| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 2. |
- Hellman, Urban, 1966-, et al.
(author)
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SARS-CoV-2 infection induces hyaluronan production in vitro and hyaluronan levels in COVID-19 patients relate to morbidity and long-term lung impairment : a prospective cohort study
- 2024
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In: mBio. - : American Society for Microbiology. - 2161-2129 .- 2150-7511.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We previously demonstrated that the lungs of deceased COVID-19 patients were filled with a clear hydrogel consisting of hyaluronan (HA). In this translational study, we investigated the role of HA at all stages of COVID-19 disease to map the consequences of elevated HA on morbidity and identify the mechanism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-induced HA production. A reduced alveolar surface area was observed in the lungs of deceased COVID-19 patients compared to healthy controls, as visualized by a 3D rendering of lung morphology using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. We confirmed the presence of HA in lung biopsies and found large quantities of proinflammatory fragmented HA. The association of systemic HA in blood plasma and disease severity was assessed in patients with mild (WHO Clinical Progression Scale, WHO-CPS, 1-5) and severe COVID-19 (WHO-CPS, 6-9) during the acute and convalescent phases and related to lung function. We found that systemic levels of HA were high during acute COVID-19 disease, remained elevated during convalescence, and were associated with a reduced diffusion capacity. In vitro 3D-lung models, differentiated from primary human bronchial epithelial cells, were used to study the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on HA metabolism, and transcriptomic analyses revealed a dysregulation of HA synthases and hyaluronidases, both contributing to increased HA in apical secretions. Furthermore, corticosteroid treatment reduced the inflammation and downregulated HA synthases. Our findings demonstrate that HA plays a role in COVID-19 morbidity and that sustained elevated HA concentrations may contribute to long-term respiratory impairment.IMPORTANCEThis study provides insights into the role of hyaluronan (HA) in the severity and long-term impact of COVID-19 on lung function. Through extensive morphological examination of lung tissues and a multicenter study, we identified that HA levels are significantly elevated in COVID-19 patients, correlating with a reduced lung diffusion capacity during convalescence. Using a 3D-lung model, we further uncovered how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 infection causes a dysregulated HA metabolism, leading to increased HA production. Our findings provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 and suggest that targeting HA metabolism could offer new therapeutic avenues for managing COVID-19, particularly to prevent long-term lung impairment. Additionally, HA holds potential as a biomarker for predicting disease severity, which could guide personalized treatment strategies.
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| 3. |
- Jin, Shoko, et al.
(author)
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The wide-field, multiplexed, spectroscopic facility WEAVE : Survey design, overview, and simulated implementation
- 2024
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 530:3, s. 2688-2730
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- WEAVE, the new wide-field, massively multiplexed spectroscopic survey facility for the William Herschel Telescope, saw first light in late 2022. WEAVE comprises a new 2-deg field-of-view prime-focus corrector system, a nearly 1000-multiplex fibre positioner, 20 individually deployable 'mini' integral field units (IFUs), and a single large IFU. These fibre systems feed a dual-beam spectrograph covering the wavelength range 366-959nm at R similar to 5000, or two shorter ranges at . After summarizing the design and implementation of WEAVE and its data systems, we present the organization, science drivers, and design of a five- to seven-year programme of eight individual surveys to: (i) study our Galaxy's origins by completing Gaia's phase-space information, providing metallicities to its limiting magnitude for similar to 3 million stars and detailed abundances for similar to 1.5 million brighter field and open-cluster stars; (ii) survey similar to 0.4 million Galactic-plane OBA stars, young stellar objects, and nearby gas to understand the evolution of young stars and their environments; (iii) perform an extensive spectral survey of white dwarfs; (iv) survey similar to 400 neutral-hydrogen-selected galaxies with the IFUs; (v) study properties and kinematics of stellar populations and ionized gas in z < 0.5 cluster galaxies; (vi) survey stellar populations and kinematics in field galaxies at 0.3 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 0.7; (vii) study the cosmic evolution of accretion and star formation using >1 million spectra of LOFAR-selected radio sources; and (viii) trace structures using intergalactic/circumgalactic gas at z > 2. Finally, we describe the WEAVE Operational Rehearsals using the WEAVE Simulator.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Holappa, Tim, 1989-
(author)
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Rätten till bostad i det sociala skyddsnätet : En rättsvetenskaplig studie om enskildas rättigheter och det allmännas ansvar
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The right to housing is a human right expressed in the Swedish constitution as well as in international human rights conventions. In Sweden, however, the right to housing is not expressed as an enforceable right that individuals can request to have realised by public authorities or courts. Instead, the objective of the Swedish housing policy and the regulation on the right to housing has been that everyone should be able to demand good housing on the general housing market.The purpose of this thesis is to examine and analyse the legal responsibility of the central and local government to realise the right to housing for individuals who cannot arrange housing themselves. The intention is that the thesis thereby will uncover legal contradictions, ambiguities or other shortcomings that may lead to a risk that the right to housing is not realised for everyone.Methodologically, the starting point is a view of law, inspired primarily by Kaarlo Tuori’s theory on critical legal positivism, as consisting of two dimensions. In addition to a normative legal order, law also consists of legal practices. The legal order, in turn, is regarded as a multi-layered normative order: in addition to the surface level with individual legal rules, the legal order also consists of deeper levels where legal elements such as general legal principles and human rights as general normative ideas are found.The responsibility to realise the right to housing is analysed in the light of international law as well as national law. According to international law, Sweden has a responsibility to recognize and realise the right to housing for everyone. According to national law, no public authority has a clear responsibility to realise the right to housing for individuals in need. Instead, the right to housing is to be realised through several different legal frameworks that are analysed in the thesis. Firstly the right to financial housing support within the framework of social insurance. Secondly municipalities’ responsibility for housing provision. Thirdly the local social services ultimate responsibility to support individuals in need. The overall conclusion of the thesis is that the legal framework regarding the responsibility of the central and local government to realise the right to housing for those who cannot arrange housing themselves does not constitute a coherent social safety net. The support that individuals who are unable to acquire housing themselves are entitled to has the nature of emergency assistance and shelter, rather than housing of a long-term nature. Furthermore, assistance in the form of housing is often time-limited and subject to far-reaching requirements that individuals, for example, must try to acquire a home on their own. The regulation thus means that individuals who need housing and cannot arrange housing themselves risk being without state support. This is problematic if the right to housing is to be realised for everyone. How these problems are to be solved is a matter for the legislator, but this thesis contributes with knowledge of legal problems that the legal regulation entails. These problems should be addressed and the right to housing taken seriously, by all the actors involved, if the right to housing is to be realised.
