Lifestyle, dietary and environmental exposures in infancy and the development of allergic sensitization

Allergy related diseases have increased in the Western world, affecting nearly half of the children. Lifestyle, dietary and environmental changes are thought to be important for disease risk and disease development. The aim of the prospective ALADDIN (Assessment of Lifestyle and Allergic Disease During INfancy) cohort is to study how lifestyle and environmental factors during pregnancy and early childhood affect the development of allergic disease in children. The aim of this thesis was to study lifestyle, environmental and dietary exposures during pregnancy and infancy in relation to the development of allergic sensitization in the ALADDIN birth cohort. In study I we investigated if there are differences in concentrations of toxic and essential metals in maternal blood, placenta and cord blood between 40 mother-child pairs with and 40 without an anthroposophic lifestyle. Metal concentrations were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We found higher concentrations of Cd, Pb and Co in samples from mother-child pairs with an anthroposophic lifestyle. None of the studied lifestyle factors explained the higher concentrations observed in this study. In study II we investigated if the long chain fatty acid composition in breast milk was associated with allergic sensitization in the child at two years of age. 225 mother-child pairs were included in this study. We found an inverse association between the concentration of omega-3 fatty acids and child sensitization at two years of age. However, this association could not explain the lower prevalence of sensitization among children of anthroposophic families. In study III we investigated if the incidence and prevalence of food, animal and pollen sensitization differed with lifestyle and age of the children. 100 children from anthroposophic, 209 from partly anthroposophic and 165 children from non-anthroposophic families were included. We found a lower incidence of food allergen sensitization among children of anthroposophic families. The lower prevalence of sensitization in children from anthroposophic families was largely explained by the lower incidence of food sensitization before one year of age. In study IV we studied the development specific IgE to egg, milk and peanut from six months to five years of age in 372 children, with a particular interest in low levels of IgE. IgE concentrations were divided into non-sensitized (≤0.09 kU/L), low levels (0.1-0.34 kU/L) and sensitized (≥0.35 kU/L). At six months, 5% of the children had low IgE levels to egg, 14% to milk and 4% to peanut. Low levels to egg seemed to be more transient than low levels to milk. Early low levels to egg and milk seemed to decrease over time, but might increase the probability of sensitization to inhalant allergens. In conclusion, this thesis together with previous publications from the ALADDIN cohort lead to better understanding of risk and protective factors during pregnancy and infancy for the development of allergic disease in children

Lifestyle, dietary and environmental exposures in infancy and the development of allergic sensitization

Allergy related diseases have increased in the Western world, affecting nearly half of the children. Lifestyle, dietary and environmental changes are thought to be important for disease risk and disease development. The aim of the prospective ALADDIN (Assessment of Lifestyle and Allergic Disease During INfancy) cohort is to study how lifestyle and environmental factors during pregnancy and early childhood affect the development of allergic disease in children. The aim of this thesis was to study lifestyle, environmental and dietary exposures during pregnancy and infancy in relation to the development of allergic sensitization in the ALADDIN birth cohort. In study I we investigated if there are differences in concentrations of toxic and essential metals in maternal blood, placenta and cord blood between 40 mother-child pairs with and 40 without an anthroposophic lifestyle. Metal concentrations were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We found higher concentrations of Cd, Pb and Co in samples from mother-child pairs with an anthroposophic lifestyle. None of the studied lifestyle factors explained the higher concentrations observed in this study. In study II we investigated if the long chain fatty acid composition in breast milk was associated with allergic sensitization in the child at two years of age. 225 mother-child pairs were included in this study. We found an inverse association between the concentration of omega-3 fatty acids and child sensitization at two years of age. However, this association could not explain the lower prevalence of sensitization among children of anthroposophic families. In study III we investigated if the incidence and prevalence of food, animal and pollen sensitization differed with lifestyle and age of the children. 100 children from anthroposophic, 209 from partly anthroposophic and 165 children from non-anthroposophic families were included. We found a lower incidence of food allergen sensitization among children of anthroposophic families. The lower prevalence of sensitization in children from anthroposophic families was largely explained by the lower incidence of food sensitization before one year of age. In study IV we studied the development specific IgE to egg, milk and peanut from six months to five years of age in 372 children, with a particular interest in low levels of IgE. IgE concentrations were divided into non-sensitized (≤0.09 kU/L), low levels (0.1-0.34 kU/L) and sensitized (≥0.35 kU/L). At six months, 5% of the children had low IgE levels to egg, 14% to milk and 4% to peanut. Low levels to egg seemed to be more transient than low levels to milk. Early low levels to egg and milk seemed to decrease over time, but might increase the probability of sensitization to inhalant allergens. In conclusion, this thesis together with previous publications from the ALADDIN cohort lead to better understanding of risk and protective factors during pregnancy and infancy for the development of allergic disease in children

