| 1. |
- Dowdeswell, J. A., et al.
(författare)
-
High-resolution geophysical observations of the Yermak Plateau and northern Svalbard margin : Implications for ice-sheet grounding and deep-keeled icebergs
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 29:25-26, s. 3518-3531
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-resolution geophysical evidence on the seafloor morphology and acoustic stratigraphy of the Yermak Plateau and northern Svalbard margin between 79°20′ and 81°30′N and 5° and 22°E is presented. Geophysical datasets are derived from swath bathymetry and sub-bottom acoustic profiling and are combined with existing cores to derive chronological control. Seafloor landforms, in the form of ice-produced lineations, iceberg ploughmarks of various dimensions (including features over 80 m deep and down to about 1000 m), and a moat indicating strong currents are found. The shallow stratigraphy of the Yermak Plateau shows three acoustic units: the first with well-developed stratification produced by hemipelagic sedimentation, often draped over a strong and undulating internal reflector; a second with an undulating upper surface and little acoustic penetration, indicative of the action of ice; a third unit of an acoustically transparent facies, resulting from debris flows. Core chronology suggests a MIS 6 age for the undulating seafloor above about 580 m. There are several possible explanations, including: (a) the flow of a major grounded ice sheet across the plateau crest from Svalbard (least likely given the consolidation state of the underlying sediments); (b) the more transient encroachment of relatively thin ice from Svalbard; or (c) the drift across the plateau of an ice-shelf remnant or megaberg from the Arctic Basin. The latter is our favoured explanation given the evidence currently at our disposal.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Pälike, Heiko, et al.
(författare)
-
A Cenozoic record of the equatorial Pacific carbonate compensation depth
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 488:7413, s. 609-614
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and climate are regulated on geological timescales by the balance between carbon input from volcanic and metamorphic outgassing and its removal by weathering feedbacks; these feedbacks involve the erosion of silicate rocks and organic-carbon-bearing rocks. The integrated effect of these processes is reflected in the calcium carbonate compensation depth, which is the oceanic depth at which calcium carbonate is dissolved. Here we present a carbonate accumulation record that covers the past 53 million years from a depth transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The carbonate compensation depth tracks long-term ocean cooling, deepening from 3.0-3.5 kilometres during the early Cenozoic (approximately 55 million years ago) to 4.6 kilometres at present, consistent with an overall Cenozoic increase in weathering. We find large superimposed fluctuations in carbonate compensation depth during the middle and late Eocene. Using Earth system models, we identify changes in weathering and the mode of organic-carbon delivery as two key processes to explain these large-scale Eocene fluctuations of the carbonate compensation depth.
|
|
| 4. |
- Thelaus, J., et al.
(författare)
-
Francisella tularensis Subspecies holarctica Occurs in Swedish Mosquitoes, Persists Through the Developmental Stages of Laboratory-Infected Mosquitoes and Is Transmissible During Blood Feeding
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Microbial Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0095-3628 .- 1432-184X. ; 67:1, s. 96-107
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Sweden, mosquitoes are considered the major vectors of the bacterium Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica, which causes tularaemia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether mosquitoes acquire the bacterium as aquatic larvae and transmit the disease as adults. Mosquitoes sampled in a Swedish area where tularaemia is endemic (A-rebro) were positive for the presence of F. tularensis deoxyribonucleic acid throughout the summer. Presence of the clinically relevant F. tularensis subsp. holarctica was confirmed in 11 out of the 14 mosquito species sampled. Experiments performed using laboratory-reared Aedes aegypti confirmed that F. tularensis subsp. holarctica was transstadially maintained from orally infected larvae to adult mosquitoes and that 25 % of the adults exposed as larvae were positive for the presence of F. tularensis-specific sequences for at least 2 weeks. In addition, we found that F. tularensis subsp. holarctica was transmitted to 58 % of the adult mosquitoes feeding on diseased mice. In a small-scale in vivo transmission experiment with F. tularensis subsp. holarctica-positive adult mosquitoes and susceptible mice, none of the animals developed tularaemia. However, we confirmed that there was transmission of the bacterium to blood vials by mosquitoes that had been exposed to the bacterium in the larval stage. Taken together, these results provide evidence that mosquitoes play a role in disease transmission in part of Sweden where tularaemia recurs.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
- Backman, Ludvig J, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
-
Akt-mediated anti-apoptotic effects of substance P in Anti-Fas-induced apoptosis of human tenocytes
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (Print). - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1582-1838 .- 1582-4934. ; 17:6, s. 723-733
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Substance P (SP) and its receptor, the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1 R), are expressed by human tenocytes, and they are both up-regulated incases of tendinosis, a condition associated with excessive apoptosis. It is known that SP can phosphorylate/activate the protein kinase Akt,which has anti-apoptotic effects. This mechanism has not been studied for tenocytes. The aims of this study were to investigate if Anti-Fastreatment is a good apoptosis model for human tenocytes in vitro, if SP protects from Anti-Fas-induced apoptosis, and by which mechanismsSP mediates an anti-apoptotic response. Anti-Fas treatment resulted in a time- and dose-dependent release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), i.e.induction of cell death, and SP dose-dependently reduced the Anti-Fas-induced cell death through a NK-1 R specific pathway. The same trendwas seen for the TUNEL assay, i.e. SP reduced Anti-Fas-induced apoptosis via NK-1 R. In addition, it was shown that SP reduces Anti-Fas-induced decrease in cell viability as shown with crystal violet assay. Protein analysis using Western blot confirmed that Anti-Fas inducescleavage/activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of PARP; both of which were inhibited by SP via NK-1 R. Finally, SP treatment resulted in phosphorylation/activation of Akt as shown with Western blot, and it was confirmed that the anti-apoptotic effect of SP was, at least partly, inducedthrough the Akt-dependent pathway. In conclusion, we show that SP reduces Anti-Fas-induced apoptosis in human tenocytes and that this antiapoptoticeffect of SP is mediated through NK-1 R and Akt-specific pathways.
