Gräsrötter och globalisering : kampen för att få gehör

Several challenges face small grassroots movements and human rights organizations when trying to draw the world’s attention their cause. In today’s world of technological development and readily available internet, they’re not only competing against other local movements, but against movements around the globe. Simply being a member of a just cause will not guarantee a following of dedicated supporters and financiers. So what will? Political scientist Clifford Bob (2002, 2006) has outlined a framework of successful strategies that small human rights movements use in order to profile themselves towards larger NGOs in the hope of receiving recognition. With Bob’s theoretical framework as its departure point, this essay is a case study of the Indian movement Narmada Bachao Andolan and its jour ney from a small, local grassroots movement to an internationally acclaimed human rights organization

Fathers' sense of security during the first postnatal week-A qualitative interview study in Sweden.

BACKGROUND: father's sense of security in the early postnatal period is important for the whole family. An instrument, which measures Parents' Postnatal Sense of Security (the PPSS instrument), is under development. OBJECTIVE: to explore and describe factors, which influence fathers' sense of security during the first postnatal week. METHODS: an explorative design with a qualitative approach was used. Thirteen fathers from three hospital uptake areas in Southern Sweden were interviewed using focus group discussions and individual interviews. Analysis was carried out using qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: participation in the processes of pregnancy birth and early parenthood emerged as the main category for fathers' postnatal sense of security. The emergent categories were; 'willingness to participate and take responsibility', 'being given the opportunity to take responsibility', 'being assured about mother's and baby's well-being', 'having someone to turn to-knowing who to ask', 'being met as an individual' and 'being met by competent and supporting staff'. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: new and specific items of importance when investigating fathers' sense of security during the early postnatal period have been pinpointed. Fathers' sense of early postnatal security may be enhanced by giving them a genuine opportunity to participate in the whole process and by giving them the opportunity to stay overnight at the hospital after the birth. Midwives and care organisations need to give clear information about where competent help and advice can be obtained at all hours. Midwives should strengthen the fathering role by acknowledging and listening to the father as an individual person

Förekomst av kreativitetsfrämjande ledarskap i olika organisationsstrukturer och dess prediktion på upplevd organisatorisk kreativitet

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka skillnader gällande förekomst av kreativitetsfrämjande ledarskap (KFL) i några olika organisationsstrukturer samt om förekomst av KFL var högre i processorienterade organisationer jämfört med hierarkiska organisationer, linjeorganisationer och matrisorganisationer. Hypotesen om att det skulle finnas skillnader i förekomst av KFL mellan olika organisationsstrukturer kunde bekräftas. Hypotesen att förekomst av KFL skulle vara högre i processorganisationer bekräftadest i jämförelse med hierarkiska organisationer och matrisorganisationer medan signifikant skillnad jämfört med linjeorganisationer inte gick att bekräfta. En tredje hypotes om att förekomst av KFL kan predicera upplevd organisatorisk kreativitet och innovation kunde också bekräftas. Deltagare i studien var svenska chefer med personalansvar inom olika organisationer. Data samlades in via utskick av ett enkätmaterial bestående av den ännu ej etablerade skalan KFL avsedd att mäta förekomst av kreativitetsfrämjande ledarskap. Data analyserades genom ANOVA, oberoende T-test samt regressionsanalys. Slutsatser från denna studie är att det fanns skillnader i förekomst av KFL mellan olika organisationsstrukturer och att förekomst av KFL till viss del kan predicera upplevelse av organisatorisk kreativitet och innovation. Resultaten stödjer behovet av skalan KFL för att kunna mäta förekomst av denna typ av ledarskap och motiverar fortsatt forskning på området

The meristem-associated endosymbiont Methylorubrum extorquens DSM13060 reprograms development and stress responses of pine seedlings

