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| 2. |
- Sanchez Klose, Felix, 1989, et al.
(author)
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The Pseudomonas aeruginosa lectin LecB modulates intracellular reactive oxygen species production in human neutrophils
- 2024
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In: European Journal of Immunology. - 0014-2980 .- 1521-4141. ; 54:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium and an opportunistic pathogen ubiquitously present throughout nature. LecB, a fucose-, and mannose-binding lectin, is a prominent virulence factor of P. aeruginosa, which can be expressed on the bacterial surface but also be secreted. However, the LecB interaction with human immune cells remains to be characterized. Neutrophils comprise the first line of defense against infections and their production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and release of extracellular traps (NETs) are critical antimicrobial mechanisms. When profiling the neutrophil glycome we found several glycoconjugates on granule and plasma membranes that could potentially act as LecB receptors. In line with this, we here show that soluble LecB can activate primed neutrophils to produce high levels of intracellular ROS (icROS), an effect that was inhibited by methyl fucoside. On the other hand, soluble LecB inhibits P. aeruginosa-induced icROS production. In support of that, during phagocytosis of wild-type and LecB-deficient P. aeruginosa, bacteria with LecB induced less icROS production as compared with bacteria lacking the lectin. Hence, LecB can either induce or inhibit icROS production in neutrophils depending on the circumstances, demonstrating a novel and potential role for LecB as an immunomodulator of neutrophil functional responses.
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| 3. |
- Almstedt, Åsa, 1977-, et al.
(author)
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Beyond Post-productivism : From Rural Policy Discource to Rural Diversity
- 2014
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In: European Countryside. - Berlin : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1803-8417. ; 6:4, s. 297-306
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There has been a strong discourse in public policy aimed at transforming rural places from venues of primary production into truly diverse socioeconomic landscapes. Yet conceptualisations of the rural as envisioned in the policy and politics of the ‘new economy’ often prove to be elusive on the ground. However, post-productive activity in rural areas has become a major focus for rural studies scholars. This paper investigates the ideas of post-productivism in the existing literature, and argues for a holistic understanding of post-productivism as an idea and political ambition rather than an imperative and irreversible change of rural economic activity. The purpose of the study is to make clear the division between post-productivism and the related concepts of post-production and post-productive activities in order to better understand processes of rural change in relation to different geographical contexts. It is argued that post-productivism as a concept stands apart from de facto post-production and alternative concepts such as multifunctionality and should be regarded as part of broader regional development discourses. The paper outlines several important fields in which post-productivism is a necessary component for rural transformation and development. While it is not always easily captured in indicators or empirical studies in rural locations, post- productivism exists at the level of discourse and planning and thus has real effects on the ground. The paper concludes by offering suggestions on how to apply the concepts of post-productivism, post-production and multifunctionality in future studies.
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| 5. |
- Hägglund, Patricia, et al.
(author)
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Voice Tremor in Patients With Essential Tremor : Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation of Caudal Zona Incerta
- 2016
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In: Journal of Voice. - : Elsevier BV. - 0892-1997 .- 1873-4588. ; 30:2, s. 228-233
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives. The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the caudal zona incerta (cZi) on voice tremor in patients with essential tremor (ET). Study Design. This is a prospective nonrandomized design with consecutive patients.Methods. Twenty-six patients operated with cZi DBS were evaluated under two conditions: without stimulation (Stim OFF) and with stimulation (Stim ON). Voice tremor was assessed on the basis of recordings of sustained vowel productions using a four-point rating scale in a blinded and randomized procedure. Averaged values of multiple assessments for each stimulus were used in statistical testing. The group of patients with voice tremor in Stim OFF was analyzed separately from the group of patients without voice tremor.Results. Voice tremor was significantly reduced on stimulation compared with off for the subgroup with initial voice tremor. Voice tremor prevalence was found to be 50% (13 patients). Individual differences in voice tremor outcome were noticeable. Six of the patients with voice tremor at baseline improved substantially by cZi DBS treatment.Conclusions. On the group level, voice tremor in patients with ET was found to reduce when stimulating the cZi. Bilateral stimulation was indicated to be more effective in reducing voice tremor than unilateral stimulation. However, individual voice tremor outcomes suggest that not all patients benefit from cZi DBS. Severity of voice tremor at baseline may not be a good predictor of voice tremor outcome after cZi DBS. Patients should be informed before surgery regarding individual differences in response to DBS treatment.