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| 6. |
- Litins'ka, Yana, et al.
(author)
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An Ounce of Prevention for a Pound of Cure? Infection Disease Testing at the Border
- 2023
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In: Festskrift till Elisabeth Rynning: Integritet och rättssäkerhet inom och bortom den medicinska rätten. - 9789177372356 ; , s. 251-263
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- On 5 January 2023, the Swedish Government announced the decision to introduce new restrictions to enter Sweden: due to the spread of Covid-19 in China, travellers from this direction need to show negative Covid-test results. In cases when there is no possibility of showing the results, the travellers are not allowed to enter Sweden. Governmental Ordinance (2023:2) was temporary and lasted from 7 January until 19 February 2023.Although the Ordinance is no longer in force, the fact of its enaction raises several public law concerns. Firstly, the concerns about the rule of law and the legal nature of such testing within the Swedish legal order must be addressed. Chapter 2 Article 6 of the Instrument of Government (hereinafter – IoG) prohibits forced bodily interventions; the right can be limited only by Parliament and, if necessary, in a democratic society. Governmental Ordinance 2023:2 raises the question of whether it limits the freedom from bodily interventions in the constitutional meaning. Secondly, if it will be concluded that the decisions about testing for infectious disease are the exclusive competence of Parliament, the central questions of legislative preparedness to prevent epidemic outbreaks in Sweden via testing those who arrive from the countries where such outbreaks occur must be raised. This contribution analyses the possibilities and hindrances for introducing compulsory testing to enter Sweden, such as the one established under Ordinance 2023:2. The analysis focuses on national constitutional and administrative law norms.
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| 7. |
- Surendran, Praveen, et al.
(author)
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Discovery of rare variants associated with blood pressure regulation through meta-analysis of 1.3 million individuals
- 2020
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 52:12, s. 1314-1332
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genetic studies of blood pressure (BP) to date have mainly analyzed common variants (minor allele frequency > 0.05). In a meta-analysis of up to similar to 1.3 million participants, we discovered 106 new BP-associated genomic regions and 87 rare (minor allele frequency <= 0.01) variant BP associations (P < 5 x 10(-8)), of which 32 were in new BP-associated loci and 55 were independent BP-associated single-nucleotide variants within known BP-associated regions. Average effects of rare variants (44% coding) were similar to 8 times larger than common variant effects and indicate potential candidate causal genes at new and known loci (for example, GATA5 and PLCB3). BP-associated variants (including rare and common) were enriched in regions of active chromatin in fetal tissues, potentially linking fetal development with BP regulation in later life. Multivariable Mendelian randomization suggested possible inverse effects of elevated systolic and diastolic BP on large artery stroke. Our study demonstrates the utility of rare-variant analyses for identifying candidate genes and the results highlight potential therapeutic targets.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Asplund, Ida, 1980-
(author)
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Den enskildes rättssäkerhet i individnära tillsyn
- 2021
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Legal security in public administration is one of the prerequisites for a legal state. It can be promoted through supervision by public authorities. The need of supervision has increased due to the development of public administration. EU law has also had a clear impact on the development of supervision and its regulation. Supervision can be of special value where formal decisions are rare and the individual has limited access to courts in order to gain access to justice.The study examines how legal security in supervision relating to the rights of the individual has developed since the middle of the 20th century in five different areas: social services, health care, discrimination legislation, data protection and the general supervision of public administration carried out by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The study also examines the purpose and function of supervision as a constitutional control tool in relation to the rights of the individual.Effective supervision from a rule of law perspective should combine monitoring on a systematic level with investigation of individual complaints and well-functioning levels of supervision. The investigation of individual complaints can build trust and legitimacy and help supervisory authorities to detect relevant misconduct. Active participation by individuals can contribute to the implementation of supervision as a constitutional control tool, which may favour the individual, indivuals collectively and the legal state.
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| 10. |
- Axmin, Martina, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Social security as a cornerstone of the welfare state : reflections from the editors
- 2024
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In: Nordisk socialrättslig tidskrift. - Stockholm : Santérus Academic Press. - 9789189840263 ; , s. 245-254
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Book chapter (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The primary objective of this special issue is to bring to light the role the social insurance system has as a cornerstone of the Swedish welfare state. The legal configuration of this system is consequently often significant for individuals in order for them to attain economic and social stability. Through its regulation of access to various benefits, including sickness allowances, pensions and non-monetary benefits such as rehabilitation services, social insurance can profoundly influence an individual’s capacity to navigate financial adversities across different life stages. Furthermore, it serves as a pivotal mechanism for social justice through its objective of equitably allocating resources and protection. Consequently, the configuration of social insurance benefits shapes not only individuals’ interaction with the welfare state but also their relationship with society at large.
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