| 1. |
- Gustafson, T., et al.
(författare)
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Occupational exposure and severe pulmonary fibrosis
- 2007
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Ingår i: Respir Med. - : Elsevier BV. - 0954-6111 .- 1532-3064. ; 101:10, s. 2207-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: External agents, especially metal and wood dust, are believed to be risk factors for development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The aim of this case-control study was to investigate which occupational exposure types are associated with development of severe pulmonary fibrosis (PF), and especially IPF. METHODS: An extensive postal questionnaire including 30 specific items regarding occupational exposure was completed by 181 patients with severe PF and respiratory failure reported to the Swedish Oxygen Register, among whom 140 were judged as having IPF. The questionnaire was also completed by 757 control subjects. We stratified data for age, sex and smoking and calculated odds ratios (ORs). RESULTS: We found increased risk for IPF in men with exposure to birch dust (OR 2.7, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.30-5.65) and hardwood dust (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.14-6.52). Men also had slightly increased ORs associated with birds. We did not find any increased risk in association with metal dust exposure. CONCLUSION: Exposure for birch and hardwood dust may contribute to the risk for IPF in men.
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| 2. |
- Höglund, Kina, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of simvastatin treatment on the amyloid precursor protein and brain cholesterol metabolism in patients with Alzheimer's disease
- 2005
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Ingår i: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 19:5-6, s. 256-265
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- During the last years, several clinical studies have been published trying to elucidate the effect of statin treatment on amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and metabolism of brain cholesterol in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in humans. We present an open biochemical study where 19 patients with AD have been treated with simvastatin (20 mg/day) for 12 months. The aim was to further investigate the effect of simvastatin treatment on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of APP processing, AD biomarkers as total tau and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, brain cholesterol metabolism as well as on cognitive decline in patients with AD. Despite biochemical data suggesting that treatment with 20 mg/day of simvastatin for 12 months does affect the brain cholesterol metabolism, we did not find any change in CSF or plasma levels of β-amyloid (Aβ)<sub>1–42</sub>. However, by analysis of APP isoforms, we found that statin treatment may favor the nonamyloidogenic pathway of APP processing. The relevance and mechanism between statin treatment and AD has to be further elucidated by using statins of different lipophility in different dosages over a longer period of time.
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| 3. |
- Olszewski, Pawel K, et al.
(författare)
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Complexity of neural mechanisms underlying overconsumption of sugar in scheduled feeding : involvement of opioids, orexin, oxytocin and NPY
- 2009
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Ingår i: Peptides. - : Elsevier BV. - 0196-9781 .- 1873-5169. ; 30:2, s. 226-233
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A regular daily meal regimen, as opposed to ad libitum consumption, enforces eating at a predefined time and within a short timeframe. Hence, it is important to study food intake regulation in animal feeding models that somewhat reflect this pattern. We investigated the effect of scheduled feeding on the intake of a palatable, high-sugar diet in rats and attempted to define central mechanisms - especially those related to opioid signaling--responsible for overeating sweet foods under such conditions. We found that scheduled access to food, even as challenging as 20 min per day, does not prevent overconsumption of a high-sucrose diet compared to a standard one. An opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, at 0.3-1 mg/kg b. wt., decreased the intake of the sweet diet, whereas higher doses were required to reduce bland food consumption. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that expression of hypothalamic and brainstem genes encoding opioid peptides and receptors did not differ in sucrose versus regular diet-fed rats, which suggests that scheduled intake of sweet food produces only a transient change in the opioid tone. Intake of sugar was also associated with upregulation of orexin and oxytocin genes in the hypothalamus and NPY in the brainstem. We conclude that scheduled consumption of sugar diets is associated with activity of a complex network of neuroregulators involving opioids, orexin, oxytocin and NPY.
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| 4. |
- Branström, J., et al.
(författare)
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Compression wood in knots and the effect on surface roughness.
- 2005
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Ingår i: proceedings from IMPC 2005.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The microstructural and ultrastructural characteristics of knot wood were examined and related to paper properties. Norway spruce (Picea abies) chips were laboratory fractionated and sorted into a knot containing assortment and a non knot containing reference assortment. The proportions of compression wood in these two assortments were then assessed and the two chip assortments refined in pilot refiners. The knot containing portion was divided into wood from the upper branch, wood from the lower branch compression wood and wood surrounding the branch. Fibres from the three knotwood portions and the reference chips were extracted and measurements were made of fibre properties including fibre length, fibre width and cell wall thickness. The two chip assortments were refined in a pilot plant and the surface properties of laboratory sheets were measured. The knot containing chips had adverse effects on several paper properties. However, no clear relationship was established between surface roughness and the presence of compression wood fibres in knot wood. (6 fig, 12 ref)
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| 5. |
- Höglund, K, et al.
(författare)
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Spectral analysis of heart murmurs in boxer dogs
- 2006
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Ingår i: 16th European College of veterinary Internal medicine - Companion Animals Congress ECVIM-CA,2006.
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Mercke Odeberg, Johanna, et al.
