| 1. |
- Persson, Josefine, 1980, et al.
(author)
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Stratification of COVID-19 patients based on quantitative immune-related gene expression in whole blood.
- 2022
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In: Molecular immunology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-9142 .- 0161-5890. ; 145, s. 17-26
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes mild symptoms in the majority of infected individuals, yet in some cases it leads to a life-threatening condition. Determination of early predictive biomarkers enabling risk stratification for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients can inform treatment and intervention strategies. Herein, we analyzed whole blood samples obtained from individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, varying from mild to critical symptoms, approximately one week after symptom onset. In order to identify blood-specific markers of disease severity status, a targeted expression analysis of 143 immune-related genes was carried out by dual-color reverse transcriptase multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (dcRT-MLPA). The clinically well-defined subgroups of COVID-19 patients were compared with healthy controls. The transcriptional profile of the critically ill patients clearly separated from that of healthy individuals. Moreover, the number of differentially expressed genes increased by severity of COVID-19. It was also found that critically ill patients can be distinguished by reduced peripheral blood expression of several genes, which most likely reflects the lower lymphocyte counts. There was a notable predominance of IFN-associated gene expression in all subgroups of COVID-19, which was most profound in critically ill patients. Interestingly, the gene encoding one of the main TNF-receptors, TNFRS1A, had selectively lower expression in mild COVID-19 cases. This report provides added value in understanding COVID-19 disease, and shows potential of determining early immune transcript signatures in the blood of patients with different disease severity. These results can guide further explorations to uncover mechanisms underlying immunity and immunopathology in COVID-19.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, John, 1979-
(author)
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Air pollution and dementia in a low exposure setting : the role of noise, olfaction, and theapoe gene
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Previous research indicates an association between air pollution exposure, and risk of dementia. Still, a number of factors that may play a role in this association remain to be explored. In addition, while most studies on air pollution and brain health have taken place in highly exposed large urban areas, the studies included in this thesis are conducted in an area with relatively low levels of air pollution and road traffic noise.The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate possible mechanisms - more specifically the role of noise, olfaction and the APOE-ε4 allele - in the association between air pollution and dementia, in a low exposure area. Because olfactory deficits have been linked to air pollution, and can be an early sign of dementia, an additional aim is to examine associations between exposure to air pollution and olfactory function.Methods: Participants were drawn from the Betula project – a prospective cohort study – in Umeå, Sweden. Modelled data on concentrations of nitrogenoxides (NOx), fine particle matter (PM2.5) and levels of road traffic noise, were matched with participants residential address at baseline. PM2.5 levels at the day of testing were obtained from a measuring station in the vicinity of the test location. Data on dementia diagnoses, APOE status, olfactory functions, and covariates, were drawn from the Betula project. Dementia assessment was primarily based on medical records, and conducted by a geropsychiatrist. Odor identification was assessed using the Scandinavian Odor Identification Test, and odor detection threshold by “sniffin’ sticks”. APOE genotype was determined by DNA analyses of blood samples.Study I. Where there is pollution, there is also often noise. In addition, exposure to noise can increase the risk of dementia. The aim of study I was to investigate the individual and combined effect of noise and air pollution on risk of dementia. The results showed an association between NOx and dementia. However, noise from road traffic did not contribute to this association.Study II. Olfactory deficits can be an early sign of dementia and might also becaused by air pollution. Olfactory receptor cells in the nasal cavity are exposed to inhaled air, and the olfactory bulb is one of the areas of the brain most affectedby air pollution. The APOE-ε4 allele is important to consider, as it is a risk factor for both dementia and declining olfactory functions. The aim of study II was to investigate the role of olfaction and the APOE-ε4 allele in the association between air pollution and dementia. Stratified analyses showed that associations between PM2.5 and dementia persisted only among APOE-ε4 carriers, and those with poor odor identification ability.Study III. The olfactory system may be vulnerable to air pollution, and olfactory dysfunction is an early sign of dementia. In addition, the moderating effect of odor identification ability found in study II, could be explained by air pollution increasing the risk of olfactory functions and dementia independent of each other. Thus, the aim of study III was to investigate the associations between PM2.5 (both long term exposure, and concentrations on the day of testing), and odor identification and detection. A positive association was observed between longterm air pollution exposure and odor identification ability. No association was found between long term air pollution exposure and odor detection, or between short term exposure and either olfactory outcome.Conclusion: Low levels of long-term exposure to air pollution increases the risk of dementia. APOE-ε4 carriers, and those with poor odor identification ability, seem particularly vulnerable. No residual confounding from road traffic noisewas found, suggesting that air pollution is the main component in the association between traffic related exposures and dementia in low-exposure areas. The positive association between air pollution and odor identification might be explained by socioeconomic status, and the links between olfaction and semantic memory.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Linnea, et al.
