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- Berglund, Åsa M. M., 1978-, et al.
(author)
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Effects on the food-web structure and bioaccumulation patterns of organic contaminants in a climate-altered Bothnian Sea mesocosms
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Marine Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-7745. ; 10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Climate change is expected to alter global temperature and precipitation patterns resulting in complex environmental impacts. The proposed higher precipitation in northern Scandinavia would increase runoff from land, hence increase the inflow of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (tDOM) in coastal regions. This could promote heterotrophic bacterial production and shift the food web structure, by favoring the microbial food web. The altered climate is also expected to affect transport and availability of organic micropollutants (MPs), with downstream effects on exposure and accumulation in biota. This study aimed to assess climate-induced changes in a Bothnian Sea food web structure as well as bioaccumulation patterns of MPs. We performed a mesocosms-study, focusing on aquatic food webs with fish as top predator. Alongside increased temperature, mesocosm treatments included tDOM and MP addition. The tDOM addition affected nutrient availability and boosted both phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in our fairly shallow mesocosms. The increased tDOM further benefitted flagellates, ciliates and mesozooplankton, while the temperature increase and MP addition had minor effect on those organism groups. Temperature, on the other hand, had a negative impact on fish growth and survival, whereas tDOM and MP addition only had minor impact on fish. Moreover, there were indications that bioaccumulation of MPs in fish either increased with tDOM addition or decreased at higher temperatures. If there was an impact on bioaccumulation, moderately lipophilic MPs (log Kow 3.6 - 4.6) were generally affected by tDOM addition and more lipophilic MPs (log Kow 3.8 to 6.4) were generally affected by increased temperature. This study suggest that both increased temperatures and addition of tDOM likely will affect bioaccumulation patterns of MPs in shallow coastal regions, albeit with counteracting effects.
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| 2. |
- Byström, JW, et al.
(author)
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Serological assessment of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in northern Sweden by the use of at-home sampling to meet geographical challenges in rural regions
- 2022
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In: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences. - : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted a need for easy and safe blood sampling in combination with accurate serological methodology. Venipuncture is usually performed by trained staff at health care centers. Long travel distances may introduce a bias of testing towards relatively large communities with close access to health care centers. Rural regions may thus be overlooked. Here, we demonstrate a sensitive method to measure antibodies to the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2. We adapted and optimized this assay for clinical use together with capillary blood sampling to meet the geographical challenges of serosurveillance. Finally, we tested remote at-home capillary blood sampling together with centralized assessment of S-specific IgG in a rural region of northern Scandinavia that encompasses 55,185 sq kilometers. We conclude that serological assessment from capillary blood sampling gives comparable results as analysis of venous blood. Importantly, at-home sampling enabled citizens living in remote rural areas access to centralized and sensitive laboratory antibody tests.
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| 3. |
- Garskaite, Edita, et al.
(author)
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Studying the application of fish-farming net-cleaning waste as fire-retardant for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood
- 2022
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In: EFB Bioeconomy Journal. - : Elsevier. - 2667-0410. ; 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optimising the exploitation of available waste resources for the recovery of their intrinsic value will be vital in the future circular economy society. Recovery of energy, nutrients and metals from waste streams is in focus today. This study aimed to evaluate the use of an aquaculture waste, i.e. the dried-solid waste discharge that generates by cleaning the fishing-nets, as a potential fire-retardancy promoter for Scots pine sapwood. As-received dried-solid waste from salmon-farming was calcined at different temperatures to evaluate material phase transformation and achieve homogeneous phase distribution. Thermal degradation of waste powders was studied by TG-FTIR gas analysis when annealing the material to temperatures up to 800°C, and the crystallinity, phase composition, morphology, elemental composition and particle sizes of as-received and calcined-waste materials at different temperatures were evaluated by XRD, FTIR, SEM/EDS, and TEM analyses. The flammability studies using cone calorimeter of Scots pine sapwood blocks treated with as-received and processed material is also reported and discussed. Results were promising, indicating that the aquaculture waste could be employed as an effective fire-retardant. The possibility of value-creation from waste discharges is enforced in this study so to promote the way towards waste valorisation and circular economy.
