| 1. |
- Elsik, Christine G., et al.
(författare)
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The Genome Sequence of Taurine Cattle : A Window to Ruminant Biology and Evolution
- 2009
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 324:5926, s. 522-528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To understand the biology and evolution of ruminants, the cattle genome was sequenced to about sevenfold coverage. The cattle genome contains a minimum of 22,000 genes, with a core set of 14,345 orthologs shared among seven mammalian species of which 1217 are absent or undetected in noneutherian (marsupial or monotreme) genomes. Cattle-specific evolutionary breakpoint regions in chromosomes have a higher density of segmental duplications, enrichment of repetitive elements, and species-specific variations in genes associated with lactation and immune responsiveness. Genes involved in metabolism are generally highly conserved, although five metabolic genes are deleted or extensively diverged from their human orthologs. The cattle genome sequence thus provides a resource for understanding mammalian evolution and accelerating livestock genetic improvement for milk and meat production.
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| 2. |
- Barraza-Villarreal, Albino, et al.
(författare)
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Air pollution, airway inflammation, and lung function in a cohort study of Mexico City schoolchildren.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Environmental health perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 0091-6765 .- 1552-9924. ; 116:6, s. 832-8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The biological mechanisms involved in inflammatory response to air pollution are not clearly understood. OBJECTIVE: In this study we assessed the association of short-term air pollutant exposure with inflammatory markers and lung function. METHODS: We studied a cohort of 158 asthmatic and 50 nonasthmatic school-age children, followed an average of 22 weeks. We conducted spirometric tests, measurements of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (Fe(NO)), interleukin-8 (IL-8) in nasal lavage, and pH of exhaled breath condensate every 15 days during follow-up. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. RESULTS: An increase of 17.5 microg/m(3) in the 8-hr moving average of PM(2.5) levels (interquartile range) was associated with a 1.08-ppb increase in Fe(NO) [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.16] and a 1.07-pg/mL increase in IL-8 (95% CI 0.98-1.19) in asthmatic children and a 1.16 pg/ml increase in IL-8 (95% CI, 1.00-1.36) in nonasthmatic children. The 5-day accumulated average of exposure to particulate matter <2.5 microm in aerodynamic diamter (PM(2.5)) was significantly inversely associated with forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV(1)) (p=0.048) and forced vital capacity (FVC) (p=0.012) in asthmatic children and with FVC (p=0.021) in nonasthmatic children. Fe(NO) and FEV(1) were inversely associated (p=0.005) in asthmatic children. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to PM(2.5) resulted in acute airway inflammation and decrease in lung function in both asthmatic and nonasthmatic children.
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| 3. |
- Ekwall, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Cryo-scanning electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM) of boar semen frozen in medium-straws and MiniFlatPacks
- 2007
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Ingår i: Theriogenology. - : Elsevier. - 0093-691X .- 1879-3231. ; 67:9, s. 1463-1472
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study we demonstrate, in the frozen state, the architecture of frozen boar spermatozoa collected from the sperm-rich fraction of ejaculates (n = 13) from four fertile boars packed and split-frozen in medium-straws (MS) and MiniFlatPacks (MFP), cross-sectioned in the frozen state and evaluated by image analysis on images obtained by use of cryo-scanning electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM). The tested hypothesis was that the degree of in situ dehydration and levels of homogeneity of boar semen either frozen in MSs or MFPs packages differ between them, with MFPs allowing for a more uniform dehydration of the spermatozoa and a higher cryosurvival, monitored by computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA) as proportion of linearly motile spermatozoa, compared to semen packaged and processed in MSs. The organization and relative surface of biological material (veins; e.g., frozen extender, bound water, solutes and spermatozoa) as well as free water (lakes) was measured as the degree of dehydration of the samples. The apparent organization of lakes and veins differed between packages, with the MFPs depicting larger lakes than the MSs. The sizes of the lakes in the latter appeared, moreover, highly asymmetrical depending on their position of the section. The relative surface of these lakes per section, respectively veins differed between packages (P less than 0.05), indicating a larger amount of free-water (lakes; 81.73 +/- 2.07% vs. 77.91 +/- 1.57%) in the MFPs and, consequently, thinner veins than in MSs. In conclusion, MFPs seem to allow for a more homogenous dehydration of the spermatozoa/frozen extender compared to MSs, which might account for their somewhat better sperm quality post-thaw. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| 4. |
- Hernandez, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in SCSA outcome among boars with different sperm freezability
- 2006
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Ingår i: International Journal of Andrology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0105-6263 .- 1365-2605. ; 29:6, s. 583-591
