| 1. |
- Abarenkov, Kessy, et al.
(author)
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The curse of the uncultured fungus
- 2022
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In: MycoKeys. - 1314-4057 .- 1314-4049. ; 86, s. 177-194
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The international DNA sequence databases abound in fungal sequences not annotated beyond the kingdom level, typically bearing names such as “uncultured fungus”. These sequences beget low-resolution mycological results and invite further deposition of similarly poorly annotated entries. What do these sequences represent? This study uses a 767,918-sequence corpus of public full-length fungal ITS sequences to estimate what proportion of the 95,055 “uncultured fungus” sequences that represent truly unidentifiable fungal taxa – and what proportion of them that would have been straightforward to annotate to some more meaningful taxonomic level at the time of sequence deposition. Our results suggest that more than 70% of these sequences would have been trivial to identify to at least the order/family level at the time of sequence deposition, hinting that factors other than poor availability of relevant reference sequences explain the low-resolution names. We speculate that researchers’ perceived lack of time and lack of insight into the ramifications of this problem are the main explanations for the low-resolution names. We were surprised to find that more than a fifth of these sequences seem to have been deposited by mycologists rather than researchers unfamiliar with the consequences of poorly annotated fungal sequences in molecular repositories. The proportion of these needlessly poorly annotated sequences does not decline over time, suggesting that this problem must not be left unchecked.
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| 2. |
- Abarenkov, Kessy, et al.
(author)
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The curse of the uncultured fungus
- 2022
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In: MycoKeys. - : Pensoft Publishers. - 1314-4057 .- 1314-4049. ; :86, s. 177-194
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The international DNA sequence databases abound in fungal sequences not annotated beyond the kingdom level, typically bearing names such as "uncultured fungus". These sequences beget lowresolution mycological results and invite further deposition of similarly poorly annotated entries. What do these sequences represent? This study uses a 767,918-sequence corpus of public full-length that represent truly unidentifiable fungal taxa - and what proportion of them that would have deposition. Our results suggest that more than 70% of these sequences would have been trivial to identify to at least the order/family level at the time of sequence deposition, hinting that factors other than poor availability of relevant reference sequences explain the low-resolution names. We speculate that researchers' perceived lack of time and lack of insight into the ramifications of this problem are the main explanations for the low-resolution names. We were surprised to find that more than a fifth of these sequences seem to have been deposited by mycologists rather than researchers unfamiliar with the consequences of poorly annotated fungal sequences in molecular repositories. The proportion of these needlessly poorly annotated sequences does not decline over time, suggesting that this problem must not be left unchecked.
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| 3. |
- Bacou, Marion, et al.
(author)
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Development of Preclinical Ultrasound Imaging Techniques to Identify and Image Sentinel Lymph Nodes in a Cancerous Animal Model
- 2022
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In: Cancers. - : MDPI AG. - 2072-6694. ; 14:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lymph nodes (LNs) are believed to be the first organs targeted by colorectal cancer cells detached from a primary solid tumor because of their role in draining interstitial fluids. Better detection and assessment of these organs have the potential to help clinicians in stratification and designing optimal design of oncological treatments for each patient. Whilst highly valuable for the detection of primary tumors, CT and MRI remain limited for the characterization of LNs. B-mode ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can improve the detection of LNs and could provide critical complementary information to MRI and CT scans; however, the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB) guidelines advise that further evidence is required before US or CEUS can be recommended for clinical use. Moreover, knowledge of the lymphatic system and LNs is relatively limited, especially in preclinical models. In this pilot study, we have created a mouse model of metastatic cancer and utilized 3D high-frequency ultrasound to assess the volume, shape, and absence of hilum, along with CEUS to assess the flow dynamics of tumor-free and tumor-bearing LNs in vivo. The aforementioned parameters were used to create a scoring system to predict the likelihood of a disease-involved LN before establishing post-mortem diagnosis with histopathology. Preliminary results suggest that a sum score of parameters may provide a more accurate diagnosis than the LN size, the single parameter currently used to predict the involvement of an LN in disease.
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| 4. |
- Benavente, Veronica, et al.