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| 7. |
- Karlsson, Linda, 1975-
(author)
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Biomolecular Interactions with Porous Silicon
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- One common problem when putting something inside the body is a fast response from the body defending it from the intruder. Here the researchers are struggling with finding biocompatible materials, which act in a predicted and non-harmful way. In the drug delivery area the idea is to find a good solution of giving a patient its daily medication in a convenient way. The ideal would be to have a unit that could deliver the drug automatically when needed in the dose needed. By high trough putscreening, finding of potential drugs or molecules related to diseases takes much less time. Here a large surface area to which the substance of interest can attach is preferable to be able to use as little analyte as possible and still have a high sensitivity.To be able to realize the applications mentioned above a basic understanding of how proteins interact with surfaces must be developed.The aim of this thesis has been to investigate the adsorption of proteins into and on porous silicon.Porous silicon was chosen as the porous material to work with because porous silicon has been shown to be bioactive and produce hydroxyapatite upon incubation in simulated body fluid. It is also a material with large surface area, which is convenient to use in the chiparea as well as in drug delivery.Gradients in pore size and porous layer thickness were etched in silicon and used in protein adsorption experiments together with homogeneous porous layers. The adsorbed amounts of protein were determined at different pH, different protein concentrations as well as for porous silicon prepared with different etching conditions.The results show that the morphology of the porous layer influence the protein uptake, indicating that more protein is found for larger pore sizes as well as for thicker porous layers. A minimum pore size of 5.5 nm in radius was found for albumin penetration. An increase in protein concentration up to 10 mg/ml albumin resulted in more proteins loaded into the porous silicon layer. The refractive index spectrum of carbonic anhydrase and location of the protein in porous silicon were also determined.
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| 8. |
- Karlsson, Linda, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Protein adsorption in porous silicon gradients monitored by spatially-resolved spectroscopic ellipsometry
- 2004
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In: Elsevier Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 1626-3200. ; 455-456, s. 726-730
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Porous silicon layers with a one-dimensional lateral gradient in pore size are prepared by electrochemical etching and characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry in the visible to near-infrared region. The ellipsometer is equipped with a micro-spot option giving a lateral resolution of approximately 100 μm. By matching multiple-layer-model calculations to the laterally-resolved variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry data, the thickness variation along the gradient as well as the in-depth porosity profile is mapped. Upon exposure to a protein solution, protein adsorption occurs on top of the porous silicon layer. At the high-porosity region of the gradient also penetration of protein molecules into the porous layer takes place. Ellipsometry data are recorded after protein exposure and variations of protein adsorption along the porous silicon gradient is modeled as well as the in-depth profile of protein penetration.
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| 9. |
- Keskitalo, E. Carina H., 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Rural-urban policies : changing conceptions of the human-environment relationship
- 2017
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In: Globalisation and change in forest ownership and forest use. - London : Palgrave Macmillan. - 9781137571151 - 9781137571168 ; , s. 183-224
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This chapter describes how understandings of the "rural" have progressed from a focus on either decline or amenity, whereby these more simplified understandings can be seen to have had an impact on rural policy development. The chapter argues that rural areas, including forests, need to be understood in relation to both production and integration with urban landscapes. It thus illustrates the role of both historical processes and policy in creating current understandings of the rural: drawing upon an example from the Swedish case, it amongst others shows that a redistributive tax system has played a larger and more crucial role than rural policy in retaining active rural areas in Sweden.
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| 16. |
- Kindberg, Kristina, et al.
(author)
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Funktionshinderrörelse och forskare tillsammans i undersökning: Enkla åtgärder förebygger ohälsa och skador i bomiljön.
- 2016
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In: Fastighetsfakta - Tidningen för fastighetsägare. - 2000-9976. ; :4
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Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- Fastighetsägare, arkitekter och producenter har goda möjligheter att skapa säkrare bostäder för alla medborgare i framtiden. Men det behövs attitydförändring och utbildning. Det skriver företrädare för funktionshinderorganisationer och forskare i Göteborg tillsammans i ett upprop om krav på säker bostad i denna debattartikel. Uppropet bygger på ny forskning från Göteborg om hur risker kan hanteras på effektivare sätt.
