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- Engdahl, Cecilia, 1983, et al.
(författare)
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Estrogen induces St6gal1 expression and increases IgG sialylation in mice and patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A potential explanation for the increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis in postmenopausal women
- 2018
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Ingår i: Arthritis Research and Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1478-6354 .- 1478-6362. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) preferentially affects women, with the peak incidence coinciding with estrogen decrease in menopause. Estrogen (E2) may therefore have intrinsic immune-regulatory properties that vanish with menopause. Fc sialylation is a crucial factor determining the inflammatory effector function of antibodies. We therefore analyzed whether E2 affects immunoglobulin G (IgG) sialylation. Methods: Postmenopausal (ovariectomized) mice were immunized with ovalbumin and treated with E2 or vehicle. Total and ovalbumin-specific IgG concentrations, sialylation, and Fcγ receptor expression were analyzed. Postmenopausal women with RA receiving hormone replacement therapy, including E2, or no treatment were analyzed for IgG sialylation. Furthermore, effects of E2 on the expression of the sialylation enzyme β-galactoside α2,6-sialyltransferase 1 (St6Gal1) were studied in mouse and human antibody-producing cells. Results: E2 treatment significantly increased Fc sialylation of total and ovalbumin-specific IgG in postmenopausal mice. Furthermore, E2 led to increased expression of inhibitory Fcγ receptor IIb on bone marrow leukocytes. Treatment with E2 also increased St6Gal1 expression in mouse and human antibody-producing cells, providing a mechanistic explanation for the increase in IgG-Fc sialylation. In postmenopausal women with RA, treatment with E2 significantly increased the Fc sialylation of IgG. Conclusions: E2 induces anti-inflammatory effector functions in IgG by inducing St6Gal1 expression in antibody-producing cells and by increasing Fc sialylation. These observations provide a mechanistic explanation for the increased risk of RA in conditions with low estrogen levels such as menopause. © 2018 The Author(s).
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| 2. |
- Issa Mattos, David, 1990, et al.
(författare)
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Optimization experiments in the continuous space: The limited growth optimistic optimization algorithm
- 2018
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Ingår i: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics). - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 1611-3349 .- 0302-9743. ; 11036 LNCS, s. 293-308, s. 293-308
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Online controlled experiments are extensively used by web-facing companies to validate and optimize their systems, providing a competitive advantage in their business. As the number of experiments scale, companies aim to invest their experimentation resources in larger feature changes and leave the automated techniques to optimize smaller features. Optimization experiments in the continuous space are encompassed in the many-armed bandits class of problems. Although previous research provides algorithms for solving this class of problems, these algorithms were not implemented in real-world online experimentation problems and do not consider the application constraints, such as time to compute a solution, selection of a best arm and the estimation of the mean-reward function. This work discusses the online experiments in context of the many-armed bandits class of problems and provides three main contributions: (1) an algorithm modification to include online experiments constraints, (2) implementation of this algorithm in an industrial setting in collaboration with Sony Mobile, and (3) statistical evidence that supports the modification of the algorithm for online experiments scenarios. These contributions support the relevance of the LG-HOO algorithm in the context of optimization experiments and show how the algorithm can be used to support continuous optimization of online systems in stochastic scenarios.
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| 3. |
- Johansson, Karolina, et al.
(författare)
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Dietitian visits were a safe and cost-effective form of follow-up care for children with celiac disease
- 2019
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Ingår i: Acta Paediatrica, International Journal of Paediatrics. - : Wiley. - 0803-5253. ; 108:4, s. 676-680
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: This study compared follow-up protocols for paediatric celiac disease (CD) led by either paediatricians or dietitians at Swedish university hospitals. Methods: We followed 363 CD patients under 18 years at the university hospitals in Malmö (n = 140) and Lund (n = 79) between 2011 and 2013 and after they merged to become Skåne (n = 144) between 2014 and 2016. Both Lund and Malmö provided regular paediatrician follow-up visits, whereas Skåne provided mainly dietitian-led visits. Results: Children at Lund were followed for a mean of 1.0 ± 0.5 visits per year, compared to 0.7 ± 0.6 at Malmö (p < 0.0001) and 0.9 ± 0.6 at Skåne (p = 0.11). The ratio of annual paediatrician to dietitian annual visits was 1.4:1.0 at Lund, which was higher than Malmö (0.9:1.0; p = 0.0017) and Skåne (0.6:1.0; p < 0.0001). There was no difference in the prevalence of non-compliant patients between the clinics (p = 0.26, Malmö 13.6%, Lund 10.1%, Skåne 7.6%). Tissue transglutaminase autoantibody levels reversed equally over time at all three clinics after the subjects started a gluten-free diet (r = -0.55, p < 0.0001). The total mean annual cost per patient was lowest at Malmö and highest at Lund (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Dietary compliance was similar regardless of whether care was provided by a dietitian or paediatrician. Dietitian-led follow-up visits may provide lower long-term costs.
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| 5. |
- Sagar, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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The Innovative Teacher - A Pilot Project
- 2019
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Ingår i: Paper presented at NERA-conference 6-8 March, 2019, Uppsala University.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to present a pilot study on innovative teachers. Through narratives written after interviews with four first teachers in Sweden, common aspects recurring in all narratives will be focused. Research questions: How do first teachers talk about their teacher training? How do first teachers talk about their students? How does teacher agency get visible in the first teacher’s professional role? To what extent does the first teacher describe him-/herself as innovative? What are requirements for providing support to the innovative teacher? Which words / terms do first teachers use to describe themselves as innovative? Theoretical framework The theoretical framework covers theories on the teacher professional development in general (Day & Sachs, 2004) and specifically agency and professional activism (Sachs, 2003) as well as professional development through teacher inquiry (Mockler & Sachs, 2011). Methodological design Four first teachers, ranging from preschool to upper secondary school, were interviewed using the same interview guide containing open-ended questions. Each researcher transcribed her interview and prepared a written narrative based on the interview questions. The narratives were orally presented to all researchers during a collaborative session, during which notes were taken by one of the researchers. The notes were discussed collaboratively and iteratively screened for common aspects to a point where themes could be identified. The themes were then illustrated by quotes from each researcher’s narrative to illustrate and validate the themes and common understanding of them. Additionally, separate quotes were added with the aim of finding similarities and differences between the different school levels. Expected conclusions/findings Preliminary findings are that there is an overlap between school levels regarding the way in which the teachers describe themselves as innovative teachers. Four themes were found; a) recognition of each student’s strengths and interests as the main resource in his/her learning b) creating trusting relations to both students and colleagues c) a holistic view on knowledge and education d) curiosity and inquiry as driving forces for school and professional development. Relevance to Nordic educational research This research has a strong relevance to the Nordic context due to the first teacher reform; a new career pathway for teachers, particularly in Sweden and Norway. Criteria for selection of first teachers are based on your interest and competence in school and professional development, i.e. being an innovative teacher, rather than a formal educational degree. Additionally, the innovative teacher may be central for pedagogic entrepreneurship, as specified by the Nordic Council of Ministers (2016), which in turn is essential for sustainable growth of our societies.
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