| 1. |
- Baumgarten, Matthias, et al.
(author)
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Embedding Self-Awareness into Objects of Daily Life - The Smart Kettle
- 2010
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In: 6th International Conference on Intelligent Environments. - Los Alamitos, Calif. - 9781424478361 ; , s. 34-39
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intelligent Environments on varying scales and for different purposes are slowly becoming a reality. In the near future, global smart world infrastructures will become a commodity that will support various activities of daily life at different degrees of realism. Such infrastructures have the potential to offer dedicated, context- and situation-aware information and services by simultaneously providing the next-generation of data collection, execution and service provisioning layers. One key aspect of this vision is the correct monitoring and understanding of how people interact with their environment; how they can actually benefit from the added intelligence; and finally how future services can be improved or better personalized to enhance human environment interaction as a whole. This level of intelligence is of particular relevance in the health and social care domain where person-centric services can be deployed to assist or even enable a person in performing activities of daily living. This paper discusses the concept of embedded self-aware profiles for smart devices that can be used to gain a deeper contextual understanding of their use and also discusses the emergence of a general model of Ambient Intelligence that is based on the collective existence and behavior of such smart devices. Although generic in principle, the proposed concepts have been exemplified by a distinct use case, namely a smart kettle.
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| 2. |
- Edström, Anneli, et al.
(author)
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beta-Microseminoprotein Endows Post Coital Seminal Plasma with Potent Candidacidal Activity by a Calcium- and pH-Dependent Mechanism
- 2012
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In: PLoS Pathogens. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7366 .- 1553-7374. ; 8:4, s. e1002625-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The innate immune factors controlling Candida albicans are mostly unknown. Vulvovaginal candidiasis is common in women and affects approximately 70-75% of all women at least once. Despite the propensity of Candida to colonize the vagina, transmission of Candida albicans following sexual intercourse is very rare. This prompted us to investigate whether the post coital vaginal milieu contained factors active against C. albicans. By CFU assays, we found prominent candidacidal activity of post coital seminal plasma at both neutral and the acid vaginal pH. In contrast, normal seminal plasma did not display candidacidal activity prior to acidification. By antifungal gel overlay assay, one clearing zone corresponding to a protein band was found in both post coital and normal seminal plasma, which was subsequently identified as beta-microseminoprotein. At neutral pH, the fungicidal activity of beta-microseminoprotein and seminal plasma was inhibited by calcium. By NMR spectroscopy, amino acid residue E-71 was shown to be critical for the calcium coordination. The acidic vaginal milieu unleashed the fungicidal activity by decreasing the inhibitory effect of calcium. The candidacidal activity of beta-microseminoprotein was mapped to a fragment of the C-terminal domain with no structural similarity to other known proteins. A homologous fragment from porcine beta-microseminoprotein demonstrated calcium-dependent fungicidal activity in a CFU assay, suggesting this may be a common feature for members of the beta-microseminoprotein family. By electron microscopy, beta-microseminoprotein was found to cause lysis of Candida. Liposome experiments demonstrated that beta-microseminoprotein was active towards ergosterol-containing liposomes that mimic fungal membranes, offering an explanation for the selectivity against fungi. These data identify beta-microseminoprotein as an important innate immune factor active against C. albicans and may help explain the low sexual transmission rate of Candida.
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| 3. |
- Frick, Inga-Maria, et al.
(author)
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Constitutive and Inflammation-Dependent Antimicrobial Peptides Produced by Epithelium Are Differentially Processed and Inactivated by the Commensal Finegoldia magna and the Pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes.
- 2011
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In: Journal of immunology. - : The American Association of Immunologists. - 1550-6606 .- 0022-1767. ; 187, s. 4300-4309
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Epithelial linings serve as physical barriers and produce antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to maintain host integrity. Examples are the bactericidal proteins midkine (MK) and BRAK/CXCL14 that are constitutively produced in the skin epidermal layer, where the anaerobic Gram-positive coccoid commensal Finegoldia magna resides. Consequently, this bacterium is likely to encounter both MK and BRAK/CXCL14, making these molecules possible threats to its habitat. In this study, we show that MK expression is upregulated during inflammation, concomitant with a strong downregulation of BRAK/CXCL14, resulting in changed antibacterial conditions. MK, BRAK/CXCL14, and the inflammation-dependent antimicrobial β-defensins human β-defensin (hBD)-2 and hBD-3 all showed bactericidal activity against both F. magna and the virulent pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes at similar concentrations. SufA, a released protease of F. magna, degraded MK and BRAK/CXCL14 but not hBD-2 nor hBD-3. Cleavage was seen at lysine and arginine residues, amino acids characteristic of AMPs. Intermediate SufA-degraded fragments of MK and BRAK/CXCL14 showed stronger bactericidal activity against S. pyogenes than F. magna, thus promoting survival of the latter. In contrast, the cysteine-protease SpeB of S. pyogenes rapidly degraded all AMPs investigated. The proteins FAF and SIC, released by F. magna and S. pyogenes, respectively, neutralized the antibacterial activity of MK and BRAK/CXCL14, protein FAF being the most efficient. Quantitation and colocalization by immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated significant levels and interactions of the molecules in in vivo and ex vivo samples. The findings reflect strategies used by a permanently residing commensal and a virulent pathogen, the latter operating during the limited time course of invasive disease.
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| 4. |
- M Abdillahi, Suado, et al.
(author)
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Collagen VI Encodes Antimicrobial Activity: Novel Innate Host Defense Properties of the Extracellular Matrix.
- 2012
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In: Journal of Innate Immunity. - : S. Karger AG. - 1662-811X .- 1662-8128. ; 4:4, s. 371-376
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Collagen type VI is a subepithelial extracellular matrix component in airways and an adhesive substrate for oral pathogens [Bober et al.: J Innate Immun 2010;2:160-166]. Here, we report that collagen VI displays a dose-dependent antimicrobial activity against group A, C, and G streptococci by membrane disruption in physiological conditions. The data disclose previously unrecognized aspects of the extracellular matrix in innate host defense.
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| 5. |
- Svensson, Lisbeth, et al.
(author)
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Platelet activation by Streptococcus pyogenes leads to entrapment in platelet aggregates from which bacteria subsequently escape.
- 2014
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In: Infection and Immunity. - 1098-5522. ; 82:10, s. 4307-4314
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Platelet activation and aggregation has been reported to occur in response to a number of Gram-positive pathogens. Here we show that platelet aggregates induced by Streptococcus pyogenes were unstable and viable bacteria escaped from the aggregates over time. This was not due to a differential activation in response to the bacteria as compared with physiological activators. All the bacteria isolates induced significant platelet activation, including integrin activation, alpha and dense granule release, at equivalent levels to potent physiological platelet activators that induced stable aggregates. The ability to escape the aggregates and resist antibacterial effects of platelets was dependent on active protein synthesis by the bacteria within the aggregate. We conclude that S. pyogenes can temporarily cover themselves with activated platelets and we propose that this may facilitate survival of bacteria in the presence of platelets.
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