| 1. |
- Cardoso Pereira, Cássio, et al.
(author)
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Subtle structures with not-so-subtle functions : A data set of arthropod constructs and their host plants
- 2022
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In: Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 103:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The construction of shelters on plants by arthropods might influence other organisms via changes in colonization, community richness, species composition, and functionality. Arthropods, including beetles, caterpillars, sawflies, spiders, and wasps often interact with host plants via the construction of shelters, building a variety of structures such as leaf ties, tents, rolls, and bags; leaf and stem galls, and hollowed out stems. Such constructs might have both an adaptive value in terms of protection (i.e., serve as shelters) but may also exert a strong influence on terrestrial community diversity in the engineered and neighboring hosts via colonization by secondary occupants. Although different traits of the host plant (e.g., physical, chemical, and architectural features) may affect the potential for ecosystem engineering by insects, such effects have been, to a certain degree, overlooked. Further analyses of how plant traits affect the occurrence of shelters may therefore enrich our understanding of the organizing principles of plant-based communities. This data set includes more than 1000 unique records of ecosystem engineering by arthropods, in the form of structures built on plants. All records have been published in the literature, and span both natural structures (91% of the records) and structures artificially created by researchers (9% of the records). The data were gathered between 1932 and 2021, across more than 50 countries and several ecosystems, ranging from polar to tropical zones. In addition to data on host plants and engineers, we aggregated data on the type of constructs and the identity of inquilines using these structures. This data set highlights the importance of these subtle structures for the organization of terrestrial arthropod communities, enabling hypotheses testing in ecological studies addressing ecosystem engineering and facilitation mediated by constructs. There are no copyright restrictions and please cite this paper when using the data in publications.
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| 2. |
- Gkekas, Ioannis, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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Colon cancer patients with mismatch repair deficiency are more likely to present as acute surgical cases
- 2021
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In: European Journal of Cancer. - : Elsevier. - 0959-8049 .- 1879-0852. ; 157, s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The effect of the genetic imprint on the emergency presentation of colon cancer remains unclear. The disparity between tumours evolving along different carcinogenetic pathways has not been studied systematically. This retrospective multicenter cohort study evaluates the association between mismatch repair status and the risk for acute surgery of colon cancer.Patients and methods: A retrospective multicenter cohort study including in total 870 patients from three different countries. Scandinavian cohort (Finland and Sweden), including a total of 412 patients operated between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2010, was validated against a cohort from the Czech Republic, including a total of 458 patients, operated between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019. The proficiency or deficiency of mismatch repair was determined by immunohistochemistry. Primary outcome was the risk for acute colon cancer surgery given as the Odds Ratio (OR) in the univariable and multivariable analyses. Acute colon cancer surgery was defined as surgery performed during the same hospital admission as when the diagnosis of colon cancer was made.Results: Of the 870 patients (399 females [46%]) included in the analyses, median age at surgery was 69 [interquartile range, 61–76] years, deficient Mismatch Repair (dMMR) status was found in 190 patients (22%), and 179 patients (21%) underwent acute surgery during the same hospital admission as when the diagnosis of colon cancer was made. In the Scandinavian cohort, a significant association between dMMR status and acute surgery was seen in both the univariable (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.11–3.02, P = 0.017) and the multivariable (OR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.28–3.95, P = 0.005) analyses. This was confirmed in the Czech validation cohort in both the univariable (OR = 1.94, 95% CI 1.09–3.26, P = 0.022) and the multivariable (OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.15–3.18, P = 0.021) analyses.Conclusion: This multicenter study reveals a strong association between acute colon cancer surgery and dMMR tumour status.
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| 3. |
- Gkekas, Ioannis, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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Sporadic deficient mismatch repair in colorectal cancer increases the risk for non-colorectal malignancy : a European multicenter cohort study
- 2024
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In: Journal of Surgical Oncology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-4790 .- 1096-9098. ; 129:7, s. 1295-1304
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and Objectives: Disparities between tumors arising via different sporadic carcinogenetic pathways have not been studied systematically. This retrospective multicenter cohort study evaluated the differences in the risk for non-colorectal malignancy between sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) patients from different DNA mismatch repair status.Methods: A retrospective European multicenter cohort study including in total of 1706 CRC patients treated between 1996 and 2019 in three different countries. The proficiency (pMMR) or deficiency (dMMR) of mismatch repair was determined by immunohistochemistry. Cases were analyzed for tumor BRAFV600E mutation, and BRAF mutated tumors were further analyzed for hypermethylation status in the promoter region of MLH1 to distinguish between sporadic and hereditary cases. Swedish and Finish patients were matched with their respective National Cancer Registries. For the Czech cohort, thorough scrutiny of medical files was performed to identify any non-colorectal malignancy within 20 years before or after the diagnosis of CRC. Poisson regression analysis was performed to identify the incidence rates of non-colorectal malignancies. For validation purposes, standardized incidence ratios were calculated for the Swedish cases adjusted for age, year, and sex.Results: Of the 1706 CRC patients included in the analysis, 819 were female [48%], median age at surgery was 67 years [interquartile range: 60–75], and sporadic dMMR was found in 188 patients (11%). Patients with sporadic dMMR CRC had a higher incidence rate ratio (IRR) for non-colorectal malignancy before and after diagnosis compared to patients with a pMMR tumor, in both uni- (IRR = 2.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.89–3.31, p = 0.003) and multivariable analysis (IRR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.67–3.01, p = 0.004). This association applied whether or not the non-colorectal tumor developed before or after the diagnosis of CRC in both uni- (IRR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.28–2.98, p = 0.004), (IRR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.72–3.49, p = 0.004) and multivariable analysis (IRR = 1.67,95% CI = 1.05–2.65, p = 0.029), (IRR = 2.35, 95% CI = 1.63–3.42, p = 0.005), respectively.Conclusion: In this retrospective European multicenter cohort study, patients with sporadic dMMR CRC had a higher risk for non-colorectal malignancy than those with pMMR CRC. These findings indicate the need for further studies to establish the need for and design of surveillance strategies for patients with dMMR CRC.
