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Vagionitis S, Káradóttir RT. Functional implication for myelin regeneration in recovery from ischaemic stroke. Brain 2024; 147:1118-1120. [PMID: 38574285 PMCID: PMC10994522 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awae080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
This scientific commentary refers to ‘Prolonged myelin deficits contribute to neuron loss and functional impairments after ischaemic stroke’ by Cheng et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae029).
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Affiliation(s)
- Stavros Vagionitis
- Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0AW, UK
| | - Ragnhildur Thóra Káradóttir
- Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0AW, UK
- Department of Physiology, BioMedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland
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2
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Ostacolo K, López García de Lomana A, Larat C, Hjaltalin V, Holm KY, Hlynsdóttir SS, Soucheray M, Sooman L, Rolfsson O, Krogan NJ, Steingrimsson E, Swaney DL, Ogmundsdottir MH. ATG7(2) Interacts With Metabolic Proteins and Regulates Central Energy Metabolism. Traffic 2024; 25:e12933. [PMID: 38600522 DOI: 10.1111/tra.12933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Macroautophagy/autophagy is an essential catabolic process that targets a wide variety of cellular components including proteins, organelles, and pathogens. ATG7, a protein involved in the autophagy process, plays a crucial role in maintaining cellular homeostasis and can contribute to the development of diseases such as cancer. ATG7 initiates autophagy by facilitating the lipidation of the ATG8 proteins in the growing autophagosome membrane. The noncanonical isoform ATG7(2) is unable to perform ATG8 lipidation; however, its cellular regulation and function are unknown. Here, we uncovered a distinct regulation and function of ATG7(2) in contrast with ATG7(1), the canonical isoform. First, affinity-purification mass spectrometry analysis revealed that ATG7(2) establishes direct protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with metabolic proteins, whereas ATG7(1) primarily interacts with autophagy machinery proteins. Furthermore, we identified that ATG7(2) mediates a decrease in metabolic activity, highlighting a novel splice-dependent function of this important autophagy protein. Then, we found a divergent expression pattern of ATG7(1) and ATG7(2) across human tissues. Conclusively, our work uncovers the divergent patterns of expression, protein interactions, and function of ATG7(2) in contrast to ATG7(1). These findings suggest a molecular switch between main catabolic processes through isoform-dependent expression of a key autophagy gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Ostacolo
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Adrián López García de Lomana
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Clémence Larat
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Valgerdur Hjaltalin
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Kristrun Yr Holm
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Sigríður S Hlynsdóttir
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Margaret Soucheray
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Linda Sooman
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Ottar Rolfsson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Nevan J Krogan
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Eirikur Steingrimsson
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Danielle L Swaney
- Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
- Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Margret H Ogmundsdottir
- Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
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Pahari P, Korkalainen H, Karhu T, Arnardottir ES, Töyräs J, Leppänen T, Nikkonen S. Reaction time in psychomotor vigilance task is related to hypoxic load in males with sleep apnea. J Sleep Res 2024; 33:e13988. [PMID: 37448111 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
Oxygen saturation (SpO2 )-based parameters are more strongly linked to impaired daytime vigilance than the conventional diagnostic metrics in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, whether the association between SpO2 -based parameters and impaired daytime vigilance is modulated by sex, remains unknown. Hence, we investigated the interplay between sex and detailed SpO2 -based metrics and their association with impaired vigilance in patients with OSA. The study population consisted of 855 (473 males, 382 females) patients with suspected OSA who underwent overnight polysomnography and psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). The population was grouped by sex and divided into quartiles (Q1-Q4) based on median reaction times (RTs) in the PVT. In addition to conventional diagnostic metrics, desaturation severity (DesSev), fall severity (FallSev), and recovery severity (RecovSev) were compared between the sexes and between the best (Q1) and worst (Q4) performing quartiles by using cumulative distribution functions (CDFs). Additionally, sex-specific covariate-adjusted linear regression models were used to investigate the connection between the parameters and RTs. The CDFs showed significantly higher hypoxic load in Q4 in males compared to females. In addition, the DesSev (β = 8.05, p < 0.01), FallSev (β = 6.48, p = 0.02), RecovSev (β = 9.13, p < 0.01), and Oxygen Desaturation Index (β = 12.29, p < 0.01) were associated with increased RTs only in males. Conversely, the Arousal Index (β = 10.75-11.04, p < 0.01) was associated with impaired vigilance in females. The severity of intermittent hypoxaemia was strongly associated with longer RTs in males whereas the Arousal Index had the strongest association in females. Thus, the impact of hypoxic load on impaired vigilance seems to be stronger in males than females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Purbanka Pahari
- Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Diagnostic Imaging Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Henri Korkalainen
- Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Diagnostic Imaging Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Tuomas Karhu
- Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Diagnostic Imaging Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Erna Sif Arnardottir
- Reykjavik University Sleep Institute, School of Technology, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Landspitali, The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Juha Töyräs
- Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Science Service Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Timo Leppänen
- Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Diagnostic Imaging Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sami Nikkonen
- Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- Diagnostic Imaging Center, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
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Zubayer A, Ghafoor N, Thórarinsdóttir KA, Stendahl S, Glavic A, Stahn J, Nagy G, Greczynski G, Schwartzkopf M, Le Febvrier A, Eklund P, Birch J, Magnus F, Eriksson F. Reflective, polarizing, and magnetically soft amorphous neutron optics with 11B-enriched B 4C. Sci Adv 2024; 10:eadl0402. [PMID: 38354253 PMCID: PMC10866559 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl0402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
