| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 2. |
- Wen, Wanqing, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association studies in East Asians identify new loci for waist-hip ratio and waist circumference
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sixty genetic loci associated with abdominal obesity, measured by waist circumference (WC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR), have been previously identified, primarily from studies conducted in Europeanancestry populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of associations of abdominal obesity with approximately 2.5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among 53,052 (for WC) and 48,312 (for WHR) individuals of Asian descent, and replicated 33 selected SNPs among 3,762 to 17,110 additional individuals. We identified four novel loci near the EFEMP1, ADAMTSL3, CNPY2, and GNAS genes that were associated with WC after adjustment for body mass index (BMI); two loci near the NID2 and HLA-DRB5 genes associated with WHR after adjustment for BMI, and three loci near the CEP120, TSC22D2, and SLC22A2 genes associated with WC without adjustment for BMI. Functional enrichment analyses revealed enrichment of corticotropin-releasing hormone signaling, GNRH signaling, and/or CDK5 signaling pathways for those newly-identified loci. Our study provides additional insight on genetic contribution to abdominal obesity.
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| 3. |
- Fu, Xi, et al.
(författare)
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Associations between species-level indoor microbiome, environmental characteristics, and asthma in junior high schools of Terengganu, Malaysia
- 2022
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Ingår i: Air quality, atmosphere and health. - : Springer Nature. - 1873-9318 .- 1873-9326. ; 15:6, s. 1043-1055
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Indoor microbiome exposure is important for asthma development, but current studies characterize the microbiome at the genus or above levels due to technical limitations. We aim to profile bacterial and fungal composition and concentration at the species level and assess its potential health effects. Four hundred sixty-three students from 8 junior high schools in Terengganu, Malaysia, were surveyed for asthma symptoms. Full-length PacBio amplicon sequencing and qPCR were conducted to quantify the absolute microbial concentration in the vacuum dust of the selected classroom. In total, 1358 bacterial and 358 fungal species were characterized, and drastic compositional variation was observed among classrooms. Three-level linear regression analyses revealed that taxa richness in Cyanobacteria were negatively associated with asthma (FDR < 0.001). The absolute concentration of Nocardioides exalbidus was protectively associated with asthma, and four bacteria species were positively associated with asthma (FDR < 0.1). Interestingly, all five species were recently isolated and characterized in Asian countries and never reported to associate with asthma. Indoor NO2 and formaldehyde concentration were associated with the overall bacterial community variation and fungal richness, respectively (p < 0.05). No environmental characteristics were directly associated with asthma, but indoor relative humidity, CO2 concentration, and weight of vacuum dust were associated with the asthma-related species (p < 0.05), suggesting a potential indirect health effect on students. This is the first study to characterize indoor microbiome and asthma-associated microorganisms at the species level, representing a region-specific microbiome exposure pattern in a tropical Asian country.
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| 4. |
- Zhou, Yihui, et al.
(författare)
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Chlorinated Paraffins in Human Milk from Urban Sites in China, Sweden, and Norway
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 54:7, s. 4356-4366
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Short-, medium-, and long-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs) were analyzed in human milk from the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Scandinavia. Individual samples were collected from Shanghai, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing (China), Stockholm (Sweden), and Bodø (Norway) between 2010 and 2016. Mean concentrations (range) of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in samples from the YRD were 124 [-1 fat, respectively, all of which were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than 15.9 (-1 fat, respectively, in samples from Scandinavia. MCCPs predominate in most samples, and LCCP concentrations exceed reported for polybrominated diphenyl ethers in human milk from the same regions. This study is the first to confirm LCCP exposure via breastfeeding. Principal component analysis showed that the YRD samples were more influenced by SCCPs than the Scandinavian samples, which mirror different exposures to CPs between the regions. Because of a large variation in concentrations among individuals, SCCP intake via breastfeeding indicated a potential health concern in the 90th percentile among Chinese infants. Further, CP concentrations in the YRD samples from first-time mothers were on average three times higher than from second-time mothers. In order to limit the worldwide CP contamination, the inclusion of SCCPs as persistent organic pollutants in the Stockholm Convention needs to be followed up, with the inclusion of MCCPs and LCCPs as well.