1. |
- Haghighi, Mona, et al.
(author)
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A Comparison of Rule-based Analysis with Regression Methods in Understanding the Risk Factors for Study Withdrawal in a Pediatric Study
- 2016
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Regression models are extensively used in many epidemiological studies to understand the linkage between specific outcomes of interest and their risk factors. However, regression models in general examine the average effects of the risk factors and ignore subgroups with different risk profiles. As a result, interventions are often geared towards the average member of the population, without consideration of the special health needs of different subgroups within the population. This paper demonstrates the value of using rule-based analysis methods that can identify subgroups with heterogeneous risk profiles in a population without imposing assumptions on the subgroups or method. The rules define the risk pattern of subsets of individuals by not only considering the interactions between the risk factors but also their ranges. We compared the rule-based analysis results with the results from a logistic regression model in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study. Both methods detected a similar suite of risk factors, but the rule-based analysis was superior at detecting multiple interactions between the risk factors that characterize the subgroups. A further investigation of the particular characteristics of each subgroup may detect the special health needs of the subgroup and lead to tailored interventions.
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- 2019
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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3. |
- Allen-Perkins, Alfonso, et al.
(author)
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CropPol : a dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination
- 2022
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In: Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 103:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, we present CropPol, a dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination. It contains measurements recorded from 202 crop studies, covering 3,394 field observations, 2,552 yield measurements (i.e. berry weight, number of fruits and kg per hectare, among others), and 47,752 insect records from 48 commercial crops distributed around the globe. CropPol comprises 32 of the 87 leading global crops and commodities that are pollinator dependent. Malus domestica is the most represented crop (32 studies), followed by Brassica napus (22 studies), Vaccinium corymbosum (13 studies), and Citrullus lanatus (12 studies). The most abundant pollinator guilds recorded are honey bees (34.22% counts), bumblebees (19.19%), flies other than Syrphidae and Bombyliidae (13.18%), other wild bees (13.13%), beetles (10.97%), Syrphidae (4.87%), and Bombyliidae (0.05%). Locations comprise 34 countries distributed among Europe (76 studies), Northern America (60), Latin America and the Caribbean (29), Asia (20), Oceania (10), and Africa (7). Sampling spans three decades and is concentrated on 2001-05 (21 studies), 2006-10 (40), 2011-15 (88), and 2016-20 (50). This is the most comprehensive open global data set on measurements of crop flower visitors, crop pollinators and pollination to date, and we encourage researchers to add more datasets to this database in the future. This data set is released for non-commercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation), and the products generated with this database should be shared under the same license terms (CC BY-NC-SA). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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4. |
- Andersson Ersman, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Screen printed digital circuits based on vertical organicelectrochemical transistors
- 2017
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In: Flexible and Printed Electronics. - : IOP Publishing. - 2058-8585. ; 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Vertical organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have been manufactured solely using screenprinting. The OECTs are based on PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrene sulfonic acid)), which defines the active material for both the transistor channel and the gateelectrode. The resulting vertical OECT devices and circuits exhibit low-voltage operation, relativelyfast switching, small footprint and high manufacturing yield; the last three parameters are explainedby the reliance of the transistor configuration on a robust structure in which the electrolyte verticallybridges the bottom channel and the top gate electrode. Two different architectures of the verticalOECT have been manufactured, characterized and evaluated in parallel throughout this report. Inaddition to the experimental work, SPICE models enabling simulations of standalone OECTs andOECT-based circuits have been developed. Our findings may pave the way for fully integrated, lowvoltageoperating and printed signal processing systems integrated with e.g. printed batteries, solarcells, sensors and communication interfaces. Such technology can then serve a low-cost basetechnology for the internet of things, smart packaging and home diagnostics applications.
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5. |
- Garvanska, Dimitriya H., et al.