|
|
| 9. |
- Backman, Ludvig J, et al.
(författare)
-
Alpha-2 adrenergic stimulation triggers Achilles tenocyte hypercellularity : comparison between two model systems
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0905-7188 .- 1600-0838. ; 23:6, s. 687-696
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The histopathology of tendons with painful tendinopathy is often tendinosis, a fibrosis-like condition of unclear pathogenesis characterized by tissue changes including hypercellularity. The primary tendon cells (tenocytes) have been shown to express adrenoreceptors (mainly alpha-2A) as well as markers of catecholamine production, particularly in tendinosis. It is known that adrenergic stimulation can induce proliferation in other cells. The present study investigated the effects of an exogenously administered alpha-2 adrenergic agonist in an established in vivo Achilles tendinosis model (rabbit) and also in an in vitro human tendon cell culture model. The catecholamine producing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase and the alpha-2A-adrenoreceptor (α(2A) AR) were expressed by tenocytes, and alpha-2 adrenergic stimulation had a proliferative effect on these cells, in both models. The proliferation was inhibited by administration of an α(2A) AR antagonist, and the in vitro model further showed that the proliferative alpha-2A effect was mediated via a mitogenic cell signaling pathway involving phosphorylation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2. The results indicate that catecholamines produced by tenocytes in tendinosis might contribute to the proliferative nature of the pathology through stimulation of the α(2A) AR, pointing to a novel target for future therapies. The study furthermore shows that animal models are not necessarily required for all aspects of this research.
|
|
| 10. |
- Backman, Ludvig J, et al.
(författare)
-
Low range of ankle dorsiflexion predisposes for patellar tendinopathy in junior elite basketball players : a 1-year prospective study
- 2011
-
Ingår i: American Journal of Sports Medicine. - : SAGE Publications. - 0363-5465 .- 1552-3365. ; 39:12, s. 2626-2633
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Patellar tendinopathy (PT) is one of the most common reasons for sport-induced pain of the knee. Low ankle dorsiflexion range might predispose for PT because of load-bearing compensation in the patellar tendon. PURPOSE: The purpose of this 1-year prospective study was to analyze if a low ankle dorsiflexion range increases the risk of developing PT for basketball players. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 2. METHODS: Ninety junior elite basketball players were examined for different characteristics and potential risk factors for PT, including ankle dorsiflexion range in the dominant and nondominant leg. Data were collected over a 1-year period and follow-up, including reexamination, was made at the end of the year. RESULTS: Seventy-five players met the inclusion criteria. At the follow-up, 12 players (16.0%) had developed unilateral PT. These players were found to have had a significantly lower mean ankle dorsiflexion range at baseline than the healthy players, with a mean difference of -4.7° (P = .038) for the dominant limb and -5.1° (P = .024) for the nondominant limb. Complementary statistical analysis showed that players with dorsiflexion range less than 36.5° had a risk of 18.5% to 29.4% of developing PT within a year, as compared with 1.8% to 2.1% for players with dorsiflexion range greater than 36.5°. Limbs with a history of 2 or more ankle sprains had a slightly less mean ankle dorsiflexion range compared to those with 0 or 1 sprain (mean difference, -1.5° to -2.5°), although this was only statistically significant for nondominant legs. CONCLUSION: This study clearly shows that low ankle dorsiflexion range is a risk factor for developing PT in basketball players. In the studied material, an ankle dorsiflexion range of 36.5° was found to be the most appropriate cutoff point for prognostic screening. This might be useful information in identifying at-risk individuals in basketball teams and enabling preventive actions. A history of ankle sprains might contribute to reduced ankle dorsiflexion range.
|
|
