| 1. |
- Ambite, Ines, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular Basis of Acute Cystitis Reveals Susceptibility Genes and Immunotherapeutic Targets
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLoS Pathogens. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7366 .- 1553-7374. ; 12:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tissue damage is usually regarded as a necessary price to pay for successful elimination of pathogens by the innate immune defense. Yet, it is possible to distinguish protective from destructive effects of innate immune activation and selectively attenuate molecular nodes that create pathology. Here, we identify acute cystitis as an Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β)-driven, hyper-inflammatory condition of the infected urinary bladder and IL-1 receptor blockade as a novel therapeutic strategy. Disease severity was controlled by the mechanism of IL-1β processing and mice with intact inflammasome function developed a moderate, self-limiting form of cystitis. The most severe form of acute cystitis was detected in mice lacking the inflammasome constituents ASC or NLRP-3. IL-1β processing was hyperactive in these mice, due to a new, non-canonical mechanism involving the matrix metalloproteinase 7- (MMP-7). ASC and NLRP-3 served as transcriptional repressors of MMP7 and as a result, Mmp7 was markedly overexpressed in the bladder epithelium of Asc-/- and Nlrp3-/- mice. The resulting IL-1β hyper-activation loop included a large number of IL-1β-dependent pro-inflammatory genes and the IL-1 receptor antagonist Anakinra inhibited their expression and rescued susceptible Asc-/- mice from bladder pathology. An MMP inhibitor had a similar therapeutic effect. Finally, elevated levels of IL-1β and MMP-7 were detected in patients with acute cystitis, suggesting a potential role as biomarkers and immunotherapeutic targets. The results reproduce important aspects of human acute cystitis in the murine model and provide a comprehensive molecular framework for the pathogenesis and immunotherapy of acute cystitis, one of the most common infections in man. Trial Registration: The clinical studies were approved by the Human Ethics Committee at Lund University (approval numbers LU106-02, LU236-99 and Clinical Trial Registration RTP-A2003, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, www.clinicaltrials.gov).
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| 2. |
- Ambite, Ines, et al.
(författare)
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Susceptibility to urinary tract infection : Benefits and hazards of the antibacterial host response
- 2016
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Ingår i: Microbiology spectrum. - Washington, DC, USA : ASM Press. - 2165-0497. ; 4:3
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- A paradigm shift is needed to improve and personalize the diagnosis of infectious disease and to select appropriate therapies. For many years, only the most severe and complicated bacterial infections received more detailed diagnostic and therapeutic attention as the efficiency of antibiotic therapy has guaranteed efficient treatment of patients suffering from the most common infections. Indeed, treatability almost became a rationale not to analyze bacterial and host parameters in these larger patient groups. Due to the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance, common infections like respiratory tract- or urinary-tract infections (UTIs) now pose new and significant therapeutic challenges. It is fortunate and timely that infectious disease research can offer such a wealth of new molecular information that is ready to use for the identification of susceptible patients and design of new suitable therapies. Paradoxically, the threat of antibiotic resistance may become a window of opportunity, by encouraging the implementation of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The frequency of antibiotic resistance is rising rapidly in uropathogenic organisms and the molecular and genetic understanding of UTI susceptibility is quite advanced. More bold translation of the new molecular diagnostic and therapeutic tools would not just be possible but of great potential benefit in this patient group. This chapter reviews the molecular basis for susceptibility to UTI, including recent advances in genetics, and discusses the consequences for diagnosis and therapy. By dissecting the increasingly well-defined molecular interactions between bacteria and host and the molecular features of excessive bacterial virulence or host-response malfunction, it is becoming possible to isolate the defensive from the damaging aspects of the host response. Distinguishing "good" from "bad" inflammation has been a long-term quest of biomedical science and in UTI, patients need the "good" aspects of the inflammatory response to resist infection while avoiding the "bad" aspects, causing chronicity and tissue damage.