(author)
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The NSP3 protein of SARS-CoV-2 binds fragile X mental retardation proteins to disrupt UBAP2L interactions
- 2024
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In: EMBO Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 1469-221X .- 1469-3178. ; 25:2, s. 902-926
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Viruses interact with numerous host factors to facilitate viral replication and to dampen antiviral defense mechanisms. We currently have a limited mechanistic understanding of how SARS-CoV-2 binds host factors and the functional role of these interactions. Here, we uncover a novel interaction between the viral NSP3 protein and the fragile X mental retardation proteins (FMRPs: FMR1, FXR1-2). SARS-CoV-2 NSP3 mutant viruses preventing FMRP binding have attenuated replication in vitro and reduced levels of viral antigen in lungs during the early stages of infection. We show that a unique peptide motif in NSP3 binds directly to the two central KH domains of FMRPs and that this interaction is disrupted by the I304N mutation found in a patient with fragile X syndrome. NSP3 binding to FMRPs disrupts their interaction with the stress granule component UBAP2L through direct competition with a peptide motif in UBAP2L to prevent FMRP incorporation into stress granules. Collectively, our results provide novel insight into how SARS-CoV-2 hijacks host cell proteins and provides molecular insight into the possible underlying molecular defects in fragile X syndrome.
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7. |
- Loza, M. J., et al.
(author)
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Validated and longitudinally stable asthma phenotypes based on cluster analysis of the ADEPT study
- 2016
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In: Respiratory Research. - : Springer Nature. - 1465-9921 .- 1465-993X. ; 17:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Asthma is a disease of varying severity and differing disease mechanisms. To date, studies aimed at stratifying asthma into clinically useful phenotypes have produced a number of phenotypes that have yet to be assessed for stability and to be validated in independent cohorts. The aim of this study was to define and validate, for the first time ever, clinically driven asthma phenotypes using two independent, severe asthma cohorts: ADEPT and U-BIOPRED. Methods: Fuzzy partition-around-medoid clustering was performed on pre-specified data from the ADEPT participants (n = 156) and independently on data from a subset of U-BIOPRED asthma participants (n = 82) for whom the same variables were available. Models for cluster classification probabilities were derived and applied to the 12-month longitudinal ADEPT data and to a larger subset of the U-BIOPRED asthma dataset (n = 397). High and low type-2 inflammation phenotypes were defined as high or low Th2 activity, indicated by endobronchial biopsies gene expression changes downstream of IL-4 or IL-13. Results: Four phenotypes were identified in the ADEPT (training) cohort, with distinct clinical and biomarker profiles. Phenotype 1 was "mild, good lung function, early onset", with a low-inflammatory, predominantly Type-2, phenotype. Phenotype 2 had a "moderate, hyper-responsive, eosinophilic" phenotype, with moderate asthma control, mild airflow obstruction and predominant Type-2 inflammation. Phenotype 3 had a "mixed severity, predominantly fixed obstructive, non-eosinophilic and neutrophilic" phenotype, with moderate asthma control and low Type-2 inflammation. Phenotype 4 had a "severe uncontrolled, severe reversible obstruction, mixed granulocytic" phenotype, with moderate Type-2 inflammation. These phenotypes had good longitudinal stability in the ADEPT cohort. They were reproduced and demonstrated high classification probability in two subsets of the U-BIOPRED asthma cohort. Conclusions: Focusing on the biology of the four clinical independently-validated easy-to-assess ADEPT asthma phenotypes will help understanding the unmet need and will aid in developing tailored therapies. Trial registration:NCT01274507(ADEPT), registered October 28, 2010 and NCT01982162(U-BIOPRED), registered October 30, 2013.
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8. |
- Moll, Guido, et al.
(author)
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Do Cryopreserved Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Display Impaired Immunomodulatory and Therapeutic Properties?
- 2014
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In: Stem Cells. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1066-5099 .- 1549-4918. ; 32:9, s. 2430-2442
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have recently reported that therapeutic mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have low engraftment and trigger the instant blood mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR) after systemic delivery to patients, resulting in compromised cell function. In order to optimize the product, we compared the immunomodulatory, blood regulatory, and therapeutic properties of freeze-thawed and freshly harvested cells. We found that freeze-thawed MSCs, as opposed to cells harvested from continuous cultures, have impaired immunomodulatory and blood regulatory properties. Freeze-thawed MSCs demonstrated reduced responsiveness to proinflammatory stimuli, an impaired production of anti-inflammatory mediators, increased triggering of the IBMIR, and a strong activation of the complement cascade compared to fresh cells. This resulted in twice the efficiency in lysis of thawed MSCs after 1 hour of serum exposure. We found a 50% and 80% reduction in viable cells with freshly detached as opposed to thawed in vitro cells, indicating a small benefit for fresh cells. In evaluation of clinical response, we report a trend that fresh cells, and cells of low passage, demonstrate improved clinical outcome. Patients treated with freshly harvested cells in low passage had a 100% response rate, twice the response rate of 50% observed in a comparable group of patients treated with freeze-thawed cells at higher passage. We conclude that cryobanked MSCs have reduced immunomodulatory and blood regulatory properties directly after thawing, resulting in faster complement-mediated elimination after blood exposure. These changes seem to be paired by differences in therapeutic efficacy in treatment of immune ailments after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
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9. |
- Nilsson, Jessica, et al.