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Bauzá-Thorbrügge, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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Adipocyte-specific ablation of the Ca2+ pump SERCA2 impairs whole-body metabolic function and reveals the diverse metabolic flexibility of white and brown adipose tissue.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Molecular metabolism. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-8778. ; 63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) transports Ca2+ from the cytosol into the endoplasmic retitculum (ER) and is essential for appropriate regulation of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that SERCA pumps are involved in the regulation of white adipocyte hormone secretion and other aspects of adipose tissue function and that this control is disturbed in obesity-induced type-2 diabetes.SERCA expression was measured in isolated human and mouse adipocytes as well as in whole mouse adipose tissue by Western blot and RT-qPCR. To test the significance of SERCA2 in adipocyte functionality and whole-body metabolism, we generated adipocyte-specific SERCA2 knockout mice. The mice were metabolically phenotyped by glucose tolerance and tracer studies, histological analyses, measurements of glucose-stimulated insulin release in isolated islets, and gene/protein expression analyses. We also tested the effect of pharmacological SERCA inhibition and genetic SERCA2 ablation in cultured adipocytes. Intracellular and mitochondrial Ca2+ levels were recorded with dual-wavelength ratio imaging and mitochondrial function was assessed by Seahorse technology.We demonstrate that SERCA2 is downregulated in white adipocytes from patients with obesity and type-2 diabetes as well as in adipocytes from diet-induced obese mice. SERCA2-ablated adipocytes display disturbed Ca2+ homeostasis associated with upregulated ER stress markers and impaired hormone release. These adipocyte alterations are linked to mild lipodystrophy, reduced adiponectin levels, and impaired glucose tolerance. Interestingly, adipocyte-specific SERCA2 ablation leads to increased glucose uptake in white adipose tissue while the glucose uptake is reduced in brown adipose tissue. This dichotomous effect on glucose uptake is due to differently regulated mitochondrial function. In white adipocytes, SERCA2 deficiency triggers an adaptive increase in fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), increased mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) levels, and increased oxygen consumption rate (OCR). In contrast, brown SERCA2 null adipocytes display reduced OCR despite increased mitochondrial content and UCP1 levels compared to wild type controls.Our data suggest causal links between reduced white adipocyte SERCA2 levels, deranged adipocyte Ca2+ homeostasis, adipose tissue dysfunction and type-2 diabetes.
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| 7. |
- Benrick, Anna, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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Adiponectin protects against development of metabolic disturbances in a PCOS mouse model
- 2017
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 114:34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adiponectin, together with adipocyte size, is the strongest factor associated with insulin resistance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study investigates the causal relationship between adiponectin levels and metabolic and reproductive functions in PCOS. Prepubertal mice overexpressing adiponectin from adipose tissue (APNtg), adiponectin knockouts (APNko), and their wild-type (WT) littermate mice were continuously exposed to placebo or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to induce PCOS-like traits. As expected, DHT exposure led to reproductive dysfunction, as judged by continuous anestrus, smaller ovaries with a decreased number of corpus luteum, and an increased number of cystic/atretic follicles. A two-way between-groups analysis showed that there was a significant main effect for DHT exposure, but not for genotype, indicating adiponectin does not influence follicle development. Adiponectin had, however, some protective effects on ovarian function. Similar to in many women with PCOS, DHT exposure led to reduced adiponectin levels, larger adipocyte size, and reduced insulin sensitivity in WTs. APNtg mice remained metabolically healthy despite DHT exposure, while APNko-DHT mice were even more insulin resistant than their DHT-exposed littermate WTs. DHT exposure also reduced the mRNA expression of genes involved in metabolic pathways in gonadal adipose tissue of WT and APNko, but this effect of DHT was not observed in APNtg mice. Moreover, APNtg-DHT mice displayed increased pancreatic mRNA levels of insulin receptors, Pdx1 and Igf1R, suggesting adiponectin stimulates beta cell viability/hyperplasia in the context of PCOS. In conclusion, adiponectin improves metabolic health but has only minor effects on reproductive functions in this PCOS-like mouse model.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Bombarda, F., et al.
(författare)
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Runaway electron beam control
- 2019
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Ingår i: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 1361-6587 .- 0741-3335. ; 61:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 10. |
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