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- Munthe, Christian, 1962
(författare)
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Pure Selection. The Ethics of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis and Choosing Children without Abortion
- 1999
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Preimplantation ge¬netic diagnosis (PGD) is taken to mark the starting-point of a new phase in human reproduction, where the possibility of choosing children on genetic grounds without having to resort to ethi¬cally controversial procedures (such as abortion) will grad¬ually increase. Ethical and political issues actu¬alised by this develop¬ment are addressed. The discussion touches upon issues regarding the moral status of em¬bryos and gametes, the moral import of respecting individual auton¬omy and its implications for the requirement of informed consent in health-care, the connec¬tion between sickness, dis¬ability and the value of life, the moral status of possible future people, and the connection between choosing children and eugenic policies of the past. Practical policy issues are adressed on the basis of this, as well as an empirical case-study of the intro¬duction of PGD in Sweden. The book ends up in a set of recommendations regarding the management of re¬search on, introduction and routine use of procedures for pure se¬lection, both within health care and from the point of view of society as a whole. It is argued that research on such procedures should be allowed and supported by society. However, tight restrictions regarding the clinical introduction of new procedures in this area is highly desirable. A rough model for implementing such re¬strictions is also pre¬sented. It is further asserted that, although reasons of economy and safety should limit the access to pure se¬lection, society should not apply any explicit restrictions based on ideasregarding how different traits affect a person’s quality of life. It is stressed that, in order to to avoid a re¬sur¬rection of eugenic policies of the past, the development in this field un¬der¬lines the need for continued and strengthen public support to the sick, dis¬abled and mentally retarded.
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| 4. |
- Björkqvist, Susan, 1967, et al.
(författare)
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Isoprene from expired air inside a private car
- 1997
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Ingår i: The science of the total environment. ; 207, s. 63-67
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The concentration of isoprene inside a small-sized parked private car with one person was found to be of the order of 20 g/m3. Isoprene was then the major non-methane volatile hydrocarbon except in strongly traffic-polluted parking places. On driving, with intermediate fan ventilation, the isoprene levels were one order of magnitude lower. In the empty car, the concentrations were still much lower, proving that isoprene originates predominantly from expired air. Air samples were taken on triple-layer adsorbent cartridges and were analysed for volatile hydrocarbons by gas chromatography after thermal desorption. The analytical aluminium oxide column permitted simultaneous determination of a range of reported traffic-emitted hydrocarbons including the carcinogenic 1,3-butadiene and benzene.
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| 5. |
- Goldsteins, Gundars, et al.
(författare)
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Exposure of cryptic epitopes on transthyretin only in amyloid and in amyloidogenic mutants
- 1999
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 96:6, s. 3108-3113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The structural requirements for generation of amyloid from the plasma protein transthyretin (TTR) are not known, although it is assumed that TTR is partly misfolded in amyloid. In a search for structural determinants important for amyloid formation, we generated a TTR mutant with high potential to form amyloid. We demonstrated that the mutant represents an intermediate in a series of conformational changes leading to amyloid. Two monoclonal antibodies were generated against this mutant; each displayed affinity to ex vivo TTR and TTR mutants with amyloidogenic folding but not to wild-type TTR or mutants exhibiting the wild-type fold. Two cryptic epitopes were mapped to a domain of TTR, where most mutations associated with amyloidosis occur and which we propose is displaced at the initial phase of amyloid formation, opening up new surfaces necessary for autoaggregation of TTR monomers. The results provide direct biochemical evidence for structural changes in an amyloidogenic intermediate of TTR.
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| 6. |
- Björkqvist, Susan, 1967
(författare)
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Source-specific volatile organic compounds in human breath, wood smoke and biogas
- 1997
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Volatile biogenic compounds are often overlooked in air quality studies. This work deals with the analysis of specific organic compounds of biogenic origin and with their sources. General aspects of indoor air chemistry and measurements of volatile organic compounds in indoor air are also discussed. The determinations were based mainly on adsorbent sampling followed by gas chromatographic separations on different types of suitable columns. Identifications were made by mass spectrometry.
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| 7. |
- Johanson, U, et al.
(författare)
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A new mutation in 16S rRNA of Escherichia coli conferring spectinomycin resistance
- 1995
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Ingår i: Nucleic Acids Research. - 0305-1048. ; 23:3, s. 6-464
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report a novel mutation, C1066U in 16S rRNA which was selected for resistance to spectinomycin, an antibiotic which inhibits ribosomal translocation. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of spectinomycin determined for this mutant (15 micrograms/ml) is greater than with the wild-type plasmid (5 micrograms/ml) but lower than with the well known C1192U mutation (> 80 micrograms/ml). The C1066U mutation also increases the cells sensitivity to fusidic acid, another antibiotic which inhibits translation at the translocation stage, whereas C1192U is unchanged relative to the wild type. We discuss why the acquisition of resistance to one of these drugs is often associated with hypersensitivity to the other.
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| 8. |
- Goldsteins, Gundars, et al.
(författare)
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Characterisation of two highly amyloidogenic mutants of transthyretin
- 1997
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Ingår i: Biochemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0006-2960 .- 1520-4995. ; 36:18, s. 5346-5352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The plasma protein transthyretin (TTR) has the potential to form amyloid under certain conditions. More than 50 different point mutations have been associated with amyloid formation that occurs only in adults. It is not known what structural changes are introduced into the structure of this otherwise stable molecule that results in its aggregation into insoluble amyloid fibrils. On the basis of calculations of the frequency of known mutations over the polypeptide, we have constructed two mutants in the D-strand of the polypeptide. These molecules, containing either a deletion or a substitution at amino acid positions 53−55, were unstable and spontaneously formed aggregates upon storage in TBS (pH 7.6). The precipitates were shown to be amyloid by staining with thioflavin T and Congo Red. Their ultrastructure was very similar to that of amyloid fibrils deposited in the vitreous body of patients with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy type 1 with an amino acid replacement in position 30 (TTRmet30). Like amyloid isolated from the vitreous body of the eye, the amyloid precipitates generated from the TTR mutants exposed a trypsin cleavage site between amino acid residues 48 and 49, while plasma TTRmet30 isolated from amyloidosis patients as well as wild-type TTR only showed minor trypsin sensitivity. Our data indicate that the mutants we have constructed are similar to amyloid precursors or may share structural properties with intermediates on a pathway leading to amyloid deposits of plasma TTR.
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| 10. |
- Berbyuk, Viktor, 1953
(författare)
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Dynamics and optimal control of biotechnical systems "Man-Prosthesis"
- 1997
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Ingår i: IUTAM Symposium on Interaction Between Dynamics and Control in Advanced Mechanical Systems, Ed. D. van Campen, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997. - Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands. ; , s. 35-42
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the paper, a mathematical model is proposed for investigating the controlled motion of human locomotion system (HLS) with an above-knee prosthesis. To provide insight into the interaction between dynamics and control in biotechnical system Man-Prosthesis the energy optimal control problem of the HLS wearing a lower limb prosthesis has been considered. The algorithm is based on special conversion of the optimal control problem for a nonlinear dynamical system which models HLS into a standard nonlinear programming problem. A number of energy-optimal control problems of human locomotion with an artificial leg, and optimization problems for the constructive parameters of the prostheses under different boundary conditions and constraints have been solved. The numerical results obtained were compared with experimental data for normal human locomotion. The energy-optimal elastic and viscoelastic characteristics of the ankle and knee joints of the prostheses have been determined.
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