| 1. |
- Dulio, Valeria, et al.
(författare)
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The NORMAN Association and the European Partnership for Chemicals Risk Assessment (PARC) : let’s cooperate!
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Sciences Europe. - : Springer. - 2190-4707 .- 2190-4715. ; 32:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Partnership for Chemicals Risk Assessment (PARC) is currently under development as a joint research and innovation programme to strengthen the scientific basis for chemical risk assessment in the EU. The plan is to bring chemical risk assessors and managers together with scientists to accelerate method development and the production of necessary data and knowledge, and to facilitate the transition to next-generation evidence-based risk assessment, a non-toxic environment and the European Green Deal. The NORMAN Network is an independent, well-established and competent network of more than 80 organisations in the field of emerging substances and has enormous potential to contribute to the implementation of the PARC partnership. NORMAN stands ready to provide expert advice to PARC, drawing on its long experience in the development, harmonisation and testing of advanced tools in relation to chemicals of emerging concern and in support of a European Early Warning System to unravel the risks of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and close the gap between research and innovation and regulatory processes. In this commentary we highlight the tools developed by NORMAN that we consider most relevant to supporting the PARC initiative: (i) joint data space and cutting-edge research tools for risk assessment of contaminants of emerging concern; (ii) collaborative European framework to improve data quality and comparability; (iii) advanced data analysis tools for a European early warning system and (iv) support to national and European chemical risk assessment thanks to harnessing, combining and sharing evidence and expertise on CECs. By combining the extensive knowledge and experience of the NORMAN network with the financial and policy-related strengths of the PARC initiative, a large step towards the goal of a non-toxic environment can be taken.
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| 2. |
- Abrouk, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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The in silico identification and characterization of a bread wheat/Triticum militinae introgression line : Characterization of alien introgression in wheat
- 2017
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Ingår i: Plant Biotechnology Journal. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1467-7644 .- 1467-7652. ; 15:2, s. 249-256
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The capacity of the bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) genome to tolerate introgression from related genomes can be exploited for wheat improvement. A resistance to powdery mildew expressed by a derivative of the cross bread wheat cv. Tähti ⨯ T. militinae (Tm) is known to be due to the incorporation of a Tm segment into the long arm of chromosome 4A. Here, a newly developed in silico method termed RICh (rearrangement identification and characterization) has been applied to characterize the introgression. A virtual gene order, assembled using the GenomeZipper approach, was obtained for the native copy of chromosome 4A; it incorporated 570 4A DArTseq markers to produce a zipper comprising 2,132 loci. A comparison between the native and introgressed forms of the 4AL chromosome arm showed that the introgressed region is located at the distal part of the arm. The Tm segment, derived from chromosome 7G, harbors 131 homoeologs out of the 357 genes present on the corresponding region of Chinese Spring 4AL. The estimated number of Tm genes transferred along with the disease resistance gene was 169. Characterizing the introgression's position, gene content and internal gene order should facilitate not only gene isolation, but may also be informative with respect to chromatin structure and behavior studies.
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| 3. |
- Beier, Sebastian, et al.
(författare)
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Construction of a map-based reference genome sequence for barley, Hordeum vulgare L.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Data. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2052-4463. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a cereal grass mainly used as animal fodder and raw material for the malting industry. The map-based reference genome sequence of barley cv. â € Morex' was constructed by the International Barley Genome Sequencing Consortium (IBSC) using hierarchical shotgun sequencing. Here, we report the experimental and computational procedures to (i) sequence and assemble more than 80,000 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones along the minimum tiling path of a genome-wide physical map, (ii) find and validate overlaps between adjacent BACs, (iii) construct 4,265 non-redundant sequence scaffolds representing clusters of overlapping BACs, and (iv) order and orient these BAC clusters along the seven barley chromosomes using positional information provided by dense genetic maps, an optical map and chromosome conformation capture sequencing (Hi-C). Integrative access to these sequence and mapping resources is provided by the barley genome explorer (BARLEX).
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| 4. |
- Brackmann, Christian, 1973, et al.
(författare)
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Non-linear microscopy of smooth muscle cells in artificial extracellular matrices made of cellulose
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Biophotonics. - : Wiley. - 1864-063X. ; 5:5-6, s. 404-414
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Non-linear microscopy has been used to characterize bovine smooth muscle cells and their proliferation, migration, and differentiation in hydrogel cellulose scaffolds, toward the development of fully functional blood vessel implants. The extracellular matrix (ECM) composed of cellulose and endogenous collagen fibers was imaged using Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy and the cell morphology by Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) microscopy. Images prove that cells adhere on the cellulose scaffold without additional surface modification and that both contractile and proliferating phenotypes are developed. This work shows that non-linear microscopy contributes with unique insights in cell interactions with (artificial) ECM components and has the potential to become an established characterization method in tissue engineering.
