Genetic characterization to dissect the phenotypic complexity of autoimmunity

Autoimmune diseases are dependent on multiple genes and unknown environmental factors. Great efforts in the identification of genes conferring susceptibility to autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have recently been rewarding. A few genes have so far been associated to several autoimmune disorders and the understanding of the role of these genes in the pathogenesis and the identification of additional genes will be of great use in the designing of new and better therapies. The fine characterization of each disease is of importance in order to define sub-groups, which may respond differently to treatments. The work in this thesis was done in mouse models for RA and MS and is based on four papers where the aim was to identify genes associated with these diseases. We have studied crosses between a susceptible and a resistant mouse strain to assess the genetic context for a disease-linked locus to appear. In an F2 intercross between the two strains, the Eae2 locus on chromosome 15 was previously linked to disease in the MS model Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) through interaction with Eae3 on chromosome 3. The locus homologous to Eae2 on human chromosome 5 was later associated with MS in a Finnish population. In order to identify additional loci, EAE was studied in an F2 intercross where the Eae2 locus was neutralized (paper I) and in a N2 backcross (paper II). In paper III and IV a new strategy to study the interaction between Eae2 and Eae3 is described. Mice congenic for the Eae2 and Eae3 regions were bred in a Partial Advanced Intercross (PAI), which allows for the segregation of genes in the congenic intervals. More than 1000 PAI mice were investigated for Collagen Induced Arthritis (CIA). Different traits of disease were linked to seven sub-QTL within Eae2 and Eae3. Furthermore, the importance of sub-phenotypes in order to identify disease-modifying genes was investigated and is discussed

Hydrophobic interaction : a resource to reduce the use of antibiotics

It is important to know what is normal in the wound healing process in order to determine what happens when a wound does not heal as expected. If the amount of bacteria in the wound gets too large the body will not be able to defend itself and it becomes an infection. Colonization and infection are common elements in wound management and it is often the veterinary nurse role to deal with wounds in a proper manner. Antibiotics are drugs that either kill or inhibit the multiplication of bacteria or fungi, and have been in veterinary medicine for approximately 60 years. Very few new antibiotics are introduced and increased resistance is a major problem that requires everyone to take responsibility to reduce the use of it. Infections are often treated with antibiotics, which provide a selective pressure on bacteria and thus an increased risk of resistance. At present, there is a careless use of antibiotics and several multi-resistant bacteria such as MRSA and MRSI / P has already developed. To get this resistance development to slow down antibiotics should only be used when it is really necessary. Many pathogenic bacteria have been shown to bind to tissues by hydrophobic interaction. This discovery has led to the development of dressings with hydrophobic effects. The bacteria create bonds to these dressings without any additional impact. When the bacteria have bonded to the dressings they reproduce only in low extent and produce no extracellular toxins or enzymes. For example, Streptococcus and Stafylococcus aureus, which are common wound pathogens, expressed high cell surface hydrophobicity, CSH. However, several studies have been made of these dressings with varying results. There are also lots of other medical dressings that can serve as alternatives to antibiotics. The ones mentioned in this work are silver containing dressings, iodine containing dressings and medical honey. All three appeared to have effect on the MRSA bacteria but their effectiveness is not shown in the studies we have seen. Hopefully, a reduction of antibiotic will be seen when knowledge of alternative methods and good wound care is spread among the veterinary nurses

Fermenterat blötfoder till gris

The purpose of this literature study was to examine what kind of composition fermented liquid feed can have, what a desired composition is and possible advantages and disadvantages on health and growth performance of the pig. A well fermented liquid feed is characterized by a low pH (<4,5), a high content of lactic acid bacteria (109 cfu/g feed) and yeast (106 cfu/g feed), a high concentration of lactic acid (150 mmol/l feed) and as low counts of enterobacteria as possible. Good hygienic quality, palatability and nutritive value of the feed are of great importance. However, to achieve this is not simple and the results vary. Factors like the amount of feed left in the tank, the amount of time that the feed is left to ferment, the temperature of the feed, possible additives like a starter culture or an acid and different feedstuffs influence the fermentation process and the final product. The effects on the nutritional composition of the feed seem to be mostly positive in spite of the risk of impaired palatability. The influence on growth performance and health appear to be dependent on the hygienic quality of the feed but no clear-cut improving results have been reported. Although, some results implies that newly weaned pigs fed a well fermented liquid feed show improved growth performance and health which might depend on the probiotic traits of the feed

Den svenska lapphunden - en ras i behov av förändring?

