| 1. |
- Setälä, H., et al.
(författare)
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Urban and agricultural soils : Conflicts and trade-offs in the optimization of ecosystem services
- 2014
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Ingår i: Urban Ecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1083-8155 .- 1573-1642. ; 17:1, s. 239-253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- On-going human population growth and changing patterns of resource consumption are increasing global demand for ecosystem services, many of which are provided by soils. Some of these ecosystem services are linearly related to the surface area of pervious soil, whereas others show non-linear relationships, making ecosystem service optimization a complex task. As limited land availability creates conflicting demands among various types of land use, a central challenge is how to weigh these conflicting interests and how to achieve the best solutions possible from a perspective of sustainable societal development. These conflicting interests become most apparent in soils that are the most heavily used by humans for specific purposes: urban soils used for green spaces, housing, and other infrastructure and agricultural soils for producing food, fibres and biofuels. We argue that, despite their seemingly divergent uses of land, agricultural and urban soils share common features with regards to interactions between ecosystem services, and that the trade-offs associated with decision-making, while scale- and context-dependent, can be surprisingly similar between the two systems. We propose that the trade-offs within land use types and their soil-related ecosystems services are often disproportional, and quantifying these will enable ecologists and soil scientists to help policy makers optimizing management decisions when confronted with demands for multiple services under limited land availability.
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| 2. |
- Abbott, Allan, et al.
(författare)
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The effectiveness of physiotherapeutic rehabilitation and issues of outcome prediction after lumber fusion surgery.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the WCPT Congress, Amsterdam Netherlands.. - : World Confederation of Physical Therapy. ; , s. 20-
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Purpose: The primary purpose was to analyse the short and long term effectiveness of physiotherapeutic rehabilitation programs performed during the first 3 month after lumbar fusion surgery. A secondary purpose was to analyse factors predicting long-term disability, back pain and health related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes after lumbar fusion.Relevance: The study provides evidence for the effectiveness of early physiotherapy after lumbar fusion. Furthermore improved knowledge of predictive factors can help physiotherapist in the screening of lumbar fusion candidates and the individualised implementation of pre-surgical and post-surgical interventions.Participants: A total of 107 patients were recruited from the Karolinska University Hospital's Orthopaedic Clinic, Stockholm, Sweden. The inclusion criteria were: men and women aged between 18 and 65 years with a >12 month history of back pain and/or sciatica; a primary diagnosis of spinal stenosis, degenerative or isthmic spondylolisthesis or degenerative disc disease; selected for lumbar fusion with or without decompression; competence in the Swedish language. The criteria for exclusion were: previous lumbar fusion, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.Methods: An open book randomised controlled trial with pre-surgical and post-surgical measures at 3, 6, 12 and 24-36 months was performed to investigate the effectiveness of a psychomotor therapy focusing on cognition, behaviour and motor relearning compared to exercise therapy focusing on strength and conditioning, applied during the first 3 months after lumbar fusion. Randomisation allocated 53 patients to psychomotor therapy and 54 patients to exercise therapy. The Oswestry disability index (ODI) was the primary outcome measure. Secondary measures included the Visual analogue scale for back pain (VAS), European quality of life questionnaire (EQ5D), as well as other clinical, psychological and work related variables.Analysis: A total of 78 patients were needed assuming a power = 80%. Patient compliance was analysed and an intention to treat principle applied to data analysis. For statistical comparison between the 2 independent groups, analysis of covariance was used. Categorical regression with optimal scaling transformation, elastic net regularization and bootstrapping were used to investigate pre-surgical predictor variables and address predictive model validity.Results: Follow-up rates were 93% at 12 months and 81% at 24-36 months after surgery. Psychomotor therapy improved functional disability, self-efficacy, outcome expectancy and fear of movement/(re)injury significantly more than exercise therapy at respective follow-up occasions. Pre-surgical control over pain significantly predicted functional disability and HRQOL. Pre-surgical catastrophizing and leg pain intensity significantly predicted functional disability and back pain while the pre-surgical lasegue test significantly predicted back pain. The implementation of post-operative psychomotor therapy also significantly predicted functional disability while pre-surgical outcome expectations significantly predicted HRQOL.Conclusions: The study shows that post-operative rehabilitation can be safely implemented during the first 3 months after lumbar fusion and should include measures to modify psychological as well as motor functions. The study also demonstrates the importance of pre-surgical psychological factors, leg pain intensity, the lasegue test and post-operative psychomotor therapy in the predictions of functional disability, back pain and HRQOL related outcomes.Implications: Physiotherapist should screen patients pain, psychological factors and neuromusculoskeletal system pre-surgically and rehabilitate patients with early psychomotor therapy after lumbar fusion.
