30 research outputs found
Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity Is Related to a Surrogate Marker of Endothelial Function in Healthy Individuals
BACKGROUND: Evidence from animal studies indicates the importance of an interaction between the sympathetic nervous system and the endothelium for cardiovascular regulation. However the interaction between these two systems remains largely unexplored in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate whether directly recorded sympathetic vasoconstrictor outflow is related to a surrogate marker of endothelial function in healthy individuals. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 10 healthy normotensive subjects (3 f/7 m), (age 37+/-11 yrs), (BMI 24+/-3 kg/m(2)) direct recordings of sympathetic action potentials to the muscle vascular bed (MSNA) were performed and endothelial function estimated with the Reactive Hyperaemia- Peripheral Arterial Tonometry (RH-PAT) technique. Blood samples were taken and time spent on leisure-time physical activities was estimated. In all subjects the rate between resting flow and the maximum flow, the Reactive Hyperemic index (RH-PAT index), was within the normal range (1.9-3.3) and MSNA was as expected for age and gender (13-44 burst/minute). RH-PAT index was inversely related to MSNA (r = -0.8, p = 0.005). RH-PAT index and MSNA were reciprocally related to time (h/week) spent on physical activity (p = 0.005 and p = 0.006 respectively) and platelet concentration (PLT) (p = 0.02 and p = 0.004 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that sympathetic nerve activity is related to a surrogate marker of endothelial function in healthy normotensive individuals, indicating that sympathetic outflow may be modulated by changes in endothelial function. In this study time spent on physical activity is identified as a predictor of sympathetic nerve activity and endothelial function in a group of healthy individuals. The results are of importance in understanding mechanisms underlying sympathetic activation in conditions associated with endothelial dysfunction and emphasise the importance of a daily exercise routine for maintenance of cardiovascular health
Genome-wide meta-analysis of 241,258 adults accounting for smoking behaviour identifies novel loci for obesity traits
Few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) account for environmental exposures, like smoking, potentially impacting the overall trait variance when investigating the genetic contribution to obesity-related traits. Here, we use GWAS data from 51,080 current smokers and 190,178 nonsmokers (87% European descent) to identify loci influencing BMI and central adiposity, measured as waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio both adjusted for BMI. We identify 23 novel genetic loci, and 9 loci with convincing evidence of gene-smoking interaction (GxSMK) on obesity-related traits. We show consistent direction of effect for all identified loci and significance for 18 novel and for 5 interaction loci in an independent study sample. These loci highlight novel biological functions, including response to oxidative stress, addictive behaviour, and regulatory functions emphasizing the importance of accounting for environment in genetic analyses. Our results suggest that tobacco smoking may alter the genetic susceptibility to overall adiposity and body fat distribution.Peer reviewe
A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity
Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe
A communal catalogue reveals Earthâs multiscale microbial diversity
Our growing awareness of the microbial worldâs importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earthâs microbial diversity
Instrumentell röstregistrering : En jÀmförande studie med talfonetogram och VoxLog
Bakgrund Röstproduktionen Àr förÀnderlig och pÄverkas av miljö och situation. Ofördelaktigt röstbeteende kan leda till röststörningar. Vid behandling av röststörningar Àr det essentiellt att kartlÀgga ogynnsamma röstbeteenden. Ljudstudioinspelningar har visat sig otillrÀckliga vid sÄdana kartlÀggningar. Ett verktyg med potential att möjliggöra en mer representativ bild av röstanvÀndandet Àr röstackumulatorn VoxLog. Syfte Syftet var att utifrÄn röstparametrarna SPL och F0 jÀmföra registreringar av talfonetogram och VoxLog i ljudstudiomiljö. Det var Àven att jÀmföra de med VoxLog uppmÀtta vÀrdena för röstparametrarna mellan ljudstudio- och vardag. Samt att jÀmföra eventuella skillnader mellan ljudstudio- och vardagsregistreringar för de uppmÀtta röstparametrarna mellan patient- och kontrollgruppen.  Metod I ljudstudioregistreringarna deltog 23 personer. De bar VoxLog och en huvudburen mikrofon dÀr röstparametrarna registrerades i ett talfonetogram. MedelvÀrden för SPL och F0 jÀmfördes mellan mÀtinstrumenten. I vardagsregistreringarna deltog 14 personer, indelade i en patientgrupp och en kontrollgrupp. VoxLogregistreringarna i ljudstudiostudio och vardag jÀmfördes. Skillnader mellan ljudstudio- och vardagsregistreringar jÀmfördes mellan patient- och kontrollgruppen.  Resultat Inga signifikanta skillnader mellan vÀrdena för SPL och F0 förekom mellan talfonetogram och VoxLog. VoxLogregistreringarna uppvisade signifikant högre vÀrden för röstparametrarna i vardagen vid jÀmförelse med ljudstudion. Deskriptivt framkom en större höjning av röstparametrarna för patientgruppen jÀmfört med kontrollgruppen.  Slutsatser Resultaten frÄn jÀmförelsen av talfonetogram och VoxLog i ljudstudioregistreringar utgör en grund för vidare forskning. Skillnaden mellan ljudstudio- och vardagsregistreringar stödjer tidigare forskning. För att uppnÄ en representativ kartlÀggning av dessa röstparametrar Àr en ljudstudioregistrering otillrÀcklig. VoxLog har potential att vara ett instrument som kan utföra en mer ekologiskt valid kartlÀggning av röstanvÀndande.