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| 5. |
- Persson-Sjodin, Emma, et al.
(author)
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Withers vertical movement symmetry is useful for locating the primary lame limb in naturally occurring lameness
- 2024
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In: Equine Veterinary Journal. - : WILEY. - 0425-1644 .- 2042-3306. ; 56:1, s. 76-88
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundDuring orthopaedic assessment of lame horses, a head nod is commonly present in both primary forelimb and hindlimb lame horses. Additional motion metrics that could assist clinicians in correctly differentiating between these two scenarios would be of great clinical value. ObjectivesThe primary objective of this study was to examine whether withers movement asymmetry can be used in a clinical setting to distinguish primary forelimb lameness from compensatory head movement asymmetry due to primary hindlimb lameness. Study designRetrospective, multicentre study. MethodsMovement asymmetry of head, withers and pelvis was measured using multi-camera optical motion capture, as part of routine lameness investigations at four European equine hospitals. Vertical movement asymmetry parameters from 317 horses trotting in a straight line were compared before and after successful diagnostic analgesia of a single limb. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and linear models were used to analyse the data. ResultsIn forelimb lame horses, 80%-81% showed head and withers asymmetry both indicating lameness in the same forelimb. In hindlimb lame horses, 69%-72% showed head asymmetry ipsilateral to the lame hindlimb and withers asymmetry diagonal to the lame hindlimb, thus, head and withers asymmetry indicated lameness in different forelimbs. A large (>15 mm) compensatory head nod was seen in 28%-31% of the hindlimb lame horses. In 89%-92% of these, head and withers asymmetry indicated lameness in different forelimbs. Withers asymmetry decreased linearly with reduced head or pelvic asymmetry for both forelimb and hindlimb lame horses. Main limitationsCompensatory strategies were evaluated on group level to identify common patterns, potentially ignoring uncommon individual strategies. ConclusionsWithers vertical movement asymmetry metrics can be useful in helping to locate the primary lame limb during quantitative lameness assessment. Head and withers movement asymmetry parameters generally indicate the same forelimb in forelimb lame horses, but different forelimbs in hindlimb lame horses.
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| 6. |
- Thomas, Cecilia Engel, et al.
(author)
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Circulating proteins reveal prior use of menopausal hormonal therapy and increased risk of breast cancer
- 2022
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In: Translational Oncology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1944-7124 .- 1936-5233. ; 17, s. 101339-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Accessible risk predictors are crucial for improving the early detection and prognosis of breast cancer. Blood samples are widely available and contain proteins that provide important information about human health and disease, however, little is still known about the contribution of circulating proteins to breast cancer risk prediction. We profiled EDTA plasma samples collected before diagnosis from the Swedish KARMA breast cancer cohort to evaluate circulating proteins as molecular predictors. A data-driven analysis strategy was applied to the molecular phenotypes built on 700 circulating proteins to identify and annotate clusters of women. The unsupervised analysis of 183 future breast cancer cases and 366 age-matched controls revealed five stable clusters with distinct proteomic plasma profiles. Among these women, those in the most stable cluster (N = 19; mean Jaccard index: 0.70 +/- 0.29) were significantly more likely to have used menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT), get a breast cancer diagnosis, and were older compared to the remaining clusters. The circulating proteins associated with this cluster (FDR < 0.001) represented physiological processes related to cell junctions (F11R, CLDN15, ITGAL), DNA repair (RBBP8), cell replication (TJP3), and included proteins found in female reproductive tissue (PTCH1, ZP4). Using a data-driven approach on plasma proteomics data revealed the potential long-lasting molecular effects of menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT) on the circulating proteome, even after women had ended their treatment. This provides valuable insights concerning proteomics efforts to identify molecular markers for breast cancer risk prediction.
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