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| 3. |
- Holmfeldt, Linda, et al.
(författare)
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The genomic landscape of hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1546-1718 .- 1061-4036. ; 45:3, s. 242-252
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The genetic basis of hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a subtype of ALL characterized by aneuploidy and poor outcome, is unknown. Genomic profiling of 124 hypodiploid ALL cases, including whole-genome and exome sequencing of 40 cases, identified two subtypes that differ in the severity of aneuploidy, transcriptional profiles and submicroscopic genetic alterations. Near-haploid ALL with 24-31 chromosomes harbor alterations targeting receptor tyrosine kinase signaling and Ras signaling (71%) and the lymphoid transcription factor gene IKZF3 (encoding AIOLOS; 13%). In contrast, low-hypodiploid ALL with 32-39 chromosomes are characterized by alterations in TP53 (91.2%) that are commonly present in nontumor cells, IKZF2 (encoding HELIOS; 53%) and RB1 (41%). Both near-haploid and low-hypodiploid leukemic cells show activation of Ras-signaling and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-signaling pathways and are sensitive to PI3K inhibitors, indicating that these drugs should be explored as a new therapeutic strategy for this aggressive form of leukemia.
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| 4. |
- Abrate, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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Mesenchymal stem cells expressing therapeutic genes induce autochthonous prostate tumour regression
- 2014
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Ingår i: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 50:14, s. 2478-2488
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as vehicles of therapeutic genes represent a unique tool to activate drugs within a neoplastic mass due to their property to home and engraft into tumours. In particular, MSC expressing the cytosine deaminase:: uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (CD-MSC) have been previously demonstrated to inhibit growth of subcutaneous prostate cancer xenografts thanks to their ability to convert the non-toxic 5-fluorocytosine into the antineoplastic 5-fluorouracil. Since both the immune system and the tumour microenvironment play a crucial role in directing cancer progression, in order to advance towards clinical applications, we tested the therapeutic potential of this approach on animal models that develop autochthonous prostate cancer and preserve an intact immune system. As cell vectors, we employed adipose-tissue and bone-marrow MSC. CD-MSC toxicity on murine prostate cancer cells and tumour tropism were verified in vitro and ex-vivo before starting the preclinical studies. Magnetic Resonance Imaging was utilised to follow orthotopic tumour progression. We demonstrated that intravenous injections of CD-MSC cells, followed by intraperitoneal administration of 5-fluorocytosine, caused tumour regression in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) model, which develops aggressive and spontaneous prostate cancer. These results add new insights to the therapeutic potential of specifically engineered MSC in prostate cancer disease.
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| 5. |
- Aguila, JC, et al.
(författare)
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Cellular programming and reprogramming: sculpting cell fate for the production of dopamine neurons for cell therapy
- 2012
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Ingår i: Stem cells international. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1687-9678 .- 1687-966X. ; 2012, s. 412040-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pluripotent stem cells are regarded as a promising cell source to obtain human dopamine neurons in sufficient amounts and purity for cell replacement therapy. Importantly, the success of clinical applications depends on our ability to steer pluripotent stem cells towards the right neuronal identity. In Parkinson disease, the loss of dopamine neurons is more pronounced in the ventrolateral population that projects to the sensorimotor striatum. Because synapses are highly specific, only neurons with this precise identity will contribute, upon transplantation, to the synaptic reconstruction of the dorsal striatum. Thus, understanding the developmental cell program of the mesostriatal dopamine neurons is critical for the identification of the extrinsic signals and cell-intrinsic factors that instruct and, ultimately, determine cell identity. Here, we review how extrinsic signals and transcription factors act together during development to shape midbrain cell fates. Further, we discuss how these same factors can be appliedin vitroto induce, select, and reprogram cells to the mesostriatal dopamine fate.
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| 6. |
- Bezemer, T. M., et al.