The utilization of polarized neutrons is of great importance in scientific disciplines spanning materials science, physics, biology, and chemistry. However, state-of-the-art multilayer polarizing neutron optics have limitations, particularly low specular reflectivity and polarization at higher scattering vectors/angles, and the requirement of high external magnetic fields to saturate the polarizer magnetization. Here, we show that, by incorporating 11B4C into Fe/Si multilayers, amorphization and smooth interfaces can be achieved, yielding higher neutron reflectivity, less diffuse scattering, and higher polarization. Magnetic coercivity is eliminated, and magnetic saturation can be reached at low external fields (>2 militesla). This approach offers prospects for substantial improvement in polarizing neutron optics with nonintrusive positioning of the polarizer, enhanced flux, increased data accuracy, and further polarizing/analyzing methods at neutron scattering facilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anton Zubayer
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Naureen Ghafoor
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | | | - Sjoerd Stendahl
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Artur Glavic
- Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Jochen Stahn
- Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Gyula Nagy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, SE-75120, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Grzegorz Greczynski
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | | | - Arnaud Le Febvrier
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Per Eklund
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Jens Birch
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Fridrik Magnus
- Science Institute, University of Iceland, Dunhaga 3, IS-107 Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Fredrik Eriksson
- Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
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Esmail BAF, Koziel S. Design and optimization of metamaterial-based highly-isolated MIMO antenna with high gain and beam tilting ability for 5G millimeter wave applications. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3203. [PMID: 38332321 PMCID: PMC10853225 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53723-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
This paper presents a wideband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with high gain and isolation, as well as beam tilting capability, for 5G millimeter wave (MMW) applications. A single bow-tie antenna fed by a substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) is proposed to cover the 28 GHz band (26.5-29.5 GHz) with a maximum gain of 6.35 dB. To enhance the gain, H-shaped metamaterial (MM)-based components are incorporated into the antenna substrate. The trust-region (TR) gradient-based search algorithm is employed to optimize the H-shape dimensions and to achieve a maximum gain of 11.2 dB at 29.2 GHz. The MM structure offers zero index refraction at the desired range. Subsequently, the MIMO system is constructed with two vertically arranged radiators. Another MM, a modified square resonator (MSR), is embedded between the two radiators to reduce the mutual coupling and to tilt the antenna main beam. Herein, the TR algorithm is again used to optimize the MSR dimensions, and to enhance the isolation to a maximum of 75 dB at 28.6 GHz. Further, the MSR can tilt the E-plane radiation by ± 20° with respect to the end-fire direction when alternating between the two ports' excitation. The developed system is validated experimentally with a good matching between the simulated and measured data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bashar A F Esmail
- Department of Enginering, Reykjavik University, 102, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Slawomir Koziel
- Department of Enginering, Reykjavik University, 102, Reykjavík, Iceland.
- Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland.
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Thorisdottir B, Odinsdottir T, Thorsdottir I. A repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Icelandic baby food market surveyed in 2016, 2019 and 2021. Matern Child Nutr 2024; 20 Suppl 2:e13476. [PMID: 36738133 PMCID: PMC10765347 DOI: 10.1111/mcn.13476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that countries need to know their local commercial baby food (CBF) market. Data from other countries suggest rapid changes in CBF options, highlighting the need for repeated analysis. In that context, this repeated cross-sectional study analysed the options and nutrient quality of different CBF types available in Iceland in years 2016, 2019 and 2021. Data was gathered on formulas, porridge flours, foods in jars and pouches, finger-foods, other CBF. They were classified into 26 subgroups based on ingredients and taste (sweet/savoury). Minimum consumer age as suggested by the manufacturers and nutritional content were registered. In each data-collection, 250-275 products were available. Over a third of products (37%-44%) were in pouches. Availability of products intended for 4-11-month-old infants decreased, driven largely by a 65% decrease in availability of food in jars (sweet/savoury) between 2016 and 2021. Availability of products intended from 12+ months or without age-labels increased, driven largely by quadrupling of finger-foods (predominantly sweet) between 2016 and 2021. The overall percentage of products classified as sweet increased from 65% (2016) to 73% (2019) and 77% (2021). Some finger-foods had high sugar content (up to 72 g/100 g), partly from fruit concentrate or sugar/syrup. Like other countries, the Icelandic CBF market has moved towards less availability of food intended in the first year and more availability of sweet finger-foods for an expanded consumer age. As sugar is added to some CBF, stronger regulations on promotion of foods for young consumers and updated recommendations for parents/caregivers may be needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birna Thorisdottir
- Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Health SciencesUniversity of IcelandReykjavikIceland
| | - Tinna Odinsdottir
- Health Science Institute, School of Health SciencesUniversity of IcelandReykjavikIceland
| | - Inga Thorsdottir
- Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Health SciencesUniversity of IcelandReykjavikIceland
- Health Science Institute, School of Health SciencesUniversity of IcelandReykjavikIceland
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Selbmann A, Miller PJO, Wensveen PJ, Svavarsson J, Samarra FIP. Call combination patterns in Icelandic killer whales (Orcinus orca). Sci Rep 2023; 13:21771. [PMID: 38065973 PMCID: PMC10709340 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48349-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Acoustic sequences have been described in a range of species and in varying complexity. Cetaceans are known to produce complex song displays but these are generally limited to mysticetes; little is known about call combinations in odontocetes. Here we investigate call combinations produced by killer whales (Orcinus orca), a highly social and vocal species. Using acoustic recordings from 22 multisensor tags, we use a first order Markov model to show that transitions between call types or subtypes were significantly different from random, with repetitions and specific call combinations occurring more often than expected by chance. The mixed call combinations were composed of two or three calls and were part of three call combination clusters. Call combinations were recorded over several years, from different individuals, and several social clusters. The most common call combination cluster consisted of six call (sub-)types. Although different combinations were generated, there were clear rules regarding which were the first and last call types produced, and combinations were highly stereotyped. Two of the three call combination clusters were produced outside of feeding contexts, but their function remains unclear and further research is required to determine possible functions and whether these combinations could be behaviour- or group-specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Selbmann
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland.