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| 3. |
- Butler, Daniel S.C., et al.
(författare)
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Neuroepithelial control of mucosal inflammation in acute cystitis
- 2018
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 8, s. 1-15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The nervous system is engaged by infection, indirectly through inflammatory cascades or directly, by bacterial attack on nerve cells. Here we identify a neuro-epithelial activation loop that participates in the control of mucosal inflammation and pain in acute cystitis. We show that infection activates Neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) and Substance P (SP) expression in nerve cells and bladder epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo in the urinary bladder mucosa. Specific innate immune response genes regulated this mucosal response, and single gene deletions resulted either in protection (Tlr4−/− and Il1b−/− mice) or in accentuated bladder pathology (Asc−/− and Nlrp3−/− mice), compared to controls. NK1R/SP expression was lower in Tlr4−/− and Il1b−/− mice than in C56BL/6WT controls but in Asc−/− and Nlrp3−/− mice, NK1R over-activation accompanied the exaggerated disease phenotype, due, in part to transcriptional de-repression of Tacr1. Pharmacologic NK1R inhibitors attenuated acute cystitis in susceptible mice, supporting a role in disease pathogenesis. Clinical relevance was suggested by elevated urine SP levels in patients with acute cystitis, compared to patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria identifying NK1R/SP as potential therapeutic targets. We propose that NK1R and SP influence the severity of acute cystitis through a neuro-epithelial activation loop that controls pain and mucosal inflammation.
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| 4. |
- Godaly, Gabriela, et al.
(författare)
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Urinary Tract Infection Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Translation.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Pathogens. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-0817. ; 5:1
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rapid developments in infection biology create new and exciting options for individualized diagnostics and therapy. Such new practices are needed to improve patient survival and reduce morbidity. Molecular determinants of host resistance to infection are being characterized, making it possible to identify susceptible individuals and to predict their risk for future morbidity. Immunotherapy is emerging as a new strategy to treat infections worldwide and controlled boosting of the host immune defense represents an important therapeutic alternative to antibiotics. In proof of concept studies, we have demonstrated that this approach is feasible. The long-term goal is not just to remove the pathogens but to also develop technologies that restore resistance to infection in disease-prone patients and devise personalized therapeutic interventions. Here, we discuss some approaches to reaching these goals, in patients with urinary tract infection (UTI). We describe critical host signaling pathways that define symptoms and pathology and the genetic control of innate immune responses that balance protection against tissue damage. For some of these genes, human relevance has been documented in clinical studies, identifying them as potential targets for immune-modulatory therapies, as a complement to antibiotics.
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| 5. |
- Morrison, Catriona A., et al.
(författare)
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Covariation in population trends and demography reveals targets for conservation action
- 2021
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Ingår i: Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 1471-2954. ; 288:1946, s. 20202955-20202955
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wildlife conservation policies directed at common and widespread, but declining, species are difficult to design and implement effectively, as multiple environmental changes are likely to contribute to population declines. Conservation actions ultimately aim to influence demographic rates, but targeting actions towards feasible improvements in these is challenging in widespread species with ranges that encompass a wide range of environmental conditions. Across Europe, sharp declines in the abundance of migratory landbirds have driven international calls for action, but actions that could feasibly contribute to population recovery have yet to be identified. Targeted actions to improve conditions on poor-quality sites could be an effective approach, but only if local conditions consistently influence local demography and hence population trends. Using long-term measures of abundance and demography of breeding birds at survey sites across Europe, we show that co-occurring species with differing migration behaviours have similar directions of local population trends and magnitudes of productivity, but not survival rates. Targeted actions to boost local productivity within Europe, alongside large-scale (non-targeted) environmental protection across non-breeding ranges, could therefore help address the urgent need to halt migrant landbird declines. Such demographic routes to recovery are likely to be increasingly needed to address global wildlife declines.
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| 6. |
- Nagy, Károly, et al.
