| 1. |
- Kattge, Jens, et al.
(författare)
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TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
- 2020
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:1, s. 119-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
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| 2. |
- Eden, Michael, 1945, et al.
(författare)
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LAND PROPERTY DISTRIBUTIONS AS A MEANS FOR ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE BUILDING. THE LUNDBY COMPETITION IN GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN, AS AN EXAMPLE
- 2008
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 2008 World Sustainable building Conference.. ; 2
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper refers to an evaluation of a land property distribution competition arranged by the City of Gothenburg, Sweden. The competition aimed at combining high quality housing with energy efficiency, healthy indoor climate and cost efficiency proved in plans for management during ten years. About thirty-five firms showed interest in the competition and eight entries were delivered. The assessment was carried out in three steps. 1. An expert committee selected those entries that fulfilled the program goals. 2. The jury ranked these entries. 3. Following the order from the ranking, the jury assessed the financial and managerial capacity of the delivering firms. The outcome was that the two highest ranked proposals were delivered by serious developers. The results show that ambitious environmental qualities can be combined with economic goals. The dividing lines between the entries did mostly concern architectural qualities. Interviews have been carried out among a number of the competitors, the expert committee and the jury. The answers indicate that the competition process was well managed. A well-defined program and a transparent assessment are important instruments. Hence, the land property distribution instrument can be useful for municipalities for initiating sustainable building.
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| 3. |
- Garpenby, Peter, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
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Utvärdering av implementeringen av Nationella riktlinjer för hjärtsjukvård i fyra landsting och regioner : Rapport 1
- 2005
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Denna rapport beskriver en mycket tidig (initial) fas av implementeringen av Nationella riktlinjer för hjärtsjukvård (NRH) inom fyra landsting och regioner. Undersökningen är utförd av PrioriteringsCentrum på uppdrag av Socialstyrelsen.Syftet är att genom en jämförande fallstudie beskriva förutsättningarna i fyra landsting/regioner för att implementera Nationella riktlinjer för hjärtsjukvård, och att analysera (förklara) skillnader och likheter bland dessa landsting/regioner i deras reaktion på riktlinjerna. De landsting och regioner som ingår i studien är Landstinget Sörmland, Landstinget Västernorrland, Region Skåne och Västra Götalandsregionen.Vi finner på det hela taget en positiv attityd till NRH i verksamheten och en vilja att agera med dokumentet som underlag. Inom verksamheten uppfattas NRH som ett stöd för prioriteringar och på många håll på verksamhetsnivån finns också ett stöd för öppna prioriteringar. Inom verksamheten liksom inom administrationen hittar vi en förhoppning om att NRH ska leda till ett arbete som ger en högre grad av systematisering av och överblick över hälso- och sjukvårdens innehåll. På många håll i verksamheten uppfattas NRH tillsammans med kvalitetsregister som viktiga verktyg för att följa upp och förbättra vården.Det är uppenbart att den professionella verksamheten och den politisktadministrativa delen inom de studerade landstingen/regionerna inte befinner i fas med avseende på kunskap om och förståelse för vad NRH innebär för huvudmannen. Vi tycker oss se tecken på att genomförandet av NRH inledningsvis sker i form av ”experimentell implementering.” Aktiviteter i anslutning till implementeringen sker huvudsakligen i den domän som domineras av professioner. Vi ser tecken på detta i främst Landstinget Sörmland och Region Skåne samt Västra Götalandsregionen. Eventuella konflikter får lösas på en låg nivå. I ett senare skede när tydliga alternativ finns och när resursanspråk knyts till väl definierade medel kan man föreställa sig att ansvaret flyttas högre upp i organisationen, och där engagerar politiska beslutsfattare. Vi bedömer dock att tjänstemän och politiker på landstings- och regionnivå förr eller senare tvingas ta ställning till NRH. Först måste dock verksamheten göra sin ”hemläxa” och erbjuda den politiskt-administrativa nivån en tolkning av vad riktlinjerna kan innebära för respektive landsting/region.Det är än så länge en öppen fråga om trycket underifrån i organisationen räcker för att aktivera den politiskt-administrativa nivån eller om nationella aktörer av olika slag måste stödja landstingen/regionerna för att detta ska bli möjligt.