| | - Patrick J O Miller
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Paul J Wensveen
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Jörundur Svavarsson
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Filipa I P Samarra
- Institute of Research Centres, University of Iceland, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
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Jonmundsson T, Steindorsdottir AE, Austin TR, Frick EA, Axelsson GT, Launer L, Psaty BM, Loureiro J, Orth AP, Aspelund T, Emilsson V, Floyd JS, Jennings L, Gudnason V, Gudmundsdottir V. A proteomic analysis of atrial fibrillation in a prospective longitudinal cohort (AGES-Reykjavik study). Europace 2023; 25:euad320. [PMID: 37967346 PMCID: PMC10685397 DOI: 10.1093/europace/euad320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
AIMS Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with high risk of comorbidities and mortality. Our aim was to examine causal and predictive relationships between 4137 serum proteins and incident AF in the prospective population-based Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik (AGES-Reykjavik) study. METHODS AND RESULTS The study included 4765 participants, of whom 1172 developed AF. Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted for 4137 baseline protein measurements adjusting for known risk factors. Protein associations were tested for replication in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). Causal relationships were examined in a bidirectional, two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis. The time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)-statistic was examined as protein levels and an AF-polygenic risk score (PRS) were added to clinical risk models. The proteomic signature of incident AF consisted of 76 proteins, of which 63 (83%) were novel and 29 (38%) were replicated in CHS. The signature included both N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)-dependent (e.g. CHST15, ATP1B1, and SVEP1) and independent components (e.g. ASPN, AKR1B, and LAMA1/LAMB1/LAMC1). Nine causal candidates were identified (TAGLN, WARS, CHST15, CHMP3, COL15A1, DUSP13, MANBA, QSOX2, and SRL). The reverse causal analysis suggested that most AF-associated proteins were affected by the genetic liability to AF. N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide improved the prediction of incident AF events close to baseline with further improvements gained by the AF-PRS at all time points. CONCLUSION The AF proteomic signature includes biologically relevant proteins, some of which may be causal. It mainly reflects an NT-proBNP-dependent consequence of the genetic liability to AF. N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide is a promising marker for incident AF in the short term, but risk assessment incorporating a PRS may improve long-term risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorarinn Jonmundsson
- Icelandic Heart Association, Holtasmari 1, Kopavogur 201, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
| | | | - Thomas R Austin
- Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Elisabet A Frick
- Icelandic Heart Association, Holtasmari 1, Kopavogur 201, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
| | - Gisli T Axelsson
- Icelandic Heart Association, Holtasmari 1, Kopavogur 201, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
| | - Lenore Launer
- Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Bruce M Psaty
- Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Health Systems and Population Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Thor Aspelund
- Icelandic Heart Association, Holtasmari 1, Kopavogur 201, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
| | - Valur Emilsson
- Icelandic Heart Association, Holtasmari 1, Kopavogur 201, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
| | - James S Floyd
- Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Vilmundur Gudnason
- Icelandic Heart Association, Holtasmari 1, Kopavogur 201, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
| | - Valborg Gudmundsdottir
- Icelandic Heart Association, Holtasmari 1, Kopavogur 201, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik 101, Iceland
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9
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Sudhakaran Jayabhavan S, Kuppadakkath G, Damodaran KK. The Role of Functional Groups in Tuning the Self-Assembly Modes and Physical Properties of Multicomponent Gels. Chempluschem 2023; 88:e202300302. [PMID: 37407430 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202300302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
We have analyzed the nature and role of functional groups on the self-assembly modes and the physical properties of multicomponent gels with structurally similar individual components. The gelation properties of individual and mixed enantiomeric compounds of biphenyl bis-(amides) of alanine (BPA) or phenylalanine (BPP) methyl ester were analyzed in various solvent/solvent mixtures. Multicomponent gels were formed by mixing the enantiomeric BPP compounds at a lower concentration, but a higher concentration was required for mixed alanine-based BPA gels. The comparison of the mechanical strength of the individual and mixed BPP compounds indicated that the mixed BPP gels displayed enhanced mechanical strength (∼2-fold increase) in p-xylene, but a weaker gel was observed in DMSO/water. However, a reverse trend was observed for BPA gels, indicating the role of functional groups in the gel network formation. X-ray diffraction analysis of the gelator and the xerogels in the solid state confirmed the formation of co-assembled networks in mixed enantiomeric gels. The stability of the gels towards anions was evaluated by analyzing the anion induced stimuli-responsive properties. These results indicate the effective modeling of the functional groups of the individual components could lead to multicomponent gels with tunable properties.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Krishna K Damodaran
- Department of Chemistry, University of Iceland, Dunhagi 3, 107, Reykjavík, Iceland
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10
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Kristjánsson Á, Sigurdardottir HM. The Role of Visual Factors in Dyslexia. J Cogn 2023; 6:31. [PMID: 37397349 PMCID: PMC10312247 DOI: 10.5334/joc.287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
What are the causes of dyslexia? Decades of research reflect a determined search for a single cause where a common assumption is that dyslexia is a consequence of problems with converting phonological information into lexical codes. But reading is a highly complex activity requiring many well-functioning mechanisms, and several different visual problems have been documented in dyslexic readers. We critically review evidence from various sources for the role of visual factors in dyslexia, from magnocellular dysfunction through accounts based on abnormal eye movements and attentional processing, to recent proposals that problems with high-level vision contribute to dyslexia. We believe that the role of visual problems in dyslexia has been underestimated in the literature, to the detriment of the understanding and treatment of the disorder. We propose that rather than focusing on a single core cause, the role of visual factors in dyslexia fits well with risk and resilience models that assume that several variables interact throughout prenatal and postnatal development to either promote or hinder efficient reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Árni Kristjánsson
- Icelandic Vision Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, IS
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11
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Spinetti G, Mutoli M, Greco S, Riccio F, Ben-Aicha S, Kenneweg F, Jusic A, de Gonzalo-Calvo D, Nossent AY, Novella S, Kararigas G, Thum T, Emanueli C, Devaux Y, Martelli F. Cardiovascular complications of diabetes: role of non-coding RNAs in the crosstalk between immune and cardiovascular systems. Cardiovasc Diabetol 2023; 22:122. [PMID: 37226245 PMCID: PMC10206598 DOI: 10.1186/s12933-023-01842-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus, a group of metabolic disorders characterized by high levels of blood glucose caused by insulin defect or impairment, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and related mortality. Patients with diabetes experience a state of chronic or intermittent hyperglycemia resulting in damage to the vasculature, leading to micro- and macro-vascular diseases. These conditions are associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and accelerated atherosclerosis. Several classes of leukocytes have been implicated in diabetic cardiovascular impairment. Although the molecular pathways through which diabetes elicits an inflammatory response have attracted significant attention, how they contribute to altering cardiovascular homeostasis is still incompletely understood. In this respect, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a still largely under-investigated class of transcripts that may play a fundamental role. This review article gathers the current knowledge on the function of ncRNAs in the crosstalk between immune and cardiovascular cells in the context of diabetic complications, highlighting the influence of biological sex in such mechanisms and exploring the potential role of ncRNAs as biomarkers and targets for treatments. The discussion closes by offering an overview of the ncRNAs involved in the increased cardiovascular risk suffered by patients with diabetes facing Sars-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaia Spinetti
- Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy.
