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To investigate the Holocene vegetation history and shoreline displacement along the southeastern Swedish coast, two radiocarbon dated pollen, macrofossil and mineral magnetic sequences were studied in the western Blekinge coast: Hunnemara Lake and Smygen Bay. Both pollen records show mosaic vegetation with grasslands, heaths and woodlands prior to 11 300 cal. BP. Pinus-dominated mixed forest was i

Particle emissions from residential wood combustion in small communities in Northern Sweden can sometimes increase the ambient particle concentrations to levels comparable to densely trafficked streets in the center of large cities. The reason for this is the combination of increased need for domestic heating during periods of low temperatures, leading to higher emission rates, and stable meteorol

We analyzed a comprehensive set of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and length polymorphisms in the interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) gene for their association with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 485 Swedish patients and 563 controls. We found 16 SNPs and two length polymorphisms that display association with SLE (P < 0.0005, OR > 1.4). Using a Bayesian mod

Copolymers of N-acryloyl-m-aminophenylboronic acid (NAAPBA) with acryamide (AA), N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAA), and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) were found to adsorb on cross-linked agarose gel (Sepharose CL-6B) in the pH range from 7.5-9.2, due to specific boronate-sugar interactions. The molar percentages of phenylboronic acid (PBA) groups in the boronate-containing copolymers (BCCs), as estima

Feeding, reproduction and accumulation of cyanobacterial toxins by the calanoid copepods Acartia bifilosa and Eurytemora affinis were studied during a cruise in the northern Baltic Sea. The experiments were carried out using both mixtures of natural plankton communities, mixtures containing the toxic Nodularia spumigena, and diets containing only the toxic cyanobacterium. Both copepod species had

To predict how organisms cope with habitat fragmentation we must understand their dispersal biology, which can be notoriously difficult. We used a novel, multi-pronged approach to study dispersal strategies in the endangered saproxylic hermit beetle Osmoderma eremita, exploiting its pheromone system to intercept high numbers of dispersing individuals, which is not possible with other methods. Mark

The vast majority of patients with primary dystonia are adults with focal or segmental distribution of involuntary movements. Although approximately 10% of probands have at least one first- or second-degree relative with dystonia, large families suited for linkage analysis are exceptional. After excluding mutations in known primary dystonia genes (TOR1A, THAP1, and CIZ1), whole-exome sequencing id

Bacterial colonization of the lower respiratory tract is frequently seen in COPD and may cause exacerbations leading to deterioration of the disease. An important part of the innate lung immunity is antimicrobial peptides, not least the cathelicidin hCAP-18/LL-37. Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADI) posttranslationally modifies proteins by converting cationic peptidylarginine residues to neutral pe

Aliphatic compounds on plant surfaces, called epicuticular waxes, are the first line of defense against pathogens and pests, contribute to reducing water loss and determine other important phenotypes. Aliphatics can form crystals affecting light refraction, resulting in a color change and allowing identification of mutants in their synthesis or transport. The present study discloses three such Ece

Numerous genetic factors that influence breast cancer risk are known. However, approximately two-thirds of the overall familial risk remain unexplained. To determine whether some of the missing heritability is due to rare variants conferring high to moderate risk, we tested for an association between the c.5791C>T nonsense mutation (p.Arg1931*; rs144567652) in exon 22 of FANCM gene and breast canc

Objectives: To investigate determinants of joint destruction and reduced bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) not treated with bisphosphonates or hormone replacement therapy and to evaluate if there are common markers of erosive disease and bone loss. Methods: BMD was measured using dual x ray absorptiometry and joint damage was examined by x ra

Every year about 15 million people are injured in traffic, 500,000 of these fatally. Developing countries are badly affected. During the worst years of the war in Nicaragua, more people died in traffic accidents than as a direct result of the war. Transport system and infrastructure have developed rapidly in developing countries, while little has been achieved in preventing accidents or lessening

The activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated (Arc) protein is essential for synaptic plasticity and memory formation. The Arc gene, which contains remnants of a structural GAG retrotransposon sequence, produces a protein that self-assembles into capsid-like structures harboring Arc mRNA. Arc capsids, released from neurons, have been proposed as a novel intercellular mechanism for mRNA transmissi

Streptococcus pyogenes is an important human pathogen and surface structures allow it to adhere to, colonize and invade the human host. Proteins containing leucine rich repeats (LRR) have been indentified in mammals, viruses, archaea and several bacterial species. The LRRs are often involved in protein-protein interaction, are typically 20-30 amino acids long and the defining feature of the LRR mo

The kinin system is activated when high-molecular-weight kininogen (HK) is cleaved by plasma kallikrein thus generating bradykinin. Bradykinin is a potent proinflammatory peptide that induces plasma leakage, blood pressure drop, liberation of inflammatory cytokines and pain. Vasculitis is an autoimmune systemic inflammatory disease, characterized by leukocyte inflammation in and around vessel wall

BACKGROUND: Galectins, a family of small carbohydrate binding proteins, have been implicated in regulation of inflammatory reactions, including asthma and fibrosis in the lungs. Galectins are found in cells of the airways and in airway secretions, but their glycoprotein ligands there have only been studied to a very limited extent. METHODS: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from mild asthmatics a

Our study had three objectives: to extend the plasmid-based transformation protocol to a clinical isolate of C. trachomatis belonging to the trachoma biovar, to provide "proof of principle'' that it is possible to "knock out'' selected plasmid genes (retaining a replication competent plasmid) and to investigate the plasticity of the plasmid. A recently developed, plasmid-based transformation proto

This thesis aimed to investigate possibilities to utilize death certificates in cancer epidemiology by analyzing nationwide databases from Sweden. Excessive information is available when investigating causes of death in cancer patients, including comorbidities and metastatic patterns. We used the Swedish Family- Cancer Database, which includes data from e.g. the Cause of Death Register and the Can