11. |
- Hong, S. J., et al.
(author)
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TMEM106B and CPOX are genetic determinants of cerebrospinal fluid Alzheimer's disease biomarker levels
- 2021
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In: Alzheimers & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 17:10, s. 1628-1640
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction Neurofilament light (NfL), chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40), and neurogranin (Ng) are biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) to monitor axonal damage, astroglial activation, and synaptic degeneration, respectively. Methods We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using DNA and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from the EMIF-AD Multimodal Biomarker Discovery study for discovery, and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative study for validation analyses. GWAS were performed for all three CSF biomarkers using linear regression models adjusting for relevant covariates. Results We identify novel genome-wide significant associations between DNA variants in TMEM106B and CSF levels of NfL, and between CPOX and YKL-40. We confirm previous work suggesting that YKL-40 levels are associated with DNA variants in CHI3L1. Discussion Our study provides important new insights into the genetic architecture underlying interindividual variation in three AD-related CSF biomarkers. In particular, our data shed light on the sequence of events regarding the initiation and progression of neuropathological processes relevant in AD.
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12. |
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13. |
- Jones, G., et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide meta-analysis of muscle weakness identifies 15 susceptibility loci in older men and women
- 2021
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Low muscle strength is an important heritable indicator of poor health linked to morbidity and mortality in older people. In a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of 256,523 Europeans aged 60 years and over from 22 cohorts we identify 15 loci associated with muscle weakness (European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People definition: n=48,596 cases, 18.9% of total), including 12 loci not implicated in previous analyses of continuous measures of grip strength. Loci include genes reportedly involved in autoimmune disease (HLA-DQA1p=4x10(-17)), arthritis (GDF5p=4x10(-13)), cell cycle control and cancer protection, regulation of transcription, and others involved in the development and maintenance of the musculoskeletal system. Using Mendelian randomization we report possible overlapping causal pathways, including diabetes susceptibility, haematological parameters, and the immune system. We conclude that muscle weakness in older adults has distinct mechanisms from continuous strength, including several pathways considered to be hallmarks of ageing. Muscle weakness has been associated with morbidity and mortality in older people. Here, the authors have investigated this trait further by performing a genome-wide meta-analysis of grip strength and Mendelian randomization to discover causal relationships between muscle weakness and other diseases.
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14. |
- Konijnenberg, E., et al.
(author)
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APOE ϵ4 genotype-dependent cerebrospinal fluid proteomic signatures in Alzheimer's disease
- 2020
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In: Alzheimer's Research and Therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-9193. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Aggregation of amyloid β into plaques in the brain is one of the earliest pathological events in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The exact pathophysiology leading to dementia is still uncertain, but the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 genotype plays a major role. We aimed to identify the molecular pathways associated with amyloid β aggregation using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomics and to study the potential modifying effects of APOE ϵ4 genotype. Methods: We tested 243 proteins and protein fragments in CSF comparing 193 subjects with AD across the cognitive spectrum (65% APOE ϵ4 carriers, average age 75 ± 7 years) against 60 controls with normal CSF amyloid β, normal cognition, and no APOE ϵ4 allele (average age 75 ± 6 years). Results: One hundred twenty-nine proteins (53%) were associated with aggregated amyloid β. APOE ϵ4 carriers with AD showed altered concentrations of proteins involved in the complement pathway and glycolysis when cognition was normal and lower concentrations of proteins involved in synapse structure and function when cognitive impairment was moderately severe. APOE ϵ4 non-carriers with AD showed lower expression of proteins involved in synapse structure and function when cognition was normal and lower concentrations of proteins that were associated with complement and other inflammatory processes when cognitive impairment was mild. Repeating analyses for 114 proteins that were available in an independent EMIF-AD MBD dataset (n = 275) showed that 80% of the proteins showed group differences in a similar direction, but overall, 28% effects reached statistical significance (ranging between 6 and 87% depending on the disease stage and genotype), suggesting variable reproducibility. Conclusions: These results imply that AD pathophysiology depends on APOE genotype and that treatment for AD may need to be tailored according to APOE genotype and severity of the cognitive impairment. © 2020 The Author(s).
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15. |
- Kreppmeier, Julia, et al.
(author)
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Real estate security token offerings and the secondary market : Driven by crypto hype or fundamentals?