E-handeln-Är det något för alla? En kvalitativ studie angående män i åldern 50-64 års köpvanor av kläder på internet

Litteratur och studier pekar på att mäns köpvanor av kläder kan förklaras i att män vill handla tidseffektivt. Dessutom roar de sig inte av klädesinköp. Genom denna utgångspunkt angående mäns köpbeteende kan det anses att e-handeln skulle vara ett bra verktyg för att uppfylla de manliga köpbehoven av kläder. Statistik påvisar samtidigt att män sällan köper kläder på internet, speciellt män inom åldersgruppen 50-64 år. Vidare har forskning påvisat att förtroende för digitala tjänster är en påverkande faktor för handel via internet. Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att undersöka hur förtroende påverkar svenska män i åldersgruppen 50-64 års köpvanor av kläder på internet. Utifrån undersökningen framkom det att förtroende för onlinetjänster och nätbutiker var högt hos de intervjuade männen. Trots detta så valde männen i denna uppsats att inte köpa sina kläder via internet. Det framgick vidare att det fanns andra faktorer som påverkade männens köpvanor för klädeshandeln online. Enligt de intervjuade männen var klädeshandel väldigt personligt. Det framkom samtidigt att det finns en brist av information och erfarenheter ifrån andra män inom åldersgruppen, vilket vidare påverkade männens köpbeteende. Det visade sig även att företag erbjuder en bristfällig information och marknadsföring till männen i denna åldersgrupp vilket påverkar männens inställning till att köpa kläder online

Flooding and anoxia tolerance of barley in comparison with rice, beaked sedge and yellow flag

The flooding and anoxia tolerance of three barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Kustaa, Hankki ja-673 and Pokko), beaked sedge (Carex rostrata Stokes), rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. FR13A) and yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus L.) have been assessed by determining the length of anoxia tolerance and the productivity of the barley cultivars under flooding. Other physiological parameters related to flooding and anoxia tolerance were also determined, and they included alcohol dehydrogenase activity and its enzyme kinetic parameters KM and Vmax (for reaction acetaldehyde to ethanol) in the barley cultivars and beaked sedge, production of ethanol, CO2 and some organic acids in seedlings of the barley cultivars under anoxia, and superoxide dismutase activity in barley, rice and yellow flag under hypoxia and anoxia. A study of the root anatomy of barley and beaked sedge was also conducted. The anoxia tolerance experiments revealed differences in the three barley cultivars and the flooding tolerance experiment gave very similar results. Thus, Kustaa proved to be the most anoxia tolerant and most productive under flooding, Hankki ja-673 being intermediate and Pokko the least anoxia tolerant and the least productive during flooded conditions. Simultaneous measurements of ethanol, carbon dioxide and organic acid production during anoxia together with determination of dry weight loss during the period of oxygen deprivation showed that the rate of ethanolic fermentation was significantly faster in the more intolerant cultivars. Also, the more anoxia intolerant cultivars lost more of their dry weight during the anoxic incubation than the most tolerant cultivar. These results were in agreement with the metabolic theory of flooding tolerance. Superoxide dismutase activity measurements in the barley cultivars as well as in rice under hypoxia did not reveal any changes in the activity with the onset of oxygen deprivation. Neither did incubation under total anoxia increase SOD activity. In yellow flag rhizomes, which are very flood and anoxia tolerant, large increases in SOD activity took place during and after oxygen deprivation indicating greater protection against subsequent oxidative damage. Injuries of this nature have been noticed earlier in flood intolerant species. The anatomical study of the roots and rhizomes of beaked sedge and roots of barley cultivars revealed the larger percentage of aerenchyma in beaked sedge

Establishment of a spontaneously transformed cell line (JU-PI) from a myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma

cited By 0Myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma is a soft-tissue neoplasm most frequently found in the distal extremities of middle-aged adults. Most myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma are low-grade tumors with propensity for local recurrence after incomplete removal. We report a myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma which developed in the foot of a 41-year-old male and showed an exceptionally aggressive course with metastatic spread and fatal outcome within 16 months. We managed to establish a spontaneously transformed continuous cell line, called JU-PI, from a metastatic lesion. The JU-PI cells have a sub-tetraploid karyotype including the 1;10 chromosomal translocation and amplification of the proximal end of 3p; these features are considered genetic signatures of myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma. Both the primary tumor and the JU-PI cells showed nuclear expression of the TFE3 transcription factor but TFE3-activating chromosomal rearrangements were not found. To our knowledge, JU-PI is the first established myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma cell line. JU-PI cells offer a tool for investigating the molecular oncology of myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma. © 2018, © The Author(s) 2018.Peer reviewe