| | - Martina Mutoli
- Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy
| | - Simona Greco
- Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Riccio
- Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pathophysiology and Regenerative Medicine, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy
| | - Soumaya Ben-Aicha
- National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Franziska Kenneweg
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Therapeutic Strategies (IMTTS), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | | | - David de Gonzalo-Calvo
- Translational Research in Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova and Santa Maria, IRBLleida, Lleida, Spain
- CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Anne Yaël Nossent
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Susana Novella
- Department of Physiology, University of Valencia - INCLIVA Biomedical Research Institute, Valencia, Spain
| | - Georgios Kararigas
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Thomas Thum
- Institute of Molecular and Translational Therapeutic Strategies (IMTTS), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Costanza Emanueli
- National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Yvan Devaux
- Cardiovascular Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg
| | - Fabio Martelli
- Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy.
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12
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Sopic M, Kararigas G, Devaux Y, Magni P. Call for participation in the AtheroNET COST Action to implement multiomics in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease research. Eur Heart J 2023:7115622. [PMID: 37042305 DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehad153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Miron Sopic
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade, Vojvode Stepe 450, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia
- Cardiovascular Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 1A-B rue Edison, L-1445 Strassen, Luxembourg
| | - Georgios Kararigas
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Vatnsmyrarvegur 16, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Yvan Devaux
- Cardiovascular Research Unit, Department of Precision Health, Luxembourg Institute of Health, 1A-B rue Edison, L-1445 Strassen, Luxembourg
| | - Paolo Magni
- Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences 'Rodolfo Paoletti', Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Balzaretti 9, 20133 Milano, Italy and IRCCS MultiMedica, Via Milanese 300, 20099 Sesto S. Giovanni, Milan, Italy
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13
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Ingason AB, Hreinsson JP, Lund SH, Ágústsson AS, Rumba E, Pálsson DA, Reynisson IE, Guðmundsdóttir BR, Önundarson PT, Björnsson ES. Comparison of medication adherence to different oral anticoagulants: population-based cohort study. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e065700. [PMID: 36604126 PMCID: PMC9827257 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Previous observational studies have yielded conflicting results on whether medication adherence differs between patients receiving warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). Importantly, no study has adequately accounted for warfarin dosing being continuously modified based on INR values while dosing of DOACs is fixed. We aimed to compare non-adherence between new users of apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban and warfarin in a population-based cohort. METHODS New users of apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban and warfarin from 2014 to 2019 living in the Icelandic capital area were included. Non-adherence was defined as proportion of days covered below 80%. Inverse probability weighting was used to yield balanced study groups and non-adherence was compared using logistic regression. Factors associated with non-adherence were estimated using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS Overall, 1266 patients received apixaban, 247 dabigatran, 1566 rivaroxaban and 768 warfarin. The proportion of patients with non-adherence ranged from 10.5% to 16.7%. Dabigatran was associated with significantly higher odds of non-adherence compared with apixaban (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.04, p<0.001), rivaroxaban (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.89, p=0.005) and warfarin (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.15, p<0.001). The odds of non-adherence were similar for apixaban, rivaroxaban and warfarin. Apart from the type of oral anticoagulants (OACs) used, female sex, hypertension, history of cerebrovascular accident and concomitant statin use were all independently associated with lower odds of non-adherence. CONCLUSION Dabigatran was associated with higher odds of non-adherence compared with other OACs. Non-adherence was similar between apixaban, rivaroxaban and warfarin users. Female sex and higher comorbidity were associated with better medication adherence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnar B Ingason
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Jóhann P Hreinsson
- Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Goteborg, Sweden
| | | | - Arnar S Ágústsson
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Edward Rumba
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Daníel A Pálsson
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | | | | | - Páll T Önundarson
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Laboratory Hematology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Einar S Björnsson
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
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14
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Thorgeirsson T, Torfadottir JE, Egilsson E, Oddsson S, Gunnarsdottir T, Aspelund T, Olafsdottir AS, Valdimarsdottir UA, Kawachi I, Adami HO, Bjarnason RG. Randomized Trial for Weight Loss Using a Digital Therapeutic Application. J Diabetes Sci Technol 2022; 16:1150-1158. [PMID: 33736484 PMCID: PMC9445341 DOI: 10.1177/19322968211000815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Smartphones present a near-ubiquitous channel through which structured lifestyle change can reduce risk or progression of the most common noncommunicable diseases. We explored whether a digital structured lifestyle program enhances weight loss. METHODS We randomized overweight and obese participants attending a four-month lifestyle change program to either standard weekly coaching sessions (controls), or standard treatment supplemented with a digital therapeutic mobile application (intervention). Changes in body mass index after four months were the main outcome measure. Odds ratios of achieving 5% weight loss were estimated with unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS Of 234 eligible persons, 146 (62%) agreed to participate, were block-randomized, showed up for the baseline measures, and constituted the intention-to-treat (ITT) sample (n = 95 intervention group, n = 51 control group). In the intervention group, 70 (74%) downloaded the mobile application and completed the program (intervention per-protocol). Significant weight loss and BMI reduction were observed for both the intention-to-treat intervention group (P < 0.05, P = 0.01) and the per-protocol intervention group (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001). For the intervention per-protocol group, the odds ratio of achieving 5% weight loss, compared to not treated per-protocol, was 3.3 (95% CI 1.3-8.2), adjusting for age and weight at baseline.Attendance to weekly coaching sessions decreased by 18% during the program in the control group while it increased by 3% amongst the per-protocol group (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS These preliminary findings support the benefit of a digital therapeutic to enhance weight reduction and attendance in a structured lifestyle change program. Larger trials of longer duration are needed to confirm these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tryggvi Thorgeirsson
- Sidekick Health Digital Therapeutics, Kópavogur, Iceland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland and Children’s Medical Centre, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Tryggvi Thorgeirsson, MD, Sidekick Health Digital Therapeutics, Vallakór 4, Kópavogur 203, Iceland.
