Reflections on Swedish Society in Beck Television Detective Series in the Early 2000s

Swedish detective stories, despite their international success, have been a marginal area of research. The search words 'Nordic noir' give thousands of results indicating the huge international success of Nordic crime fiction. This study examines the reasons for this phenomenon by studying Swedish society from the viewpoint of a particular television show. The aim is to increase the understanding of how crime fiction can be used to take a stance on social issues. This study analyses four Martin Beck television episodes produced between the years 2001 and 2002. These television episodes are based on the ten novels Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö wrote between the years 1965 and 1975. The method used for this study is a thematic analysis, meaning searching for certain themes and similarities within the chosen episodes. One of the aims is to search for social themes that were current in Sweden in the early 2000s. The central research question is: What kind of representations of crime and social tensions in the Swedish society and welfare state does the television series Beck offer? The results of this study suggest that the Beck television episodes are a continuation of the phenomenon Sjöwall and Wahlöö introduced in the 1960s. Hovewer, the crimes are updated to correspond the 2000s though many of the themes are still timeless. Also, the characters appearing in the series, such as Martin Beck and Gunvald Larsson provide an interesting perspective to reflect on social inequalities. This study offers a perspective on how the Swedish welfare state appeared in the early 2000s.Ruotsalaisia rikosdraamoja televisioissa on tutkittu melko vähän. Hakusanoilla 'Nordic noir' löytyy tänään tuhansia tuloksia joka kertoo miten menestyvä Pohjoismainen rikosdraama on ollut ja on edelleen. Tämä tutkimus selvittää tämän ilmiön taustoja tutkimalla ruotsalaista yhteiskuntaa yhden televisiosarjan avulla. Tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä miten rikosdraamalla voidaan ottaa kantaa yhteiskunnallisiin aiheisiin. Tämä tutkimus analysoi neljää Martin Beck -televisioelokuvaa jotka ovat tehty vuosien 2001 ja 2002 välillä. Nämä televisioelokuvat perustuvat kirjailijapariskunta Per Sjöwallin ja Maj Wahlöön vuosina 1965–1975 julkaistuun kymmenen kirjan sarjaan. Metodina käytetään teema-analyysia joka tarkoittaa tiettyjen yhtäläisyyksien etsimistä tarkastetuista televisioelokuvista. Yhtenä tavoitteena on etsiä ajankohtaisia yhteiskunnallisia teemoja, jotka olivat Ruotsissa näkyvillä 2000-luvun alussa ja ymmärtää miten aiheita kriittisesti käsitellään jaksoissa. Keskeinen tutkimuskysymys on: Miten hyvinvointiyhteiskunnan rikokset ja sosiaaliset jännitteet tulevat esiin Beck-sarjassa uuden vuosituhannen vaihteessa? Tutkimuksen tulokset kertovat, että Beck-televisioelokuvat ovat jatkumoa Sjöwallin ja Wahlöön aikaansaamalle ilmiölle 1960-luvulla. Rikokset vastaavat kuitenkin enemmän 2000-lukua monessa teemassa, mutta esiin tulee myös mielenkohtaisia teemoja jotka ovat omalla tavallaan ajattomia. Myös sarjassa esiintyvät henkilöhahmot, kuten Martin Beck ja Gunvald Larsson tarjoavat mielenkiintoisen näkökulman yhteiskunnallisten epäarvoisuuksien pohtimiseen. Tämä tutkimus tarjoaa näkökulman siihen miltä ruotsalainen hyvinvointiyhteiskunta näytti ja vaikutti 2000-luvun alussa

Phage Display Selection of an Anti-Idiotype-Antibody with Broad-Specificity to Deoxynivalenol Mycotoxins

The use of synthetic antibody libraries and phage displays provides an efficient and robust method for the generation of antibodies against a wide range of targets with highly specific binding properties. As the in vitro selection conditions can be easily controlled, these methods enable the rapid generation of binders against difficult targets such as toxins and haptens. In this study, we used deoxynivalenol mycotoxin as a target to generate anti-idiotype-antibodies with unique binding properties from synthetic antibody libraries. The binding of the selected anti-idiotype antibodies can be efficiently inhibited with the addition of free isoforms of deoxynivalenol. The antibody was consecutively used to develop deoxynivalenol-specific ELISA and TRF-immunoassays, which can detect deoxynivalenol and two of the most common metabolic isoforms in the range of 78–115 ng/mL. View Full-TextKeywords: antibody library; phage display; mycotoxin; deoxynivalenol; immunoassay</div