Many pedigree dogs are suffering from inherited diseases or personality disorders caused by selective breeding. The Swedish lapphund is a breed that has been suffering from some loss of genetic variation due to the heavy use of only a few males. Concerns have arisen and crossbreeding has been discussed as a way to manage gene loss. Four breeds has been taken into consideration for this purpose; schipperke, finish lapphund, Norwegian buhund and Norwegian elkhound, black. These breeds has been tested theoretical by a comparison of mentality and health. The aim of this study is to investigate mentality and health in the breeds and perhaps find a good match for the Swedish lapphund. In Holstein cows a crossbreeding has shown to have a positive effect on the welfare on offspring considering fertility and survival. Risks with crossbreeding consists of the potential risk of bringing new sick alleles into a population and therefore an increase in the occurrence of inherited diseases. Mentality tests had only been carried out on schipperke, Swedish lapphund and finish lapphund and these three breeds showed a similarity in high rates of playfulness, curiosity and sociability. This suggests that a potential cross with any of these breeds would end up with an offspring similar to their parents. A very low number of Norwegian buhund and Norwegian elkhound has been examined for hip dysplasia, therefore it is hard to draw any conclusions on the health status in these breeds. The most important consideration when managing dog breeding is to maintain a sustainable population and breed healthy dogs

Lagerlöfs läsare

This book investigates a unique collection of letters: the many thousands of letters to Selma Lagerlöf from the public. During 1891 to 1940 people from all layers of society wrote to the famous author about their lives, and about their reading of her narratives. How did these people use literature, and how did they view the author, Selma Lagerlöf, in a time of change

Hur hund som stöd kan främja välbefinnande och aktivitet i vardagen

Bakgrund Relationen mellan människa och djur har debatterats och forskats om under lång tid liksom vilka effekter djur kan ha på människans välmående. Hundar har med goda resultat använts inom vårdrelaterade miljöer och används fortfarande av många människor som stöd i vardagliga aktiviteter. Arbetsterapeutisk teori belyser samverkan mellan person, aktivitet och miljö samt menar att upplevd mening och värde i aktivitet främjar hälsan. Syfte Att kartlägga hur hund som stöd kan främja välbefinnande och aktivitet i vardagen. Metod Icke- systematisk litteraturstudie av 12 artiklar med kvalitativ, kvantitativ samt mixad metod. Manifest innehållsanalys av utvalda artiklar för att identifiera kategorier och teman. Resultat Tre teman identifierades gällande hur hund som stöd påverkar personer i aktivitet och främjar aktiviteter i vardagen; 1) förbättrad interaktion och kommunikation; 2) motivation till fysisk aktivitet och inlärning; samt 3) påverkan på personliga inre resurser som ökad självständighet och förbättrat självförtroende. Slutsats Resultaten tyder på att användning av hund som stöd kan främja arbetsterapeutiska interventioner men det behövs mer forskning där även arbetsterapeutiska bedömningsinstrument används för att mäta effekterna

En jämförelse av ryttarens balans på marken, till häst samt enligt ridlärarens bedömning