(author)
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Storage of Transfusion Platelet Concentrates is Associated with Complement Activation and Reduced Ability of Platelets to Respond to Protease-Activated Receptor-1 and Thromboxane A2 Receptor
- 2024
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In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 25:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Platelet activation and the complement system are mutually dependent. Here, we investigated the effects of storage time on complement activation and platelet function in routinely produced platelet concentrates. The platelet concentrates (n = 10) were stored at 22 degrees C for seven days and assessed daily for complement and platelet activation markers. Additionally, platelet function was analyzed in terms of their responsiveness to protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) and thromboxane A2 receptor (TXA(2)R) activation and their capacity to adhere to collagen. Complement activation increased over the storage period for all analyzed markers, including the C1rs/C1-INH complex (fold change (FC) = 1.9; p < 0.001), MASP-1/C1-INH complex (FC = 2.0; p < 0.001), C4c (FC = 1.8, p < 0.001), C3bc (FC = 4.0; p < 0.01), and soluble C5b-9 (FC = 1.7, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the levels of soluble platelet activation markers increased in the concentrates over the seven-day period, including neutrophil-activating peptide-2 (FC = 2.5; p < 0.0001), transforming growth factor beta 1 (FC = 1.9; p < 0.001) and platelet factor 4 (FC = 2.1; p < 0.0001). The ability of platelets to respond to activation, as measured by surface expression of CD62P and CD63, decreased by 19% and 24% (p < 0.05) for PAR-1 and 69-72% (p < 0.05) for TXA(2)R activation, respectively, on Day 7 compared to Day 1. The extent of platelet binding to collagen was not significantly impaired during storage. In conclusion, we demonstrated that complement activation increased during the storage of platelets, and this correlated with increased platelet activation and a reduced ability of the platelets to respond to, primarily, TXA(2)R activation.
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| 4. |
- Cawthorne, Tom, et al.
(author)
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The development and preliminary evaluation of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Chronic Loneliness in Young People.
- 2023
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In: Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. - : CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. - 1352-4658 .- 1469-1833. ; 51:5, s. 414-431
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Approximately 10% of young people 'often' feel lonely, with loneliness being predictive of multiple physical and mental health problems. Research has found CBT to be effective for reducing loneliness in adults, but interventions for young people who report loneliness as their primary difficulty are lacking.METHOD: CBT for Chronic Loneliness in Young People was developed as a modular intervention. This was evaluated in a single-case experimental design (SCED) with seven participants aged 11-18 years. The primary outcome was self-reported loneliness on the Three-Item Loneliness Scale. Secondary outcomes were self-reported loneliness on the UCLA-LS-3, and self- and parent-reported RCADS and SDQ impact scores. Feasibility and participant satisfaction were also assessed.RESULTS: At post-intervention, there was a 66.41% reduction in loneliness, with all seven participants reporting a significant reduction on the primary outcome measure (p < .001). There was also a reduction on the UCLA-LS-3 of a large effect (d = 1.53). Reductions of a large effect size were also found for parent-reported total RCADS (d = 2.19) and SDQ impact scores (d = 2.15) and self-reported total RCADS scores (d = 1.81), with a small reduction in self-reported SDQ impact scores (d = 0.41). Participants reported high levels of satisfaction, with the protocol being feasible and acceptable.CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that CBT for Chronic Loneliness in Young People may be an effective intervention for reducing loneliness and co-occurring mental health difficulties in young people. The intervention should now be evaluated further through a randomised controlled trial (RCT).