(author)
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A low-carbohydrate high-fat diet decreases lean mass and impairs cardiac function in pair-fed female C57BL/6J mice
- 2016
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In: Nutrition & Metabolism. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1743-7075. ; 13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Excess body fat is a major health issue and a risk factor for the development of numerous chronic diseases. Low-carbohydrate diets like the Atkins Diet are popular for rapid weight loss, but the long-term consequences remain the subject of debate. The Scandinavian low-carbohydrate high-fat (LCHF) diet, which has been popular in Scandinavian countries for about a decade, has very low carbohydrate content (~5 E %) but is rich in fat and includes a high proportion of saturated fatty acids. Here we investigated the metabolic and physiological consequences of a diet with a macronutrient composition similar to the Scandinavian LCHF diet and its effects on the organs, tissues, and metabolism of weight stable mice.METHODS: Female C57BL/6J mice were iso-energetically pair-fed for 4 weeks with standard chow or a LCHF diet. We measured body composition using echo MRI and the aerobic capacity before and after 2 and 4 weeks on diet. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography before and after 4 weeks on diet. The metabolic rate was measured by indirect calorimetry the fourth week of the diet. Mice were sacrificed after 4 weeks and the organ weight, triglyceride levels, and blood chemistry were analyzed, and the expression of key ketogenic, metabolic, hormonal, and inflammation genes were measured in the heart, liver, and adipose tissue depots of the mice using real-time PCR.RESULTS: The increase in body weight of mice fed a LCHF diet was similar to that in controls. However, while control mice maintained their body composition throughout the study, LCHF mice gained fat mass at the expense of lean mass after 2 weeks. The LCHF diet increased cardiac triglyceride content, impaired cardiac function, and reduced aerobic capacity. It also induced pronounced alterations in gene expression and substrate metabolism, indicating a unique metabolic state.CONCLUSIONS: Pair-fed mice eating LCHF increased their percentage of body fat at the expense of lean mass already after 2 weeks, and after 4 weeks the function of the heart deteriorated. These findings highlight the urgent need to investigate the effects of a LCHF diet on health parameters in humans.
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10. |
- Nilsson, Jessica, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of the 2,2-azinobis-3-ethylbenzotiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and ferric reducing anti-oxidant power (FRAP) methods to asses the total antioxidant capacity in extracts of fruit and vegetables
- 2005
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In: Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. - : Wiley. - 1613-4133 .- 1613-4125. ; 49:3, s. 239-246
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A comparison was made on the use of two spectrophotometric methods, the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) method and the 2,2 '-azinobis-3-ethylbenzotiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) method, for the measurement of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of plant foods. The correlations of TAC measured by the two methods were highly significant in both water-soluble (r(2) = 0.90) and water-insoluble extracts (r(2) = 0.98) from 13 strawberry samples. Also a corresponding comparison of TAC in extracts from 14 plant species showed high correlation coefficients, r(2) = 0.98 for water-soluble extracts and r(2) = 0.88 for water-insoluble extracts. The ratio of TAC values obtained with the two methods (ABTS/FRAP) varied between 0.7 and 3.3 for different plant extracts indicating that they contained antioxidants with varying reactivity in the two methods. TACs in six pure antioxidant substances were ranked in the following order by both methods: quercetin > ferulicacid > catechin > rutin > caffeicacid > Trolox = chlorogenic acid. The two methods showed similar TAC values for quercetin, rutin, caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid while ferulic acid and catechin gave higher results with the ABTS method than with the FRAP method, and such differences probably explain the varying ratios of ABTS/FRAP obtained in foods. Regarding storage TAC in water-soluble strawberry extracts stored at -20 or -80 degrees C was stable for at least five months while storage at 4 degrees C decreased the TAC value with 40% during five weeks of storage. The study showed that both the ABTS and FRAP methods can be used for convenient monitoring of the antioxidant capacities in fruit and vegetables, and that different antioxidants had varying reactivity in the two methods.
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