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- Olowoyo, J. O., et al.
(författare)
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Blood lead concentrations in exposed forecourt attendants and taxi drivers in parts of South Africa
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology. - 0946-672X .- 1878-3252. ; 81
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Leaded fuel was banned in South Africa in 2006, in order to improve human health and reduce environmental pollution. Lead (Pb) has been suggested to contribute to the development of neurodegenerative disorders, and the role of respiratory exposure to Pb from petrol fumes should not be neglected in this context. In addition to Pb, petrol contains various harmful chemicals including other neurotoxic metals and hydrocarbons.Objectives and Methods: Here, we investigated concentrations of Pb and other metals in blood from petrol station forecourt attendants (n = 38), taxi drivers (n = 21), and unexposed controls (n = 36). Taxi drivers and forecourt attendants were divided into three groups each, based on number of years worked. A questionnaire was designed to investigate the health status of the participants. Blood samples were collected by medical professionals and analyzed for metal concentrations by ICP-MS.Results: A positive correlation between number of years worked and Pb blood concentrations was found. The highest Pb concentration (60.2 µg/L) was observed in a forecourt attendant who had worked 11–20 years, and the average Pb concentration in this group (24.5 µg/L) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than in forecourt attendants who had worked 2–5 years (10.4 µg/L). Some individuals had elevated concentrations of manganese, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and cobalt, yet not significantly elevated at the group level. The blood levels of arsenic appeared to be related to smoking. Mood swings, dizziness, headaches and tiredness were reported by the workers.Conclusion: Blood Pb concentrations in petrol station forecourt attendants and taxi drivers exposed to leaded petrol are elevated and correlate to exposure time. A health monitoring program should be erected for all individuals working in these industries, and preventive measures should be implemented to eliminate metal exposure from petrol.
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- Anand, Vibha, et al.
(författare)
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Islet Autoimmunity and HLA Markers of Presymptomatic and Clinical Type 1 Diabetes : Joint Analyses of Prospective Cohort Studies in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the U.S
- 2021
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Ingår i: Diabetes Care. - : American Diabetes Association. - 1935-5548 .- 0149-5992. ; 44, s. 2269-2276
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To combine prospective cohort studies, by including HLA harmonization, and estimate risk of islet autoimmunity and progression to clinical diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: For prospective cohorts in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the U.S., 24,662 children at increased genetic risk for development of islet autoantibodies and type 1 diabetes have been followed. Following harmonization, the outcomes were analyzed in 16,709 infants-toddlers enrolled by age 2.5 years.RESULTS: In the infant-toddler cohort, 1,413 (8.5%) developed at least one autoantibody confirmed at two or more consecutive visits (seroconversion), 865 (5%) developed multiple autoantibodies, and 655 (4%) progressed to diabetes. The 15-year cumulative incidence of diabetes varied in children with one, two, or three autoantibodies at seroconversion: 45% (95% CI 40-52), 85% (78-90), and 92% (85-97), respectively. Among those with a single autoantibody, status 2 years after seroconversion predicted diabetes risk: 12% (10-25) if reverting to autoantibody negative, 30% (20-40) if retaining a single autoantibody, and 82% (80-95) if developing multiple autoantibodies. HLA-DR-DQ affected the risk of confirmed seroconversion and progression to diabetes in children with stable single-autoantibody status. Their 15-year diabetes incidence for higher- versus lower-risk genotypes was 40% (28-50) vs. 12% (5-38). The rate of progression to diabetes was inversely related to age at development of multiple autoantibodies, ranging from 20% per year to 6% per year in children developing multipositivity in ≤2 years or >7.4 years, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: The number of islet autoantibodies at seroconversion reliably predicts 15-year type 1 diabetes risk. In children retaining a single autoantibody, HLA-DR-DQ genotypes can further refine risk of progression.
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- Daniel, Ed, et al.
