| 11. |
- Bailey, Leslie, et al.
(författare)
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Small molecule inhibitors of type III secretion in Yersinia block the Chlamydia pneumoniae infection cycle
- 2007
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Ingår i: FEBS Letters. - : Elsevier. - 0014-5793 .- 1873-3468. ; 581:4, s. 587-595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intracellular parasitism by Chlamydiales is a complex process involving transmission of metabolically inactive particles that differentiate, replicate, and re-differentiate within the host cell. A type three secretion system (T3SS) has been implicated in this process. We have here identified small molecules of a chemical class of acylated hydrazones of salicylaldehydes that specifically blocks the T3SS of Chlamydia. These compounds also affect the developmental cycle showing that the T3SS has a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Chlamydia. Our results suggest a previously unexplored avenue for development of novel anti-chlamydial drugs.
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Berglund, Anders, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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The Development of Cooperation Between Al Baha University and Uppsala University, Sweden
- 2014
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Ingår i: International Exhibition and Conference on Higher Education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Developing new master level education is a complex task. Not only is the competence within the discipline crucial; teaching and as a consequence, learning, must also be research-focused and must aim to encourage the students to develop into independent scholars.In this collaborative, multi-facetted project Al Baha University, Saudi Arabia, (ABU) and Uppsala University, Sweden, (UU) work jointly to develop ABU into a leading actor in master level education with a corresponding research profile. The schools/departments take their own decisions on design and priorities of the activities. In this way the project profits from the local competencies at both sites and becomes locally situated and thus closer to the needs and expectations of the ABU staff.The partners entered into collaboration 2011. Among initial achievements was the common identification of the need of a bridging year for tentative master’s students, to complement the skills from the undergraduate (UG) level, and reinforce the command of English, which is a necessary tool in international education. In addition, computer science and mathematics were selected as the initial development areas.Within mathematics, the Department of Mathematics at UU was engaged in a discussion aiming primarily to develop the UG curriculum to match the needs of a future master programme, and secondly to develop the curriculum of a ABU master programme in mathematics to match UU standards, with the possibility in mind of student exchange targeting specific courses and thesis studies.Meanwhile, in the autumn 2013 a female staff member of ABU was admitted as PhD student in mathematics at UU, and has now started her second semester of full time studies.Within computer science (CS), the project tackles the significant challenges to encourage students, teachers and the formal university structures to embrace the ideas of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The aim is to promote staff and students to broaden their perspective on what research and investigation means and to critically examine teaching and learning. As a consequence, the ways to relate to the students, the subject area, the teaching and the colleagues must be scrutinised, with the intent of finding new teaching and learning forms.The project implements these ideas in several ways. Currently a staff development course is given as a starting point for the project within CS. With a focus on the changes needed to implement the ideas of SoTL, the course participants make their own pedagogical development projects, and study their own practice and its outcomes using rigorous research-based methods. As a continuation, during the coming years, the two universities will run a set of workshops, mainly with a methodological focus, followed by a series of three conferences, with the first one serving the local area, and the last being an internationally recognised Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sponsored conference.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Björn van Praagh, Helena, et al.
(författare)
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Metabolic fate of C-14-labelled chlorinated and non-chlorinated fatty acids in goldfish (Carassius auratus)
- 2004
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Ingår i: Fish Physiology & Biochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0920-1742 .- 1573-5168. ; 30:1, s. 13-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In order to study the metabolic fate of chlorinated fatty acids in fish, goldfish were fed either 9,10-dichlorostearic acid or oleic acid, chosen as the unchlorinated analogue, both radiolabelled at either the carboxyl (1st) or the terminal (18th) carbon of the fatty acid chain. By keeping the fish in hermetically closed aquaria, all the respired, assimilated and excreted radioactivity could be accounted for. Fish fed 9,10-dichlorostearic acid labelled in the terminal end respired radioactive CO2 to a much lower degree than fish fed the other test compounds. As a consequence, the radioactivity bound in lipids was higher in the group of fish fed dichlorostearic acid labelled in the terminal end. It is suggested that the chlorine atoms in the middle of the carbon chain obstruct the metabolic turn-over of 9,10-dichlorostearic acid, which may have an impact on the residence time of these compounds in the ecosystem.
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| 16. |
- Block, Keith I., et al.