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| 4. |
- Hörslev-Pedersen, Kim, et al.
(författare)
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The aminoterminal-type-III procollagen pepetide and proteoglycans in serum and synovial fluid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or reactive arthritis.
- 1988
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Ingår i: Rheumatology International. - 1437-160X. ; 8, s. 1-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concentrations of aminoterminal-type-III procollagen (procollagen N-) peptide, and of proteoglycans were measured in knee-joint synovial fluid and serum from patients with rheumatoid arthritis or reactive arthritis. All synovial fluids contained large amounts of intact propeptide. The synovial fluid: serum propeptide ratios were high, suggesting local propeptide liberation. A correlation was demonstrated between the propeptide concentration in synovial fluid and in serum. In rheumatoid arthritis, the propeptide concentration in synovial fluid was related to local inflammatory activity, and the serum concentration was correlated with the presence of nonspecific markers of inflammation. The presence of smaller propeptide fragments in synovial fluid indicated that some degradation occurred locally. The local metabolic changes were most prominent in patients with joint erosions. Patients with nonerosive rheumatoid arthritis and reactive arthritis had similar synovial fluid propeptide concentrations. The proteoglycan content of synovial fluid was inversely related to the degree of joint destruction, and was highest in patients with reactive arthritis. No correlation was observed between the concentrations of propeptide and proteoglycan in synovial fluid. Intraarticular glucocorticoid injection reduced the levels of propeptide and proteoglycan in synovial fluid
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| 5. |
- Junker, Katja, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanistic aspects of the horseradish peroxidase-catalysed polymerisation of aniline in the presence of AOT vesicles as templates
- 2012
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Ingår i: RSC Advances. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2046-2069. ; 2:16, s. 6478-6495
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mechanism of the horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-H2O 2-catalysed polymerisation of aniline in the presence of AOT vesicles was investigated. AOT (= bis-(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate) served as vesicle-forming surfactant and dopant for obtaining at pH = 4.3 and room temperature within 24 h under optimal reaction conditions the green emeraldine salt form of polyaniline in 90-95% yield. Based on UV/VIS/NIR and EPR measurements carried out during the polymerisation reaction, and based on changes in aniline and H2O2 concentrations and HRP activity, a mechanism is proposed. According to this "radical cation mechanism" chain growth occurs on the vesicle surface through addition of aniline radical cations to the growing polymer chain. H2O2 plays two essential roles, to oxidise the heme group of HRP, and to oxidise the growing polymer chain for allowing the stepwise addition of new aniline radical cations. The entire reaction can be divided into three kinetically distinct phases. In the first rapid phase (5-10 min), the actual polymer formation takes place to yield the emeraldine salt form of polyaniline in its bipolaron state. In the second and third slower phases (1-2 days) the bipolarons transform into polarons with unpaired electrons. During the reaction, the HRP activity is decreasing until the enzyme becomes inactive after polymer formation. Reactions carried out with partially deuterated anilines were analysed by 2H magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy to demonstrate the regioselectivity of the chain growth: para-coupling of the aniline units clearly dominates. Association of the formed polyaniline with the vesicle membrane is evident from cryo-TEM and SANS measurements.
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| 6. |
- Kozyrev, Sergey V, et al.