| | - Johanna E. Torfadottir
- Center of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | | | | | | | - Thor Aspelund
- Center of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Anna S. Olafsdottir
- Faculty of Health Promotion, Sport and Leisure Studies, School of Education, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Unnur A. Valdimarsdottir
- Center of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ichiro Kawachi
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hans-Olov Adami
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Clinical Effectiveness Group, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ragnar G. Bjarnason
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland and Children’s Medical Centre, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
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15
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Reynisdottir T, Anderson KJ, Boukas L, Bjornsson HT. Missense variants causing Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome preferentially occur in the KMT2A-CXXC domain and are accurately classified using AlphaFold2. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010278. [PMID: 35727845 PMCID: PMC9249231 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome (WDSTS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by de novo variants in KMT2A, which encodes a multi-domain histone methyltransferase. To gain insight into the currently unknown pathogenesis of WDSTS, we examined the spatial distribution of likely WDSTS-causing variants across the 15 different domains of KMT2A. Compared to variants in healthy controls, WDSTS variants exhibit a 61.9-fold overrepresentation within the CXXC domain–which mediates binding to unmethylated CpGs–suggesting a major role for this domain in mediating the phenotype. In contrast, we find no significant overrepresentation within the catalytic SET domain. Corroborating these results, we find that hippocampal neurons from Kmt2a-deficient mice demonstrate disrupted histone methylation (H3K4me1 and H3K4me3) preferentially at CpG-rich regions, but this has no systematic impact on gene expression. Motivated by these results, we combine accurate prediction of the CXXC domain structure by AlphaFold2 with prior biological knowledge to develop a classification scheme for missense variants in the CXXC domain. Our classifier achieved 92.6% positive and 92.9% negative predictive value on a hold-out test set. This classification performance enabled us to subsequently perform an in silico saturation mutagenesis and classify a total of 445 variants according to their functional effects. Our results yield a novel insight into the mechanistic basis of WDSTS and provide an example of how AlphaFold2 can contribute to the in silico characterization of variant effects with very high accuracy, suggesting a paradigm potentially applicable to many other Mendelian disorders. Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome (WDSTS) is a neurodevelopmental pediatric disorder caused by the genetic disruption of the histone methyltransferase KMT2A. Since KMT2A has many different domains that perform different functions, we reasoned that by identifying the domains most enriched for WDSTS-causing genetic variants we would gain insights into the incompletely understood molecular pathogenesis of WDSTS. We discovered that the CXXC domain—which binds unmethylated CpGs—shows by far the greatest enrichment, suggesting that loss of the CpG-binding ability of KMT2A plays a central role in WDSTS. Next, to understand specific rules underlying the genetic disruption of the CXXC domain, we combined prior knowledge about the function/structure of the domain with 3D structure prediction by AlphaFold2 to develop an effect classifier for CXXC missense variants. We found that this classifier exhibits accurate performance, and we therefore applied it to provide classifications for any such variant that can possibly arise, in order to aid in the interpretation of such variants in the clinic. Our work provides novel insights into WDSTS and suggests a strategy for missense variant classification that can potentially be applied to many other pediatric genetic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tinna Reynisdottir
- Laboratory of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Kimberley Jade Anderson
- Laboratory of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Leandros Boukas
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail: (LB); (HTB)
| | - Hans Tomas Bjornsson
- Laboratory of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- McKusick-Nathans Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland
- * E-mail: (LB); (HTB)
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16
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Karlsson RA, Olafsdottir OB, Helgadottir V, Belhadj S, Eliasdottir TS, Stefansson E, Hardarson SH. Automation improves repeatability of retinal oximetry measurements. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260120. [PMID: 34914738 PMCID: PMC8675673 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Retinal oximetry is a technique based on spectrophotometry where images are analyzed with software capable of calculating vessel oxygen saturation and vessel diameter. In this study, the effect of automation of measurements of retinal vessel oxygen saturation and vessel diameter is explored. Methods Until now, operators have had to choose each vessel segment to be measured explicitly. A new, automatic version of the software automatically selects the vessels once the operator defines a measurement area. Five operators analyzed image pairs from the right eye of 23 healthy subjects with semiautomated retinal oximetry analysis software, Oxymap Analyzer (v2.5.1), and an automated version (v3.0). Inter- and intra-operator variability was investigated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between oxygen saturation measurements of vessel segments in the same area of the retina. Results For semiautomated saturation measurements, the inter-rater ICC was 0.80 for arterioles and venules. For automated saturation measurements, the inter-rater ICC was 0.97 for arterioles and 0.96 for venules. For semiautomated diameter measurements, the inter-rater ICC was 0.71 for arterioles and venules. For automated diameter measurements the inter-rater ICC was 0.97 for arterioles and 0.95 for venules. The inter-rater ICCs were different (p < 0.01) between the semiautomated and automated version in all instances. Conclusion Automated measurements of retinal oximetry values are more repeatable compared to measurements where vessels are selected manually.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Arnar Karlsson
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- * E-mail:
| | - Olof Birna Olafsdottir
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | | | | | - Thorunn Scheving Eliasdottir
- The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Faculty of Nursing, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Einar Stefansson
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
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Abstract
Macaronesia is characterized by a high degree of endemism and represents a noteworthy system to study the evolutionary history of populations and species. Here, we compare the population-genetic structure in three lichen-forming fungi, the widespread Lobaria pulmonaria and two Macaronesian endemics, L. immixta and L. macaronesica, based on microsatellites. We utilize population genetic approaches to explore population subdivision and evolutionary history of these taxa on the Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, and the western Iberian Peninsula. A common feature in all species was the deep divergence between populations on the Azores, a pattern expected by the large geographic distance among islands. For both endemic species, there was a major split between archipelagos. In contrast, in the widespread L. pulmonaria, divergent individuals were distributed across multiple archipelagos, suggesting a complex evolutionary history involving repeated migration between islands and mainland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Werth
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Menzingerstraße 67, 80638, Munich, Germany.
