| 1. |
- Oleszkiewicz, A., et al.
(author)
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Hedonic perception of odors in children aged 5–8 years is similar across 18 countries : Preliminary data
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0165-5876 .- 1872-8464. ; 157
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Olfactory preference emerges very early in life, and the sense of smell in children rapidly develops until the second decade of life. It is still unclear whether hedonic perception of odors is shared in children inhabiting different regions of the globe.Methods: Five-hundred ten healthy children (N = 510; ngirls = 256; nboys = 254) aged from 5 to 8 years from 18 countries rated the pleasantness of 17 odors.Results: The hedonic perception of odors in children aged between 5 and 8 years was rather consistent across 18 countries and mainly driven by the qualities of an odor and the overall ability of children to label odorants.Conclusion: Conclusions from this study, being a secondary analysis, are limited to the presented set of odors that were initially selected for the development of U-Sniff test and present null findings for the cross-cultural variability in hedonic perception of odors across 18 countries. These two major issues should be addressed in the future to either contradict or replicate the results presented herewith. This research lays fundament for posing further research questions about the developmental aspects of hedonic perception of odors and opens a new door for investigating cross-cultural differences in chemosensory perception of children.
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| 2. |
- Kalinen, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Differences in Gut Microbiota Profiles and Microbiota Steroid Hormone Biosynthesis in Men with and Without Prostate Cancer.
- 2024
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In: European urology open science. - 2666-1683. ; 62, s. 140-150
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer in men in Western countries, there is significant variability in geographical incidence. This might result from genetic factors, discrepancies in screening policies, or differences in lifestyle. Gut microbiota has recently been associated with cancer progression, but its role in PCa is unclear.Characterization of the gut microbiota and its functions associated with PCa.In a prospective multicenter clinical trial (NCT02241122), the gut microbiota profiles of 181 men with a clinical suspicion of PCa were assessed utilizing 16S rRNA sequencing.Sequences were assigned to operational taxonomic units, differential abundance analysis, and α- and β-diversities, and predictive functional analyses were performed. Plasma steroid hormone levels corresponding to the predicted microbiota steroid hormone biosynthesis profiles were investigated.Of 364 patients, 181 were analyzed, 60% of whom were diagnosed with PCa. Microbiota composition and diversity were significantly different in PCa, partially affected by Prevotella 9, the most abundant genus of the cohort, and significantly higher in PCa patients. Predictive functional analyses revealed higher 5-α-reductase, copper absorption, and retinol metabolism in the PCa-associated microbiome. Plasma testosterone was associated negatively with the predicted microbial 5-α-reductase level.Gut microbiota of the PCa patients differed significantly compared with benign individuals. Microbial 5-α-reductase, copper absorption, and retinol metabolism are potential mechanisms of action. These findings support the observed association of lifestyle, geography, and PCa incidence.In this report, we found that several microbes and potential functions of the gut microbiota are altered in prostate cancer compared with benign cases. These findings suggest that gut microbiota could be the link between environmental factors and prostate cancer.
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- Knuuttila, M., et al.
(author)
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Intratumoral androgen levels are linked to TMPRSS2-ERG fusion in prostate cancer
- 2018
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In: Endocrine-Related Cancer. - : Bioscientifica. - 1351-0088 .- 1479-6821. ; 25:9, s. 807-819
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intratumoral androgen biosynthesis is one of the mechanisms involved in the progression of prostate cancer, and an important target for novel prostate cancer therapies. Using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and genome-wide RNA sequencing, we have analyzed androgen concentrations and androgen-regulated gene expression in cancerous and morphologically benign prostate tissue specimens and serum samples obtained from 48 primary prostate cancer patients. Intratumoral dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations were significantly higher in the cancerous tissues compared to benign prostate (P < 0.001). The tissue/serum ratios of androgens were highly variable between the patients, indicating individual patterns of androgen metabolism and/or uptake of androgens within the prostate tissue. An unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis of intratissue androgen concentrations indicated that transmembrane protease, serine 2/ETS-related gene (TMPRSS2-ERG)-positive patients have different androgen profiles compared to TMPRSS2-ERG- negative patients. TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion status was also associated with an enhanced androgen-regulated gene expression, along with altered intratumoral androgen metabolism, demonstrated by reduced testosterone concentrations and increased DHT/testosterone ratios in TMPRSS2-ERG-positive tumors. TMPRSS2-ERG-positive and - negative prostate cancer specimens have distinct intratumoral androgen profiles, possibly due to activation of testosterone-independent DHT biosynthesis via the alternative pathway in TMPRSS2-ERG-positive tumors. Thus, patients with TMPRSS2-ERG-positive prostate cancer may benefit from novel inhibitors targeting the alternative DHT biosynthesis.
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| 4. |
- Burrows, Hugh D., et al.
(author)
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Aqueous Solution Behavior of Anionic Fluorene-co-thiophene-Based Conjugated Polyelectrolytes
- 2009
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In: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 1:4, s. 864-874
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two anionic fluorene-thiophene alternating copolymers, poly[9,9-bis(4-sulfonylbutoxyphenyl)fluorene-2,7-diyl-2,5-thienylene] (PBS-PFT) and poly [9,9-bis(4-sulfonylbutoxyphenyl)fluorene-2,7-diyl-2,2'-bithiophene-5,5'- diyl] (PBS-PF2T), have been synthesized and their solution behaviors in water studied by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence, and electrical conductivity and compared with that of the previously studied conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) poly[9,9-bis(4-sulfonylbutoxyphenyl)fluorene-2,7-diyl-1,4-phenylene] (PBS-PFP). These conjugated polymers do not form solutions at the molecular level in water but instead form clusters. information on the structure of these clusters for PBS-PF2T comes from small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering. The relative ease of dispersing the copolymers in water increases with an increase in the number Of thiophene rings in these alternating copolymers. Semiempirical calculations on the structure suggest that this results from bending of the chains and increased conformational flexibility, decreasing interchain interactions. These CPEs can be dissolved in water at the molecular level using the nonionic surfactants n-dodecylpentaoxyethylene glycol ether (C12E5) or Triton X-100 to obtain systems with increased photoluminescence quantum yield and increased electrical conductivity that can be solution-processed for potential applications as components of sensory or optoelectronic devices.