(författare)
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Functional variants in the B-cell gene BANK1 are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2008
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 40:2, s. 211-216
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypical autoimmune disease characterized by production of autoantibodies and complex genetic inheritance(1-3). In a genome-wide scan using 85,042 SNPs, we identified an association between SLE and a nonsynonymous substitution (rs10516487, R61H) in the B-cell scaffold protein with ankyrin repeats gene, BANK1. We replicated the association in four independent case-control sets (combined P = 3.7 x 10(-10); OR = 1.38). We analyzed BANK1 cDNA and found two isoforms, one full-length and the other alternatively spliced and lacking exon 2 (Delta 2), encoding a protein without a putative IP3R-binding domain. The transcripts were differentially expressed depending on a branch point-site SNP, rs17266594, in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs10516487. A third associated variant was found in the ankyrin domain (rs3733197, A383T). Our findings implicate BANK1 as a susceptibility gene for SLE, with variants affecting regulatory sites and key functional domains. The disease-associated variants could contribute to sustained B cell-receptor signaling and B-cell hyperactivity characteristic of this disease.
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| 7. |
- Lampi, Maria, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Potential benefits of triage for the trauma patient in a Kenyan emergency department
- 2018
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Ingår i: BMC Emergency Medicine. - : Springer. - 1471-227X. ; 18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundImproved trauma management can reduce the time between injury and medical interventions, thus decreasing morbidity and mortality. Triage at the emergency department is essential to ensure prioritization and timely assessment of injured patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate how a lack of formal triage system impacts timely intervention and mortality in a sub-Saharan referral hospital. Further, the study attempts to assess potential benefits of triage towards efficient management of trauma patients in one middle income country.MethodsA prospective descriptive study was conducted. Adult trauma patients admitted to the emergency department during an 8-month period at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, were included. Mode of arrival and vital parameters were registered. Variables included in the analysis were Injury Severity Score, time before physician’s assessment, length of hospital stay, and mortality. The patients were retrospectively categorized according to the Rapid Emergency Triage and Treatment System (RETTS) from patient records.ResultsA total of 571 patients were analyzed, with a mean Injury Severity Score of 12.2 (SD 7.7) with a mean length of stay of 11.6 (SD 18.3) days. The mortality rate was 1.8%. The results obtained in this study illustrate that trauma patients admitted to the emergency department at Eldoret are not assessed in a timely fashion, and the time frame recommendations postulated by RETTS are not adhered to. Assessment of patients according to the triage algorithm used revealed a significantly higher average Injury Severity Score in the red category than in the other color categories.ConclusionThe results from this study clearly illustrate a lack of correct prioritization of patients in relation to the need for timely assessment. This is further demonstrated by the retrospective triage classification of patients, which identified patients with high ISS as in urgent need of care. Since no significant difference in to time to assessment regardless of injury severity was observed, the need for a well-functioning triage system is apparent.
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| 8. |
- Lampi, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Pre-hospital triage performance after standardized trauma courses
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine. - : BIOMED CENTRAL LTD. - 1757-7241. ; 25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The pre-hospital triage process aims at identifying and prioritizing patients in the need of prompt intervention and/or evacuation. The objective of the present study was to evaluate triage decision skills in a Mass Casualty Incident drill. The study compares two groups of participants in Advanced Trauma Life Support and Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support courses. Methods: A questionnaire was used to deal with three components of triage of victims in a Mass Casualty Incident: decision-making; prioritization of 15 hypothetical casualties involved in a bus crash; and prioritization for evacuation. Swedish Advanced Trauma Life Support and Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support course participants filled in the same triage skills questionnaire just before and after their respective course. Results: One hundred fifty-three advanced Trauma Life Support course participants were compared to 175 Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support course participants. The response rates were 90% and 95%, respectively. A significant improvement was found between pre-test and post-test for the Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support group in regards to decision-making. This difference was only noticeable among the participants who had previously participated in Mass Casualty Incident drills or had experience of a real event (pre-test mean +/- standard deviation 2.4 +/- 0.68, post-test mean +/- standard deviation 2.60 +/- 0.59, P = 0.04). No improvement was found between pre-test and post-test for either group regarding prioritization of the bus crash casualties or the correct identification of the most injured patients for immediate evacuation. Conclusions: Neither Advanced Trauma Life Support nor Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support participants showed general improvement in their tested triage skills. However, participation in Mass Casualty Incident drills or experience of real events prior to the test performed here, were shown to be advantageous for Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support participants. These courses should be modified in order to assure proper training in triage skills.
