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- Hanley-Cook, Giles T, et al.
(författare)
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Food biodiversity and total and cause-specific mortality in 9 European countries : An analysis of a prospective cohort study
- 2021
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Ingår i: PLoS Medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1676 .- 1549-1277. ; 18:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Food biodiversity, encompassing the variety of plants, animals, and other organisms consumed as food and drink, has intrinsic potential to underpin diverse, nutritious diets and improve Earth system resilience. Dietary species richness (DSR), which is recommended as a crosscutting measure of food biodiversity, has been positively associated with the micronutrient adequacy of diets in women and young children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, the relationships between DSR and major health outcomes have yet to be assessed in any population.METHODS AND FINDINGS: We examined the associations between DSR and subsequent total and cause-specific mortality among 451,390 adults enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study (1992 to 2014, median follow-up: 17 years), free of cancer, diabetes, heart attack, or stroke at baseline. Usual dietary intakes were assessed at recruitment with country-specific dietary questionnaires (DQs). DSR of an individual's yearly diet was calculated based on the absolute number of unique biological species in each (composite) food and drink. Associations were assessed by fitting multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models. In the EPIC cohort, 2 crops (common wheat and potato) and 2 animal species (cow and pig) accounted for approximately 45% of self-reported total dietary energy intake [median (P10-P90): 68 (40 to 83) species consumed per year]. Overall, higher DSR was inversely associated with all-cause mortality rate. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing total mortality in the second, third, fourth, and fifth (highest) quintiles (Qs) of DSR to the first (lowest) Q indicate significant inverse associations, after stratification by sex, age, and study center and adjustment for smoking status, educational level, marital status, physical activity, alcohol intake, and total energy intake, Mediterranean diet score, red and processed meat intake, and fiber intake [HR (95% CI): 0.91 (0.88 to 0.94), 0.80 (0.76 to 0.83), 0.69 (0.66 to 0.72), and 0.63 (0.59 to 0.66), respectively; PWald < 0.001 for trend]. Absolute death rates among participants in the highest and lowest fifth of DSR were 65.4 and 69.3 cases/10,000 person-years, respectively. Significant inverse associations were also observed between DSR and deaths due to cancer, heart disease, digestive disease, and respiratory disease. An important study limitation is that our findings were based on an observational cohort using self-reported dietary data obtained through single baseline food frequency questionnaires (FFQs); thus, exposure misclassification and residual confounding cannot be ruled out.CONCLUSIONS: In this large Pan-European cohort, higher DSR was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality, independent of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and other known dietary risk factors. Our findings support the potential of food (species) biodiversity as a guiding principle of sustainable dietary recommendations and food-based dietary guidelines.
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- Ludvigsson, Johnny, 1943-, et al.
(författare)
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GAD treatment and insulin secretion in recent-onset type 1 diabetes
- 2008
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Ingår i: New England Journal of Medicine. - Boston, Mass : Massachusetts medical society. - 0028-4793 .- 1533-4406. ; 359:18, s. 1909-1920
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The 65-kD isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) is a major autoantigen in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. This trial assessed the ability of alum-formulated GAD (GAD-alum) to reverse recent-onset type 1 diabetes in patients 10 to 18 years of age. Methods We randomly assigned 70 patients with type 1 diabetes who had fasting C-peptide levels above 0.1 nmol per liter (0.3 ng per milliliter) and GAD autoantibodies, recruited within 18 months after receiving the diagnosis of diabetes, to receive subcutaneous injections of 20 μg of GAD-alum (35 patients) or placebo (alum alone, 35 patients) on study days 1 and 30. At day 1 and months 3, 9, 15, 21, and 30, patients underwent a mixed-meal tolerance test to stimulate residual insulin secretion (measured as the C-peptide level). The effect of GAD-alum on the immune system was also studied. Results Insulin secretion gradually decreased in both study groups. The study treatment had no significant effect on change in fasting C-peptide level after 15 months (the primary end point). Fasting C-peptide levels declined from baseline levels significantly less over 30 months in the GAD-alum group than in the placebo group (−0.21 vs. −0.27 nmol per liter [−0.62 vs. −0.81 ng per milliliter], P = 0.045), as did stimulated secretion measured as the area under the curve (−0.72 vs. −1.02 nmol per liter per 2 hours [−2.20 vs. −3.08 ng per milliliter per 2 hours], P = 0.04). No protective effect was seen in patients treated 6 months or more after receiving the diagnosis. Adverse events appeared to be mild and similar in frequency between the two groups. The GAD-alum treatment induced a GAD-specific immune response. Conclusions GAD-alum may contribute to the preservation of residual insulin secretion in patients with recent-onset type 1 diabetes, although it did not change the insulin requirement. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00435981.)
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- Barnes, David L., et al.
(författare)
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Operation of soil vapor extraction in cold climates
- 2002
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Ingår i: Cold regions engineering. - New York : American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). - 784406219 ; , s. 956-967
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soil Vapor Extraction has proven to be a viable method for reducing the mass of volatile compounds from soils that have been impacted by contamination. The theory, design and use of SVE systems have been fairly well documented, however the use of SVE systems in cold environments such as Alaska has not been adequately investigated to date. This paper examines the use of SVE systems in cold environments. The affect of low soil temperatures on volatile compound removal by SVE is discussed. Methods used to overcome the impact low temperatures have on the operation and effectiveness of SVE systems are examined in detail. Possible low cost strategies such as barometric pumping during winter months are presented as solutions to reducing SVE operating costs in cold regions
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- Buchanan, James, et al.