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| 17. |
- Kindberg, Kristina, et al.
(author)
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Lätt att förebygga skador i hemmen
- 2016
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In: Debattartikel i Söderhamns-Kuriren den 24 oktober 2016. - 1654-4722.
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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| 22. |
- Ler, Peggy, et al.
(author)
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Independent and joint effects of body mass index and metabolic health in mid- and late-life on all-cause mortality : a cohort study from the Swedish Twin Registry with a mean follow-up of 13 Years
- 2022
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In: BMC Public Health. - : Springer. - 1471-2458. ; 22:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: There is robust evidence that in midlife, higher body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome (MetS), which often co-exist, are associated with increased mortality risk. However, late-life findings are inconclusive, and few studies have examined how metabolic health status (MHS) affects the BMI-mortality association in different age categories. We, therefore, aimed to investigate how mid- and late-life BMI and MHS interact to affect the risk of mortality. METHODS: This cohort study included 12,467 participants from the Swedish Twin Registry, with height, weight, and MHS measures from 1958-2008 and mortality data linked through 2020. We applied Cox proportional hazard regression with age as a timescale to examine how BMI categories (normal weight, overweight, obesity) and MHS (identification of MetS determined by presence/absence of hypertension, hyperglycemia, low HDL, hypertriglyceridemia), independently and in interaction, are associated with the risk of all-cause mortality. Models were adjusted for sex, education, smoking, and cardiovascular disease. RESULTS: The midlife group included 6,252 participants with a mean age of 59.6 years (range = 44.9-65.0) and 44.1% women. The late-life group included 6,215 participants with mean age 73.1 years (65.1-95.3) and 46.6% women. In independent effect models, metabolically unhealthy status in midlife increased mortality risks by 31% [hazard ratio 1.31; 95% confidence interval 1.12-1.53] and in late-life, by 18% (1.18;1.10-1.26) relative to metabolically healthy individuals. Midlife obesity increased the mortality risks by 30% (1.30;1.06-1.60) and late-life obesity by 15% (1.15; 1.04-1.27) relative to normal weight. In joint models, the BMI estimates were attenuated while those of MHS were less affected. Models including BMI-MHS categories revealed that, compared to metabolically healthy normal weight, the metabolically unhealthy obesity group had increased mortality risks by 53% (1.53;1.19-1.96) in midlife, and across all BMI categories in late-life (normal weight 1.12; 1.01-1.25, overweight 1.10;1.01-1.21, obesity 1.31;1.15-1.49). Mortality risk was decreased by 9% (0.91; 0.83-0.99) among those with metabolically healthy overweight in late-life. CONCLUSIONS: MHS strongly influenced the BMI-mortality association, such that individuals who were metabolically healthy with overweight or obesity in mid- or late-life did not carry excess risks of mortality. Being metabolically unhealthy had a higher risk of mortality independent of their BMI.
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| 23. |
- Lundmark, Linda, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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International migration, self-employment and restructuring through tourism in sparsely populated areas
- 2014
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. - London : Taylor & Francis. - 1502-2250 .- 1502-2269. ; 14:4, s. 422-440
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has shown that different forms of migration in general, and tourism-related international migration in particular, could act as potential drivers for various forms of rural transformations. This paper investigates self-employment in tourism among foreign-born people in rural Sweden. The questions addressed in this paper are: What is the magnitude of self-employment, and what types of business do in-migrants run, in rural areas? A discussion on the extent to which in-migrants to rural areas contribute to rural restructuring through self-employment in tourism follows. The results are analyzed by drawing on theories connected to restructuring and ideas of the “new economy”. The longitudinal, individual and geo-referenced database ASTRID with official Swedish register data is used to identify foreign-born people self-employed in tourism in Sweden. Self- employment is more common for in-migrants coming from culturally proximate Western countries, followed by Asia and the Middle East. The length of time in Sweden plays a significant role in the incidence of self-employment in tourism, with restaurants dominating as the type of establishment. It can be discussed how much restaurants help invigorate the economy of rural areas, and how much they contribute to rural change and transformation in qualitative terms.
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| 24. |
- Pettersson, Camilla, 1978, et al.
(author)
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LDL-associated apolipoprotein J and lysozyme are associated with atherogenic properties of LDL found in type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome.