(författare)
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Designing a broad-spectrum integrative approach for cancer prevention and treatment
- 2015
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Ingår i: Seminars in Cancer Biology. - : Academic Press. - 1044-579X .- 1096-3650. ; 35, s. S276-S304
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Targeted therapies and the consequent adoption of "personalized" oncology have achieved notable successes in some cancers; however, significant problems remain with this approach. Many targeted therapies are highly toxic, costs are extremely high, and most patients experience relapse after a few disease-free months. Relapses arise from genetic heterogeneity in tumors, which harbor therapy-resistant immortalized cells that have adopted alternate and compensatory pathways (i.e., pathways that are not reliant upon the same mechanisms as those which have been targeted). To address these limitations, an international task force of 180 scientists was assembled to explore the concept of a low-toxicity "broadspectrum" therapeutic approach that could simultaneously target many key pathways and mechanisms. Using cancer hallmark phenotypes and the tumor microenvironment to account for the various aspects of relevant cancer biology, interdisciplinary teams reviewed each hallmark area and nominated a wide range of high-priority targets (74 in total) that could be modified to improve patient outcomes. For these targets, corresponding low-toxicity therapeutic approaches were then suggested, many of which were phytochemicals. Proposed actions on each target and all of the approaches were further reviewed for known effects on other hallmark areas and the tumor microenvironment Potential contrary or procarcinogenic effects were found for 3.9% of the relationships between targets and hallmarks, and mixed evidence of complementary and contrary relationships was found for 7.1%. Approximately 67% of the relationships revealed potentially complementary effects, and the remainder had no known relationship. Among the approaches, 1.1% had contrary, 2.8% had mixed and 62.1% had complementary relationships. These results suggest that a broad-spectrum approach should be feasible from a safety standpoint. This novel approach has potential to be relatively inexpensive, it should help us address stages and types of cancer that lack conventional treatment, and it may reduce relapse risks. A proposed agenda for future research is offered. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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| 17. |
- Byström, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Early prediction of response to first-line chemotherapy by sequential [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography in patients with advanced colorectal cancer
- 2009
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Ingår i: Annals of Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0923-7534 .- 1569-8041. ; 20:6, s. 1057-1061
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: To evaluate [(18)F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), for early evaluation of response to palliative chemotherapy and for prediction of long-term outcome, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a randomized trial, patients with mCRC received irinotecan-based combination chemotherapy. FDG-PET was carried out before treatment and after two cycles in 51 patients at two centers. Visual changes in tumor FDG uptake and changes measured semi-automatically, as standard uptake values (SUVs), were compared with radiological response after four and eight cycles. RESULTS: The mean baseline SUV for all tumor lesions per patient was higher in nonresponders than in responders (mean 7.4 versus 5.6, P = 0.02). There was a strong correlation between metabolic response (changes in SUV) and objective response (r = 0.57, P = 0.00001), with a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 76%. There was no significant correlation between metabolic response and time to progression (P = 0.5) or overall survival (P = 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: Although metabolic response assessed by FDG-PET reflects radiological tumor volume changes, the sensitivity and specificity are too low to support the routine use of PET in mCRC. Furthermore, PET failed to reflect long-term outcome and can, thus, not be used as surrogate end point for hard endpoint benefit.
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| 18. |
- Cantillana, Tatiana, 1969-
(författare)
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Toxicologically important DDT metabolites : Synthesis, enantioselective analysis and kinetics
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- DDT was extensively and globally used as a pesticide in agriculture and for malaria vector control from the 1940’s until the 1970’s. Due to its heavy use, DDT became ubiquitously distributed throughout the environment. DDT and several DDT metabolites are persistent organic pollutants. Two DDT metabolites, 3-MeSO2-DDE and o,p’-DDD have been proved to be tissue specific toxicants in the adrenal cortex. They are bioactivated to reactive intermediates which bind covalently to the adrenal cortex causing cell death. Due to its tissue specific toxicity o,p’-DDD has been used as a chemotherapy drug for adrenal cancer in humans. The efficacy and potency is however low and o,p’-DDD treatment is associated with serious side effects. 3-MeSO2-DDE has been suggested as a potential alternative therapeutic agent. A key aim of this thesis has been to improve the understanding of the kinetics of the two adrenocorticolytic compounds o,p’-DDD, its two enantiomers and 3-MeSO2-DDE. To meet this objective chemical synthesis and enantioselective analysis were required. Furthermore, in vitro toxicity of o,p’-DDD enantiomers and diastereomers were performed. An 11 step synthesis of 3-SH-DDE has been developed to promote both labelled and unlabelled synthesis of 3-alkylsulfonyl-DDE. Toxicokinetic studies showed that 3-MeSO2-DDE and o,p’-DDD were accumulated in tissues and retained in adipose tissue in minipigs. 3-MeSO2-DDE however had a twice as long biological t1/2 and a considerably lower Vd compared to o,p’-DDD. Suckling offspring were more exposed to 3-MeSO2-DDE than their mothers who were given 3-MeSO2-DDE orally. Interindividual differences in enantiomer kinetics in minipigs were observed suggesting polymorphism among the minipigs. Preparative isolation of the o,p’-DDD enantiomers is presented allowing determination of the absolute structures of the o,p’-DDD enantiomers by X-ray. The pure enantiomer of o,p’-DDD showed significant differences in toxicity in human adrenocortical cells.