(författare)
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Divergent composition but similar function of soil food webs of individual plants: plant species and community effects
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ecology. - 0012-9658. ; 91:10, s. 3027-3036
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soils are extremely rich in biodiversity, and soil organisms play pivotal roles in supporting terrestrial life, but the role that individual plants and plant communities play in influencing the diversity and functioning of soil food webs remains highly debated. Plants, as primary producers and providers of resources to the soil food web, are of vital importance for the composition, structure, and functioning of soil communities. However, whether natural soil food webs that are completely open to immigration and emigration differ underneath individual plants remains unknown. In a biodiversity restoration experiment we first compared the soil nematode communities of 228 individual plants belonging to eight herbaceous species. We included grass, leguminous, and non-leguminous species. Each individual plant grew intermingled with other species, but all plant species had a different nematode community. Moreover, nematode communities were more similar when plant individuals were growing in the same as compared to different plant communities, and these effects were most apparent for the groups of bacterivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous nematodes. Subsequently, we analyzed the composition, structure, and functioning of the complete soil food webs of 58 individual plants, belonging to two of the plant species, Lotus corniculatus (Fabaceae) and Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae). We isolated and identified more than 150 taxa/groups of soil organisms. The soil community composition and structure of the entire food webs were influenced both by the species identity of the plant individual and the surrounding plant community. Unexpectedly, plant identity had the strongest effects on decomposing soil organisms, widely believed to be generalist feeders. In contrast, quantitative food web modeling showed that the composition of the plant community influenced nitrogen mineralization under individual plants, but that plant species identity did not affect nitrogen or carbon mineralization or food web stability. Hence, the composition and structure of entire soil food webs vary at the scale of individual plants and are strongly influenced by the species identity of the plant. However, the ecosystem functions these food webs provide are determined by the identity of the entire plant community.
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| 7. |
- de Vries, Franciska T., et al.
(författare)
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Soil food web properties explain ecosystem services across European land use systems
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - Washington, DC : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 1091-6490 .- 0027-8424. ; 110:35, s. 14296-14301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intensive land use reduces the diversity and abundance of many soil biota, with consequences for the processes that they govern and the ecosystem services that these processes underpin. Relationships between soil biota and ecosystem processes have mostly been found in laboratory experiments and rarely are found in the field. Here, we quantified, across four countries of contrasting climatic and soil conditions in Europe, how differences in soil food web composition resulting from land use systems (intensive wheat rotation, extensive rotation, and permanent grassland) influence the functioning of soils and the ecosystem services that they deliver. Intensive wheat rotation consistently reduced the biomass of all components of the soil food web across all countries. Soil food web properties strongly and consistently predicted processes of C and N cycling across land use systems and geographic locations, and they were a better predictor of these processes than land use. Processes of carbon loss increased with soil food web properties that correlated with soil C content, such as earthworm biomass and fungal/bacterial energy channel ratio, and were greatest in permanent grassland. In contrast, processes of N cycling were explained by soil food web properties independent of land use, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterial channel biomass. Our quantification of the contribution of soil organisms to processes of C and N cycling across land use systems and geographic locations shows that soil biota need to be included in C and N cycling models and highlights the need to map and conserve soil biodiversity across the world.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Gratzke, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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Cannabinor, a Selective Cannabinoid-2 Receptor Agonist, Improves Bladder Emptying in Rats With Partial Urethral Obstruction
- 2011
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF UROLOGY. - : Elsevier Science B.V. Amsterdam. - 0022-5347 .- 1527-3792. ; 185:2, s. 731-736
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: We studied the effects of chronic treatment with the novel selective cannabinoid 2 receptor agonist cannabinor (Procter andamp; Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Cincinnatti, Ohio) on bladder function in conscious rats with partial urethral obstruction and on the functional properties of isolated detrusor muscle. Materials and Methods: A total of 24 female Sprague-Dawley(R) rats with surgically created partial urethral obstruction received daily intraperitoneal injections of 3 mg/kg cannabinor (12) or saline as controls (12) for 2 weeks. Cystometry was done, the rats were sacrificed and the bladders were prepared for in vitro studies. Results: Mean +/- SEM bladder weight was 0.97 +/- 0.15 gm in controls and 0.53 +/- 0.08 gm in cannabinor treated rats (p andlt; 0.05). There was no difference between the groups in the mean micturition interval, or mean baseline, threshold, flow or maximum pressure. In controls and cannabinor treated rats mean post-void residual volume was 0.28 +/- 0.07 and 0.06 +/- 0.02 ml, mean micturition compliance was 0.032 +/- 0.006 and 0.069 +/- 0.016 ml/cm H2O, and mean bladder wall force at the start of flow was 950 +/- 280 and 1,647 +/- 325 mN/gm, respectively (each p andlt; 0.05). Nonvoiding contractions were significantly less frequent in cannabinor treated rats than in controls. We noted no difference in carbachol (Sigma(R)) half maximum concentration between the groups but the carbachol maximum response in detrusor strips from cannabinor treated rats was significantly higher than that in control strips. Conclusions: In rats with partial urethral obstruction treated daily for 14 days with cannabinor bladder weight was lower, the ability to empty the bladder was preserved and nonvoiding contraction frequency was low compared to those in controls. Detrusor preparations from cannabinor treated rats showed a higher response to nerve stimulation than those from controls. Selective cannabinoid 2 receptor activation may be a novel principle to enable improved bladder function after partial urethral obstruction.
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