- 2011
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In: Journal of internal medicine. - : Wiley. - 1365-2796 .- 0954-6820. ; 269:3, s. 306-321
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives Exchangeable low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-associated proteins can affect the atherogenic properties of LDL. Our aim was to analyze the protein composition of LDL from individuals with or without type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome (T2DM) in relation to other LDL-particle characteristics, to assess whether certain proteins associate more with certain subclasses of LDL typical for T2DM, such as small, apoCIII-rich LDL. Design LDL from two cohorts of 61-year-old men (n = 19 and 64) with or without T2DM was isolated using size-exclusion chromatography or deuterium oxide-based ultracentrifugation. LDL-associated proteins were identified using mass spectrometry and quantified using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Differently expressed LDL-associated proteins apolipoprotein (apo)J and lysozyme were also measured in serum from a third cohort of women (n = 71) with or without T2DM. Lysozyme binding to advanced glycation end product (AGE)-LDL was examined in vitro. Results ApoJ and lysozyme were increased in LDL particles with increased apoCIII content and decreased cholesterol content. When isolated with SEC, LDL from individuals with T2DM contained more apoJ and lysozyme and less apoA1 than LDL from control individuals. LDL content of apoJ correlated with a smaller LDL-particle size. Serum levels of lysozyme, but not apoJ, were increased in individuals with T2DM. In vitro, lysozyme associated more with AGE-LDL than with unmodified LDL. Conclusions Our results indicate that apoJ and lysozyme are increased in LDL with characteristics of small dense LDL in T2DM. Small dense LDL is easily glycated, and the increased affinity of lysozyme for AGE-LDL provides a possible partial explanation for an increase of lysozyme from those with type 2 diabetes.
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| 25. |
- Sandström, Linda, 1973-
(author)
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Impact of deep brain stimulation in the caudal zona incerta on voice tremor and speech in persons with essential tremor
- 2020
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Objectives: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a symptomatic treatment for people with essential tremor (ET) who have unsatisfactory tremor relief with pharmacological treatment alone. A common symptom of ET is voice tremor, but only about 50% of patients with voice tremor get a satisfactory result with DBS. Moreover, stimulation-induced adverse effects on speech are often reported, especially with bilateral stimulation. In recent years, the caudal zona incerta (cZi) has been highlighted as a particularly efficient DBS-target for tremor; however, less is known about the effects of cZi-DBS on voice and speech. The aims of this thesis were to (i) describe how voice tremor and speech production are affected by habitual cZi-DBS optimized to treat the motor symptoms of ET, (ii) investigate how voice tremor and speech production are affected by unilateral cZi-stimulation at increasing amplitudes, with a particular focus on high-amplitude stimulation, and (iii) explore the extent to which patient characteristics and DBS related factors, such as electrode location and stimulation settings, influence the outcome.Methods: This thesis comprises two different study protocols. Study I was a retrospective study of 19 patients with ET and voice tremor, and DBS effects on voice tremor were evaluated from clinical assessments made at baseline and 1, 3, and 5 years after surgery, respectively. Studies II-V included 37 persons with ET, and DBS effects on voice tremor and speech production were evaluated off- and on habitual stimulation, as well as in an experimental protocol with unilateral stimulation at increasing amplitudes (up to a maximum of 4.5V). Voice tremor (study II, III) was assessed by two listeners using the Visual Sort and Rate (VISOR) method. Speech intelligibility (study IV) was estimated from orthographic transcriptions of nonsense sentences made by two speech-language pathology students. Speech function, including articulation and voice quality (study V) were analysed in 14 participants and assessed by two speech-language pathologists using VISOR. Voice and speech outcomes following the experimental stimulation condition were evaluated in relation to the location of the active electrode contacts.Results: Habitual cZi-DBS reduced voice tremor at all examinations and did not affect speech production on the group-level. By contrast, during unilateral high-amplitude stimulation, more negative effects on speech were noted, and the proportion of individuals with affected speech more than doubled at maximal amplitude stimulation compared with habitual cZi-DBS (40% compared to 17%). While most of these adverse effects were mild in general, a few participants exhibited more severe impairments of high-amplitude stimulation, especially on speech intelligibility and articulation. There were also cases in which high-amplitude stimulation worsened voice tremor or even induced the symptom. As for the contribution of electrode location, a deeper and more posterior stimulation origin were found to yield the most efficient voice tremor reduction, more medially located electrodes were associated with affected articulation, whereas deteriorated speech intelligibility was related to stimulation originating from a more superior location.Conclusions: cZi-DBS is relatively safe in the sense that adverse effects on speech production are rarely seen during stimulation with the clinical settings. Furthermore, voice tremor can be expected to improve, both short- and long- term, although not always to such an extent that the symptom is alleviated completely. However, by increasing the stimulation amplitude beyond the clinical setting, one increases the risk of inducing unwanted speech-related effects and worsen voice tremor. Thus, it appears as though the challenge in the postoperative management of the DBS treatment lies in maintaining the therapeutic effect while still keeping the stimulation amplitude at a low level. The combined results of this thesis indicate that the best outcome for voice and speech might be achieved by stimulating from the posterior-inferior-lateral part of the cZi.