(författare)
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Approximation by Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means on the Hardy space H-2/3
- 2014
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Ingår i: Kyoto Journal of Mathematics. - : Duke University Press. - 2156-2261 .- 2154-3321. ; 54:3, s. 641-652
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main aim of this paper is to find necessary and sufficient conditions for the convergence of Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means in terms of the modulus of continuity on the Hardy space H-2/3.
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| 7. |
- Nagy, Károly, et al.
(författare)
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Strong convergence theorem for Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means
- 2016
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Ingår i: Mathematical Inequalities & Applications. - : Element d.o.o.. - 1331-4343 .- 1848-9966. ; 19:1, s. 185-195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is known that the maximal operator ofWalsh-Marcinkiewicz means is bounded from the dyadic martingale Hardy space Hp to the space Lp for p > 2/3 and the condition p > 2/3 is essential. In the case p = 2/3 the boundedness of the maximal operator does not hold. This means that the investigation of the maximal operator at the endpoint case p = 2/3 plays an important role. The main aim of this paper is to prove a strong convergence theorem for the Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means on the Hardy space H2/3.
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| 8. |
- Nagy, Károly, et al.
(författare)
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The Walsh–Kaczmarz–Marcinkiewicz means and Hardy spaces
- 2016
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Ingår i: Acta Mathematica Hungarica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0236-5294 .- 1588-2632. ; 149:2, s. 346-374
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is known that the maximal operator σ κ,∗ (f):=sup n∈P |σ κ n (f)| σκ,∗(f):=supn∈P|σnκ(f)| is bounded from the dyadic Hardy space H p Hp into the space L p Lp for p>2/3 p>2/3 [6]. Moreover, Goginava and Nagy showed that σ κ,∗ σκ,∗ is not bounded from the Hardy space H 2/3 H2/3 to the space L 2/3 L2/3 [9]. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the case 0
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| 9. |
- Nagy, Károly, et al.
(författare)
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Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means and Hardy spaces
- 2014
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Ingår i: Central European Journal of Mathematics. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1895-1074 .- 1644-3616. ; 12:8, s. 1214-1228
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main aim of this paper is to investigate the Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means on the Hardy space Hp, when 0 < p < 2/3. We define a weighted maximal operator of Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means and establish some of its properties. With its aid we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for convergence of the Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means in terms of modulus of continuity on the Hardy space Hp, and prove a strong convergence theorem for the Walsh-Marcinkiewicz means
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Patterson, Nick, et al.
(författare)
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Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; , s. 588-594
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Present-day people from England and Wales harbour more ancestry derived from Early European Farmers (EEF) than people of the Early Bronze Age1. To understand this, we generated genome-wide data from 793 individuals, increasing data from the Middle to Late Bronze and Iron Age in Britain by 12-fold, and Western and Central Europe by 3.5-fold. Between 1000 and 875 BC, EEF ancestry increased in southern Britain (England and Wales) but not northern Britain (Scotland) due to incorporation of migrants who arrived at this time and over previous centuries, and who were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from France. These migrants contributed about half the ancestry of Iron Age people of England and Wales, thereby creating a plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain. These patterns are part of a broader trend of EEF ancestry becoming more similar across central and western Europe in the Middle to Late Bronze Age, coincident with archaeological evidence of intensified cultural exchange2-6. There was comparatively less gene flow from continental Europe during the Iron Age, and Britain's independent genetic trajectory is also reflected in the rise of the allele conferring lactase persistence to ~50% by this time compared to ~7% in central Europe where it rose rapidly in frequency only a millennium later. This suggests that dairy products were used in qualitatively different ways in Britain and in central Europe over this period.
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| 12. |
- Sherif, Moustafa, et al.