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| 19. |
- Davis, Rohan A., et al.
(författare)
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Solving the supply of resveratrol tetramers from Papua New Guinean rainforest anisoptera species that inhibit bacterial type Ill secretion systems
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of natural products (Print). - Washington : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0163-3864 .- 1520-6025. ; 77:12, s. 2633-2640
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACT: The supply of (−)-hopeaphenol (1) was achieved via enzymatic biotransformation in order to provide material for preclinical investigation. High-throughput screen- ing of a prefractionated natural product library aimed to identify compounds that inhibit the bacterial virulence type III secretion system (T3SS) identified several fractions derived from two Papua New Guinean Anisoptera species, showing activity against Yersinia pseudotuberculosis outer proteins E and H (YopE and YopH). Bioassay-directed isolation from the leaves of A. thurifera, and similarly A. polyandra, resulted in three known resveratrol tetramers, (−)-hopeaphenol (1), vatalbinoside A (2), and vaticanol B (3). Compounds 1−3 displayed IC50 values of 8.8, 12.5, and 9.9 μM in a luminescent reporter-gene assay (YopE) and IC50 values of 2.9, 4.5, and 3.3 μM in an enzyme-based YopH assay, respectively, which suggested that they could potentially act against the T3SS in Yersinia. The structures of 1−3 were confirmed through a combination of spectrometric, chemical methods, and single-crystal X-ray structure determinations of the natural product 1 and the permethyl ether analogue of 3. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the β-glycoside 2 to the aglycone 1 was achieved through biotransformation using the endogenous leaf enzymes. This significantly enhanced the yield of the target bioactive natural product from 0.08% to 1.3% and facilitates ADMET studies of (−)-hopeaphenol (1).
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| 20. |
- Eriksson, Olof, et al.
(författare)
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In vivo and in vitro characterization of [18F]-FE-(+)-DTBZ as a tracer for beta-cell mass
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nuclear Medicine and Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0969-8051 .- 1872-9614. ; 37:3, s. 357-363
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: The positron emission tomography (PET) tracer 9-[(18)F]fluoroethyl-(+)-dihydrotetrabenazine ([(18)F]-FE-(+)-DTBZ) is a potential candidate for quantifying beta-cell mass in vivo. The purpose was to investigate in vitro and in vivo utility of this tracer for the assessment of beta-cell mass. METHODS: Three pigs were intravenously administered [(18)F]-FE-(+)-DTBZ and examined by PET/computed tomography. Binding parameters were estimated by kinetic modeling. In vitro k(D) and B(max) were determined by saturation binding studies of endocrine and exocrine human tissue homogenates. In vitro pancreatic uptake was determined by tissue autoradiography with pancreases from patients with types 1 (T1DM) and 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and healthy controls. RESULTS: [(18)F]-FE-(+)-DTBZ had a k(D) of 3.5+/-1.0 nM, a B(max) of 382+/-108 fmol/mg protein and a specificity of 89+/-1.8% in islet homogenates. The total exocrine uptake was lower and 65% was nondisplaceable. No uptake difference was observed in pancreatic tissue slices from patients with T1DM, T2DM or healthy controls. The in vivo porcine pancreatic uptake reached a peak of standardized uptake value (SUV) of 2.8 with a low distribution volume ratio in all animals. Moderate to high tracer uptake was identified in the bile system and in bone. CONCLUSIONS: [(18)F]-FE-(+)-DTBZ binds to vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) with high specificity in pure islet tissue in vitro. However, there is high nondisplaceable binding to exocrine tissue. In addition, in vivo tracer metabolism and dehalogenation result in severe underestimation of porcine pancreatic VMAT2 expression and BCM. The results do not support [(18)F]-FE-(+)-DTBZ as a suitable tracer for in vivo beta-cell imaging.
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