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| 26. |
- Sandström, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Long-term effects of unilateral deep brain stimulation on voice tremor in patients with essential tremor
- 2019
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In: Parkinsonism & Related Disorders. - : Elsevier. - 1353-8020 .- 1873-5126. ; 60, s. 70-75
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Voice tremor (VT) is a common symptom of Essential tremor (ET). Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for ET overall, however, its effect on VT is less clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term effects of DBS on VT and to investigate how VT symptoms develop over time in patients with ET.METHODS: VT scores for the cohort of 81 ET patients that had undergone DBS surgery in the caudal zona incerta (cZi) were analyzed retrospectively. Thirty-four patients had preoperative VT and long-term evaluations were available for 19 patients. Longitudinal effects of cZi-DBS were investigated 1, 3 and 5 years postoperatively. VT progression was evaluated based on preoperative-, and off stimulation postoperative assessments.RESULTS: Unilateral cZi-DBS reduced average voice tremor by 58% at the 3-year follow-up and by 67% 5 years after surgery. Four patterns of VT development were identified among patients, and the effectiveness of cZi-DBS in alleviating voice tremor symptoms showed differing patterns for these subgroups.CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective analysis of a small cohort of patients suggests that cZi-DBS may reduce VT in the long-term for patients with ET overall, but the pattern of VT progression likely influences the effectiveness of the treatment. These results also suggest that unilateral cZi-DBS may be more efficacious when treating patients with mild to moderate VT. A prospective, blinded, controlled clinical trial in patients with ET is needed to determine developmental patterns of VT, and the safety and efficacy of cZi-DBS for the treatment of VT.
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| 27. |
- Sandström, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Speech following DBS for essential tremor : Effects of chronic and high-amplitude stimulation in the posterior subthalamic area
- 2020
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can be very effective in alleviating tremor, but adverse effects on speech are frequently reported, especially following bilateral DBS. Most of the existing literature on DBS and speech deals with the effects of DBS targeting the subthalamic nucleus or the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus, which are the traditional targets for Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, respectively. More recently, the posterior subthalamic area (PSA) has been highlighted as a particularly effective target for tremor; however, there are limited studies of PSA-DBS effects on speech.We report speech outcomes for 14 persons with essential tremor during chronic PSA-DBS and at unilateral high-amplitude PSA-stimulation.The objectives were to answer the following questions:To what extent is speech function, and in particular articulation and voice, affected by chronic PSA-DBS?How is speech affected by unilateral high-amplitude stimulationIs bilateral chronic PSA-DBS worse for speech than unilateral PSA-stimulation?
