| 1. |
- Bartomeus, Ignasi
(author)
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Pollinator declines: reconciling scales and implications for ecosystem services
- 2013
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In: F1000Research. - : F1000 Research Ltd. - 2046-1402. ; 2
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Other publication (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite the widespread concern about the fate of pollinators and the ecosystem services they deliver, we still have surprisingly scarce scientific data on the magnitude of pollinator declines and its actual contribution to crop pollination and food security. We use recently published data from northeastern North America to show that studies at both the local and regional scales are needed to understand pollinator declines, and that species-specific responses to global change are broadly consistent across scales. Second, we show that bee species that are currently delivering most of the ecosystem services (i.e. crop pollination) are not among the species showing declining trends, but rather appear to thrivein human-dominated landscapes. - See more at: http://f1000research.com/articles/2-146/v1#sthash.7jLf7zFE.dpuf
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| 2. |
- Gilthorpe, Jonathan, et al.
(author)
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Extracellular histone H1 is neurotoxic and drives a pro-inflammatory response in microglia.
- 2013
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In: F1000Research. - : F1000 Research Ltd. - 2046-1402. ; 2:148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In neurodegenerative conditions and following brain trauma it is not understood why neurons die while astrocytes and microglia survive and adopt pro-inflammatory phenotypes. We show here that the damaged adult brain releases diffusible factors that can kill cortical neurons and we have identified histone H1 as a major extracellular candidate that causes neurotoxicity and activation of the innate immune system. Extracellular core histones H2A, H2B H3 and H4 were not neurotoxic. Innate immunity in the central nervous system is mediated through microglial cells and we show here for the first time that histone H1 promotes their survival, up-regulates MHC class II antigen expression and is a powerful microglial chemoattractant. We propose that when the central nervous system is degenerating, histone H1 drives a positive feedback loop that drives further degeneration and activation of immune defences which can themselves be damaging. We suggest that histone H1 acts as an antimicrobial peptide and kills neurons through mitochondrial damage and apoptosis.
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| 3. |
- Madsen, Ida E.H., et al.
(author)
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Study protocol for examining job strain as a risk factor for severe unipolar depression in an individual participant meta-analysis of 14 European cohorts
- 2014
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In: F1000 Research. - : F1000 Research Ltd. - 2046-1402. ; 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Previous studies have shown that gainfully employed individuals with high work demands and low control at work (denoted "job strain") are at increased risk of common mental disorders, including depression. Most existing studies have, however, measured depression using self-rated symptom scales that do not necessarily correspond to clinically diagnosed depression. In addition, a meta-analysis from 2008 indicated publication bias in the field.Methods: This study protocol describes the planned design and analyses of an individual participant data meta-analysis, to examine whether job strain is associated with an increased risk of clinically diagnosed unipolar depression based on hospital treatment registers. The study will be based on data from approximately 120,000 individuals who participated in 14 studies on work environment and health in 4 European countries. The self-reported working conditions data will be merged with national registers on psychiatric hospital treatment, primarily hospital admissions. Study-specific risk estimates for the association between job strain and depression will be calculated using Cox regressions. The study-specific risk estimates will be pooled using random effects meta-analysis.Discussion: The planned analyses will help clarify whether job strain is associated with an increased risk of clinically diagnosed unipolar depression. As the analysis is based on pre-planned study protocols and an individual participant data meta-analysis, the pooled risk estimates will not be influenced by selective reporting and publication bias. However, the results of the planned study may only pertain to severe cases of unipolar depression, because of the outcome measure applied.
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| 4. |
- Shen, Xia, et al.
(author)
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Issues with data transformation in genome-wide association studies for phenotypic variability
- 2013
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In: F1000Research. - : F1000 Research Ltd. - 2046-1402. ; 2, s. 1-4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this correspondence is to discuss and clarify a few points about data transformation used in genome-wide association studies, especially for phenotypic variability. By commenting on the recent publication by Sun et al. in the American Journal of Human Genetics, we emphasize the importance of statistical power in detecting functional loci and the real meaning of the scale of the phenotype in practice.
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| 5. |
- Tenow, Olle
(author)
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Discovery of continental-scale travelling waves and lagged synchrony in geometrid moth outbreaks prompt a re-evaluation of mountain birch/geometrid studies
- 2013
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In: F1000Research. - : F1000 Research Ltd. - 2046-1402. ; 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The spatio-temporal dynamics of populations of two 9-10 year cyclic-outbreaking geometrids, Operophtera brumata and Epirrita autumnata in mountain birch forests in northern Fennoscandia, have been studied since the 1970´s by a Swedish-Norwegian research team and, during the last decade, by Norwegian and Finnish research teams. Some of the early results have been challenged by the Norwegian team. To examine the base for disagreements, five of the papers published by the Norwegian team (2004-2011) are reviewed. It is found that conclusions in these papers are questionable or data could not be interpreted fully because two decisive traits in the spatio-temporal behaviour of outbreaks of the two species were not considered.
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| 6. |
- Vallortigara, J, et al.
(author)
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Dynamin1 concentration in the prefrontal cortex is associated with cognitive impairment in Lewy body dementia
- 2014
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In: F1000Research. - : F1000 Research Ltd. - 2046-1402. ; 3, s. 108-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s Disease Dementia (PDD) together, represent the second most common cause of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The synaptic dysfunctions underlying the cognitive decline and psychiatric symptoms observed throughout the development of PDD and DLB are still under investigation. In this study we examined the expression level of Dynamin1 and phospho-CaMKII, key proteins of endocytosis and synaptic plasticity respectively, as potential markers of molecular processes specifically deregulated with DLB and/or PDD. In order to measure the levels of these proteins, we isolated grey matter from post-mortem prefrontal cortex area (BA9), anterior cingulated gyrus (BA24) and parietal cortex (BA40) from DLB and PDD patients in comparison to age-matched controls and a group of AD cases. Clinical and pathological data available included the MMSE score, neuropsychiatric history, and semi-quantitative scores for AD pathology (plaques - tangles) and for α-synuclein (Lewy bodies).Changes in the expression of the synaptic markers, and correlates with neuropathological features and cognitive decline were predominantly found in the prefrontal cortex. On one hand, levels of Dynamin1 were significantly reduced, and correlated with a higher rate of cognitive decline observed in cases from three dementia groups. On the other hand, the fraction of phospho-CaMKII was decreased, and correlated with a high score of plaques and tangles in BA9. Interestingly, the correlation between the rate of cognitive decline and the level of Dynamin1 remained when the analysis was restricted to the PDD and DLB cases, highlighting an association of Dynamin1 with cognitive decline in people with Lewy Body dementia.
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