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| 9. |
- Muhrbeck, Måns, et al.
(författare)
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Efficacy of topical honey compared to systemic gentamicin for treatment of infected war wounds in a porcine model : A non-inferiority experimental pilot study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Injury. - : Elsevier. - 0020-1383 .- 1879-0267. ; 53:2, s. 381-392
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In armed conflicts, infected wounds constitute a large portion of the surgical workload. Treatment consists of debridements, change of dressings, and antibiotics. Many surgeons advocate for the use of honey as an adjunct with the rationale that honey has bactericidal and hyperosmotic properties. However, according to a Cochrane review from 2015 there is insufficient data to draw any conclusions regarding the efficacy of honey in treatment of wounds. We, therefore, decided to evaluate if honey is non-inferior to gentamicin in the treatment of infected wounds in a highly translatable porcine wound model. Material and methods: 50 standardized wounds on two pigs were infected with S. aureus and separately treated with either topically applied Manuka honey or intramuscular gentamicin for eight days. Treatment efficacy was evaluated with quantitative cultures, wound area measurements, histological, immunohistochemical assays, and inflammatory response. Results: Topically applied Manuka honey did not reduce bacterial count or wound area for the duration of treatment. Intramuscular gentamicin initially reduced bacterial count (geometric mean 5.59*,0.37 - 4.27 *,0.80 log10 (GSD) CFU/g), but this was not sustained for the duration of the treatment. However, wound area was significantly reduced with intramuscular gentamicin at the end of treatment (mean 112.8 +/- 30.0-67.7 +/- 13.2 (SD) mm(2)). ANOVA-analysis demonstrated no variation in bacterial count for the two treatments but significant variation in wound area (p = 0.0001). The inflammatory response was more persistent in the pig with wounds treated with topically applied Manuka honey than in the pig treated with intramuscular gentamicin. Conclusion: At the end of treatment S. aureus count was the same with topically applied Manuka honey and intramuscular gentamicin. The wound area was unchanged with topically applied Manuka honey and decreased with intramuscular gentamicin. Topically applied Manuka honey could consequently be non inferior to intramuscular gentamicin in reducing S. aureus colonization on the wounds surface, but not in reducing wound size. The use of Manuka honey dressings to prevent further progression of a wound infection may therefore be of value in armed conflicts, where definite care is not immediately available.
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| 10. |
- Nielsen, Morten A., et al.
(författare)
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Increased Galectin-9 Levels Correlate with Disease Activity in Patients with DMARD-Naïve Rheumatoid Arthritis and Modulate the Secretion of MCP-1 and IL-6 from Synovial Fibroblasts
- 2023
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Ingår i: Cells. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4409. ; 12:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) are essential mediators in the expansive growth and invasiveness of rheumatoid synovitis, and patients with a fibroblastic-rich pauci-immune pathotype respond poorly to currently approved antirheumatic drugs. Galectin-9 (Gal-9) has been reported to directly modulate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) FLSs and to hold both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate clinical and pathogenic aspects of Gal-9 in RA, combining national patient cohorts and cellular models. Methods: Soluble Gal-9 was measured in plasma from patients with newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve RA (n = 98). The disease activity score 28-joint count C-reactive protein (DAS28CRP) and total Sharp score were used to evaluate the disease course serially over a two-year period. Plasma and synovial fluid samples were examined for soluble Gal-9 in patients with established RA (n = 18). A protein array was established to identify Gal-9 binding partners in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Synovial fluid mononuclear cells (SFMCs), harvested from RA patients, were used to obtain synovial-fluid derived FLSs (SF-FLSs) (n = 7). FLSs from patients suffering from knee Osteoarthritis (OA) were collected from patients when undergoing joint replacement surgery (n = 5). Monocultures of SF-FLSs (n = 6) and autologous co-cultures of SF-FLSs and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured with and without a neutralizing anti-Gal-9 antibody (n = 7). The mono- and co-cultures were subsequently analyzed by flow cytometry, MTT assay, and ELISA. Results: Patients with early and established RA had persistently increased plasma levels of Gal-9 compared with healthy controls (HC). The plasma levels of Gal-9 were associated with disease activity and remained unaffected when adding a TNF-inhibitor to their standard treatment. Gal-9 levels were elevated in the synovial fluid of established RA patients with advanced disease, compared with corresponding plasma samples. Gal-9 adhered to fibronectin, laminin and thrombospondin, while not to interstitial collagens in the ECM protein array. In vitro, a neutralizing Gal-9 antibody decreased MCP-1 and IL-6 production from both RA FLSs and OA FLSs. In co-cultures of autologous RA FLSs and PBMCs, the neutralization of Gal-9 also decreased MCP-1 and IL-6 production, without affecting the proportion of inflammatory FLSs. Conclusions: In RA, pretreatment plasma Gal-9 levels in early RA were increased and correlated with clinical disease activity. Gal-9 levels remained increased despite a significant reduction in the disease activity score in patients with early RA. The in vitro neutralization of Gal-9 decreased both MCP-1 and IL-6 production in an inflammatory subset of RA FLSs. Collectively these findings indicate that the persistent overexpression of Gal-9 in RA may modulate synovial FLS activities and could be involved in the maintenance of subclinical disease activity in RA.
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| 11. |
- Serup, Annette Karen, et al.
(författare)
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Partial disruption of lipolysis increases postexercise insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle despite accumulation of DAG
- 2016
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Ingår i: Diabetes. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0012-1797 .- 1939-327X. ; 65:10, s. 2932-2942
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Type 2 diabetes and skeletal muscle insulin resistance have been linked to accumulation of the intramyocellular lipid-intermediate diacylglycerol (DAG). However, recent animal and human studies have questioned such an association. Given that DAG appears in different stereoisomers and has different reactivity in vitro, we investigated whether the described function of DAGs as mediators of lipid-induced insulin resistance was dependent on the different DAG isomers. We measured insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) knockout (KO) mice after treadmill exercise to stimulate the accumulation of DAGs in skeletal muscle. We found that, despite an increased DAG content in muscle after exercise in HSL KO mice, the HSL KO mice showed a higher insulin-stimulated glucose uptake postexercise compared with wild-type mice. Further analysis of the chemical structure and cellular localization of DAG in skeletal muscle revealed that HSL KO mice accumulated sn-1,3 DAG and not sn-1,2 DAG. Accordingly, these results highlight the importance of taking the chemical structure and cellular localization of DAG into account when evaluating the role of DAG in lipid-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and that the accumulation of sn-1,3 DAG originating from lipolysis does not inhibit insulin-stimulated glucose uptake.
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| 12. |
- Sidstedt, Maja, et al.
(författare)
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In-house validation of MPS-based methods in a forensic laboratory
- 2019
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Ingår i: Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series. - : Elsevier BV. - 1875-1768. ; 7:1, s. 635-636
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) methods are increasingly applied in forensic casework. However, adequate validation guidelines are lacking. In this work, we describe our in-house validation of the ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit (Verogen) for analysis of ancestry- and phenotype-informative SNPs. We also discuss in-house validation of MPS assays in general terms. When validating the SNP assay, we focused on the reliability of SNP genotype calls and the compatibility with commonly analysed sample types. Other issues, for example analytical thresholds and accuracy of the data prediction model were considered to be covered by the developmental validation of the kit. Our study included determination of (1) concordance, (2) limit of detection, (3) matrix effects, (4) repeatability, and (5) contamination risk. In conclusion, the MPS-based SNP assay showed overall adequate performance for single-source samples, with correct genotype calls. We welcome a broad discussion on how to perform in-house validation of MPS-based methods, as this is vital to ensure timely implementation of reliable assays in forensic laboratories.
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| 13. |
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