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| 5. |
- Cheun, H., et al.
(author)
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Polarized optical absorption spectroscopy, NEXAFS, and GIXRD measurements of chain alignment in polyfluorene thin films
- 2008
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In: Macromolecules. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0024-9297 .- 1520-5835. ; 41:17, s. 6463-6472
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The uniaxial chain alignment of low molecular weight poly(9,9-bis(ethylhexyl)fluorene-2,7-diyl) (PF2/6) in thin films cast atop rubbed polyimide templates is characterized by polarized optical absorption spectroscopy, carbon K near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS), and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) in response to thermal annealing and increasing film thickness (ca. 15-150 nm). The highest overall levels of uniaxial alignment are obtained in the thinnest PF2/6 films. However, the orientation of chains at the top surface after thermal annealing is nearly thickness independent despite a large drop in the maximum optical dichroic ratio as the film thickness increases. The kinetics of chain alignment on heating are strongly film thickness dependent and only weakly correlated with a crossover to a nematic liquid crystal state. All told these data support a structural model in which there is a graded morphology such that the top and bottom surfaces exhibit appreciable planar, uniaxial alignment while the film interior includes a greater proportion of nomplanar (i.e., tilted) chains after thermal cycling. These inhomogeneities are likely to influence technologically important optical and transport properties.
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| 16. |
- Knaapila, Matti, et al.
(author)
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A new small-angle X-ray scattering set-up on the crystallography beamline I711 at MAX-lab.
- 2009
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In: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. - 1600-5775. ; 16:Pt 4, s. 498-504
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) set-up has recently been developed at beamline I711 at the MAX II storage ring in Lund (Sweden). An overview of the required modifications is presented here together with a number of application examples. The accessible q range in a SAXS experiment is 0.009-0.3 A(-1) for the standard set-up but depends on the sample-to-detector distance, detector offset, beamstop size and wavelength. The SAXS camera has been designed to have a low background and has three collinear slit sets for collimating the incident beam. The standard beam size is about 0.37 mm x 0.37 mm (full width at half-maximum) at the sample position, with a flux of 4 x 10(10) photons s(-1) and lambda = 1.1 A. The vacuum is of the order of 0.05 mbar in the unbroken beam path from the first slits until the exit window in front of the detector. A large sample chamber with a number of lead-throughs allows different sample environments to be mounted. This station is used for measurements on weakly scattering proteins in solutions and also for colloids, polymers and other nanoscale structures. A special application supported by the beamline is the effort to establish a micro-fluidic sample environment for structural analysis of samples that are only available in limited quantities. Overall, this work demonstrates how a cost-effective SAXS station can be constructed on a multipurpose beamline.
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| 17. |
- Knaapila, Matti, et al.
(author)
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Meridional orientation in biaxially aligned thin films of hairy-rod polyfluorene
- 2007
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In: Crystal Growth & Design. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1528-7483 .- 1528-7505. ; 7:9, s. 1706-1711
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The uniaxial chain alignment and equatorial patterning of poly [9,9-bis(2-ethylhexyl)fluorene-2,7-diyl] (M-n = 29 kg/mol, M-w = 68 kg/mol) thin films atop rubbed polyimide substrates have been studied by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. This specific molecular weight yields among the highest observed levels of chain alignment and optical anisotropy and, after thermal annealing, the sample undergoes transformation to a highly textured crystalline hexagonal phase. The two dominant equatorial orientations (i.e., types I and II crystallites) are found to have almost identical meridional orientation distributions. The X-ray deduced orientation is in quantitative agreement with that obtained by optical absorption measurements. It is also shown that the equatorial ordering is paracrystalline in nature, and both type I and type II crystallites are similar in this respect. This equatorial scattering is superimposed on a background of a hexagonal phase polymer with a cylindrically isotropic orientation (type III).
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Schriever, Valentin A., et al.
(author)
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Development of an International Odor Identification Test for Children : The Universal Sniff Test
- 2018
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In: The Journal of Pediatrics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-3476 .- 1097-6833. ; 198, s. 265-272
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ObjectiveTo assess olfactory function in children and to create and validate an odor identification test to diagnose olfactory dysfunction in children, which we called the Universal Sniff (U-Sniff) test.Study designThis is a multicenter study involving 19 countries. The U-Sniff test was developed in 3 phases including 1760 children age 5-7 years. Phase 1: identification of potentially recognizable odors; phase 2: selection of odorants for the odor identification test; and phase 3: evaluation of the test and acquisition of normative data. Test-retest reliability was evaluated in a subgroup of children (n = 27), and the test was validated using children with congenital anosmia (n = 14). Results Twelve odors were familiar to children and, therefore, included in the U-Sniff test. Children scored a mean +/- SD of 9.88 +/- 1.80 points out of 12. Normative data was obtained and reported for each country. The U-Sniff test demonstrated a high test-retest reliability (r(27) = 0.83, P < .001) and enabled discrimination between normosmia and children with congenital anosmia with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 86%.ConclusionsThe U-Sniff is a valid and reliable method of testing olfaction in children and can be used internationally.
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