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| 28. |
- Sandström, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Speech function following deep brain stimulation of the caudal zona incerta : effects of habitual and high-amplitude stimulation
- 2021
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In: Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. - : American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. - 1092-4388 .- 1558-9102. ; 64:6, s. 2121-2133
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is often successful in alleviating motor symptoms of essential tremor (ET); however, DBS may also induce adverse speech effects. The caudal zona incerta (cZi) is a promising DBS target for tremor, but less is known about the consequences of cZi DBS for speech. This preliminary study examined how habitual cZi DBS and cZi stimulation at high amplitudes may affect speech function in persons with ET.Method: Fourteen participants with ET were evaluated: off stimulation, on habitual cZi DBS, and with unilateral cZi stimulation at increasing stimulation amplitudes. At each stimulation condition, the participants read three 16-word sentences. Two speech-language pathologists made audio-perceptual consensus ratings of overall speech function, articulation, and voice using a visual sort and rate method. Rated functions when off stimulation, on habitual cZi DBS, and at maximal-amplitude stimulation were compared using Friedman nonparametric tests. For participants with bilateral habitual DBS (n = 5), the effects of bilateral and unilateral stimulation were described in qualitative terms.Results: Habitual cZi DBS had no significant group-level effect on any of the investigated speech parameters. Maximal-amplitude stimulation had a small but significant negative effect on articulation. Participants with reduced articulatory precision (n = 9) had more medially placed electrodes than the nonaffected group (n = 5). Bilateral and unilateral left stimulation had comparable effects on speech.Conclusions: Findings from this preliminary study of cZi DBS indicate that speech is generally not affected by stimulation at habitual levels. High-amplitude cZi stimulation may, however, induce adverse effects, particularly on articulation. Instances of decreased articulatory function were associated with stimulation of more medial electrode contacts, which could suggest cerebello-rubrospinal involvement.
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| 29. |
- Sandström, Linda, 1973-, et al.
(author)
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Speech intelligibility in Parkinson's disease patients with zona incerta deep brain stimulation
- 2015
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In: Brain and Behavior. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2162-3279 .- 2162-3279. ; 5:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ObjectivesTo investigate the effects of l-dopa (Levodopa) and cZi-DBS (deep brain stimulation in caudal zona incerta) on spontaneous speech intelligibility in patients with PD (Parkinson's disease).Materials and MethodsSpontaneous utterances were extracted from anechoic recordings from 11 patients with PD preoperatively (off and on l-dopa medication) and 6 and 12 months post bilateral cZi-DBS operation (off and on stimulation, with simultaneous l-dopa medication). Background noise with an amplitude corresponding to a clinical setting was added to the recordings. Intelligibility was assessed through a transcription task performed by 41 listeners in a randomized and blinded procedure.ResultsA group-level worsening in spontaneous speech intelligibility was observed on cZi stimulation compared to off 6 months postoperatively (8 adverse, 1 positive, 2 no change). Twelve months postoperatively, adverse effects of cZi-DBS were not frequently observed (2 positive, 3 adverse, 6 no change). l-dopa administered preoperatively as part of the evaluation for DBS operation provided the overall best treatment outcome (1 adverse, 4 positive, 6 no change).ConclusionscZi-DBS was shown to have smaller negative effects when evaluated from spontaneous speech compared to speech effects reported previously. The previously reported reduction in word-level intelligibility 12 months postoperatively was not transferred to spontaneous speech for most patients. Reduced intelligibility due to cZi stimulation was much more prominent 6 months postoperatively than at 12 months.
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| 30. |
- Sandström, Linda, et al.
(author)
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The effects of deep brain stimulation on speech intelligibility in persons with essential tremor
- 2020
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In: Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. - : American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. - 1092-4388 .- 1558-9102. ; 63:2, s. 456-471
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: To investigate how deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the caudal zona incerta (cZi) affects speech intelligibility in persons with essential tremor (ET).Method: Thirty-five participants were evaluated: off stimulation, on chronic stimulation optimized to alleviate tremor, and during unilateral stimulation at increasing amplitude levels. At each stimulation condition, the participants read 10 unique nonsense sentences from the Swedish Test of Intelligibility. Two listeners, blinded to stimulation condition, transcribed all recorded sentences orthographically in a randomised procedure. A mean speech intelligibility score for each patient and stimulation condition was computed, and comparisons were made between scores off- and on stimulation.Results: Chronic cZi-DBS had no significant effect on speech intelligibility, and there was no difference in outcome between bilateral and unilateral treatments. During unilateral stimulation at increasing amplitudes, nine participants demonstrated deteriorating speech intelligibility. These nine participants were on average older and had more superior contacts activated during the evaluation compared with the participants without deterioration.Conclusions: Chronic cZi-DBS, optimized for tremor suppression, does not generally affect speech intelligibility in persons with ET. Furthermore, speech intelligibility may be preserved in many individuals, even when stimulated at high amplitudes. Adverse effects of high-amplitude unilateral stimulation observed in this study were associated with stimulation originating from a more superior location, as well as with the participants’ age. These results, highlighting age and stimulation location as contributing to speech intelligibility outcomes were, however, based on a limited number of individuals experiencing adverse effects with high-amplitude stimulation and should, therefore, be interpreted with caution.
