| 1. |
- Proletov, Ian, et al.
(författare)
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Primary and secondary glomerulonephritides 1.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2385. ; 29 Suppl 3:May, s. 186-200
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 2. |
- Escott-Price, Valentina, et al.
(författare)
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Gene-Wide Analysis Detects Two New Susceptibility Genes for Alzheimer's Disease
- 2014
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:6, s. e94661-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Alzheimer's disease is a common debilitating dementia with known heritability, for which 20 late onset susceptibility loci have been identified, but more remain to be discovered. This study sought to identify new susceptibility genes, using an alternative gene-wide analytical approach which tests for patterns of association within genes, in the powerful genome-wide association dataset of the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project Consortium, comprising over 7 m genotypes from 25,580 Alzheimer's cases and 48,466 controls. Principal Findings: In addition to earlier reported genes, we detected genome-wide significant loci on chromosomes 8 (TP53INP1, p = 1.4x10(-6)) and 14 (IGHV1-67 p = 7.9x10(-8)) which indexed novel susceptibility loci. Significance: The additional genes identified in this study, have an array of functions previously implicated in Alzheimer's disease, including aspects of energy metabolism, protein degradation and the immune system and add further weight to these pathways as potential therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease.
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| 3. |
- Mamone, Alessia, et al.
(författare)
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New indicators to compare and evaluate harmful drug use among adolescents in 38 European countries
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. - : SAGE Publications. - 1455-0725 .- 1458-6126. ; 31:4, s. 343-358
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS - New trends in drug consumption reveal increasing polydrug use. Epidemiological indicators in the current use are based on the prevalence and the associated potential harm of a single main substance. We propose new indicators to evaluate frequency and potential harm of polydrug use. The indicators are used to compare drug use among countries based on survey data on adolescents' substance use in 38 European countries. METHODS - The approach is based on analysis of the frequency of use in the various population samples: lifetime use, twelve months use or last thirty days, depending on available data, and on the risk of harm for the substances used. Two indicators are provided: the frequency of use score (FUS) by summing the frequency of use of each substance, and the polydrug use score (PDS) that weight all the substances used by their risk. RESULTS - The indicators FUS and PDS were calculated and the distribution functions were used to characterise substance use across ESPAD countries. The analysis shows important differences in poly-substance use severity among countries presenting similar prevention policies. CONCLUSIONS - Systematic analysis of substance use and the related risk are of paramount interest. The proposed indicators are designed to better monitor and understand consequences of polydrug use and to measure the resulting risk at country or population level. The indicators may also be used to assess the effects of policy interventions.
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| 4. |
- Moller, Anders Pape, et al.
(författare)
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Clutch-size variation in Western Palaearctic secondary hole-nesting passerine birds in relation to nest box design
- 2014
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Ingår i: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. - 2041-210X. ; 5:4, s. 353-362
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Secondary hole-nesting birds that do not construct nest holes themselves and hence regularly breed in nest boxes constitute important model systems for field studies in many biological disciplines with hundreds of scientists and amateurs involved. Those research groups are spread over wide geographic areas that experience considerable variation in environmental conditions, and researchers provide nest boxes of varying designs that may inadvertently introduce spatial and temporal variation in reproductive parameters. We quantified the relationship between mean clutch size and nest box size and material after controlling for a range of environmental variables in four of the most widely used model species in the Western Palaearctic: great tit Parus major, blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca and collared flycatcher F.albicollis from 365 populations and 79610 clutches. Nest floor area and nest box material varied non-randomly across latitudes and longitudes, showing that scientists did not adopt a random box design. Clutch size increased with nest floor area in great tits, but not in blue tits and flycatchers. Clutch size of blue tits was larger in wooden than in concrete nest boxes. These findings demonstrate that the size of nest boxes and material used to construct nest boxes can differentially affect clutch size in different species. The findings also suggest that the nest box design may affect not only focal species, but also indirectly other species through the effects of nest box design on productivity and therefore potentially population density and hence interspecific competition.
