| 1. |
- Asghar, Naveed, et al.
(författare)
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Tick-borne encephalitis virus sequenced directly from questing and blood-feeding ticks reveals quasispecies variance.
- 2014
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - San Francisco, USA : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 9:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increased distribution of the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in Scandinavia highlights the importance of characterizing novel sequences within the natural foci. In this study, two TBEV strains: the Norwegian Mandal 2009 (questing nymphs pool) and the Swedish Saringe 2009 (blood-fed nymph) were sequenced and phylogenetically characterized. Interestingly, the sequence of Mandal 2009 revealed the shorter form of the TBEV genome, similar to the highly virulent Hypr strain, within the 3' non-coding region (3'NCR). A different genomic structure was found in the 3'NCR of Saringe 2009, as in-depth analysis demonstrated TBEV variants with different lengths within the poly(A) tract. This shows that TBEV quasispecies exists in nature and indicates a putative shift in the quasispecies pool when the virus switches between invertebrate and vertebrate environments. This prompted us to further sequence and analyze the 3'NCRs of additional Scandinavian TBEV strains and control strains, Hypr and Neudoerfl. Toro 2003 and Habo 2011 contained mainly a short (A)3C(A)6 poly(A) tract. A similar pattern was observed for the human TBEV isolates 1993/783 and 1991/4944; however, one clone of 1991/4944 contained an (A)3C(A)11 poly(A) sequence, demonstrating that quasispecies with longer poly(A) could be present in human isolates. Neudoerfl has previously been reported to contain a poly(A) region, but to our surprise the re-sequenced genome contained two major quasispecies variants, both lacking the poly(A) tract. We speculate that the observed differences are important factors for the understanding of virulence, spread, and control of the TBEV.
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| 2. |
- Bidleman, Terry F., et al.
(författare)
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Air-water exchange of brominated anisoles in the northern baltic sea
- 2014
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 48:11, s. 6124-6132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bromophenols produced by marine algae undergo O-methylation to form bromoanisoles (BAs), which are exchanged between water and air. BAs were determined in surface water of the northern Baltic Sea (Gulf of Bothnia, consisting of Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea) during 2011-2013 and on a transect of the entire Baltic in September 2013. The abundance decreased in the following order: 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (2,4,6-TBA) > 2,4-dibromoanisole (2,4-DBA) ≫ 2,6-dibromoanisole (2,6-DBA). Concentrations of 2,4-DBA and 2,4,6-TBA in September were higher in the southern than in the northern Baltic and correlated well with the higher salinity in the south. This suggests south-to-north advection and dilution with fresh riverine water enroute, and/or lower production in the north. The abundance in air over the northern Baltic also decreased in the following order: 2,4,6-TBA > 2,4-DBA. However, 2,6-DBA was estimated as a lower limit due to breakthrough from polyurethane foam traps used for sampling. Water/air fugacity ratios ranged from 3.4 to 7.6 for 2,4-DBA and from 18 to 94 for 2,4,6-TBA, indicating net volatilization. Flux estimates using the two-film model suggested that volatilization removes 980-1360 kg of total BAs from Bothnian Bay (38000 km(2)) between May and September. The release of bromine from outgassing of BAs could be up to 4-6% of bromine fluxes from previously reported volatilization of bromomethanes and bromochloromethanes.
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| 3. |
- Günther, Göran, et al.
(författare)
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Ticke-borne encephalitis is associated with low levels of interleukin-10 in cerebrospinal fluid
- 2011
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Ingår i: Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2000-8686. ; 1, s. 6029-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is associated with higher morbidity and induces a stronger intrathecal immune activation than most other viral induced meningo-encephalitis. The aim of this study was to investigate cytokine concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum in relation to aetiology and clinical course. Cytokines were analysed by Enzyme-linked Immuno Assay (ELISA) from 44 patients with TBE and from 36 patients with aseptic meningo-encephalitis of other aetiology (non-TBE). Significantly increased CSF levels of Interferon-γ (IFN-γ), Interleukin-10 (IL-10), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL- 1ra), and soluble CD8 receptor (sCD8) were detected in both cohorts. Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α showed low levels or was not detected in CSF in any group in the acute stage. However, the CSF levels of IL- 10 were significantly lower in TBE than in non-TBE cases 06 days after onset of encephalitis. The TBE patients with encephalitis had significantly lower IL-10 CSF levels later in the clinical course (day 718) than TBE patients with meningeal disease. Increased IFN-γ production, but low IL-10 secretion, may be of pathophysiological significance in TBE.