REFERAT Det första ryttaren lär sig när den ska börja rida är hur den ska sitta i sadeln. De gamla grekerna använde sig av en typ av sits till häst som påminner om den sits vi använder oss av idag. Denna grundsits kallas lodrät sits. Ryttaren måste lära sig vara i balans med hästen i den lodräta sitsen för att kunna komma till inverkan. Ryttarens balans ska komma från mellandelen och sitsövningar kan stabilisera denna. Det primära syftet med denna studie var att se om en person med bra balans på marken uppvisar en balanserad sits till häst och om en ridlärares bedömning av ryttarens balans överensstämmer med resultatet från balansen på marken och till häst. Studien har tre frågeställningar; Finns det något samband mellan ryttarens balans på marken och till häst? Stämmer ridlärarens bedömning av ryttarens balans överens med ryttarens resultat från balanstestet på marken? Stämmer ridlärarens bedömning av ryttarens balans överens med tryckcentrums förflyttning uppmätt med tryckvojlock? I försöken ingick sex kvinnliga hippologstudenter från andra årskursen. Tre av studenterna hade inriktat sig mot hoppning och tre av studenterna mot dressyr. Studenterna deltog frivilligt. Studiens försök har delats upp i tre delar. Tryckvojlocksmätningar, där alla ryttarna longerades på två olika hästar. Dessa var utrustade för longering och med en tryckvojlock av märket Tekscan placerad mellan schabraket och sadeln. FMS-test som mätte ryttarens balans på marken. Detta var en ett enkelt funktionellt balanstest där försökspersonen balanserade på valfritt ben i en minut på en list. Resultatet baserades på hur många gånger försökspersonen tappade balansen och satte ner sin andra fot i marken. Ridlärarens bedömning enligt Visuell Analog Scale (VAS). En ridlärare fick vid denna del bedöma försökspersonernas balans till häst när dessa sitstränade under longering på en av försökshästarna. Resultatet förde ridläraren själv in på en VAS som var 10cm lång med yttervärdena dålig balans respektive bra balans. Resultaten sammanställdes och analyserades med hjälp av Microsoft Excel 2007 och statistikprogrammet SigmaPlot. Resultatet kan sammanfattas enligt följande: tryckvojlocken ger ett väldigt exakt resultat. Vid analys av tryckcentrums förflyttning kring ryttarens egen medelpunkt under 10 sekunders nedsittning i arbetstrav sågs signifikanta skillnader mellan alla ryttare utom ryttare F och ryttare A, ryttare F och ryttare C och slutligen mellan ryttare C och ryttare A. Inga samband mellan tryckvojlockens resultat och FMS balanstests resultat kunde påvisas. Ridlärarens bedömning är det etablerade sättet att bedöma ryttarens balans vid ridning. Bedömningen gav tydliga skillnader mellan ryttarna men den stämmer dåligt överrens med resultaten från tryckvojlocksmätningen. Den korrelation som uppmättes var R2=0,26. Att ridlärarens bedömning skedde vid ett annat tillfälle än tryckvojlocksmätningen kan möjligen ha påverkat korrelationen negativt

Restorative hospital environments : the importance of design and size for the outdoor environment

Naturen har betydelse för människans tillfrisknande och välmående och därför kan naturens olika egenskaper efterliknas i utformning av utemiljöer för att ge hälsofrämjande effekt.Det är högst relevant i sjukhusmiljöer där ett stort antal människor är i behov av välgörande miljöer. Samtidigt som studier visar att grönytor ger positiva effekter för hälsan pågår det förtätning i städerna. Förtätningen leder till att det ofta byggs på befintliga grönytor, och därmed försvinner eller förminskas grönområdena vid sjukhusen. Syftet med detta arbete var att studera utemiljöns storleks betydelse i relation till innehåll och utformning av restorativa miljöer. Målet var att undersöka vilka miljöegenskaper som är viktiga för restorativa upplevelser och hur dessa egenskaper samverkar med ytans storlek.Att studera om ytans storlek har betydelse för den restorativa upplevelsen är av värde för att veta vad den urbana miljön och i detta fall sjukhusområden, går miste om när grönytorminskar. En litteraturstudie kombinerades med fallstudier på Rigets Have, Rigshospitalet iKöpenhamn och Slingan, Ryhovsområdet i Jönköping, två utemiljöer som skiljer sig åt i storlek och utformning. I fallstudien gjordes en bedömning om huruvida miljöegenskaper som enligt litteraturstudien visats vara viktigt för den restorativa upplevelsen, kunde upplevas på de två olika sjukhusområdena. Resultat av litteraturstudie så väl som fallstudie är att restorativa upplevelser kan förminskas i utemiljöer som är alltför storleksmässigt begränsade. Begränsade ytor på grönområden är ett stort problem vid just sjukhus där det finns ett omfattande behov av utemiljöer av restorativ karaktär. Begränsade ytor har även högre sannolikhet att påverkas negativt av störande “grannmiljöer” (exempelvis vägar) än större grönytor, som själva kan gränsa av mot störningningsobjektet.Nature has an effect on human recovery and well-being and for that reason characteristics of nature can be imitated in outdoor environments to give health promotive effects. This is relevant for hospital environments where a large group of people are in need of beneficial environments. At the same time as studies show that green areas gives positive effects on health a densification in the cities is in progress. Densification is common in the green areas of cities and it leads to green areas being reduced in size or completely eliminated. The purpose of this bachelor thesis was to study the outdoor environment size in relation to the content and formation of restorative environments. The goal was to studywhich environmental characteristics are important for restorative experiences and how these characteristics co-operate with the size of the environment. Studies about whether the size influences the restorative experience is of value since it can show what the cities is missing out on when the green areas reduces. A literature study was combined with case studies at Rigets Have, Copenhagen and Slingan, in the area of Ryhov in Jönköping; two outdoor environments that differs in size and formation. In the case studies it was assessed whether or not the environmental characteristics that were found to be important for a restorative experience in the literature study, could be experienced in the two different hospital areas. The result of the literature study as well as the case studies have shown that size and design are important for the experience of restorative environments. Limited size is a big problemin hospital areas since there is a big need of restorative environments there. Areas of limited size also have bigger likelihood of being negatively affected by disturbing “neighbouringareas” (for example roads) then bigger areas, which by themselves create a border and distance to the disturbing object