(författare)
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IceBear : an intuitive and versatile web application for research-data tracking from crystallization experiment to PDB deposition
- 2021
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Ingår i: Acta Crystallographica Section D. - : International Union of Crystallography (IUCr). - 2059-7983. ; 77:2, s. 151-163
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The web-based IceBear software is a versatile tool to monitor the results of crystallization experiments and is designed to facilitate supervisor and student communications. It also records and tracks all relevant information from crystallization setup to PDB deposition in protein crystallography projects. Fully automated data collection is now possible at several synchrotrons, which means that the number of samples tested at the synchrotron is currently increasing rapidly. Therefore, the protein crystallography research communities at the University of Oulu, Weizmann Institute of Science and Diamond Light Source have joined forces to automate the uploading of sample metadata to the synchrotron. In IceBear, each crystal selected for data collection is given a unique sample name and a crystal page is generated. Subsequently, the metadata required for data collection are uploaded directly to the ISPyB synchrotron database by a shipment module, and for each sample a link to the relevant ISPyB page is stored. IceBear allows notes to be made for each sample during cryocooling treatment and during data collection, as well as in later steps of the structure determination. Protocols are also available to aid the recycling of pins, pucks and dewars when the dewar returns from the synchrotron. The IceBear database is organized around projects, and project members can easily access the crystallization and diffraction metadata for each sample, as well as any additional information that has been provided via the notes. The crystal page for each sample connects the crystallization, diffraction and structural information by providing links to the IceBear drop-viewer page and to the ISPyB data-collection page, as well as to the structure deposited in the Protein Data Bank.
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- Douglas, SPM, et al.
(författare)
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Enrichment of cancer-predisposing germline variants in adult and pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- 2022
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Ingår i: Scientific reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 12:1, s. 10670-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite recent progress in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapies, a significant subset of adult and pediatric ALL patients has a dismal prognosis. Better understanding of leukemogenesis and recognition of germline genetic changes may provide new tools for treating patients. Given that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, often from a family member, is a major form of treatment in ALL, acknowledging the possibility of hereditary predisposition is of special importance. Reports of comprehensive germline analyses performed in adult ALL patients are scarce. Aiming at fulfilling this gap of knowledge, we investigated variants in 93 genes predisposing to hematologic malignancies and 70 other cancer-predisposing genes from exome data obtained from 61 adult and 87 pediatric ALL patients. Our results show that pathogenic (P) or likely pathogenic (LP) germline variants in genes associated with predisposition to ALL or other cancers are prevalent in ALL patients: 8% of adults and 11% of children. Comparison of P/LP germline variants in patients to population-matched controls (gnomAD Finns) revealed a 2.6-fold enrichment in ALL cases (CI 95% 1.5–4.2, p = 0.00071). Acknowledging inherited factors is crucial, especially when considering hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and planning post-therapy follow-up. Harmful germline variants may also predispose patients to excessive toxicity potentially compromising the outcome. We propose integrating germline genetics into precise ALL patient care and providing families genetic counseling.
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- Koski, Timo J. T., et al.
(författare)
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The Minimal Hoppe-Beta Prior Distribution for Directed Acyclic Graphs and Structure Learning
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The main contribution of this article is a new prior distribution over directed acyclic graphs intended for structured Bayesian networks, where the structure is given by an ordered block model. That is, the nodes of the graph are objects which fall into categories or blocks; the blocks have a natural ordering or ranking. The presence of a relationship between two objects is denoted by a directed edge, from the object of category of lower rank to the object of higher rank. The models considered here were introduced in Kemp et al. [7] for relational data and extended to multivariate data in Mansinghka et al. [12].We consider the situation where the nodes of the graph represent random variables, whose joint probability distribution factorises along the DAG. We use a minimal layering of the DAG to express the prior. We describe Monte Carlo schemes, with a similar generative that was used for prior, for finding the optimal a posteriori structure given a data matrix and compare the performance with Mansinghka et al. and also with the uniform prior.
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- Kwon, Bum Chul, et al.
