| 1. |
- Andersson, M. L. E., et al.
(author)
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Diurnal variation in serum levels of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein in patients with knee osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis
- 2006
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In: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. - : BMJ. - 0003-4967 .- 1468-2060. ; 65:11, s. 1490-1494
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To monitor changes in serum concentrations of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) during a 24-h period to determine any diurnal variation, and to estimate the half life of COMP in the circulation in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and in those with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Serum samples were drawn every 4 h (7 samples/patient over 24 h) in 10 patients with knee osteoarthritis and 14 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis was defined radiographically and clinically (American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria) and rheumatoid arthritis according to the 1987 ACR criteria. Serum COMP was measured by sandwich ELISA. A statistical model for the diurnal variation in the COMP levels was developed using the computer program NONMEM. Results: No considerable changes in COMP levels were observed during the day between 08:00 and 21:00 in either group. A significant decrease in serum COMP was apparent during bed rest at night, reaching the lowest levels between 04:00 and 05:00 (p < 0.03 or better v all other time points) in patients with osteoarthritis and in those with rheumatoid arthritis. From the rate of decreasing serum COMP levels, a putative half life of COMP in the circulation was estimated to be 7.4 h. Conclusion: During normal daytime activities, serum COMP levels are constant. The decrease during the night indicates a rapid elimination of COMP once it has reached the circulation. The stable COMP levels during the day suggest that it is not necessary to further standardise the time of serum sampling in clinical practice.
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| 2. |
- Müssener, Ulrika, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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A Text Message-Based Intervention Targeting Alcohol Consumption Among University Students : User Satisfaction and Acceptability Study.
- 2018
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In: JMIR Human Factors. - Toronto, Canada : J M I R Publications, Inc.. - 2292-9495. ; 5:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Heavy consumption of alcohol among university students is a global problem, with excessive drinking being the social norm. Students can be a difficult target group to reach, and only a minority seek alcohol-related support. It is important to develop interventions that can reach university students in a way that does not further stretch the resources of the health services. Text messaging (short message service, SMS)-based interventions can enable continuous, real-time, cost-effective, brief support in a real-world setting, but there is a limited amount of evidence for effective interventions on alcohol consumption among young people based on text messaging. To address this, a text messaging-based alcohol consumption intervention, the Amadeus 3 intervention, was developed.OBJECTIVE: This study explored self-reported changes in drinking habits in an intervention group and a control group. Additionally, user satisfaction among the intervention group and the experience of being allocated to a control group were explored.METHODS: Students allocated to the intervention group (n=460) were asked about their drinking habits and offered the opportunity to give their opinion on the structure and content of the intervention. Students in the control group (n=436) were asked about their drinking habits and their experience in being allocated to the control group. Participants received an email containing an electronic link to a short questionnaire. Descriptive analyses of the distribution of the responses to the 12 questions for the intervention group and 5 questions for the control group were performed.RESULTS: The response rate for the user feedback questionnaire of the intervention group was 38% (176/460) and of the control group was 30% (129/436). The variation in the content of the text messages from facts to motivational and practical advice was appreciated by 77% (135/176) participants, and 55% (97/176) found the number of messages per week to be adequate. Overall, 81% (142/176) participants stated that they had read all or nearly all the messages, and 52% (91/176) participants stated that they were drinking less, and increased awareness regarding negative consequences was expressed as the main reason for reduced alcohol consumption. Among the participants in the control group, 40% (52/129) stated that it did not matter that they had to wait for access to the intervention. Regarding actions taken while waiting for access, 48% (62/129) participants claimed that they continued to drink as before, whereas 35% (45/129) tried to reduce their consumption without any support.CONCLUSIONS: Although the main randomized controlled trial was not able to detect a statistically significant effect of the intervention, most participants in this qualitative follow-up study stated that participation in the study helped them reflect upon their consumption, leading to altered drinking habits and reduced alcohol consumption.TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN95054707; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN95054707 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/705putNZT).
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| 3. |
- Andersson, E Kristin, et al.
(author)
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Imagery and implementation intention: A randomised controlled trial of interventions to increase exercise behaviour in the general population
- 2011
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In: PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT AND EXERCISE. - : Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam.. - 1469-0292. ; 12:2, s. 63-70
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: The studys main objective was to investigate a potential role of pre-conscious processes in exercise behaviour change by comparing the efficiency of two exercise interventions (guided imagery and manipulation of implementation intention). Design: A randomised control trial was carried out with participants allocated to one of four conditions (guided imagery, implementation intention, relaxation, or control). Method: Outcome variables (exercise behaviour, exercise self-efficacy and exercise motivation), were measured pre- and post-intervention. Imagery ability was measured as a potential confounding variable of intervention efficiency. Using provided exercise diaries, fifty sedentary participants (34F, 16M) monitored their physical activity for two weeks. Average of the participants was 29 years (range 19-56). Results: A one-way MANCOVA suggested that 13% of the variation in the linear combination of the dependent variables was accounted for by group allocation. Univariate tests confirmed that significant differences existed between both intervention groups and control group (Implementation Intention - Control (p = 0.048): effect size (d) = 0.92), Guided Imagery - Control (p = 0.012: effect size (d) = 1.46). Conclusions: This study succeeded in increasing exercise behaviour using guided imagery and implementation intention interventions. These are self-managed, economic and practical interventions which may be further developed for particular populations or behaviours. The results may challenge the subjective expected utility basis of social cognition models of health behaviour, as it highlights the importance of considering both conscious and pre-conscious processes antecedent to behaviour change.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Kristin, et al.