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| 5. |
- Moller, Anders P., et al.
(författare)
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Variation in clutch size in relation to nest size in birds
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:18, s. 3583-3595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nests are structures built to support and protect eggs and/or offspring from predators, parasites, and adverse weather conditions. Nests are mainly constructed prior to egg laying, meaning that parent birds must make decisions about nest site choice and nest building behavior before the start of egg-laying. Parent birds should be selected to choose nest sites and to build optimally sized nests, yet our current understanding of clutch size-nest size relationships is limited to small-scale studies performed over short time periods. Here, we quantified the relationship between clutch size and nest size, using an exhaustive database of 116 slope estimates based on 17,472 nests of 21 species of hole and non-hole-nesting birds. There was a significant, positive relationship between clutch size and the base area of the nest box or the nest, and this relationship did not differ significantly between open nesting and hole-nesting species. The slope of the relationship showed significant intraspecific and interspecific heterogeneity among four species of secondary hole-nesting species, but also among all 116 slope estimates. The estimated relationship between clutch size and nest box base area in study sites with more than a single size of nest box was not significantly different from the relationship using studies with only a single size of nest box. The slope of the relationship between clutch size and nest base area in different species of birds was significantly negatively related to minimum base area, and less so to maximum base area in a given study. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that bird species have a general reaction norm reflecting the relationship between nest size and clutch size. Further, they suggest that scientists may influence the clutch size decisions of hole-nesting birds through the provisioning of nest boxes of varying sizes.
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| 6. |
- Signoretto, Caterina, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of mushroom and chicory extracts on the shape, physiology and proteome of the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans.
- 2013
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Ingår i: BMC complementary and alternative medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6882. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Dental caries is an infectious disease which results from the acidic demineralisation of the tooth enamel and dentine as a consequence of the dental plaque (a microbial biofilm) accumulation. Research showed that several foods contain some components with antibacterial and antiplaque activity. Previous studies indicated antimicrobial and antiplaque activities in a low-molecular-mass (LMM) fraction of extracts from either an edible mushroom (Lentinus edodes) or from Italian red chicory (Cichorium intybus). Methods: We have evaluated the antimicrobial mode of action of these fractions on Streptococcus mutans, the etiological agent of human dental caries. The effects on shape, macromolecular syntheses and cell proteome were analysed. Results: The best antimicrobial activity has been displayed by the LMM mushroom extract with a bacteriostatic effect. At the MIC of both extracts DNA synthesis was the main macromolecular synthesis inhibited, RNA synthesis was less inhibited than that of DNA and protein synthesis was inhibited only by roughly 50%. The partial inhibition of protein synthesis is compatible with the observed significant increase in cell mass. The increase in these parameters is linked to the morphological alteration with transition from cocci of the untreated control to elongated cells. Interestingly, these modifications were also observed at sub-MIC concentrations. Finally, membrane and cytosol proteome analysis was conducted under LMM mushroom extract treatment in comparison with untreated S. mutans cells. Significant changes were observed for 31 membrane proteins and 20 of the cytosol fractions. The possible role of the changed proteins is discussed. Conclusions: This report has shown an antibiotic-like mode of action of mushroom and chicory extracts as demonstrated by induced morphogenetic effects and inhibition of specific macromolecular synthesis. This feature as well as the safe use of this extract as result of its natural origin render the LMM both mushroom and chicory extracts suitable for the formulation into products for daily oral hygiene such as mouthwashes or toothpastes.
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| 7. |
- Speliotes, Elizabeth K., et al.
(författare)
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Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 42:11, s. 937-948
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Obesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and ~2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P < 5 × 10−8), one of which includes a copy number variant near GPRC5B. Some loci (at MC4R, POMC, SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators of energy balance, and one of these loci is near GIPR, an incretin receptor. Furthermore, genes in other newly associated loci may provide new insights into human body weight regulation.
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