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
| | - Peter Meidl
- Systematic Botany and Mycology, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Menzingerstraße 67, 80638, Munich, Germany
| | - Christoph Scheidegger
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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18
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Abstract
BlastFrost is a highly efficient method for querying 100,000s of genome assemblies, building on Bifrost, a dynamic data structure for compacted and colored de Bruijn graphs. BlastFrost queries a Bifrost data structure for sequences of interest and extracts local subgraphs, enabling the identification of the presence or absence of individual genes or single nucleotide sequence variants. We show two examples using Salmonella genomes: finding within minutes the presence of genes in the SPI-2 pathogenicity island in a collection of 926 genomes and identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with fluoroquinolone resistance in three genes among 190,209 genomes. BlastFrost is available at https://github.com/nluhmann/BlastFrost/tree/master/data .
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Luhmann
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
| | - Guillaume Holley
- Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Mark Achtman
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
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19
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Thordardottir EB, Yin L, Hauksdottir A, Mittendorfer-Rutz E, Hollander AC, Hultman CM, Lichtenstein P, Ye W, Arnberg FK, Fang F, Holmes EA, Valdimarsdottir UA. Mortality and major disease risk among migrants of the 1991-2001 Balkan wars to Sweden: A register-based cohort study. PLoS Med 2020; 17:e1003392. [PMID: 33259494 PMCID: PMC7707579 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In recent decades, millions of refugees and migrants have fled wars and sought asylum in Europe. The aim of this study was to quantify the risk of mortality and major diseases among migrants during the 1991-2001 Balkan wars to Sweden in comparison to other European migrants to Sweden during the same period. METHODS AND FINDINGS We conducted a register-based cohort study of 104,770 migrants to Sweden from the former Yugoslavia during the Balkan wars and 147,430 migrants to Sweden from 24 other European countries during the same period (1991-2001). Inpatient and specialized outpatient diagnoses of cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and psychiatric disorders were obtained from the Swedish National Patient Register and the Swedish Cancer Register, and mortality data from the Swedish Cause of Death Register. Adjusting for individual-level data on sociodemographic characteristics and emigration country smoking prevalence, we used Cox regressions to contrast risks of health outcomes for migrants of the Balkan wars and other European migrants. During an average of 12.26 years of follow-up, being a migrant of the Balkan wars was associated with an elevated risk of being diagnosed with CVD (HR 1.39, 95% CI 1.34-1.43, p < 0.001) and dying from CVD (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.29-1.62, p < 0.001), as well as being diagnosed with cancer (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.08-1.24, p < 0.001) and dying from cancer (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.15-1.41, p < 0.001), compared to other European migrants. Being a migrant of the Balkan wars was also associated with a greater overall risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.14-1.23, p < 0.001), particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (HR 9.33, 95% CI 7.96-10.94, p < 0.001), while being associated with a reduced risk of suicide (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48-0.96, p = 0.030) and suicide attempt (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.51-0.65, p < 0.001). Later time period of migration and not having any first-degree relatives in Sweden at the time of immigration were associated with greater increases in risk of CVD and psychiatric disorders. Limitations of the study included lack of individual-level information on health status and behaviors of migrants at the time of immigration. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that migrants of the Balkan wars faced considerably elevated risks of major diseases and mortality in their first decade in Sweden compared to other European migrants. War migrants without family members in Sweden or with more recent immigration may be particularly vulnerable to adverse health outcomes. Results underscore that persons displaced by war are a vulnerable group in need of long-term health surveillance for psychiatric disorders and somatic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Li Yin
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Arna Hauksdottir
- Center of Public Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz
- Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Christina M. Hultman
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Weimin Ye
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Filip K. Arnberg
- Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden
- Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fang Fang
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emily A. Holmes
- Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Unnur Anna Valdimarsdottir
- Center of Public Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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20
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MacInnes WJ, Jóhannesson ÓI, Chetverikov A, Kristjánsson Á. No Advantage for Separating Overt and Covert Attention in Visual Search. Vision (Basel) 2020; 4:E28. [PMID: 32443506 PMCID: PMC7356832 DOI: 10.3390/vision4020028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
We move our eyes roughly three times every second while searching complex scenes, but covert attention helps to guide where we allocate those overt fixations. Covert attention may be allocated reflexively or voluntarily, and speeds the rate of information processing at the attended location. Reducing access to covert attention hinders performance, but it is not known to what degree the locus of covert attention is tied to the current gaze position. We compared visual search performance in a traditional gaze-contingent display, with a second task where a similarly sized contingent window is controlled with a mouse, allowing a covert aperture to be controlled independently by overt gaze. Larger apertures improved performance for both the mouse- and gaze-contingent trials, suggesting that covert attention was beneficial regardless of control type. We also found evidence that participants used the mouse-controlled aperture somewhat independently of gaze position, suggesting that participants attempted to untether their covert and overt attention when possible. This untethering manipulation, however, resulted in an overall cost to search performance, a result at odds with previous results in a change blindness paradigm. Untethering covert and overt attention may therefore have costs or benefits depending on the task demands in each case.