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| 5. |
- Enejder, Annika, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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CARS and SHG microscopy of artificial bioengineered tissues
- 2010
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Ingår i: Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE. - : SPIE. - 1605-7422. - 9780819479655 ; 7569
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Major efforts are presently made to develop artificial replacement tissues with optimal architectural and material characteristics, mimicking those of their natural correspondents. Encouraged by the readiness with which cellulose fibers woven by the bacteria Acetobacter xylinum can be formed into organ-like macroscopic shapes and with different microscopic textures, it emerges as an interesting material within tissue engineering. We have developed a protocol employing simultaneous CARS and SHG microscopy for monitoring the cellulose network characteristics and its impact on the integration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) for functionalized artificial tissues. CARS and SHG overlay images of the cells and the cellulose fibers reveal an immediate interaction irrespective of scaffold morphology and that the SMCs attach to the cellulose fibers already during the first cultivation day without cell-adhesive coatings. During the subsequent 28 days, SMCs were found to readily proliferate and differentiate on the cellulose scaffold without the need for exogenous growth factors. However, the efficiency with which this occurred depended on the topography of the cellulose constructs, benefited by porous and less compact matrices. This brings forward the need for in-depth studies on how the microstructure of tissue scaffolds influences and can be optimized for native cell integration and proliferation, studies where the benefits of multi-modal non-linear microscopy can be fully exploited. © 2010 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.
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| 6. |
- Ma, Wei, et al.
(författare)
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Rye B chromosomes encode a functional Argonaute-like proteinwith in vitro slicer activities similar to its A chromosome paralog
- 2017
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 213:2, s. 904-916
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- B chromosomes (Bs) are supernumerary, dispensable parts of the nuclear genome, whichappear in many different species of eukaryote. So far, Bs have been considered to be geneti-cally inert elements without any functional genes.Our comparative transcriptome analysis and the detection of active RNA polymerase II(RNAPII) in the proximity of B chromatin demonstrate that the Bs of rye (Secale cereale) con-tribute to the transcriptome. In total, 1954 and 1218 B-derived transcripts with an open read-ing frame were expressed in generative and vegetative tissues, respectively. In addition to B-derived transposable element transcripts, a high percentage of short transcripts withoutdetectable similarity to known proteins and gene fragments from A chromosomes (As) werefound, suggesting an ongoing gene erosion process.In vitro analysis of the A- and B-encoded AGO4B protein variants demonstrated that bothpossess RNA slicer activity. These data demonstrate unambiguously the presence of a func-tional AGO4B gene on Bs and that these Bs carry both functional protein coding genes andpseudogene copies.Thus, B-encoded genes may provide an additional level of gene control and complexity incombination with their related A-located genes. Hence, physiological effects, associated withthe presence of Bs, may partly be explained by the activity of B-located (pseudo)genes.
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| 7. |
- Mascher, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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A chromosome conformation capture ordered sequence of the barley genome
- 2017
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 544:7651, s. 427-433
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cereal grasses of the Triticeae tribe have been the major food source in temperate regions since the dawn of agriculture. Their large genomes are characterized by a high content of repetitive elements and large pericentromeric regions that are virtually devoid of meiotic recombination. Here we present a high-quality reference genome assembly for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). We use chromosome conformation capture mapping to derive the linear order of sequences across the pericentromeric space and to investigate the spatial organization of chromatin in the nucleus at megabase resolution. The composition of genes and repetitive elements differs between distal and proximal regions. Gene family analyses reveal lineage-specific duplications of genes involved in the transport of nutrients to developing seeds and the mobilization of carbohydrates in grains. We demonstrate the importance of the barley reference sequence for breeding by inspecting the genomic partitioning of sequence variation in modern elite germplasm, highlighting regions vulnerable to genetic erosion.
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| 8. |
- Nordström, Henrik, et al.
(författare)
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Strategies for Continuous Balancing in Future Power Systems with High Wind and Solar Shares
- 2023
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Ingår i: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 16:14
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The use of wind power has grown strongly in recent years and is expected to continue to increase in the coming decades. Solar power is also expected to increase significantly. In a power system, a continuous balance is maintained between total production and demand. This balancing is currently mainly managed with conventional power plants, but with larger amounts of wind and solar power, other sources will also be needed. Interesting possibilities include continuous control of wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, hydrogen production, and other demand resources with flexibility potential. The aim of this article is to describe and compare the different challenges and future possibilities in six systems concerning how to keep a continuous balance in the future with significantly larger amounts of variable renewable power production. A realistic understanding of how these systems plan to handle continuous balancing is central to effectively develop a carbon-dioxide-free electricity system of the future. The systems included in the overview are the Nordic synchronous area, the island of Ireland, the Iberian Peninsula, Texas (ERCOT), the central European system, and Great Britain.
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