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| 4. |
- Isaksson, Sofi, et al.
(författare)
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Detecting EGFR alterations in clinical specimens-pitfalls and necessities.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Virchows Archiv: an international journal of pathology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-2307. ; 463:6, s. 755-764
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) status in early stage lung cancer in Southern Sweden, a population for which there are no previous reports on the EGFR mutation frequency. Three hundred fifty small cell lung cancers, adenocarcinomas (AC), squamous cell carcinomas (SqCC), and large cell carcinomas were analyzed using a combination of techniques for the analysis of protein expression, gene copy numbers, and mutations. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining with antibodies for the EGFR mutations L858R and del E746-A750 revealed intratumoral heterogeneity and several discrepant cases when compared to mutation-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based analysis. The frequencies of these two mutations, when considering IHC staining with mutation-specific antibodies in a cohort of 298 cases and subsequent confirmation by PCR, were 10 % in AC and <2 % in SqCC. Furthermore, screening by sequencing of EGFR in a cohort of 52 lung AC and squamous carcinomas demonstrated a more diverse mutation spectrum, not covered by the mutation-specific antibodies. High expression of total EGFR protein was correlated to high gene copy numbers but did not reflect the mutational status of the tumors. We believe that the mutation spectra in a Southern Swedish population is too diverse to be covered by the mutation-specific antibodies, and we also raise some other issues regarding the use of the mutation-specific antibodies, for example concerning heterogeneous expression of the mutated protein, optimal antibody dilution, and discrepancies between staining results and PCR.
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| 5. |
- Jelenik, Zsuzsanna, et al.
(författare)
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Tick-borne encephalitis and golden agers : position paper of the International Scientific Working Group on Tick-borne encephalitis (ISW-TBE)
- 2010
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Ingår i: Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0043-5341 .- 1563-258X. ; 160:9-10, s. 247-251
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the primary goals of the 11th Annual Meeting of the International Scientific Working Group on Tick-borne encephalitis (ISW-TBE) held in 2009 was to develop the first update of the Position Paper on TBE in Golden Agers, summarizing the most essential aspects of the disease in this age group. TBE morbidity has continued to increase in recent years, which is thought to be due to an interplay of social, political, ecological, economic and demographic factors combined with climate changes. Today's golden agers i.e. individuals aged 50 years or above, are healthier and more mobile, lead more active lifestyles and spend more time travelling and performing outdoor leisure activities. This places them at an increased risk of infection. At the same time, increasing age is associated with a quantitative and qualitative decline in innate and adaptive immunity, which is why elderly individuals are more susceptible to infection and severe disease than younger people. Also, their response to vaccination tends to be slower, antibody titres generally reach lower levels and titres tend to decrease earlier than in younger individuals. Evidence is accumulating that this is also the case with TBE vaccination, emphasizing the importance of administering the first TBE booster vaccination no later than 3 years after the completion of primary immunization or at an even shorter interval. Encouragingly, recent data have shown that the field effectiveness of TBE vaccination exceeds 97%, with no significant differences between age groups.
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| 6. |
- Jonsson, Sofia, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Dioxin removal from contaminated soils by ethanol washing
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Hazardous Materials. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3894 .- 1873-3336. ; 179:1-3, s. 393-399
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate the potential utility of ethanol washing for remediating soils contaminated with polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), as a cost-efficient alternative to conventional remediation methods of PCDD/F-contaminated soils. Initially, screening experiments were performed with a two-level full factorial design to examine the effects of temperature, extraction time and ethanol concentration on the removal efficiency. The screening experiments showed that the ethanol concentration was the most important parameter. In addition, repeated washing cycles considerably improved the results. Ethanol washing conditions were then selected (10 wash cycles with 75% ethanol at 60 °C), and applied to four soils with different soil characteristics and contamination levels to test the robustness of the selected method. Treatment efficiencies of 81% and 85% were obtained for a lightly contaminated sandy–silty soil and a highly contaminated clay soil rich in graphite particles, respectively. Even higher treatment efficiencies (≥97%) were obtained for two other highly contaminated soils, one of which contained high amounts of organic matter. PCDD/Fs were found to both dissolve in the solvent and migrate into it as species adsorbed to particles. The relative contributions of these mechanisms and the overall efficiency of the removal seem to depend on contaminant concentration, the types of carbon in the soil matrix and the particle size distribution. The study shows that ethanol washing has effective remediation potential for a variety of PCDD/F-contaminated soils.