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Affiliation(s)
- W. Joseph MacInnes
- School of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow 101000, Russia;
- Vision Modelling Lab, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow 101000, Russia
| | - Ómar I. Jóhannesson
- Icelandic Vision Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland;
| | - Andrey Chetverikov
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands;
| | - Árni Kristjánsson
- School of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow 101000, Russia;
- Icelandic Vision Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland;
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21
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Morato T, González-Irusta JM, Dominguez-Carrió C, Wei CL, Davies A, Sweetman AK, Taranto GH, Beazley L, García-Alegre A, Grehan A, Laffargue P, Murillo FJ, Sacau M, Vaz S, Kenchington E, Arnaud-Haond S, Callery O, Chimienti G, Cordes E, Egilsdottir H, Freiwald A, Gasbarro R, Gutiérrez-Zárate C, Gianni M, Gilkinson K, Wareham Hayes VE, Hebbeln D, Hedges K, Henry LA, Johnson D, Koen-Alonso M, Lirette C, Mastrototaro F, Menot L, Molodtsova T, Durán Muñoz P, Orejas C, Pennino MG, Puerta P, Ragnarsson SÁ, Ramiro-Sánchez B, Rice J, Rivera J, Roberts JM, Ross SW, Rueda JL, Sampaio Í, Snelgrove P, Stirling D, Treble MA, Urra J, Vad J, van Oevelen D, Watling L, Walkusz W, Wienberg C, Woillez M, Levin LA, Carreiro-Silva M. Climate-induced changes in the suitable habitat of cold-water corals and commercially important deep-sea fishes in the North Atlantic. Glob Chang Biol 2020; 26:2181-2202. [PMID: 32077217 PMCID: PMC7154791 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Revised: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The deep sea plays a critical role in global climate regulation through uptake and storage of heat and carbon dioxide. However, this regulating service causes warming, acidification and deoxygenation of deep waters, leading to decreased food availability at the seafloor. These changes and their projections are likely to affect productivity, biodiversity and distributions of deep-sea fauna, thereby compromising key ecosystem services. Understanding how climate change can lead to shifts in deep-sea species distributions is critically important in developing management measures. We used environmental niche modelling along with the best available species occurrence data and environmental parameters to model habitat suitability for key cold-water coral and commercially important deep-sea fish species under present-day (1951-2000) environmental conditions and to project changes under severe, high emissions future (2081-2100) climate projections (RCP8.5 scenario) for the North Atlantic Ocean. Our models projected a decrease of 28%-100% in suitable habitat for cold-water corals and a shift in suitable habitat for deep-sea fishes of 2.0°-9.9° towards higher latitudes. The largest reductions in suitable habitat were projected for the scleractinian coral Lophelia pertusa and the octocoral Paragorgia arborea, with declines of at least 79% and 99% respectively. We projected the expansion of suitable habitat by 2100 only for the fishes Helicolenus dactylopterus and Sebastes mentella (20%-30%), mostly through northern latitudinal range expansion. Our results projected limited climate refugia locations in the North Atlantic by 2100 for scleractinian corals (30%-42% of present-day suitable habitat), even smaller refugia locations for the octocorals Acanella arbuscula and Acanthogorgia armata (6%-14%), and almost no refugia for P. arborea. Our results emphasize the need to understand how anticipated climate change will affect the distribution of deep-sea species including commercially important fishes and foundation species, and highlight the importance of identifying and preserving climate refugia for a range of area-based planning and management tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Telmo Morato
- Okeanos Research Centre, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- IMAR Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
| | - José-Manuel González-Irusta
- Okeanos Research Centre, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- IMAR Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
| | - Carlos Dominguez-Carrió
- Okeanos Research Centre, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- IMAR Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
| | - Chih-Lin Wei
- Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Andrew Davies
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA
| | - Andrew K Sweetman
- Marine Benthic Ecology, Biogeochemistry and In situ Technology Research Group, The Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Science and Technology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Gerald H Taranto
- Okeanos Research Centre, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- IMAR Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
| | - Lindsay Beazley
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | - Ana García-Alegre
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Mar Sacau
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
| | - Sandrine Vaz
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, IFREMER, CNRS, IRD, Sète, France
| | - Ellen Kenchington
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | | | - Oisín Callery
- Earth and Ocean Sciences, NUI Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Giovanni Chimienti
- Department of Biology, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
- CoNISMa, Rome, Italy
| | - Erik Cordes
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | | | - André Freiwald
- Marine Research Department, Senckenberg am Meer, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Ryan Gasbarro
- Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Cristina Gutiérrez-Zárate
- Okeanos Research Centre, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- IMAR Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
| | | | - Kent Gilkinson
- Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Fisheries and Ocean Canada, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Vonda E Wareham Hayes
- Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Fisheries and Ocean Canada, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Dierk Hebbeln
- MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Kevin Hedges
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Lea-Anne Henry
- Changing Oceans Group, School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Mariano Koen-Alonso
- Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, Fisheries and Ocean Canada, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Cam Lirette
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Pablo Durán Muñoz
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
| | - Covadonga Orejas
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Palma, Spain
| | - Maria Grazia Pennino
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
| | - Patricia Puerta
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Baleares, Palma, Spain
| | | | - Berta Ramiro-Sánchez
- Changing Oceans Group, School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jake Rice
- Fisheries and Ocean Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Jesús Rivera
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Madrid, Spain
| | - J Murray Roberts
- Changing Oceans Group, School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Steve W Ross
- Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
| | - José L Rueda
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Íris Sampaio
- IMAR Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- Marine Research Department, Senckenberg am Meer, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Paul Snelgrove
- Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - David Stirling
- Marine Laboratory, Marine Scotland Science, Aberdeen, UK
| | | | - Javier Urra
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Johanne Vad
- Changing Oceans Group, School of GeoSciences, Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Dick van Oevelen
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands
| | - Les Watling
- Department of Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | | | - Claudia Wienberg
- MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | | | - Lisa A Levin
- Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation and Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Marina Carreiro-Silva
- Okeanos Research Centre, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
- IMAR Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pesca, Universidade dos Açores, Horta, Portugal
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22