- 2023
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In: Journal of Banking & Finance. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-4266 .- 1872-6372. ; 154
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tokens, the digital form of assets, are an innovation that has the potential to disrupt how to transfer and own financial instruments. We hand-collected data on 173 real estate tokens in the USA between 2019 and 2021 and trace back 238,433 blockchain transactions. We find that tokens provide broad real estate ownership to many small investors through digital fractional ownership and low entry barriers, while investors do not yet hold well-diversified real estate token portfolios. We analyze the determinants of the success of security token offerings (STOs), secondary market trading, and daily aggregated capital flows. In addition to some property-specific determinants, we find that crypto-market-specific determinants, such as transaction costs and the related sentiment, are relevant both to the STO and capital flows.& COPY; 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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16. |
- Lennox, Robert J., et al.
(author)
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Electronic tagging and tracking aquatic animals to understand a world increasingly shaped by a changing climate and extreme weather events
- 2024
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In: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. - 0706-652X .- 1205-7533. ; 81:3, s. 326-339
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Despite great promise for understanding the impacts and extent of climate change and extreme weather events on aquatic animals, their species, and ecological communities, it is surprising that electronic tagging and tracking tools, like biotelemetry and biologging, have not been extensively used to understand climate change or develop and evaluate potential interventions that may help adapt to its impacts. In this review, we provide an overview of methodologies and study designs that leverage available electronic tracking tools to investigate aspects of climate change and extreme weather events in aquatic ecosystems. Key interventions to protect aquatic life from the impacts of climate change, including habitat restoration, protected areas, conservation translocations, mitigations against interactive effects of climate change, and simulation of future scenarios, can all be greatly facilitated by using electronic tagging and tracking. We anticipate that adopting animal tracking to identify phenotypes, species, or ecosystems that are vulnerable or resilient to climate change will help in applying management interventions such as fisheries management, habitat restoration, invasive species control, or enhancement measures that prevent extinction and strengthen the resilience of communities against the most damaging effects of climate change. Given the scalability and increasing accessibility of animal tracking tools for researchers, tracking individual organisms will hopefully also facilitate research into effective solutions and interventions against the most extreme and acute impacts on species, populations, and ecosystems.
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17. |
- Neumann, A., et al.
(author)
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Rare variants in IFFO1, DTNB, NLRC3 and SLC22A10 associate with Alzheimer's disease CSF profile of neuronal injury and inflammation
- 2022
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In: Molecular Psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1359-4184 .- 1476-5578. ; 27, s. 1990-1999
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers represent several neurodegenerative processes, such as synaptic dysfunction, neuronal inflammation and injury, as well as amyloid pathology. We performed an exome-wide rare variant analysis of six AD biomarkers (beta-amyloid, total/phosphorylated tau, NfL, YKL-40, and Neurogranin) to discover genes associated with these markers. Genetic and biomarker information was available for 480 participants from two studies: EMIF-AD and ADNI. We applied a principal component (PC) analysis to derive biomarkers combinations, which represent statistically independent biological processes. We then tested whether rare variants in 9576 protein-coding genes associate with these PCs using a Meta-SKAT test. We also tested whether the PCs are intermediary to gene effects on AD symptoms with a SMUT test. One PC loaded on NfL and YKL-40, indicators of neuronal injury and inflammation. Four genes were associated with this PC: IFFO1, DTNB, NLRC3, and SLC22A10. Mediation tests suggest, that these genes also affect dementia symptoms via inflammation/injury. We also observed an association between a PC loading on Neurogranin, a marker for synaptic functioning, with GABBR2 and CASZ1, but no mediation effects. The results suggest that rare variants in IFFO1, DTNB, NLRC3, and SLC22A10 heighten susceptibility to neuronal injury and inflammation, potentially by altering cytoskeleton structure and immune activity disinhibition, resulting in an elevated dementia risk. GABBR2 and CASZ1 were associated with synaptic functioning, but mediation analyses suggest that the effect of these two genes on synaptic functioning is not consequential for AD development.
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18. |
- Pommeranz, Caroline, et al.
(author)
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What Drives the Premium for Energy-Efficient Apartments – Green Awareness or Purchasing Power?