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| 4. |
- Romero, Gustavo Q., et al.
(author)
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Climate variability and aridity modulate the role of leaf shelters for arthropods : A global experiment
- 2022
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 28:11, s. 3694-3710
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Current climate change is disrupting biotic interactions and eroding biodiversity worldwide. However, species sensitive to aridity, high temperatures, and climate variability might find shelter in microclimatic refuges, such as leaf rolls built by arthropods. To explore how the importance of leaf shelters for terrestrial arthropods changes with latitude, elevation, and climate, we conducted a distributed experiment comparing arthropods in leaf rolls versus control leaves across 52 sites along an 11,790 km latitudinal gradient. We then probed the impact of short- versus long-term climatic impacts on roll use, by comparing the relative impact of conditions during the experiment versus average, baseline conditions at the site. Leaf shelters supported larger organisms and higher arthropod biomass and species diversity than non-rolled control leaves. However, the magnitude of the leaf rolls' effect differed between long- and short-term climate conditions, metrics (species richness, biomass, and body size), and trophic groups (predators vs. herbivores). The effect of leaf rolls on predator richness was influenced only by baseline climate, increasing in magnitude in regions experiencing increased long-term aridity, regardless of latitude, elevation, and weather during the experiment. This suggests that shelter use by predators may be innate, and thus, driven by natural selection. In contrast, the effect of leaf rolls on predator biomass and predator body size decreased with increasing temperature, and increased with increasing precipitation, respectively, during the experiment. The magnitude of shelter usage by herbivores increased with the abundance of predators and decreased with increasing temperature during the experiment. Taken together, these results highlight that leaf roll use may have both proximal and ultimate causes. Projected increases in climate variability and aridity are, therefore, likely to increase the importance of biotic refugia in mitigating the effects of climate change on species persistence.
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| 5. |
- Gkekas, Ioannis, et al.
(author)
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Deficient mismatch repair as a prognostic marker in stage II colon cancer patients
- 2019
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In: European Journal of Surgical Oncology. - : Elsevier. - 0748-7983 .- 1532-2157. ; 45:10, s. 1854-1861
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: A number of reports have evaluated the relationship between deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) and colorectal cancer prognosis. Unfortunately, the exact prognostic role of dMMR has not been clearly established due to contradictory results. This study aims to determine the prognostic impact of dMRR in stage II colon cancer patients only. The appropriate identification of high-risk stage II colon cancers is of paramount importance in the selection of patients who may benefit from adjuvant treatment after surgery.METHODS: Four hundred and fifty-two patients with curative resection of stage II colon cancer were included. Hospital records were used as data source, providing clinical, surgical, pathology, oncology and follow-up information for statistical analysis focusing on overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP). Mismatch repair status was determined by immunohistochemistry. Patient survival was followed-up for a mean of 77·35 months.RESULTS: dMMR was detected in 93 of 452 patients (20·6%). No impact on overall survival (Log-Rank, p = 0·583, 95% CI 0·76-1·67). However, the hazard ratio 0·50 for TTP was highly significant (Log-Rank, p = 0·012, 95% CI 0·28-0·87) in patients with dMMR compared with those with mismatch repair proficient tumours (pMMR).CONCLUSIONS: Patients with dMMR tumours have a lower risk for recurrence compared to those with pMMR tumours, but this finding did not correlate to better overall survival.
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| 6. |
- Husek, Tomas, et al.
(author)
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Radiative corrections to the η(') Dalitz decays
- 2018
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In: Physical Review D. - 2470-0010 .- 2470-0029. ; 97:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We provide the complete set of radiative corrections to the Dalitz decays eta(()'()) -> l(+)l(-)gamma beyond the softphoton approximation, i. e., over the whole range of the Dalitz plot and with no restrictions on the energy of a radiative photon. The corrections inevitably depend on the eta(()'()) -> gamma*gamma(*) transition form factors. For the singly virtual transition form factor appearing, e.g., in the bremsstrahlung correction, recent dispersive calculations are used. For the one-photon-irreducible contribution at the one-loop level (for the doubly virtual form factor), we use a vector-meson-dominance-inspired model while taking into account the eta-eta' mixing.