Microbes living in plant tissues-endophytes-are mainly studied in crop plants where they typically colonize the root apoplast. Trees-a large carbon source with a high capacity for photosynthesis-provide a variety of niches for endophytic colonization. We have earlier identified a new type of plant-endophyte interaction in buds of adult Scots pine, where Methylorubrum species live inside the meristematic cells. The endosymbiont Methylorubrum extorquens DSM13060 significantly increases needle and root growth of pine seedlings without producing plant hormones, but by aggregating around host nuclei. Here, we studied gene expression and metabolites of the pine host induced by M. extorquens DSM13060 infection. Malic acid was produced by pine to potentially boost M. extorquens colonization and interaction. Based on gene expression, the endosymbiont activated the auxin- and ethylene (ET)-associated hormonal pathways through induction of CUL1 and HYL1, and suppressed salicylic and abscisic acid signaling of pine. Infection by the endosymbiont had an effect on pine meristem and leaf development through activation of GLP1-7 and ALE2, and suppressed flowering, root hair and lateral root formation by downregulation of AGL8, plantacyanin, GASA7, COW1 and RALFL34. Despite of systemic infection of pine seedlings by the endosymbiont, the pine genes CUL1, ETR2, ERF3, HYL, GLP1-7 and CYP71 were highly expressed in the shoot apical meristem, rarely in needles and not in stem or root tissues. Low expression of MERI5, CLH2, EULS3 and high quantities of ononitol suggest that endosymbiont promotes viability and protects pine seedlings against abiotic stress. Our results indicate that the endosymbiont positively affects host development and stress tolerance through mechanisms previously unknown for endophytic bacteria, manipulation of plant hormone signaling pathways, downregulation of senescence and cell death-associated genes and induction of ononitol biosynthesis.Peer reviewe

Serum Creatine, Not Neurofilament Light, Is Elevated in CHCHD10-Linked Spinal Muscular Atrophy

ObjectiveTo characterize serum biomarkers in mitochondrial CHCHD10-linked spinal muscular atrophy Jokela (SMAJ) type for disease monitoring and for the understanding of pathogenic mechanisms. MethodsWe collected serum samples from a cohort of 49 patients with SMAJ, all carriers of the heterozygous c.197G>T p.G66V variant in CHCHD10. As controls, we used age- and sex-matched serum samples obtained from Helsinki Biobank. Creatine kinase and creatinine were measured by standard methods. Neurofilament light (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were measured with single molecule array (Simoa), fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21), and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. For non-targeted plasma metabolite profiling, samples were analyzed with liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry. Disease severity was evaluated retrospectively by calculating a symptom-based score. ResultsAxon degeneration marker, NfL, was unexpectedly not altered in the serum of patients with SMAJ, whereas astrocytic activation marker, GFAP, was slightly decreased. Creatine kinase was elevated in most patients, particularly men. We identified six metabolites that were significantly altered in serum of patients with SMAJ in comparison to controls: increased creatine and pyruvate, and decreased creatinine, taurine, N-acetyl-carnosine, and succinate. Creatine correlated with disease severity. Altered pyruvate and succinate indicated a metabolic response to mitochondrial dysfunction; however, lactate or mitochondrial myopathy markers FGF-21 or GDF-15 was not changed. ConclusionsBiomarkers of muscle mass and damage are altered in SMAJ serum, indicating a role for skeletal muscle in disease pathogenesis in addition to neurogenic damage. Despite the minimal mitochondrial pathology in skeletal muscle, signs of a metabolic shift can be detected.Peer reviewe

Glycans as Potential Diagnostic Markers of Traumatic Brain Injury

The diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is challenging in the acute setting because the symptoms are nonspecific and often transient, or they develop with a delay. In these cases, the criteria for acute head imaging are frequently not fulfilled. This may lead to missed diagnoses in emergency care. There is a need for developing a rapid diagnostic test to verify the presence of TBI using body fluids. Blood, urine, and saliva samples from 11 adult patients (mean age 64 years, SD 24 years) with acute and clinically diagnosed TBI, and 12 healthy volunteers were collected at Turku University Hospital during a period of 5 months. The injuries necessitated hospitalization for at least one day. The TBIs were classified mild in nine cases and severe in two cases. The mean period between the trauma and the time for obtaining the samples was 27 h, SD 11 h. The samples were analyzed in an ISO-certified laboratory for the number of lectin-bound glycan molecules indicating destruction of nerve tissue. The screening was performed on several possible glycans for binding, and the measurement by degree of fluorescence. In the analysis, the group of patients with TBI was compared with healthy volunteers. The results showed a significant decrease (p < 0.05, Wilcoxon rank–sum two-sided test) in the level of two glycans in plasma, but no significant increase for any glycan; in saliva, one glycan showed a significant increase in the TBI group; in urine, three glycans were significantly different between the groups (one showed an increase, whereas two showed a decrease). The results support the idea of conducting more research on how diagnostic glycans could be detected in body fluids after TBI. As a proof-of-concept, significant changes in the concentration of five glycans were found in plasma, saliva, and urine between TBI patients and healthy controls. This may enable the development of a rapid body fluid-based point-of-care test to identify patients with TBI after a head injury.</p