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Spermatozoa from some boars sustain the process of cryopreservation poorly and yield poor fertility after artificial insemination. Poor freezability has not been disclosed using conventional semen analyses. A defective chromatin can, if present in a substantial number of spermatozoa, affect the fertilizing ability of spermatozoa. Here we tested the hypothesis that nuclear DNA instability could explain differences in freezability among boars, and complement or supersede conventional tests for sperm quality such as sperm motility or membrane assessments. Frozen-thawed (FT) spermatozoa from a total of 44 stud boars were assessed by the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), in relation to computer-assisted sperm analysis-derived sperm motility variables and sperm viability (triple fluorescent microscopic staining), including three experiments. The first trial, including 24 boars, evaluated the relationship between the sperm motility and viability with levels of DNA integrity. The SCSA showed that most spermatozoa had intact DNA [levels of DNA fragmentation index (%DFI) ranging from 0.63% to 11.85%] significantly correlated (albeit weakly) with current sperm quality variables. The second trial, on 15 boars, assessed the influence of two different thawing rates (20 s at 37 degrees C vs. 8 s at 70 degrees C) and the post-thaw incubation times (0, 30, 150 and 300 min) at 37 degrees C on FT-boar sperm quality. The highest sperm survival (p less than 0.05) and the lowest DNA damage (p less than 0.01) were achieved when thawing was carried out at 70 degrees C for 8 s, without any change during the first 150 min of incubation. Finally, the third experiment studied if differences in sperm freezability showed by stud boar semen, as good or bad freezers by conventional analyses, could be attributed to differences in chromatin structure. All SCSA parameters were low, but significantly (p less than 0.05-0.001) higher for bad freezers, showing they had less homogeneous sperm chromatin than the good freezers. The results indicate that SCSA outcome complements conventional assessment of FT-boar spermatozoa, disclosing differences in their ability to sustain freezing and thawing. However, the low overall DNA damage observed in FT spermatozoa seems to have poor biological significance.
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| 5. |
- Matheu, Victor, et al.
(författare)
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Insulin allergy and resistance successfully treated by desensitisation with Aspart insulin
- 2005
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Ingår i: Clinical and Molecular Allergy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-7961. ; 3:16
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A 25-year-old, with type I Diabetes Mellitus with a previous diagnosis of Protamine Allergy but not to human Insulin, started to notice anaphylactic reactions immediately after bolus with Insulin. Skin prick and intradermal test were positive to all insulins. Skin tests to other potential allergens resulted negative. Examination after bolus of Human Insulin revealed urticaria. Daily insulin requirement were around 2-2,4 U/Kg/day. Slow desensitisation with Aspart insulin, the insulin with lowest size of skin test, was performed using subcutaneous insulin pump. Six months after the end of desensitisation his daily insulin requirement decreased to 0.8 U/Kg/day and oral corticosteroids are being reduced with no symptoms.
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| 6. |
- Menad, Nourreddine, et al.
(författare)
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Minimization methods for emissions generated from sinter strands: a review
- 2006
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 14:8, s. 740-747
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The agglomeration of iron ores or fine-grained recycled high-grade iron materials is an essential part of the integrated iron and steelmaking process. The 15 European countries produce more than 100 Mt of sinter per year. However, environmental regulation is becoming more stringent, and therefore, sintering plants are under pressure to minimize their generated emissions, because they are the most polluting processes. Different possibilities have been suggested to solve this problem, e.g. using imported pellets or briquettes in blast furnace or to use EAF process. Such changes are very expensive and also delete the recycling route of the by-products, thereby creating an additional treatment or disposal problem. In this paper, different methods for minimizing emissions generated from sinter strands are reviewed.
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| 7. |
- Oppenheimer, Federico, et al.
(författare)
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Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients Receiving Low-toxicity Immunosuppressive Regimens:. A Substudy of the Symphony Study
- 2009
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Ingår i: Transplantation. - 1534-6080. ; 87:8, s. 1210-1213
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with different low-toxicity regimens post-transplantation. Methods. One hundred fifty-six patients were randomized to standard-dose cyclosporine A (CsA), mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids or daclizumab induction, mycophenolate mofetil, and corticosteroids with a low dose of CsA, tacrolimus (Low-Tac), or sirolimus. SF-36 Health survey was completed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. Results. There were no differences between groups in SF-36 at baseline or at month 12. Low-Tac showed higher scores at month 3 than standard-dose CsA and low dose of CsA. Patients with serum creatinine less than or equal to 1.5 mg/mL had better HRQoL at 6 and 12 months. Proportion of these patients was higher in Low-Tac at 6 months. Physical component summary of Patients increased during follow-up, but mental component summary did not. Patients with acute rejection showed lower mental component summary at 6 months. Conclusions. No HRQoL differences were identified among groups, but the low-dose Tac group showed the fastest improvement.
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