(author)
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Prospective study of genital human papillomaviruses and nonmelanoma skin cancer.
- 2013
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 133:8, s. 1840-1845
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genital high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause cervical cancer and are also found in a small proportion of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs). We used cancer registry linkages to follow the 856,000 serum donors included in the Southern Sweden Microbiology Biobank or the Janus Biobank in Norway, for incident skin cancers occurring up to 30 years after serum donation. Serum samples taken before diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (N = 633), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (N = 1990) or other NMSC (N = 153) and matched samples from control donors were tested for antibodies to the genital HPV types 16 and 18. Both HPV 16 and 18 were associated with increased risk for SCC [odds ratio (OR) 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.6 and OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.5, respectively] and other NMSC (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.0-5.2 and OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.4-8.7, respectively), but not for BCC. Tumor blocks from HPV16 or 18 seropositive cases were tested with real-time polymerase chain reaction for presence of HPV16 or 18 DNA. No HPV18 DNA was found and only four of 79 SCC cases (two of which were from the perineum/perianal area), one of 221 BCC cases and zero of five cases with other NMSC contained HPV16 DNA. In conclusion, we found prospective evidence that HPV16 and 18 antibodies associate with SCC and other NMSC risk, but not with BCC risk. As only a small proportion of seropositive subjects had evidence of the corresponding HPV DNA in the tumor, most of this excess risk is likely to be due to confounders associated with genital HPV infection.
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| 5. |
- Creed, Irena F., et al.
(author)
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Global change-driven effects on dissolved organic matter composition : Implications for food webs of northern lakes
- 2018
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 24:8, s. 3692-3714
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Northern ecosystems are experiencing some of the most dramatic impacts of global change on Earth. Rising temperatures, hydrological intensification, changes in atmospheric acid deposition and associated acidification recovery, and changes in vegetative cover are resulting in fundamental changes in terrestrial-aquatic biogeochemical linkages. The effects of global change are readily observed in alterations in the supply of dissolved organic matter (DOM)-the messenger between terrestrial and lake ecosystems-with potentially profound effects on the structure and function of lakes. Northern terrestrial ecosystems contain substantial stores of organic matter and filter or funnel DOM, affecting the timing and magnitude of DOM delivery to surface waters. This terrestrial DOM is processed in streams, rivers, and lakes, ultimately shifting its composition, stoichiometry, and bioavailability. Here, we explore the potential consequences of these global change-driven effects for lake food webs at northern latitudes. Notably, we provide evidence that increased allochthonous DOM supply to lakes is overwhelming increased autochthonous DOM supply that potentially results from earlier ice-out and a longer growing season. Furthermore, we assess the potential implications of this shift for the nutritional quality of autotrophs in terms of their stoichiometry, fatty acid composition, toxin production, and methylmercury concentration, and therefore, contaminant transfer through the food web. We conclude that global change in northern regions leads not only to reduced primary productivity but also to nutritionally poorer lake food webs, with discernible consequences for the trophic web to fish and humans.
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| 6. |
- Faust, Helena, et al.
(author)
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Cutaneous Human Papillomaviruses and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: Nested case-control study.
- 2016
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In: Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology. - 1538-7755.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cutaneous Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types have been associated with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), including a previous nested case-control study using HPV serology with bacterially derived fusion proteins with the major HPV capsid protein L1 (GST-L1). However, HPV serology using conformationally intact pseudovirions has been shown to correlate better with natural infection. Prospective studies using a more valid marker of infection are therefore warranted.
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| 7. |
- Tschirren, Barbara, et al.
(author)
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Polymorphisms at the innate immune receptor TLR2 are associated with Borrelia infection in a wild rodent population
- 2013
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In: Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 1471-2954. ; 280:1759
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The discovery of the key role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in initiating innate immune responses and modulating adaptive immunity has revolutionized our understanding of vertebrate defence against pathogens. Yet, despite their central role in pathogen recognition and defence initiation, there is little information on how variation in TLRs influences disease susceptibility in natural populations. Here, we assessed the extent of naturally occurring polymorphisms at TLR2 in wild bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and tested for associations between TLR2 variants and infection with Borrelia afzelii, a common tick-transmitted pathogen in rodents and one of the causative agents of human Lyme disease. Bank voles in our population had 15 different TLR2 haplotypes (10 different haplotypes at the amino acid level), which grouped in three well-separated clusters. In a large-scale capture-mark-recapture study, we show that voles carrying TLR2 haplotypes of one particular cluster (TLR2(c2)) were almost three times less likely to be Borrelia infected than animals carrying other haplotypes. Moreover, neutrality tests suggested that TLR2 has been under positive selection. This is, to our knowledge, the first demonstration of an association between TLR polymorphism and parasitism in wildlife, and a striking example that genetic variation at innate immune receptors can have a large impact on host resistance.
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