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| 5. |
- Edland, Rikard, 1990, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of NOx-Reduction Measures for Iron-Ore Rotary Kilns
- 2020
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In: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5029 .- 0887-0624. ; 34:4, s. 4934-4948
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The grate-kiln process is employed for sintering and oxidation of iron-ore pellets. In this process, a fuel (typically coal) is combusted with a large amount of excess air in a rotary kiln, and the high air-to-fuel ratio leads to significant NOx formation. The current Article is an assessment of NOx reduction measures that have been tested in pilot-scale and in full-scale by the Swedish iron-ore company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB). The results show that the scaling between the full-scale kiln and the pilot-scale kiln is crucial, and several primary measures that reduce NOx significantly in pilot-scale achieve negligible reduction in full-scale. In the investigated full-scale kiln, thermal NOx formation is efficiently suppressed and low compared with the NO formation from the fuel-bound nitrogen (especially char-bound nitrogen). Suppressing the NO formation from the char-bound nitrogen is difficult due to the high amounts of excess air, and all measures tested to alter mixing patterns have shown limited effect. Switching to a fuel with a lower nitrogen content is efficient and probably necessary to achieve low NOx emissions without secondary measures. Simulations show that replacing the reference coal with a biomass that contains 0.1% nitrogen can reduce NOx emissions by 90%.
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| 6. |
- Garratt, Michael P D, et al.
(author)
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Opportunities to reduce pollination deficits and address production shortfalls in an important insect pollinated crop
- 2021
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In: Ecological Applications. - : Wiley. - 1051-0761 .- 1939-5582.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pollinators face multiple pressures and there is evidence of populations in decline. As demand for insect-pollinated crops increases, crop production is threatened by shortfalls in pollination services. Understanding the extent of current yield deficits due to pollination and identifying opportunities to protect or improve crop yield and quality through pollination management is therefore of international importance. To explore the extent of 'pollination deficits', where maximum yield is not being achieved due to insufficient pollination, we use an extensive dataset on a globally important crop, apples. We quantified how these deficits vary between orchards and countries as well as compare 'pollinator dependence' across different apple varieties. We found evidence of pollination deficits and in some cases, risks of over-pollination were even apparent where fruit quality could be reduced by too much pollination. In almost all regions studied we found some orchards performing significantly better than others, in terms of avoiding a pollination deficit and crop yield shortfalls due to sub-optimal pollination. This represents an opportunity to improve production through better pollinator and crop management. Our findings also demonstrate that pollinator dependence varies considerably between apple varieties in terms of fruit number and fruit quality. We propose that assessments of pollination service and deficits in crops can be used to quantify supply and demand for pollinators and help target local management to address deficits although crop variety has a strong influence on the role of pollinators.
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| 7. |
- Gruzieva, Olena, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of measured residential black carbon levels outdoors and indoors with fixed-site monitoring data and with dispersion modelling
- 2021
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In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 28:13, s. 16264-16271
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Epidemiologic studies on health effects of air pollution usually rely on time-series of ambient monitoring data or on spatially modelled levels. Little is known how well these estimate residential outdoor and indoor levels. We investigated the agreement of measured residential black carbon (BC) levels outdoors and indoors with fixed-site monitoring data and with levels calculated using a Gaussian dispersion model. One-week residential outdoor and indoor BC measurements were conducted for 15 families living in central Stockholm. Time-series from urban background and street-level monitors were compared to these measurements. The observed weekly concentrations were also standardized to reflect annual averages, using urban background levels, and compared spatially to long-term levels as estimated by dispersion modelling. Weekly average outdoor BC level was 472 ng/m3 (range 261-797 ng/m3). The corresponding fixed-site urban background and street levels were 313 and 1039 ng/m3, respectively. Urban background variation explained 50% of the temporal variation in residential outdoor levels averaged over 24 h. Modelled residential long-term outdoor levels were on average comparable with the standardized measured home outdoor levels, and explained 49% of the spatial variability. The median indoor/outdoor ratio across all addresses was 0.79, with no difference between day and night time. Common exposure estimation approaches in the epidemiology of health effects related to BC displayed high validity for residencies in central Stockholm. Urban background monitored levels explained half of the outdoor day-to-day variability at residential addresses. Long-term dispersion modelling explained half of the spatial differences in outdoor levels. Indoor BC concentrations tended to be somewhat lower than outdoor levels.