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| 7. |
- Kozyatnyk, Ivan, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of barrier materials for removing pollutants from groundwater rich in natural organic matter
- 2014
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Ingår i: Water Science and Technology. - : IWA Publishing. - 0273-1223 .- 1996-9732. ; 70:1, s. 32-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Permeable barriers are used for passive remediation of groundwater and can be constructed from a range of materials. The optimal material depends on the types of contaminants and physicochemical parameters present at the site, as well as the hydraulic conductivity, environmental safety, availability, cost and long-term stability of the material itself. The aim of the presented study was to test a number of materials for their ability to remove heavy metals and organic pollutants from groundwater with a high (140 mg L-1) content of natural organic matter (NOM). The following materials were included in the study: sand, peat, fly ash, iron powder, lignin and combinations thereof. Polluted water was fed into glass columns loaded with each sorbent and the contaminant removal efficiency of the material was evaluated through chemical analysis of the percolate. Materials based on fly ash and zero-valent iron were found to be the most effective for heavy metal removal, while fly ash and peat were the most effective for removing aliphatic compounds. Filtration through lignin and peat led to leaching of NOM. Although the leaching decreased over time, it remained high throughout the experiments. The results indicate that remediation of contaminated land at disused industrial sites is a complex task that often requires the use of mixed materials or a minimum of two sequential barriers.
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| 8. |
- Lindblom, Pontus, et al.
(författare)
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Determining factors for successful vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis virus in older individuals
- 2014
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We performed a cross-sectional study including 533 persons (median age 61) from the highly TBE endemic Åland Islands in the archipelago between Sweden and Finland. Blood samples, questionnaires and vaccination records were obtained from all study participants. The aim was to investigate if there was any association between TBEV antibody titer and 14 healthrelated factors: [age, gender, number of vaccine doses (0-5), time since last vaccine dose, previous TBE disease, vaccination against other flaviviruses, ≥2 tick-bites during the previous 3 months, pet-ownership, asthma, smoking, allergy, diabetes, medication, and previous tumor]. Measurement of TBEV IgG antibodies was performed using two commercial ELISA assays (Enzygnost and Immunozym), and a third in-house rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test was used to measure TBEV neutralizing antibodies. The age of the person and the number of vaccine doses were the two most important factors determining successful vaccination. The response to each vaccine dose declined linearly with increased age. A 35 year age difference corresponds to a vaccine dose increment from 3 to 4 to achieve the same response. Participants receiving medication and participants previously vaccinated against other flaviviruses had lower TBEV antibody titers on average, while those with self-reported asthma had higher titers. By comparing the 3 serological assays we show that the Enzygnost and Immunozym assay differ due to choice of cutoffs, but not in overall accuracy.