(author)
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Influence of lipid extraction and processing conditions on hydrothermal conversion of microalgae feedstocks – Effect on hydrochar composition, secondary char formation and phytotoxicity
- 2022
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In: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : Elsevier. - 1385-8947 .- 1873-3212. ; 428
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigated the effect of lipid extraction of microalgae feedstocks subjected to hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) with regard to the carbonization degree, chemical composition and phytotoxicity of hydrochars produced under different reaction temperatures and residence times. Special attention was given to the formation and composition of secondary char, as this part of the hydrochar may be of particular importance for environmental and technical applications. A microalgae polyculture grown in municipal wastewater was extracted to retrieve lipids, and both unextracted (MA) and extracted microalgae (EMA) were used to produce hydrochars at 180–240 °C for 1–4 h. The composition of the hydrochars was thoroughly characterized by elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. MA exhibited a greater carbonization degree than EMA and contained higher amounts of secondary char under the same processing conditions. During the carbonization of EMA, more decomposition products remained in the liquid phase and less polymerization occurred than for MA, which explained the lower solid yield of EMA-derived hydrochars in comparison to MA hydrochars. Consequently, although they contained potentially toxic substances (i.e., carboxylic acids, aldehydes and ketones), the EMA-derived hydrochars exhibited a lower phytotoxic potential. This indicates that low-temperature hydrochars containing less than 10% of extractives might be suitable as soil amendments, whereas extractive-rich hydrochars would be more appropriate for other long-term applications, such as adsorbents for contaminant removal, energy storage and composite materials. Detailed characterization of microalgae-derived hydrochars is required to enable the most suitable application areas to be identified for these materials, and thereby make full use of their function as carbon sinks.
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| 5. |
- Bjärsholm, Daniel, et al.
(author)
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A longitudinal study on exercise habits and mental health among Swedish police students
- 2023
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IntroductionIn Sweden, police education should promote students’ physical activity and mental health. According to national goals, police students should be provided with sufficient conditions to develop and maintain advantageous exercise habits and tools to handle various mentally and physically demanding tasks. The national goals also state that students’ physical fitness must be better at graduation than what the requirements are for admission (see Krugly et al., 2022). Although the improvement of students’ physical fitness and mental health are national goals, there is a general lack of knowledge regarding: 1) police students physical and mental health, especially from a Swedish perspective; and 2) how well police education promotes students’ level of physical activity during education. Against this background, the aim is to explore police students’ mental health and level of physical activity during police education in Sweden.MethodsThe data derives from the largest project in Sweden on police students’ physical and mental health, and consists of longitudinal data on police students answers of a self-rated questionnaire about exercise habits and mental health (N = 785). The data used in this study was gathered between 2019–2021, and consisted of four data collection points, from two police educations in Sweden. The analysis was conducted in two steps. First, exploratory- and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to create scales for mental health orientation. Second, these scales, together with the variable exercise habits, were used as outcome variables in t-tests, X2 test and ANOVA. Effect size measurements were calculated and interpreted based on established guidelines.ResultsThe results show high psychometric support for two scales named positive health orientation and negative health orientation. Based on the scales and the variable of exercise habits, three primarily results emerge: 1) the levels of physical training for men decrease during education; 2) there are gender differences showing that women have a more negative health orientation; and, 3) the positive mental health orientation decreases during education for both men and women.DiscussionSwedish police education should prepare students for physically and mentally demanding work. However, as this study concludes, this tends to not be the case, especially given that both the level of physical activity and the positive mental health orientation decrease during education. This raises questions on whether the Swedish police education is doing “enough” to provide the students with adequate conditions for improving their mental and physical health.Krugly, S., Bjärsholm, D., Jansson, A., Rosendal Hansen, A., Hansson, O., Brehm, K., Datmo, A., Hafsteinsson Östenberg, A., & Vikman, J. (2022). A retrospective study of physical fitness and mental health among police students in Sweden. The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles. doi.org/10.1177/0032258X221089576
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| 6. |
- Cervenka, Iris, et al.
(author)
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Exogenous hormone use and cutaneous melanoma risk in women : The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 146:12, s. 3267-3280
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Evidence suggests an influence of sex hormones on cutaneous melanoma risk, but epidemiologic findings are conflicting. We examined the associations between use of oral contraceptives (OCs) and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) and melanoma risk in women participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). EPIC is a prospective cohort study initiated in 1992 in 10 European countries. Information on exogenous hormone use at baseline was derived from country‐specific self‐administered questionnaires. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Over 1992–2015, 1,696 melanoma cases were identified among 334,483 women, whereof 770 cases among 134,758 postmenopausal women. There was a positive, borderline‐significant association between OC use and melanoma risk (HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.00–1.26), with no detected heterogeneity across countries (phomogeneity = 0.42). This risk increased linearly with duration of use (ptrend = 0.01). Among postmenopausal women, ever use of MHT was associated with a nonsignificant increase in melanoma risk overall (HR = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.97–1.43), which was heterogeneous across countries (phomogeneity = 0.05). Our findings do not support a strong and direct association between exogenous hormone use and melanoma risk. In order to better understand these relations, further research should be performed using prospectively collected data including detailed information on types of hormone, and on sun exposure, which may act as an important confounder or effect modifier on these relations.