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| 8. |
- Gruzieva, Olena, et al.
(author)
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Comparison of personal exposure to black carbon levels with fixed-site monitoring data and with dispersion modelling and the influence of activity patterns and environment
- 2024
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In: Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. - 1559-0631 .- 1559-064X.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Short-term studies of health effects from ambient air pollution usually rely on fixed site monitoring data or spatio-temporal models for exposure characterization, but the relation to personal exposure is often not known.Objective: We aimed to explore this relation for black carbon (BC) in central Stockholm.Methods: Families (n = 46) with an infant, one parent working and one parent on parental leave, carried battery-operated BC instruments for 7 days. Routine BC monitoring data were obtained from rural background (RB) and urban background (UB) sites. Outdoor levels of BC at home and work were estimated in 24 h periods by dispersion modelling based on hourly real-time meteorological data, and statistical meteorological data representing annual mean conditions. Global radiation, air pressure, precipitation, temperature, and wind speed data were obtained from the UB station. All families lived in the city centre, within 4 km of the UB station.Results: The average level of 24 h personal BC was 425 (s.d. 181) ng/m3 for parents on leave, and 394 (s.d. 143) ng/m3 for working parents. The corresponding fixed-site monitoring observations were 148 (s.d. 139) at RB and 317 (s.d. 149) ng/m3 at UB. Modelled BC levels at home and at work were 493 (s.d. 228) and 331 (s.d. 173) ng/m3, respectively. UB, RB and air pressure explained only 21% of personal 24 h BC variability for parents on leave and 25% for working parents. Modelled home BC and observed air pressure explained 23% of personal BC, and adding modelled BC at work increased the explanation to 34% for the working parents.Impact: Short-term studies of health effects from ambient air pollution usually rely on fixed site monitoring data or spatio-temporal models for exposure characterization, but the relation to actual personal exposure is often not known. In this study we showed that both routine monitoring and modelled data explained less than 35% of variability in personal black carbon exposure. Hence, short-term health effects studies based on fixed site monitoring or spatio-temporal modelling are likely to be underpowered and subject to bias.
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| 9. |
- Holmqvist, Kenneth, et al.
(author)
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Eye tracking : empirical foundations for a minimal reporting guideline
- 2023
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In: Behavior Research Methods. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1554-3528. ; 55:1, s. 364-416
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we present a review of how the various aspects of any study using an eye tracker (such as the instrument, methodology, environment, participant, etc.) affect the quality of the recorded eye-tracking data and the obtained eye-movement and gaze measures. We take this review to represent the empirical foundation for reporting guidelines of any study involving an eye tracker. We compare this empirical foundation to five existing reporting guidelines and to a database of 207 published eye-tracking studies. We find that reporting guidelines vary substantially and do not match with actual reporting practices. We end by deriving a minimal, flexible reporting guideline based on empirical research (Section "An empirically based minimal reporting guideline").
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| 10. |
- Janssens, Lise, et al.
(author)
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Transformative learning in business economics education : The development of a measurement instrument to detect student perspectives
- 2024
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In: The International Journal of Management Education. - : Elsevier. - 1472-8117 .- 2352-3565. ; 22:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous studies of business economics education have highlighted differences regarding the role of businesses towards sustainability, as articulated by teachers, students and in textbooks. The roles differ from externally motivated (following law and customers) to internally driven (creating new routes) to address sustainability in the business context. Changes by students in their perspectives on the role of a business in relation to sustainability can be seen as examples of a transformative learning experience in the context of business economics education. This paper presents a measurement instrument of 12 items on a five-point Likert scale to measure the views of students regarding the role of a responsible businessperson. A mixed-methods approach was used to develop, test and validate the instrument. Data were gathered by business economics students at Hasselt University. The added value of the instrument is that it can be used in educational practice and in further research to indicate whether transformative learning is happening in the context of business education and to gain insight into students' views on the role of a responsible businessperson. The instrument goes beyond existing attitude, knowledge and competence scales and contributes to assessing transformative learning for sustainable development.
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