Case-control analysis of truncating mutations in DNA damage response genes connects TEX15 and FANCD2 with hereditary breast cancer susceptibility

Several known breast cancer susceptibility genes encode proteins involved in DNA damage response (DDR) and are characterized by rare loss-of-function mutations. However, these explain less than half of the familial cases. To identify novel susceptibility factors, 39 rare truncating mutations, identified in 189 Northern Finnish hereditary breast cancer patients in parallel sequencing of 796 DDR genes, were studied for disease association. Mutation screening was performed for Northern Finnish breast cancer cases (n = 578-1565) and controls (n = 337-1228). Mutations showing potential cancer association were analyzed in additional Finnish cohorts.c.7253dupT in TEX15, encoding a DDR factor important in meiosis, associated with hereditary breast cancer (p = 0.018) and likely represents a Northern Finnish founder mutation. A deleterious c.2715 + 1G > A mutation in the Fanconi anemia gene, FANCD2, was over two times more common in the combined Finnish hereditary cohort compared to controls. A deletion (c.640_644del5) in RNF168, causative for recessive RIDDLE syndrome, had high prevalence in majority of the analyzed cohorts, but did not associate with breast cancer. In conclusion, truncating variants in TEX15 and FANCD2 are potential breast cancer risk factors, warranting further investigations in other populations. Furthermore, high frequency of RNF168 c.640_644del5 indicates the need for its testing in Finnish patients with RIDDLE syndrome symptoms.Peer reviewe

Serum Creatine, Not Neurofilament Light, Is Elevated in CHCHD10-Linked Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Objective: To characterize serum biomarkers in mitochondrial CHCHD10-linked spinal muscular atrophy Jokela (SMAJ) type for disease monitoring and for the understanding of pathogenic mechanisms.Methods: We collected serum samples from a cohort of 49 patients with SMAJ, all carriers of the heterozygous c.197G>T p.G66V variant in CHCHD10. As controls, we used age- and sex-matched serum samples obtained from Helsinki Biobank. Creatine kinase and creatinine were measured by standard methods. Neurofilament light (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were measured with single molecule array (Simoa), fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21), and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. For non-targeted plasma metabolite profiling, samples were analyzed with liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry. Disease severity was evaluated retrospectively by calculating a symptom-based score.Results: Axon degeneration marker, NfL, was unexpectedly not altered in the serum of patients with SMAJ, whereas astrocytic activation marker, GFAP, was slightly decreased. Creatine kinase was elevated in most patients, particularly men. We identified six metabolites that were significantly altered in serum of patients with SMAJ in comparison to controls: increased creatine and pyruvate, and decreased creatinine, taurine, N-acetyl-carnosine, and succinate. Creatine correlated with disease severity. Altered pyruvate and succinate indicated a metabolic response to mitochondrial dysfunction; however, lactate or mitochondrial myopathy markers FGF-21 or GDF-15 was not changed.Conclusions: Biomarkers of muscle mass and damage are altered in SMAJ serum, indicating a role for skeletal muscle in disease pathogenesis in addition to neurogenic damage. Despite the minimal mitochondrial pathology in skeletal muscle, signs of a metabolic shift can be detected.</p

Functional, metabolic and transcriptional maturation of human pancreatic islets derived from stem cells

Transplantation of pancreatic islet cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells is a promising treatment for diabetes. Despite progress in the generation of stem-cell-derived islets (SC-islets), no detailed characterization of their functional properties has been conducted. Here, we generated functionally mature SC-islets using an optimized protocol and benchmarked them comprehensively against primary adult islets. Biphasic glucose-stimulated insulin secretion developed during in vitro maturation, associated with cytoarchitectural reorganization and the increasing presence of alpha cells. Electrophysiology, signaling and exocytosis of SC-islets were similar to those of adult islets. Glucose-responsive insulin secretion was achieved despite differences in glycolytic and mitochondrial glucose metabolism. Single-cell transcriptomics of SC-islets in vitro and throughout 6 months of engraftment in mice revealed a continuous maturation trajectory culminating in a transcriptional landscape closely resembling that of primary islets. Our thorough evaluation of SC-islet maturation highlights their advanced degree of functionality and supports their use in further efforts to understand and combat diabetes. Pancreatic islets derived from stem cells are benchmarked against primary cells.Peer reviewe