High Resolution Structural Characterization of Aβ₄₂ Amyloid Fibrils by Magic Angle Spinning NMR

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-003151)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-001960)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-002026

Social sustainability in urban planning processes : a case study of Mary Andersson’s park, Malmö

Begreppet hållbar utveckling, tillika den sociala dimensionen av hållbarhet är komplexa begrepp utan entydig definition och som präglas av konflikt sett till intresse, mål och värde. Bortom debatten om innebörd är social hållbarhet idag ett centralt begrepp inom politiken och har en viktig funktion i diskussioner om mål och syften gällande planering och samhällsutveckling. Syftet med denna studie var att förstå hur olika aktörer arbetar med och förhåller sig till social hållbarhet i planeringen av offentliga rum genom litteraturstudier och en exempelstudie av planeringsprocessen av Mary Anderssons park i Sorgenfri, Malmö. Exempelstudien utgjordes av tre semi-strukturerade intervjuer och dokumentstudier. Utifrån litteraturstudien delades social hållbarhet upp i två huvudkategorier för en teoretisk förståelse av vad som kan ses som social hållbarhet i den fysiska planeringen; social rättvisa och social sammanhållning. Mary Anderssons park kan ses ett framgångsrikt projekt som på flera sätt relaterar till en socialt hållbar utveckling av offentliga rum. Lärdomar från projektet innefattade bland annat att omfattande dialog och planeringsprocesser kräver långsiktighet, resurser, drivande aktörer samt gränsöverskridande samarbete. Dialog och samskapande genererade och upprätthöll engagemang, något som bidrar till att platser kan ses som socialt hållbara över tid. Att ta vara på invånarnas idéer och platsens lokalhistoria genererade en lokal stolthet och förankrade platsen i området. Lärdomarna kan sammanfattas till en brist på övergripande direktiv som underlättar för den här typen av gränsöverskridande planeringsprocesser och att sociala vinster inte alltid är mätbara.The concept of sustainable development, as well as the social dimension of sustainability, are complex concepts without a clear definition and characterized by conflict in terms of interest, goals and value. Beyond the debate on meaning, social sustainability is today a central concept in politics and has an important function in discussions about goals and aims regarding planning and social development. The purpose of this study was to understand how different actors work with and relate to social sustainability in the planning of public spaces, through literature studies and an example study of the planning process of Mary Andersson’s park in Sorgenfri, Malmö. The example study consisted of three semi-structured interviews and document studies. Based on the literature study, social sustainability was divided into two main categories for a theoretical understanding of what can be seen as social sustainability in physical planning: social justice and sustainability of community. Mary Andersson’s park can be seen as a successful project that in several ways relates to social sustainable development of public spaces. Lessons from the project included, among other things, that extensive dialogue and planning processes require long-term perspectives, resources, driving actors and crossborder cooperation. Dialogue and co-creation generated and maintained involvement, something that contributes to that places can be seen as social sustainable over time. As well as taking advantage of the residents' ideas and the local history of the place generated a local pride and anchored the place in the area. The lessons can be summed up in a lack of comprehensive directives that facilitate this type of cross-border planning processes and that social gains are not always measurable

Clinicopathologic Features of Primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Detailed Descriptive Analysis of a Large Contemporary Cohort

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98776/1/dsu12194.pd

Plant defence peptides

Eight families of antimicrobial peptides, ranging in size from 2 to 9 kD, have been identified in plants. These are thionins, defcnsins, so-called lipid iransfer proteins, hevein- and knottin-Iike peptides, MBPJ, lb AMP, and the recently reported snakins. All of them have compact structures that are stabilized by 2-6 disulfide bridges. They are part of both permanent and inducible defense barriers. Transgenic overe.xpression of the corresponding genes leads to enhanced tolerance to pathogens, and peptide-sensitive pathogen mutants have reduced virulence

Antimicrobial Peptides: Multifunctional Drugs for Different Applications

Antimicrobial peptides (APs) are an important part of the innate immune system in epithelial and non-epithelial surfaces. So far, many different antimicrobial peptides from various families have been discovered in non-vertebrates and vertebrates. They are characterized by antibiotic, antifungal and antiviral activities against a variety of microorganisms. In addition to their role as endogenous antimicrobials, APs participate in multiple aspects of immunity. They are involved in septic and non-septic inflammation, wound repair, angiogenesis, regulation of the adaptive immune system and in maintaining homeostasis. Due to those characteristics AP could play an important role in many practical applications. Limited therapeutic efficiency of current antimicrobial agents and the emerging resistance of pathogens require alternate antimicrobial drugs. The purpose of this review is to highlight recent literature on functions and mechanisms of APs. It also shows their current practical applications as peptide therapeutics and bioactive polymers and discusses the possibilities of future clinical developments

Food Chain Transport of Nanoparticles Affects Behaviour and Fat Metabolism in Fish

Nano-sized (10−9–10−7 m) particles offer many technical and biomedical advances over the bulk material. The use of nanoparticles in cosmetics, detergents, food and other commercial products is rapidly increasing despite little knowledge of their effect on organism metabolism. We show here that commercially manufactured polystyrene nanoparticles, transported through an aquatic food chain from algae, through zooplankton to fish, affect lipid metabolism and behaviour of the top consumer. At least three independent metabolic parameters differed between control and test fish: the weight loss, the triglycerides∶cholesterol ratio in blood serum, and the distribution of cholesterol between muscle and liver. Moreover, we demonstrate that nanoparticles bind to apolipoprotein A-I in fish serum in-vitro, thereby restraining them from properly utilising their fat reserves if absorbed through ingestion. In addition to the metabolic effects, we show that consumption of nanoparticle-containing zooplankton affects the feeding behaviour of the fish. The time it took the fish to consume 95% of the food presented to them was more than doubled for nanoparticle-exposed compared to control fish. Since many nano-sized products will, through the sewage system, end up in freshwater and marine habitats, our study provides a potential bioassay for testing new nano-sized material before manufacturing. In conclusion, our study shows that from knowledge of the molecular composition of the protein corona around nanoparticles it is possible to make a testable molecular hypothesis and bioassay of the potential biological risks of a defined nanoparticle at the organism and ecosystem level

Characteristics of functional movement screening testing in elite handball players: Indicative data from the 9+

Objectives: To test 9 + screening batterie's intra-rater reliability, to provide indicative data of elite handball players, and to analyze difference between age, playing positions and level of play. Design: Descriptive study. Setting: Icelandic elite male handball players. Participants: 182 elite male handball players. Main outcome measures: Nine + screening battery. Results: Reliability test: Intra-class correlation for the total score was 0.95. The correlation of each of the test factors varied from 0.63 to 0.91. The mean total score was 22.3 ± 2.9 (95%CI 16.7–28.1), with no difference in total score comparing players age or level of play. Goalkeepers displayed a higher total score than other players (F3,151 = 5.75, p = 0.001). Junior players had a lower score than senior players in tests measuring abdominal strength and core stability; Test 5; │2(3, 182) = 41.5, p < 0.0001, Test 6; │2(3, 182) = 55.7, p < 0.0001, Test 7; │2(3, 182) = 11.8, p < 0.005, but higher scores in tests measuring trunk and shoulder mobility Test 8; │2(3, 182) = 18.2, p < 0.0001, Test 9; │2(3, 182) = 22.2, p = 0.006. Conclusions: The 9+ intra-rater reliability was acceptable for the total score and individual tests. Age-related differences were provided in many individual tests.acceptedVersionSeksjon for idrettsmedisinske fag / Department of Sports Medicin