- 2021
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In: Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics. - : Springer Nature. - 0895-5638 .- 1573-045X. ; 62:2, s. 220-241
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We analyze whether lower rents for energy-inefficient apartments reflect tenants’ willingness to pay due to a higher green awareness, purchasing power, or energy consumption costs. Based on a German rental apartment dataset from Q1 2007 to Q1 2019, we use interaction terms for socioeconomic characteristics in a hedonic regression model. We find that rents are lower for apartments with higher energy consumption, even in neighborhoods with lower levels of green awareness. This relationship is stronger in neighborhoods with higher purchasing power, such that communities with low levels of green awareness and high purchasing power show the steepest negative slope for increasing energy consumption (−8.6% from the highest to lowest rating). Thus, the rent-decreasing effect of purchasing power is higher than that of green awareness. Splitting the entire period into smaller windows, we find that the interaction effect of green awareness has emerged in the most recent years (2017–2019). This may be driven by changes in regulation, which have made it easier for tenants to assess the energy consumption before they rent, or by a general increase in green awareness over this period.
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19. |
- Shi, L., et al.
(author)
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Plasma Proteomic Biomarkers Relating to Alzheimer's Disease: A Meta-Analysis Based on Our Own Studies
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1663-4365. ; 13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background and Objective: Plasma biomarkers for the diagnosis and stratification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are intensively sought. However, no plasma markers are well established so far for AD diagnosis. Our group has identified and validated various blood-based proteomic biomarkers relating to AD pathology in multiple cohorts. The study aims to conduct a meta-analysis based on our own studies to systematically assess the diagnostic performance of our previously identified blood biomarkers. Methods: To do this, we included seven studies that our group has conducted during the last decade. These studies used either Luminex xMAP or ELISA to measure proteomic biomarkers. As proteins measured in these studies differed, we selected protein based on the criteria that it must be measured in at least four studies. We then examined biomarker performance using random-effect meta-analyses based on the mean difference between biomarker concentrations in AD and controls (CTL), AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), MCI, and CTL as well as MCI converted to dementia (MCIc) and non-converted (MCInc) individuals. Results: An overall of 2,879 subjects were retrieved for meta-analysis including 1,053 CTL, 895 MCI, 882 AD, and 49 frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients. Six proteins were measured in at least four studies and were chosen for meta-analyses for AD diagnosis. Of them, three proteins had significant difference between AD and controls, among which alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) and ficolin-2 (FCN2) increased in AD while fibrinogen gamma chain (FGG) decreased in AD compared to CTL. Furthermore, FGG significantly increased in FTD compared to AD. None of the proteins passed the significance between AD and MCI, or MCI and CTL, or MCIc and MCInc, although complement component 4 (CC4) tended to increase in MCIc individuals compared to MCInc. Conclusions: The results suggest that A2M, FCN2, and FGG are promising biomarkers to discriminate AD patients from controls, which are worthy of further validation.
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20. |
- Steininger, Bertram I., et al.
(author)
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Cost overruns and delays in infrastructure projects: the case of Stuttgart 21
- 2021
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In: Journal of Property Investment & Finance. - : Emerald. - 1463-578X .- 1470-2002. ; 39:3, s. 256-282
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: We investigate causes for the cost overrun and delay of the railway project Stuttgart 21. Besides, we try to forecast the actual costs and completion date at an early stage. Design/methodology/approach: The results of exploratory research show the causes for the cost overrun and delay of Stuttgart 21; we compare our findings with other railway projects. To estimate the costs at an early stage, the reference class forecasting (RCF) model is applied; to estimate the time, we apply an OLS regression. Findings: We find that the following causes are relevant for the cost overrun and delay of Stuttgart 21: scope changes, geological conditions, high risk-taking propensity, extended implementation, price overshoot, conflict of interests and lack of citizens' participation. The current estimated costs are within our 95% confidence interval based on RCF; our time forecast underestimates or substantially overestimates the duration actually required. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of our approach is the low number of comparable projects which are available. Practical implications: The use of hyperbolic function or stepwise exponential discount function can help to give a clearer picture of the costs and benefits. The straightforward use of the RFC for costs and OLS for time should motivate more decision-makers to estimate the actual costs and time which are necessary in the light of the rising demand for democratic participation amongst citizens. Social implications: More realistic estimates can help to reduce the significant distortion at the beginning of infrastructure projects. Originality/value: We are among the first who use the RCF to estimate the costs in Germany. Furthermore, the hyperbolic discounting function is added as a further theoretical explanation for cost underestimation.
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