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| 31. |
- Sandström, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Voice Tremor Response to Deep Brain Stimulation in Relation to Electrode Location in the Posterior Subthalamic Area
- 2019
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In: World Neurosurgery: X. - : Elsevier BV. - 2590-1397. ; 3, s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Deep brain stimulation of the motor thalamus or the posterior subthalamic area (PSA) shows promising results for patients with voice tremor, although only for about 50% of patients. There are indications that voice tremor requires more focused stimulation within the target area compared with hand tremor. The objective of the present study was to determine the most efficient location for reducing voice tremor within the PSA.Methods: Thirty-seven patients with essential tremor were evaluated off stimulation and in a set of experimental conditions with unilateral stimulation at increasing amplitude levels. Two listeners performed blinded assessments of voice tremor from recordings of sustained vowel productions.Results: Twenty-five patients (68%) had voice tremor. Unilateral stimulation reduced voice tremor for the majority of patients, and only 6 patients had poor outcomes. Contacts yielding efficient voice tremor reduction were deeper relative to the midcommissural point (MCP) and more posterior relative to the posterior tip of the subthalamic nucleus (pSTN) (z MCP = –3.1, y pSTN = –0.2) compared with poor contacts (z MCP = –0.7, y pSTN = 1.0). High-amplitude stimulation worsened voice tremor for 7 patients and induced voice tremor in 2 patients. Hand tremorimproved to a greater extent than voice tremor, and improvements could be seen throughout the target area.Conclusions: Our results indicate that efficient voice tremor reduction can be achieved by stimulating contacts located in the inferior part of the PSA, close or slightly posterior to the pSTN. We observed cases in which voice tremor was induced by high-amplitude stimulation.
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| 32. |
- Styhre, Linda, et al.
(author)
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Environmentally differentiated port dues
- 2019
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This is the final report of the research project Environmentally differentiated port dues. The purposes of the research are to examine how environmentally differentiated dues and incentives in ports can reduce the environmental impact caused by transport modes that call at the port, and their consequences from legal, political and goods flow perspectives. Both land and sea transport are addressed. The project examines how ports, as important parts of international transport chains, can contribute to the environmental and climate objectives, by introducing environmentally differentiated port dues to promote a shift to more environmentally efficient transport, vehicles, ships, technologies and alternative fuels.
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| 33. |
- Venkatakrishnan, Vignesh, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Novel inhibitory effect of galectin-3 on the respiratory burst induced by Staphylococcus aureus in human neutrophils
- 2023
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In: Glycobiology. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC. - 1460-2423 .- 0959-6658. ; 33:6, s. 503-511
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Among the responders to microbial invasion, neutrophils represent the earliest and perhaps the most important immune cells that contribute to host defense with the primary role to kill invading microbes using a plethora of stored anti-microbial molecules. One such process is the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the neutrophil enzyme complex NADPH-oxidase, which can be assembled and active either extracellularly or intracellularly in phagosomes (during phagocytosis) and/or granules (in the absence of phagocytosis). One soluble factor modulating the interplay between immune cells and microbes is galectin-3 (gal-3), a carbohydrate-binding protein that regulates a wide variety of neutrophil functions. Gal-3 has been shown to potentiate neutrophil interaction with bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, and is also a potent activator of the neutrophil respiratory burst, inducing large amounts of granule-localized ROS in primed cells. Herein, the role of gal-3 in regulating S. aureus phagocytosis and S. aureus-induced intracellular ROS was analyzed by imaging flow cytometry and luminol-based chemiluminescence, respectively. Although gal-3 did not interfere with S. aureus phagocytosis per se, it potently inhibited phagocytosis-induced intracellular ROS production. Using the gal-3 inhibitor GB0139 (TD139) and carbohydrate recognition domain of gal-3 (gal-3C), we found that the gal-3-induced inhibitory effect on ROS production was dependent on the carbohydrate recognition domain of the lectin. In summary, this is the first report of an inhibitory role of gal-3 in regulating phagocytosis-induced ROS production.
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