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| 9. |
- Lindblom, Pontus, 1982-
(författare)
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Epidemiological and Ecological Studies of Tick-borne Encephalitis Virus
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Ticks are blood-sucking parasites that are an inconvenience for both humans and animals. The tick by itself is normally harmless unless they attack in excessive numbers. The harm from ticks stems from them being excellent vectors for other parasites, in the form of bacteria and virus that via the ticks are provided a bridge to move across the blood streams of different animals, including humans.One of the most pathogenic tick-borne disease for humans is caused by a flavivirus, the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Each year approximately 10 000 individuals on the Eurasian continent develop neurological disease, in the form of meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and radiculitis, following a bite by a TBEV infected tick.To evaluate the risk of TBEV infection after a tick-bite, we have developed a study to investigate ticks that have bitten humans and to follow up the tick-bitten humans to investigate if they get infected, and if they develop symptoms, and further trace the virus back to the tick that is infected with TBEV. Ticks, blood samples, and questionnaires were collected in collaboration with 34 primary health care centers in Sweden and on the Åland Islands during 2008 and 2009.Several demographical and biological factors were investigated regarding the interaction between ticks and humans. The main finding was that men removed the ticks later than women, and that both older men and older women removed the ticks later than younger individuals. This could in part explain why older individuals in general, and men in particular, are at greater risk of acquiring tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).Furthermore, the prevalence of TBEV in ticks that have bitten humans were investigated, in order to correlate the copy number of TBEV in the tick and the tick feeding-time to the risk of developing symptomatic and asymptomatic infection. This entailed the development of new methodology for tick analysis and TBEV real-time PCR. The result showed a very low risk of TBEV infection in the studied areas, only 5 of 2167 investigated ticks contained TBEV. Three of the individuals bitten by TBEV infected ticks were vaccinated and did not develop symptoms of TBEV infection. One unvaccinated individual got bitten by a tick containing 1800 virus copies, with a feeding-time of 12-24h, and interestingly showed no signs of infection. Another unvaccinated individual got bitten by a tick containing 7.7 million virus copies, with a feedingtime of >60h. This individual developed symptoms consistent with a 1st phase of TBE, including fever and headache, but did not develop the 2nd neurological phase of TBEV infection. Despite only finding 5 ticks infected with TBEV, a correlation between the virus load in the tick and the tick feeding-time was observed. In 2 other individuals, TBEV antibody seroconversion was detected during the 3 month study period, one without symptoms, while the other experienced symptoms consistent with the 1st phase of TBE. These observations support the hypothesis that a higher virus amount in the tick and a longer feeding time increases the risk of TBEV infection.To further examine TBEV in ticks that have bitten humans and find factors that may predict the risk of human infection and development of TBE, we characterized several TBEV strains genetically. Including TBEV strains isolated from ticks that have bitten human, from questing field-collected ticks, and TBEV strains isolated from patients with TBE. In one of the ticks detached from a human after >60h of feeding, there was a heterogeneous population of TBEV quasispecies with varying poly(A) length in the 3’ untranslated region of the genome was observed. These variations might have implications for differences in virulence between TBEV strains, and the heterogeneous quasispecies population observed could be the virus adapting from replication in tick cells to mammalian cells.We also investigated the response to TBEV vaccination in relation to 14 health-related factors in a population of older individuals on the Åland Islands. Blood samples, questionnaires, and vaccination records were collected from 533 individuals. Three different serological assays to characterize antibody response to TBEV vaccination were used. The main finding was that the number of vaccine doses in relation to age was the most important factor determining successful vaccination. The response to each vaccination dose declined linearly with age, and as much as 47% of individuals 50 years or older that had taken 3 vaccine doses were seronegative, compared to 23% that had taken 4 doses and 6% with 5 doses. Comparison between the serological assays revealed that the cutoffs determining the balance between sensitivity and specificity differed, but not the overall accuracy.Taken together, these results contribute to a better understanding of the TBEV epidemiology and can provide tools in the prevention of TBE.
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| 10. |
- Lindblom, Pontus, et al.
(författare)
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Factors Determining Immunological Response to Vaccination against Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Older Individuals
- 2014
-
Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 9:6, s. e0100860-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We performed a cross-sectional study including 533 individuals (median age 61) from the highly TBE endemic A land Islands in the archipelago between Sweden and Finland. Blood samples, questionnaires and vaccination records were obtained from all study participants. The aim was to investigate if there was any association between TBEV antibody titer and 12 health-related factors. Measurement of TBEV IgG antibodies was performed using two commercial ELISA assays (Enzygnost and Immunozym), and a third in-house rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test was used to measure TBEV neutralizing antibodies. The age of the individual and the number of vaccine doses were the two most important factors determining the immunological response to vaccination. The response to each vaccine dose declined linearly with increased age. A 35 year age difference corresponds to a vaccine dose increment from 3 to 4 to achieve the same immunological response. Participants previously vaccinated against other flaviviruses had lower odds of being seropositive for neutralizing TBEV antibodies on average, while participants with self-reported asthma had higher odds of being seropositive. By comparing the 3 serological assays we show that the Enzygnost and Immunozym assay differ due to choice of cutoffs, but not in overall accuracy.
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