Determining the composition of lignins in different tissues of Silber Birch

Peer reviewe

GNEN-1 : a spontaneously immortalized cell line from gastric neuroendocrine neoplasia

Export Date: 15 September 2021 Correspondence Address: Fagerstedt, K.W.; Department of Pathology, Finland; email: [email protected] neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasms (MINEN) are rare tumors that consist of at least 30% of both neuroendocrine and non-neuroendocrine components. The data concerning the pathogenesis of MINEN suggest a monoclonal origin. We describe a spontaneously immortalized cell line derived from gastric MINEN called GNEN-1. Primary tumor consisted of components of high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The GNEN-1 cell line was initiated from metastatic tumor cells of peritoneal fluid and expresses a purely neuroendocrine phenotype. The GNEN-1 cell line grows as monolayers and has retained the neuroendocrine phenotype with positivity for chromogranin A in immunohistochemistry. Electron microscopy showed cytoplasmic dense core granules and axon hillocks. The karyotype revealed alterations typical of both adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma such as trisomy 7 and 8. GNEN-1 cells were also positive for stanniocalcin-1, a marker of poor prognosis in gastric carcinomas. Expression of several markers related to neuroendocrine tumors was found. There have been only a few studies on the pathogenesis of MINEN and management of the disease due to the rarity of this tumor type. Here we describe for the first time an immortalized cell line derived from mixed gastric NEN. The GNEN-1 line offers a tool for future research on gastric NEN. © 2021 The authors.Peer reviewe

Does excess boron affect hormone levels of potato cultivars?

Potato crop production in Turkey ranks on the thirteenth place in the world. Toxicity is a problematic issue for some parts of the Turkish soils. Hence, it is very important to clarify the physiological responses of plants to toxic mineral stress. In this study, two different potato cultivars - Solanum tuberosum cv. Resy and Solanum tuberosum cv. Agria - were used as a study material. Excess boron was applied in two different concentrations (5 mmol/L and 12.5 mmol/L) 32 days after planting the tubers. Plants were harvested at the end of 15 days of excess boron application. Chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) was measured. Shoot height and shoot-root fresh weight contents were determined. Analyses were carried out for the contents of the endogenous hormones indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) by using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GS-MS). According to the obtained data, plants' shoot height did not change, whereas the shoot's fresh weight decreased significantly with increasing of the boron concentrations in cv Resy, by applying 12.5 mmol/L boron. With 12.5 mmol/L boron, the photosynthesis was negatively affected in both cultivars. Boron application led to increased endogenous IAA and ABA content in both cultivars. As a result, cv. Resy showed more resistance to excess boron. Findings on the hormone metabolism and chlorophyll fluorescence in different cultivars will shed a light on understanding the physiological response to excess mineral stress.Peer reviewe

Visualizing water-filled versus embolized status of xylem conduits by desktop x-ray microtomography

Background The hydraulic conductivity of the stem is a major factor limiting the capability of trees to transport water from the soil to transpiring leaves. During drought conditions, the conducting capacity of xylem can be reduced by some conduits being filled with gas, i.e. embolized. In order to understand the dynamics of embolism formation and repair, considerable attention has been given to developing reliable and accurate methods for quantifying the phenomenon. In the past decade, non-destructive imaging of embolism formation in living plants has become possible. Magnetic resonance imaging has been used to visualize the distribution of water within the stem, but in most cases it is not possible to resolve individual cells. Recently, high-resolution synchrotron x-ray microtomography has been introduced as a tool to visualize the water contents of individual cells in vivo, providing unprecedented insight into the dynamics of embolism repair. We have investigated the potential of an x-ray tube -based microtomography setup to visualize and quantify xylem embolism and embolism repair in water-stressed young saplings and shoot tips of Silver and Curly birch (Betula pendula and B. pendula var. carelica). Results From the microtomography images, the water-filled versus gas-filled status of individual xylem conduits can be seen, and the proportion of stem cross-section that consists of embolized tissue can be calculated. Measuring the number of embolized vessels in the imaged area is a simple counting experiment. In the samples investigated, wood fibers were cavitated in a large proportion of the xylem cross-section shortly after watering of the plant was stopped, but the number of embolized vessels remained low several days into a drought period. Under conditions of low evaporative demand, also refilling of previously embolized conduits was observed. Conclusions Desktop x-ray microtomography is shown to be an effective method for evaluating the water-filled versus embolized status of the stem xylem in a small living sapling. Due to its non-destructive nature, the risk of inducing embolisms during sampling is greatly reduced. Compared with synchrotron imaging beamlines, desktop microtomography offers easier accessibility, while maintaining sufficient resolution to visualize the water contents of individual cells.Peer reviewe