Stadsodling â reflektioner och perspektiv frĂ„n SLU Alnarp
Det Ă€r uppenbart att det mediala intresset för stadsodling har vuxit pĂ„tagligt de senaste Ă„ren. En sökning i databasen Retriever visar en ökande anvĂ€ndning av begreppet âurban odlingâ och en starkt ökande anvĂ€ndning av ordet âstadsodlingâ. Olika medier pĂ„verkar sĂ„ klart varandra. Radioprogrammet Odla med stadsgrönt började sĂ€ndas vĂ„ren 2009. Medier pĂ„verkar politiken som i sin tur pĂ„verkar medier. Den förste oktober 2009 lĂ€mnades motionen âStadsodling viktig i hĂ„llbara stĂ€derâ in till riksdagen. SĂ„vĂ€l media som politik pĂ„verkar och pĂ„verkas av praktiken. VĂ„ren 2009 började projektet Barn i stan odla i stadsdelen Seved i Malmö, ett projekt som uppmĂ€rksammats flitigt i media. Samma Ă„r började organisationen Stadsjord odla i stadsdelen Högsbo i Göteborg, Ă€ven det flitigt uppmĂ€rksammat i media.
Den statliga Delegationen för hĂ„llbara stĂ€der har beviljat bidrag till Ă„tminstone fyra planeringsprojekt med inriktning mot stadsodling: SLU (sökt 2009), Plantagon (tvĂ„ projekt sökta 2010) samt Falun kommun (sökt 2012). Ăven investeringsprojekt har haft inslag av stadsodling, till exempel Malmö stads ansökan âHĂ„llbar stadsomvandling Malmö, Fokus RosengĂ„rdâ ( sökt 2010).
Stadsodling finns med som ett inslag i flera aktuella stadsförnyelse- och stadsbyggnadsprojekt. Det har fÄtt fungera som en symbol för kombinationen av ekologisk och social hÄllbarhet. En viktig frÄga att reflektera över Àr dÀrför hur hÄllbar stadsodling Àr. Vad kan vi ha för nytta av stadsodling? Hur kan odling ta plats i stÀderna? Hur kan vi stadsodla pÄ ett hÄllbart sÀtt
Individual shedder status and the origin of touch DNA
Due to improved laboratory techniques, touched surfaces and items are increasingly employed as sources of forensic DNA evidence. This has urged a need to better understand the mechanisms of DNA transfer between individuals. Shedder status (i.e. the propensity to leave DNA behind) has been identified as one major factor regulating DNA transfer. It is known that some individuals tend to shed more DNA than others, but the mechanisms behind shedder status are largely unknown. By comparing the amounts of DNA deposited from active hands (i.e. used "as usual") and inactive hands (i.e. not allowed to touch anything), we show that some of the selfDNA deposited from hands is likely to have accumulated on hands from other parts of the body or previously handled items (active hands: 2.1 +/- 2.7 ng, inactive hands: 0.83 +/- 1.1 ng, paired t-test: p = 0.014, n = 27 pairs of hands). Further investigation showed that individual levels of deposited DNA are highly associated with the level of DNA accumulation on the skin of the face (Pearsons correlation: r = 0.90, p < 0.00001 and Spearmans ranked correlation: rs = 0.56, p = 0.0016, n = 29). We hypothesized that individual differences in sebum secretion levels could influence the amount of DNA accumulation in facial areas, but no such correlation was seen (Pearsons correlation: r = - 0.13, p = 0.66, n = 14). Neither was there any correlation between DNA levels on hands or forehead and the time since hand or face wash. We propose that the amount of self-DNA deposited from hands is highly influenced by the individual levels of accumulated facial DNA, and that cells/DNA is often transferred to hands by touching or rubbing ones face
Simple correlation matrix showing associations between Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity (MSNA), Reactive Hyperemic Index (RHI), Platelet concentration (PLT), Epidermal growth factor (EGF), Insulin-Like Growth Factor (IGF)-I, and physical activity (PA) for the study group.
<p><i>P</i>-values are indicated as: *<i>p</i>â€0.05; **<i>p</i>â€0.01; ***<i>p</i>â€0.005.</p
Basic characteristics of the 10 (7 M/3 F) subjects shown in mean, SD and range.
<p>Basic characteristics of the 10 (7 M/3 F) subjects shown in mean, SD and range.</p
Physical activity expressed as hours per week and a) muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) expressed as burst frequency (bursts/minute) and b) reactive hyperaemic index (%) in 10 healthy controls, (râ=ââ0.79, pâ=â0.006 and râ=â0.83, pâ=â0.004, respectively).
<p>Physical activity expressed as hours per week and a) muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) expressed as burst frequency (bursts/minute) and b) reactive hyperaemic index (%) in 10 healthy controls, (râ=ââ0.79, pâ=â0.006 and râ=â0.83, pâ=â0.004, respectively).</p