(författare)
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UGT1A polymorphisms in a Swedish cohort and a human diversity panel, and the relation to bilirubin plasma levels in males and females
- 2006
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0031-6970 .- 1432-1041. ; 62:10, s. 829-837
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of different polymorphisms and haplotypes associated with individual variations in pharmacokinetics and drug toxicity in the uridine-diphosphate glucuronosyl transferase (UGT) 1A gene in a Swedish cohort (248 healthy volunteers) and in 14 different ethnic groups. We also estimated UGT1A genotype-dependent glucuronidation efficiency using the endogenous substrate bilirubin as an indicator. Methods: Pyrosequencing-based genotyping assays were used to determine the different polymorphisms and haplotypes. Results: Haplotype analysis of the UGT1A1 (*1*28), UGT1A6 (*1*2), and UGT1A7(*1*2*3*4) allelic variants showed that three major haplotypes constituted 84% of the allelic variants in the cohort. We identified 15 haplotypes altogether from all groups, including previously undescribed haplotypes.Testing for the association of genotype and total bilirubin levels (nonfasting) in plasma disclosed that homozygous carriers of the TA allele, irrespective of haplotype combinations, had increased levels of bilirubin compared with noncarriers, but a gender-associated difference was observed. Conclusions: In a Swedish cohort, several genetic variants in the UGT1A gene are common, but prevalence in a population may differ because of ethnicity. A phenotype based on bilirubin levels has limitations in serving as an indicator of pharmacogenetic differences in glucuronidation due to the influence of gender. Because of possible substrate overlap regarding different UGT1A isoforms, determination of haplotypes of potential cis-acting polymorphisms in the UGT1A gene should be considered in pharmacogenetic association studies regarding drugs that undergo glucuronidation.
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| 8. |
- Ratke, L., et al.
(författare)
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Lead-free bearing alloys for engine applications results of the ESA-MAP project MONOPHAS
- 2007
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Ingår i: Transactions of the Indian Institute of Metals. - 0019-493X. ; 60:2-3, s. 103-111
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent developments to reduce fuel consumption, emission and air pollution, size and weight of engines for automotive, truck, ship propulsion and electrical power generation lead to temperature and load conditions within engines that cannot be provided by conventional bearings. Therefore a European project has been established to develop a technically usable aluminium based lead free bearing material with sufficient hardness, wear and friction properties and good corrosion resistance to be produced with semi-continuous casting process. The paper describes the scientific challenges, approaches to tackle the solidification and casting problems and presents some illustrative research results.
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| 9. |
- Svensson, Birgitta A., et al.
(författare)
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Frictional testing of wood : Initial studies with a new device
- 2009
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Ingår i: Tribology International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-679X .- 1879-2464. ; 42:1, s. 190-196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the chip refining process used for mechanical pulp production, wood fibers are treated in a flat and narrow gap between rotating plates. The process is very energy consuming and much of the electrical energy supplied to the refiner is transferred to the fiber material through friction forces. Even though friction has been discussed frequently over the years among pulp and paper researchers worldwide and held to be of great importance, little has been proven due to the complexity of the refining equipment and the extreme conditions prevailing during operation. This paper presents a new apparatus for studying the frictional properties of wood, in lab-scale, under chip refining conditions. Friction tests can be carried out in a steam atmosphere under high temperature/pressure with maximum sliding velocity as high as 150 m/s. Initial studies at room temperature showed that the coefficient of friction between spruce wood and smooth steel increased linearly with the moisture content of the wood specimens. Impregnation by wood extractives lowered the friction coefficient for dry wood surfaces sliding at high speed. When tests were performed in a saturated steam environment, pressurized to various degrees, the frictional properties were strongly affected and varied by the temperature of the surroundings � which always has been considered as constants in analytical and numerical models of process operation.
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| 10. |
- Thuresson, K, et al.
(författare)
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Apparent half-lives of hepta- to decabrominated diphenyl ethers in human serum as determined in occupationally exposed workers
- 2006
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Ingår i: Environmental Health Perspectives. - : Environmental Health Perspectives. - 1552-9924 .- 0091-6765. ; 114:2, s. 176-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to model apparent serum half-lives of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) with 7-10 bromine substituents. Workers with occupational exposure to PBDEs have elevated serum levels of PBDEs, but these substances are also found in the general population and are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. The calculations were based on exposure assessments of rubber workers (manufactured flame-retarded rubber compound) and electronics dismanders who donated blood during a period with no work-related exposures to PBDEs, and referents without any known occupational exposure (clerks, cleaners, and abattoir workers). The workers had previously been found to have elevated levels of high- and medium-brominated diphenyl ethers compared with the referent populations. We performed nonlinear mixed-effects modeling of kinetics, using data from previous and present chemical analyses. The calculated apparent half-life for decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) was 15 days (95% confidence interval, 11-18 days). The three nona-BDEs and four octa-BDE congeners were found to have half-lives of 18-39 and 37-91 days, respectively. BDE-209 has a short half-life in human blood. Because BDE-209 is commonly present in humans in general, the results of this study imply that humans must be more or less continuously exposed to BDE-209 to sustain the serum concentrations observed. BDE-209 is more readily transformed and/or eliminated than are lower brominated diphenyl ether congeners, and human health risk must be assessed accordingly.
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