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| 7. |
- Evertsson, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Extending imaging range in magnetomotive ultrasound with tailored magnetic nanoparticles
- 2020
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In: IUS 2020 - International Ultrasonics Symposium, Proceedings. - 1948-5727 .- 1948-5719. - 9781728154480 ; 2020-September
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In magnetomotive ultrasound (MMUS), magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used as a contrast agent. A time-varying magnetic field displaces the MNPs which in turn move their closest surrounding - a motion detected with ultrasound. A limiting factor for MMUS is the magnetic force magnitude decay with depth, which restricts the imaging area. Several attempts to extend the imaging depth have been suggested, such as magnetic field generator configuration or choice of MNP core materials. In this study we present a new approach by modifying the design of the contrast agent using a commercially available nanoparticle with a nano-flower shaped iron oxide core (synomag®-D, micromod, Germany). In order to evaluate the performance of this particle, a conventional particle (perimag®, micromod, Germany), was used for comparison. Using an electromagnet with a cone shaped iron core as a field generator, the induced MMUS displacement of the two MNP varieties where analyzed when altering the magnetic field strength and magnetic field frequency. Further, by using a more clinically relevant magnetic field setup, the depth where the synomag MNPs could produce significant MMUS displacement, was evaluated. The synomag MNPs produced a 1.8 times larger displacement than the perimag MNPs. At 52mm, MMUS displacement was still detectable using synomag MNPs. This indicates that the particle design plays an important role in MMUS imaging. Moreover, this study also confirms that MMUS imaging at clinically relevant depths is possible.
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| 8. |
- Jansson, Alexander, et al.
(author)
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Mental health and exercise habits among police students in Sweden : a three-year retrospective study
- 2023
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In: Abstracts from the First European Conference on Law Enforcement and Public Health, Umeå 2023. - : Enheten för polisutbildning, Umeåuniversitet. - 9789180701099
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Working as a police officer involves mentally and physically demanding tasks. During the Swedish police education, students should be provided with sufficient conditions to develop and maintain advantageous exercise habits and tools to handle mentally and physically demanding tasks (see Krugly et al., 2022). However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding Swedish police students exercise habits and overall mental- and physical health.The aim is to explore police students’ mental health and physical activity levels during police education in Sweden.The data consisted of police students answers of a self-rated questionnaire about their physical and mental health. The data used in this study was gathered between 2019–2021, and consist of four data collection points, from two police educations in Sweden. The analysis was conducted in two steps. First, exploratory- and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to create scales for health orientation. Second, these scales were used as outcome variables in t-tests, X2 test and ANOVA. Effect size measurements (Cohens, d, Crames V and Phi) were calculated and interpreted based on well establish guidelines.Two scales were developed (i.e. positive health orientation and negative health orientation), and both showed high psychometric support. Based on the scales, two primarily results emerged: 1) results showed that women had a more negative health orientation in general and that positive health orientation, for both genders, decreased between semesters one to four; and 2) more women conducted two hours (or more) per week of physical exercise. Moreover, physical training among men decreased continuously during their education.Conclusions and ImplicationsBased on the results, this study questions whether police education in Sweden doing enough to prepare students for a mentally and physically demanding profession.
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| 9. |
- Jansson, Alexander, et al.
(author)
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Mental health and exercise habits among police students in Sweden : A three-year retrospective study
- 2023
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In: The Police Journal. - : Sage Publications. - 0032-258X .- 1740-5599.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study aims to explore police students’ self-rated mental health and physical activity levels and the relationship between them. Based on longitudinal and cross-sectional data (N = 722), two scales on mental health orientation were developed. The scales and levels of physical activity were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and X2. During police education, (1) the level of physical activity decreases for men, (2) there is a decline in positive health orientation for both sexes, and (3) women report a more negative health orientation. This raises questions regarding whether “enough” is done to provide police students with sufficient conditions for improving their health.
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| 10. |
- Jansson, Alexander, et al.
(author)
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Mental health and exercise habits among police students in Sweden : A three-year retrospective study
- 2023
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In: The Police Journal. - : Sage Publications. - 0032-258X .- 1740-5599. ; , s. 1-16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study aims to explore police students’ self-rated mental health and physical activity levels and the relationship between them. Based on longitudinal and cross-sectional data (N = 722), two scales on mental health orientation were developed. The scales and levels of physical activity were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and X2. During police education, (1) the level of physical activity decreases for men, (2) there is a decline in positive health orientation for both sexes, and (3) women report a more negative health orientation. This raises questions regarding whether “enough” is done to provide police students with sufficient conditions for improving their health.
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