Detection of bladder cancer with aberrantly fucosylated ITGA3

We describe a simple, non-invasive assay to identify fucosylated-glycoisoform of integrin alpha-3 (ITGA3) directly from unprocessed urine. ITGA3 was detected directly from the urine of bladder cancer (BlCa) (n = 13) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (n = 9) patients with the use of lectins coated on europium-doped-nanoparticles (Eu3+-NPs). Lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA) showed enhanced binding with BlCa-derived ITGA3. The evaluation with individual samples showed that a glycovariant ITGA3-UEA assay could significantly discriminate BlCa from BPH patients (p = 0.007). The detection of aberrantly fucosylated-isoform of ITGA3 from urine can be used to distinguish BlCa from age-matched benign controls in a simple sandwich assay

Noncompetitive Chromogenic Lateral-Flow Immunoassay for Simultaneous Detection of Microcystins and Nodularin

Abstract: Cyanobacterial blooms cause local and global health issues by contaminating surface waters. Microcystins and nodularins are cyclic cyanobacterial peptide toxins comprising numerous natural variants. Most of them are potent hepatotoxins, tumor promoters, and at least microcystin-LR is possibly carcinogenic. In drinking water, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the provisional guideline value of 1 µg/L for microcystin-LR. For water used for recreational activity, the guidance values for microcystin concentration varies mostly between 4–25 µg/L in different countries. Current immunoassays or lateral flow strips for microcystin/nodularin are based on indirect competitive method, which are generally more prone to sample interference and sometimes hard to interpret compared to two-site immunoassays. Simple, sensitive, and easy to interpret user-friendly methods for first line screening of microcystin/nodularin near water sources are needed for assessment of water quality and safety. We describe the development of a two-site sandwich format lateral-flow assay for the rapid detection of microcystins and nodularin-R. A unique antibody fragment capable of broadly recognizing immunocomplexes consisting of a capture antibody bound to microcystins/nodularin-R was used to develop the simple lateral flow immunoassay. The assay can visually detect the major hepatotoxins (microcystin-LR, -dmLR, -RR, -dmRR, -YR, -LY, -LF -LW, and nodularin-R) at and below the concentration of 4 µg/L. The signal is directly proportional to the concentration of the respective toxin, and the use of alkaline phosphatase activity offers a cost efficient alternative by eliminating the need of toxin conjugates or other labeling system. The easy to interpret assay has the potential to serve as a microcystins/nodularin screening tool for those involved in water quality monitoring such as municipal authorities, researchers, as well as general public concerned of bathing water quality. Keywords: noncompetitive immunoassay; cyanotoxin; microcystin; nodularin; lateral flow</div

Nanoparticle-aided detection of colorectal cancer-associated glycoconjugates of extracellular vesicles in human serum

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are found in all biological fluids, providing potential for the identification of disease biomarkers such as colorectal cancer (CRC). EVs are heavily glycosylated with specific glycoconjugates such as tetraspanins, integrins, and mucins, reflecting the characteristics of the original cell offering valuable targets for detection of CRC. We report here on europium-nanoparticle (EuNP)-based assay to detect and characterize different surface glycoconjugates of EVs without extensive purification steps from five different CRC and the HEK 293 cell lines. The promising EVs candidates from cell culture were clinically evaluated on small panel of serum samples including early-stage (n = 11) and late-stage (n = 11) CRC patients, benign condition (n = 11), and healthy control (n = 10). The majority of CRC cell lines expressed tetraspanin sub-population and glycovariants of integrins and conventional tumor markers. The subpopulation of CD151 having CD63 expression (CD151CD63) was significantly (p = 0.001) elevated in early-stage CRC (8 out of 11) without detecting any benign and late-stage samples, while conventional CEA detected mostly late-stage CRC (p = 0.045) and with only four early-stage cases. The other glycovariant assays such as CEACon-A, CA125WGA, CA 19.9Ma696, and CA 19.9Con-A further provided some complementation to the CD151CD63 assay. These results indicate the potential application of CD151CD63 assay for early detection of CRC patients in human serum.</p

Detection of bladder cancer with aberrantly fucosylated ITGA3

We describe a simple, non-invasive assay to identify fucosylated-glycoisoform of integrin alpha-3 (ITGA3) directly from unprocessed urine. ITGA3 was detected directly from the urine of bladder cancer (BlCa) (n = 13) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (n = 9) patients with the use of lectins coated on europium-dopednanoparticles (Eu3+-NPs). Lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA) showed enhanced binding with BlCaderived ITGA3. The evaluation with individual samples showed that a glycovariant ITGA3-UEA assay could significantly discriminate BlCa from BPH patients (p = 0.007). The detection of aberrantly fucosylated-isoform of ITGA3 from urine can be used to distinguish BlCa from age-matched benign controls in a simple sandwich assay.</p

Diagnostic potential of nanoparticle aided assays for MUC16 and MUC1 glycovariants in ovarian cancer