(författare)
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Progression of type 1 diabetes from latency to symptomatic disease is predicted by distinct autoimmune trajectories
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13, s. 1-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Development of islet autoimmunity precedes the onset of type 1 diabetes in children, however, the presence of autoantibodies does not necessarily lead to manifest disease and the onset of clinical symptoms is hard to predict. Here we show, by longitudinal sampling of islet autoantibodies (IAb) to insulin, glutamic acid decarboxylase and islet antigen-2 that disease progression follows distinct trajectories. Of the combined Type 1 Data Intelligence cohort of 24662 participants, 2172 individuals fulfill the criteria of two or more follow-up visits and IAb positivity at least once, with 652 progressing to type 1 diabetes during the 15 years course of the study. Our Continuous-Time Hidden Markov Models, that are developed to discover and visualize latent states based on the collected data and clinical characteristics of the patients, show that the health state of participants progresses from 11 distinct latent states as per three trajectories (TR1, TR2 and TR3), with associated 5-year cumulative diabetes-free survival of 40% (95% confidence interval [CI], 35% to 47%), 62% (95% CI, 57% to 67%), and 88% (95% CI, 85% to 91%), respectively (p < 0.0001). Age, sex, and HLA-DR status further refine the progression rates within trajectories, enabling clinically useful prediction of disease onset.
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- Sorkio, Susa, et al.
(författare)
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Breastfeeding patterns of mothers with type 1 diabetes: results from an infant feeding trial
- 2010
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Ingår i: DIABETES-METABOLISM RESEARCH AND REVIEWS. - : John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. - 1520-7552 .- 1520-7560. ; 26:3, s. 206-211
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Both the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding have been reported to be negatively affected by maternal type 1 diabetes (T1D). The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the breastfeeding patterns among mothers with and without T1D participating in a large international randomized infant feeding trial (TRIGR). Methods Families with a member affected by T1D and with a newborn infant were invited into the study. Those who had HLA-conferred genetic susceptibility for T1D tested at birth with gestation andgt;35 weeks and were healthy were eligible to continue in the trial. Among the 2160 participating children, 1096 were born to women with T1D and 1064 to unaffected women. Information on infant feeding was acquired from the family by frequent prospective dietary interviews. Results Most (andgt;90%) of the infants of mothers with and without T1D were initially breastfed. Breastfeeding rates declined more steeply among mothers with than without T1D being 50 and 72% at 6 months, respectively. Mothers with T1D were younger, less educated and delivered earlier and more often by caesarean section than other mothers (p andlt; 0.01). After adjusting for all these factors associated with the termination of breastfeeding, there was no difference in the duration of breastfeeding among mothers with and without T1D. Conclusions Maternal diabetes status per se was not associated with shorter breastfeeding. The lower duration of breastfeeding in mothers with T1D is largely explained by their more frequent caesarean sections, earlier delivery and lower age and education.
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- Westerlind, H., et al.
(författare)
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Identity-by-descent mapping in a Scandinavian multiple sclerosis cohort
- 2015
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Ingår i: European Journal of Human Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-4813 .- 1476-5438. ; 23:5, s. 688-692
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In an attempt to map chromosomal regions carrying rare gene variants contributing to the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), we identified segments shared identical-by-descent (IBD) using the software BEAGLE 4.0's refined IBD analysis. IBD mapping aims at identifying segments inherited from a common ancestor and shared more frequently in case-case pairs. A total of 2106 MS patients of Nordic origin and 624 matched controls were genotyped on Illumina Human Quad 660 chip and an additional 1352 ethnically matched controls typed on Illumina HumanHap 550 and Illumina 1M were added. The quality control left a total of 441 731 markers for the analysis. After identification of segments shared by descent and significance testing, a filter function for markers with low IBD sharing was applied. Four regions on chromosomes 5, 9, 14 and 19 were found to be significantly associated with the risk for MS. However, all markers but for one were located telomerically, including the very distal markers. For methodological reasons, such segments have a low sharing of IBD signals and are prone to be false positives. One marker on chromosome 19 reached genome-wide significance and was not one of the distal markers. This marker was located within the GNA11 gene, which contains no previous association with MS. We conclude that IBD mapping is not sufficiently powered to identify MS risk loci even in ethnically relatively homogenous populations, or that alternatively rare variants are not adequately present.
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