally, in vivo vaspin treatment reduced serum triglycerides in obese db/db mice. Conclusions: The data show that serum vaspin is strongly determined by genetic variants within vaspin, which further highlight vaspin's causal role in lipid metabolism.
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| 3. |
- Horn, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Competition, Long Run Contracts, and Internal Inefficiencies in Firms
- 1991
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Internal reward structures in firms are often integral parts of their "culture", and are changed infrequently in comparision to decisions about e.g., output prices. This paper investigates how this feature of firm organization provides a mechanism through which product market competition affects firm's internal efficiency. The design of firms' internal organization is modeled as a choice of an incentive structure between a principal and an agent, with strategic implications for firm's competitive positions on the product market. It is shown that - contrary to popular beliefs - there is a negative relation between the competitiveness of the product market and effort incentives.
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| 4. |
- Horn, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Managerial Effort Incentives, X-Inefficiency and International Trade
- 1991
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The paper investigates formally the old idea that competition brought about by international trade yields welfare gains by reducing internal slack - "X-inefficiency" - in firms. The paper employs a contract-theoretic based, general equilibrium, trade model to demonstrate how international trade affects the contractual relationship in firms so as to induce more managerial effort supply. This increased effort supply is shown to be beneficial from a welfare perspective, partly because firms are X-inefficient. But, while these results partly confirm the economic "folklore", the folklore can be questioned on other grounds.
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| 6. |
- Lohani, Sunil Prasad, et al.
(författare)
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Small-scale biogas technology and clean cooking fuel: Assessing the potential and links with SDGs in low-income countries – A case study of Nepal
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments. - : Elsevier BV. - 2213-1388. ; 46:101301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Small-scale biogas technology has been instrumental in providing clean cooking fuel in several low-income countries. This study investigates the role of domestic biogas technologies in meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.1, i.e., the share of the population using modern cooking solutions, considering a case study in Nepal. The country has an over 60 years’ successful history in the development of household biogas technologies with more than 431,000 biogas plants installation in close co-operation with different stakeholders including government, international development agencies, and private companies. There has not been an appreciable technological development over several decades of biogas promotion in Nepal, nonetheless, there is a need for indigenous technologies that can cope with multi-feedstock and fluctuating ambient temperature. Household bio-digester is one of viable options for simultaneously producing clean energy source (i.e. biogas) and nutrient-rich digestate (i.e. bio-fertilizer). In Nepal, less than one percent of the total biogas potential has been harnessed despite the government’s support and financing schemes. The total potential of biogas production from livestock manure is estimated to be about 3043.58 million m3/year when the full potential will be utilized. The corresponding avoided emissions would be 4.35 million tonnes CO2eq/year. Clean cooking fuel from domestic biogas technology could help in achieving SDGs in low-income countries when plans and policies for promoting robust small-scale biogas technology are in place. This study also explores the complementarity and synergies of biogas development and their interlinkages with other SDGs.
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| 8. |
- Williamson, Alice, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association study and functional characterization identifies candidate genes for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Nature. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 55:6, s. 973-983
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Distinct tissue-specific mechanisms mediate insulin action in fasting and postprandial states. Previous genetic studies have largely focused on insulin resistance in the fasting state, where hepatic insulin action dominates. Here we studied genetic variants influencing insulin levels measured 2 h after a glucose challenge in >55,000 participants from three ancestry groups. We identified ten new loci (P < 5 × 10-8) not previously associated with postchallenge insulin resistance, eight of which were shown to share their genetic architecture with type 2 diabetes in colocalization analyses. We investigated candidate genes at a subset of associated loci in cultured cells and identified nine candidate genes newly implicated in the expression or trafficking of GLUT4, the key glucose transporter in postprandial glucose uptake in muscle and fat. By focusing on postprandial insulin resistance, we highlighted the mechanisms of action at type 2 diabetes loci that are not adequately captured by studies of fasting glycemic traits.
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| 9. |
- Wittig, Cornelius, 1994-, et al.
(författare)
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The role of fluid friction in streamer formation and biofilm growth
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Bacillus subtilis biofilms were grown in laminar channel flow at wall shear stress spanning one order of magnitude (tau_w = 0.068 Pa to tau_w = 0.67 Pa). We monitor, non-invasively, the evolution of the three-dimensional distribution of biofilm over seven days using optical coherence tomography (OCT). The obtained biofilms consist of many microcolonies where the characteristic colony has a base structure in the form of a leaning pillar and a streamer in the form of a thin filament that originates near the tip of the pillar. While the shape, size and distribution of these microcolonies depend on the imposed shear stress, the same structural features appear consistently for all shear stress values. The formation of streamers seems to occur after the development of a base structure, suggesting that the latter induces a curved secondary flow that triggers the formation of the streamers. Moreover, we observe that the biofilm volume grows approximately linearly over seven days for all the shear stress values, with a growth rate that is inversely proportional to the wall shear stress. We develop a simple model of friction-limited growth, which agrees with the experimental observations. The model provides physical insight into growth mechanisms and can be used to develop accurate continuum models of bacterial biofilm growth.
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