Our study reports the discovery and evaluation of nanoparticle aided sensitive assays for glycovariants of MUC16 and MUC1 in a unique collection of paired ovarian cyst fluids and serum samples obtained at or prior to surgery for ovarian carcinoma suspicion. Selected glycovariants and the immunoassays for CA125, CA15-3 and HE4 were compared and validated in 347 cyst fluid and serum samples. Whereas CA125 and CA15-3 performed poorly in cyst fluid to separate carcinoma and controls, four glycovariants including MUC16(MGL), MUC16(STn), MUC1(STn) and MUC1(Tn) provided highly improved separations. In serum, the two STn glycovariants outperformed conventional CA125, CA15-3 and HE4 assays in all subcategories analyzed with main benefits obtained at high specificities and at postmenopausal and early-stage disease. Serum MUC16(STn) performed best at high specificity (90%-99%), but sensitivity was also improved by the other glycovariants and CA15-3. The highly improved specificity, excellent analytical sensitivity and robustness of the nanoparticle assisted glycovariant assays carry great promise for improved identification and early detection of ovarian carcinoma in routine differential diagnostics.Peer reviewe

A Nanoparticle-Based Approach for the Detection of Extracellular Vesicles

The analysis of extracellular vesicles (EVs) typically requires tedious and time-consuming isolation process from bio-fluids. We developed a nanoparticle-based time resolved fluorescence immunoassay (NP-TRFIA) that uses biotinylated antibodies against the proteins of tetraspanin family and tumorassociated antigens for capturing EVs from urine samples and cell culture supernatants without the need for isolation. The captured-EVs were detected either with Eu3+-chelate or Eu3+-doped nanoparticle-based labels conjugated either to antibodies against the tetraspanins or lectins targeting the glycan moieties on EVs surface. The NP-TRFIA demonstrated specific capturing and detection of EVs by antibodies and lectins. Lectin-nanoparticle based assays showed 2-10 fold higher signal-to-background ratio compared with lectin-chelate assays. The nanoparticle assay concept allowed surface glycosylation profiling of the urine derived-EVs with lectins. It was also applied to establish an assay showing differential expression of tumor-associated proteins on more aggressive (higher ITGA3 on DU145-and PC3-EVs) compared to less aggressive (higher EpCAM on LNCaP-EVs) PCa-cell lines derived-EVs. This NP-TRFIA can be used as a simple tool for analysis and characterization of EVs in urine and cell culture supernatants. Such approach could be useful in identification of disease-specific markers on the surface of patient-derived urinary EVs

Primary breast cancer biomarkers based on glycosylation and extracellular vesicles detected from human serum

Background Breast cancer is a very common cancer that can be severe if not discovered early. The current tools to detect breast cancer need improvement. Cancer has a universal tendency to affect glycosylation. The glycosylation of circulating extracellular vesicle-associated glycoproteins, and mucins may offer targets for detection methods and have been only explored in a limited capacity. Aim Our aim was to develop an approach to detect the aberrant glycosylation of mucins and extracellular vesicle-associated glycoproteins from human sera using fluorescent nanoparticles, and preliminarily evaluate this approach for the differential diagnosis of breast cancer. Methods and results The assay involved immobilizing glycosylated antigens using monoclonal antibodies and then probing their glycosylation by using lectins and glycan-specific antibodies coated on Eu+3-doped nanoparticles. Detection of mucin 1 and mucin 16 glycosylation with wheat germ agglutinin, and detection of the extracellular vesicle-associated CD63 were found to have better diagnostic ability for localized breast cancer than the conventional assays for mucin 1 and mucin 16 based tumor markers when the receiver operating characteristics were compared. Conclusions These results indicate that successful differential diagnosis of primary breast cancer may be aided by detecting cancer-associated glycosylation of mucin 1 and mucin 16, and total concentration of CD63, in human serum.</p

Glycovariant-based lateral flow immunoassay to detect ovarian cancer–associated serum CA125

Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is a widely used biomarker in monitoring of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Due to insufficient cancer specificity of CA125, its diagnostic use is severely compromised. Abnormal glycosylation of CA125 is a unique feature of ovarian cancer cells and could improve differential diagnosis of the disease. Here we describe the development of a quantitative lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) of aberrantly glycosylated CA125 which is widely superior to the conventional CA125 immunoassay (CA125IA). With a 30 min read-out time, the LFIA showed 72% sensitivity, at 98% specificity using diagnostically challenging samples with marginally elevated CA125 (35–200 U/mL), in comparison to 16% sensitivity with the CA125IA. We envision the clinical use of the developed LFIA to be based on the substantially enhanced disease specificity against the many benign conditions confounding the diagnostic evaluation and against other cancers.</p