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Samarra FIP, Bassoi M, Béesau J, Elíasdóttir MÓ, Gunnarsson K, Mrusczok MT, Rasmussen M, Rempel JN, Thorvaldsson B, Víkingsson GA. Prey of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Iceland. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0207287. [PMID: 30540762 PMCID: PMC6291266 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Killer whales have a cosmopolitan distribution and as a species are generalists, feeding on a variety of prey. However, local populations tend to specialise on specific prey types. In Icelandic waters, killer whales are generally associated with herring and, thus, have been presumed to be herring specialists. However, recent studies suggest a more complex foraging ecology, possibly including a mosaic of strategies. With increased observational effort in recent years due to research and whale-watching activities, there have been several reports of interactions with different prey, including confirmed predation events. In this study we aimed to summarise the range of potential prey of killer whales observed in Icelandic waters. We report on 12 previously unpublished accounts and review 15 accounts published in the scientific literature or local newspapers, making a total of 27 events where killer whales were observed interacting with actual or potential prey. Thirteen different species, including birds (n = 1), cephalopods (n = 1), fish (n = 5) and marine mammals (n = 6), are reported, although herring is by far the species that killer whales are most often observed interacting with. This study provides the first summary of actual and suspected killer whale prey in Icelandic waters, and contributes towards our understanding of this population's prey preferences. However, describing the diet of individuals/groups was not possible and this study points to a need for continued monitoring to understand the intricacies of killer whale foraging behaviour in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipa I. P. Samarra
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Skúlagata, Reykjavík, Iceland
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Fife, St Andrews, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Manuela Bassoi
- Elding Whale Watching, Ægisgardur, Reykjavik's Old Harbour, Reykjavík
| | - Julie Béesau
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, Fife, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | | | - Karl Gunnarsson
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Skúlagata, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Marie-Thérèse Mrusczok
- Orca Guardians Iceland, Hrannarstigur, Grundarfjörður, Iceland
- Láki Tours, Nesvegur, Grundarfjörður, Iceland
| | - Marianne Rasmussen
- Húsavík Research Centre, University of Iceland, Hafnarstétt, Húsavík, Iceland
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23
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Thrastardottir T, Love TJ. Infections and the risk of psoriatic arthritis among psoriasis patients: a systematic review. Rheumatol Int 2018; 38:1385-1397. [PMID: 29124396 DOI: 10.1007/s00296-017-3873-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are related inflammatory diseases with some shared genetic and environmental risk factors. It has been suggested that environmental factors, including infections, can trigger the development of PsA among psoriasis patients. The aim of this review was to systematically examine available data evaluating the effect of infections on the risk of developing PsA. A systematic search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted on March 16 2017, in accordance with the PRISMA statement. The following search terms were used along with "psoriatic arthritis": "infections", "risk", "bacteria", and "virus". Abstracts were reviewed and publications meeting the following criteria included: (1) Observational studies on psoriasis and PsA patients, including case-control, cohort, or ecologic studies and (2) presenting original data on the association between infections and PsA. The protocol for this systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (ID: 79432). Twenty-seven original studies presenting data on infections among PsA patients were included. Eight studies showed a statistically significant association between infections and PsA. In addition, seven studies reported mixed result with some statistically significant associations and five studies did not find statistically significant associations. This included studies of bacterial as well as viral pathogens and those of infections in general. The remaining seven studies lacked data to determine statistical significance. Out of all included studies, the total number of included patients was 933 PsA patients and 1611 controls. While the studies summarized did not all provide evidence supporting an association between infections and PsA certain trends emerged. The available data are inconsistent and further studies are needed to verify or refute this purported association. In particular, laryngeal infections and infections involving streptococci should be studied more carefully.
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Affiliation(s)
- Telma Thrastardottir
- Center of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Sturlugotu 8, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland.
| | - Thorvardur Jon Love
- Center of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Sturlugotu 8, 101, Reykjavik, Iceland
- The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
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24
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Birgisdóttir KH, Jónsson SH, Ásgeirsdóttir TL. Economic conditions, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease: analysis of the Icelandic economic collapse. Health Econ Rev 2017; 7:20. [PMID: 28536969 PMCID: PMC5442036 DOI: 10.1186/s13561-017-0157-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has found a positive short-term relationship between the 2008 collapse and hypertension in Icelandic males. With Iceland's economy experiencing a phase of economic recovery, an opportunity to pursue a longer-term analysis of the collapse has emerged. Using data from a nationally representative sample, fixed-effect estimations and mediation analyses were performed to explore the relationship between the Icelandic economic collapse in 2008 and the longer-term impact on hypertension and cardiovascular health. A sensitivity analysis was carried out with pooled logit models estimated as well as an alternative dependent variable. Our attrition analysis revealed that results for cardiovascular diseases were affected by attrition, but not results from estimations on the relationship between the economic crisis and hypertension. When compared to the boom year 2007, our results point to an increased probability of Icelandic women having hypertension in the year 2012, when the Icelandic economy had recovered substantially from the economic collapse in 2008. This represents a deviation from pre-crisis trends, thus suggesting a true economic-recovery impact on hypertension.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefán Hrafn Jónsson
- Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Iceland, Oddi v/Sturlugotu, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland
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25
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Stenkewitz U, Nielsen ÓK, Skírnisson K, Stefánsson G. Host-Parasite Interactions and Population Dynamics of Rock Ptarmigan. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0165293. [PMID: 27870855 PMCID: PMC5117593 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Populations of rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in Iceland fluctuate in multiannual cycles with peak numbers c. every 10 years. We studied the ptarmigan-parasite community and how parasites relate to ptarmigan age, body condition, and population density. We collected 632 ptarmigan in northeast Iceland in early October from 2006 to 2012; 630 (99.7%) were infected with at least one parasite species, 616 (98%) with ectoparasites, and 536 (85%) with endoparasites. We analysed indices for the combined parasite community (16 species) and known pathogenic parasites, two coccidian protozoans Eimeria muta and Eimeria rjupa, two nematodes Capillaria caudinflata and Trichostrongylus tenuis, one chewing louse Amyrsidea lagopi, and one skin mite Metamicrolichus islandicus. Juveniles overall had more ectoparasites than adults, but endoparasite levels were similar in both groups. Ptarmigan population density was associated with endoparasites, and in particular prevalence of the coccidian parasite Eimeria muta. Annual aggregation level of this eimerid fluctuated inversely with prevalence, with lows at prevalence peak and vice versa. Both prevalence and aggregation of E. muta tracked ptarmigan population density with a 1.5 year time lag. The time lag could be explained by the host specificity of this eimerid, host density dependent shedding of oocysts, and their persistence in the environment from one year to the next. Ptarmigan body condition was negatively associated with E. muta prevalence, an indication of their pathogenicity, and this eimerid was also positively associated with ptarmigan mortality and marginally inversely with fecundity. There were also significant associations between fecundity and chewing louse Amyrsidea lagopi prevalence (negative), excess juvenile mortality and nematode Capillaria caudinflata prevalence (positive), and adult mortality and skin mite Metamicrolichus islandicus prevalence (negative). Though this study is correlational, it provides strong evidence that E. muta through time-lag in prevalence with respect to host population size and by showing significant relations with host body condition, mortality, and fecundity could destabilize ptarmigan population dynamics in Iceland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ute Stenkewitz
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Askja, Reykjavík, Iceland
- Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Garðabær, Iceland
- Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland, Keldur, Reykjavík, Iceland
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Karl Skírnisson
- Institute for Experimental Pathology, University of Iceland, Keldur, Reykjavík, Iceland
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