(författare)
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Factor's that impact on women's decision-making around prenatal genomic tests : An international discrete choice survey
- 2022
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Ingår i: Prenatal Diagnosis. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0197-3851 .- 1097-0223. ; 42:7, s. 934-946
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective We conducted a survey-based discrete-choice experiment (DCE) to understand the test features that drive women's preferences for prenatal genomic testing, and explore variation across countries. Methods Five test attributes were identified as being important for decision-making through a literature review, qualitative interviews and quantitative scoring exercise. Twelve scenarios were constructed in which respondents choose between two invasive tests or no test. Women from eight countries who delivered a baby in the previous 24 months completed a DCE presenting these scenarios. Choices were modeled using conditional logit regression analysis. Results Surveys from 1239 women (Australia: n = 178; China: n = 179; Denmark: n = 88; Netherlands: n = 177; Singapore: n = 90; Sweden: n = 178; UK: n = 174; USA: n = 175) were analyzed. The key attribute affecting preferences was a test with the highest diagnostic yield (p < 0.01). Women preferred tests with short turnaround times (p < 0.01), and tests reporting variants of uncertain significance (VUS; p < 0.01) and secondary findings (SFs; p < 0.01). Several country-specific differences were identified, including time to get a result, who explains the result, and the return of VUS and SFs. Conclusion Most women want maximum information from prenatal genomic tests, but our findings highlight country-based differences. Global consensus on how to return uncertain results is not necessarily realistic or desirable.
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- Golovliov, Igor, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Long-Term Survival of Virulent Tularemia Pathogens outside a Host in Conditions That Mimic Natural Aquatic Environments
- 2021
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - : Elsevier. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 87:6, s. 1-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease tularemia, can cause seasonal outbreaks of acute febrile illness in humans with disease peaks in late summer to autumn. Interestingly, its mechanisms for environmental persistence between outbreaks are poorly understood. One hypothesis is that F. tularensis forms biofilms in aquatic environments. We utilized two fully virulent wild-type strains: FSC200 (Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica) and Schu S4 (Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis) and three control strains, the attenuated live vaccine strain (LVS; F. tularensis subsp. holarctica), a Schu S4 DwbtI mutant that is documented to form biofilms, and the low-virulence strain U112 of the closely related species Francisella novicida. Strains were incubated in saline solution (0.9% NaCl) microcosms for 24 weeks at both 4°C and 20°C, whereupon viability and biofilm formation were measured. These temperatures were selected to approximate winter and summer temperatures of fresh water in Scandinavia, respectively. U112 and Schu S4 DwbtI formed biofilms, but F. tularensis strains FSC200 and Schu S4 and the LVS did not. All strains exhibited prolonged viability at 4°C compared to 20°C. U112 and FSC200 displayed remarkable long-term persistence at 4°C, with only 1- and 2-fold log reductions, respectively, of viable cells after 24weeks. Schu S4 exhibited lower survival, yielding no viable cells by week 20. At 24weeks, cells from FSC200, but not from Schu S4, were still fully virulent in mice. Taken together, these results demonstrate biofilm-independent, long-term survival of pathogenic F. tularensis subsp. holarctica in conditions that mimic overwinter survival in aquatic environments.
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- Johansson, Erik M .J., et al.
(författare)
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Interfacial properties of photovoltaic TiO2/dye/PEDOT-PSS heterojunctions
- 2005
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Ingår i: Synthetic metals. - : Elsevier BV. - 0379-6779 .- 1879-3290. ; 149:03-feb, s. 157-167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Systems comprising a dense TiO2 film electrode, a ruthenium polypyridine dye and a PEDOT-PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(4-styrenesulphonate)) film were prepared. The heterojunctions were shown to have photovoltaic properties, with the dye absorbing the light, the TiO2 acting as an electron conducting material and PEDOT-PSS acting as a hole transport material. A series of dyes was used to investigate their influence on the photocurrent and the photovoltage characteristics of the heterojunction. These results were compared to a photoelectrochemical system in which the PEDOT-PSS was replaced by a liquid electrolyte containing triiodide/iodide redox-couple. Photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) was used to monitor the interfacial properties of the heterojunction and the investigation points out effects of importance when assembling the materials together to a functional unit. Specifically, it was concluded that the interaction with the dye clearly affects the structure of PEDOT-PSS, both with respect to the surface composition of PSS relative to PEDOT and with respect to the chemical state of the sulphur in the polymers. Moreover, a comparison of the Ru3d and the valence band spectra of the two different interfaces (dye/TiO2 and dye/PEDOT-PSS) indicates that the energy level structure of the dyes compared to the substrate is different for the two surfaces. Thus, in the combined energy level picture under dark conditions, the energy levels in TiO2 relative to the energy levels in PEDOT-PSS depend on the dye.
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