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| 7. |
- Kadavy, Tomas, et al.
(author)
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Contribution of QCD condensates to the OPE of Green functions of chiral currents
- 2019
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In: EPJ Web of Conferences. - : EDP Sciences. - 2100-014X. ; 199
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A framework of operator product expansion (OPE) allows us to study high-energy behaviour of Green functions. A calculation of such Green functions within chiral perturbation theory (PT) or resonance chiral theory (RT) and subsequent matching of the result to the OPE enables us to determine constraints for unknown parameters of the effective theories. We present such procedure for Green functions in the odd-intrinsic parity sector of QCD.
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| 8. |
- Manousek, Jan, et al.
(author)
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Hypersensitivity to material and environmental burden as a possible cause of late complications of cardiac implantable electronic devices
- 2018
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In: Europace. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1099-5129 .- 1532-2092. ; 20:9, s. e140-e147
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AimsTo evaluate whether patients with late complications of pacemakers or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators have hypersensitivity reactions to some of the materials used in generators or in electrodes, or to environmental metal burden.Methods and resultsThe cohort consisted of 20 men and 4 women (mean age: 62.3 +/- 17.2 years) who had a history of late complications of implanted devices. The control group involved 25 men and 8 women (mean age: 64.6 +/- 14.0 years) who had comparable devices, but no history of late complications. Lymphocyte transformation test was used to evaluate hypersensitivity to eight metal pollutants (antimony, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, platinum, tin, and titanium) selected by results of questionnaires on environmental burden, and by material analysis of generators and electrode surfaces. Exposures to metal pollutants were approximately the same in patients and in controls. Titanium alloy used in generators contained at least 99.32% of titanium and trace levels of other metals; higher levels of tin and platinum were detected in electrode surfaces. Hypersensitivity reactions to mercury and tin were significantly more frequent in patients than in controls (patients and controls: mercury: 68.2 and 31.1%, respectively; P = 0.022; tin: 25.0 and 3.2%, respectively; P = 0.035). In contrast, hypersensitivity to manganese was significantly more frequent in controls than in patients (patients and controls: 13.6 and 50.0%, respectively; P = 0.008).ConclusionOur findings suggest a possible relation between hypersensitivity to metals used in implantable devices or to environmental metal burden and the occurrence of their late complications.
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| 9. |
- Pedersen, Jonas, et al.
(author)
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Bubble merging in breathing DNA as a vicious walker problem in opposite potentials.
- 2009
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In: Journal of Chemical Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-9606 .- 1089-7690. ; 130:16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigate the coalescence of two DNA bubbles initially located at weak domains and separated by a more stable barrier region in a designed construct of double-stranded DNA. In a continuum Fokker-Planck approach, the characteristic time for bubble coalescence and the corresponding distribution are derived, as well as the distribution of coalescence positions along the barrier. Below the melting temperature, we find a Kramers-type barrier crossing behavior, while at high temperatures, the bubble corners perform drift diffusion toward coalescence. In the calculations, we map the bubble dynamics on the problem of two vicious walkers in opposite potentials. We also present a discrete master equation approach to the bubble coalescence problem. Numerical evaluation and stochastic simulation of the master equation show excellent agreement with the results from the continuum approach. Given that the coalesced state is thermodynamically stabilized against a state where only one or a few of the base pairs of the barrier region are re-established, it appears likely that this type of setup could be useful for the quantitative investigation of thermodynamic DNA stability data as well as the rate constants involved in the unzipping and zipping dynamics of DNA in single molecule fluorescence experiments.
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| 10. |
- Pedersen, Jonas, et al.
(author)
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Interplay between interference and Coulomb interaction in the ferromagnetic Anderson model with applied magnetic field
- 2009
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In: Physical Review B. - 1550-235X. ; 79
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We study the competition between interference due to multiple single-particle paths and Coulomb interaction in a simple model of an Anderson-type impurity with local-magnetic-field-induced level splitting coupled to ferromagnetic leads. The model along with its potential experimental relevance in the field of spintronics serves as a nontrivial benchmark system where various quantum-transport approaches can be tested and compared. We present results for the linear conductance obtained by a spin-dependent implementation of the density-matrix renormalization-group scheme which are compared with a mean-field solution as well as a seemingly more advanced Hubbard-I approximation. We explain why mean field yields nearly perfect results while the more sophisticated Hubbard-I approach fails even at a purely conceptual level since it breaks hermiticity of the related density matrix. Furthermore, we study finite bias transport through the impurity by the mean-field approach and recently developed higher-order density-matrix equations. We found that the mean-field solution fails to describe the plausible results of the higher-order density-matrix approach both quantitatively and qualitatively, as it does not capture some essential features of the current-voltage characteristics such as negative differential conductance.
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