Measurement of line widths and permanent electric dipole moment change of the Ce 4f-5d transition in Y_2SiO_5 for a qubit readout scheme in rare-earth ion based quantum computing

In this work the inhomogeneous (zero-phonon line) and homogeneous line widths, and one projection of the permanent electric dipole moment change for the Ce 4f-5d transition in Y_2SiO_5 were measured in order to investigate the possibility for using Ce as a sensor to detect the hyperfine state of a spatially close-lying Pr or Eu ion. The experiments were carried out on Ce doped or Ce-Pr co-doped single Y_2SiO_5 crystals. The homogeneous line width was measured to be about 3 MHz, which is essentially limited by the excited state lifetime. Based on the line width measurements, the oscillator strength, absorption cross section and saturation intensity were calculated to be about 9*10^-7, 5*10^-19 m^2 and 1*10^7 W/m^2, respectively. One projection of the difference in permanent dipole moment, Delt_miu_Ce, between the ground and excited states of the Ce ion was measured as 6.3 * 10^-30 C*m, which is about 26 times as large as that of Pr ions. The measurements done on Ce ions indicate that the Ce ion is a promising candidate to be used as a probe to read out a single qubit ion state for the quantum computing using rare-earth ions.Comment: 9 figures, 8 page

Benthic organic carbon release stimulates bacterioplankton production in a clear-water subarctic lake

We carried out a set of experiments in a small clear-water lake in northern Sweden during summer 2010 to assess the effect of organic C (OC) released from epipelic algae on pelagic bacterial production (BP). The release rate of OC (dissolved and particulate) from epipelic algae was ,45.4 ng C m22 h21 . Bacterioplankton uptake of dissolved OC was P-limited, and pelagic primary production (PP) was colimited by N and P. Pelagic BP (3.2 6 6 mgCL21 h21 ) exceeded pelagic PP (0.012 6 0.008 mg C L21 h21 ). Pelagic BP was higher in lake water in contact with sediments and the epipelic algae growing on their surface than in water separated from the sediments. Epipelic algae release OC to lake water and potentially stimulate pelagic BP. However, exploitation of benthic OC probably is suboptimal because of nutrient limitation (primarily by inorganic P) of BP.Fil: Rodriguez, Patricia Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentina; Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Argentina;Fil: Ask, Jenny. Umea University. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science; Suecia;Fil: Hein, Catherine L.. Umea University. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science. Climate Impacts Research Center; Suecia;Fil: Jansson, Mats. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Argentina;Fil: Karlsson, Jan. Umea University. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science. Climate Impacts Research Center; Suecia