(författare)
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Genotoxicity of Occupational Pesticide Exposures among Agricultural Workers in Arab Countries : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Toxics. - : MDPI. - 2305-6304. ; 11:8
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exposure to pesticides in Arab countries is a significant public health concern due to extensive agricultural activity and pesticide use. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the genotoxic effects of agricultural pesticide exposure in the region, identify research gaps, and assess methodological limitations. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search yielded five relevant studies conducted in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Various genotoxicity assays were employed, revealing a higher level of DNA damage in exposed compared to non-exposed individuals. Farmers exposed to pesticides exhibited a significantly higher occurrence of chromosomal translocation (t(14;18)), micronuclei, and chromosomal aberrations. However, only two studies assessed cytotoxicity indirectly. The studies predominantly focused on male participants, with variations in sample size and pesticide types. The lack of detailed exposure data necessitates cautious interpretation. This review underscores the need for further research on the genotoxicity of occupational pesticide exposure in the Middle East. Future studies should adopt robust study designs, collect biological and environmental samples, conduct repeated sampling, analyze seasonal variations, and encompass diverse study sites associated with specific crop groups.
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| 13. |
- Soultan, Alaaeldin, et al.
(författare)
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The future distribution of wetland birds breeding in Europe validated against observed changes in distribution
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9318 .- 1748-9326. ; 17:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wetland bird species have been declining in population size worldwide as climate warming and land-use change affect their suitable habitats. We used species distribution models (SDMs) to predict changes in range dynamics for 64 non-passerine wetland birds breeding in Europe, including range size, position of centroid, and margins. We fitted the SDMs with data collected for the first European Breeding Bird Atlas and climate and land-use data to predict distributional changes over a century (the 1970s-2070s). The predicted annual changes were then compared to observed annual changes in range size and range centroid over a time period of 30 years using data from the second European Breeding Bird Atlas. Our models successfully predicted ca. 75% of the 64 bird species to contract their breeding range in the future, while the remaining species (mostly southerly breeding species) were predicted to expand their breeding ranges northward. The northern margins of southerly species and southern margins of northerly species, both, predicted to shift northward. Predicted changes in range size and shifts in range centroids were broadly positively associated with the observed changes, although some species deviated markedly from the predictions. The predicted average shift in core distributions was ca. 5 km yr-1 towards the north (5% northeast, 45% north, and 40% northwest), compared to a slower observed average shift of ca. 3.9 km yr-1. Predicted changes in range centroids were generally larger than observed changes, which suggests that bird distribution changes may lag behind environmental changes leading to 'climate debt'. We suggest that predictions of SDMs should be viewed as qualitative rather than quantitative outcomes, indicating that care should be taken concerning single species. Still, our results highlight the urgent need for management actions such as wetland creation and restoration to improve wetland birds' resilience to the expected environmental changes in the future.
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| 14. |
- Tenke, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Update on biofilm infections in the urinary tract
- 2012
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Ingår i: World Journal of Urology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1433-8726 .- 0724-4983. ; 30:1, s. 51-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose Biofilm infections have a major role in implants or devices placed in the human body. As part of the endourological development, a great variety of foreign bodies have been designed, and with the increasing number of biomaterial devices used in urology, biofilm formation and device infection is an issue of growing importance. Methods A literature search was performed in the Medline database regarding biofilm formation and the role of biofilms in urogenital infections using the following items in different combinations: "biofilm," "urinary tract infection," "bacteriuria," "catheter," "stent," and "encrustation." The studies were graded using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine classification. Results The authors present an update on the mechanism of biofilm formation in the urinary tract with special emphasis on the role of biofilms in lower and upper urinary tract infections, as well as on biofilm formation on foreign bodies, such as catheters, ureteral stents, stones, implants, and artificial urinary sphincters. The authors also summarize the different methods developed to prevent biofilm formation on urinary foreign bodies. Conclusions Several different approaches are being investigated for preventing biofilm formation, and some promising results have been obtained. However, an ideal method has not been developed. Future researches have to aim at identifying effective mechanisms for controlling biofilm formation and to develop antimicrobial agents effective against bacteria in biofilms.
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