Servicemötet – multidisciplinära öppningar

Abstract in Undetermined Mötet mellan organisationer och kunder, det så kallade servicemötet, är av central betydelse för såväl förståelse som för ledning av tjänsteverksamheter. Att tjänster utgörs av de interaktioner som uppstår under servicemötet har sedan länge uppmärksammats, inte minst av forskare som Christian Grönroos, Evert Gummesson och Richard Normann och den Nordiska skolan inom service management. Servivemötet - Multidisciplinära öppningar tar sin utgångspunkt i denna nordiska forskningstradition, men syftar till att föra läsaren bortom några av dess nuvarande ämnesmässiga begränsningar. Genom att förena studier från olika akademiska discipliner (företagsekonomi, sociologi, etnologi, kulturgeografi) ifrågasätter boken rådande föreställningar och tillför nya infallsvinklingar om servicemötet

Mutational and gene fusion analyses of primary large cell and large cell neuroendocrine lung cancer.

Large cell carcinoma with or without neuroendocrine features (LCNEC and LC, respectively) constitutes 3-9% of non-small cell lung cancer but is poorly characterized at the molecular level. Herein we analyzed 41 LC and 32 LCNEC (including 15 previously reported cases) tumors using massive parallel sequencing for mutations in 26 cancer-related genes and gene fusions in ALK, RET, and ROS1. LC patients were additionally subdivided into three immunohistochemistry groups based on positive expression of TTF-1/Napsin A (adenocarcinoma-like, n = 24; 59%), CK5/P40 (squamous-like, n = 5; 12%), or no marker expression (marker-negative, n = 12; 29%). Most common alterations were TP53 (83%), KRAS (22%), MET (12%) mutations in LCs, and TP53 (88%), STK11 (16%), and PTEN (13%) mutations in LCNECs. In general, LCs showed more oncogene mutations compared to LCNECs. Immunomarker stratification of LC revealed oncogene mutations in 63% of adenocarcinoma-like cases, but only in 17% of marker-negative cases. Moreover, marker-negative LCs were associated with inferior overall survival compared with adenocarcinoma-like tumors (p = 0.007). No ALK, RET or ROS1 fusions were detected in LCs or LCNECs. Together, our molecular analyses support that LC and LCNEC tumors follow different tumorigenic paths and that LC may be stratified into molecular subgroups with potential implications for diagnosis, prognostics, and therapy decisions

Cell-Mediated Immune Responses and Immunopathogenesis of Human Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus-Infection

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a flavivirus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family. TBEV is transmitted to humans primarily from infected ticks. The virus causes tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), an acute viral disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Infection can lead to acute neurological symptoms of significant severity due to meningitis or meningo(myelo)encephalitis. TBE can cause long-term suffering and has been recognized as an increasing public health problem. TBEV-affected areas currently include large parts of central and northern Europe as well as northern Asia. Infection with TBEV triggers a humoral as well as a cell-mediated immune response. In contrast to the well-characterized humoral antibody-mediated response, the cell-mediated immune responses elicited to natural TBEV-infection have been poorly characterized until recently. Here, we review recent progress in our understanding of the cell-mediated immune response to human TBEV-infection. A particular emphasis is devoted to studies of the response mediated by natural killer (NK) cells and CD8 T cells. The studies described include results revealing the temporal dynamics of the T cell- as well as NK cell-responses in relation to disease state and functional characterization of these cells. Additionally, we discuss specific immunopathological aspects of TBEV-infection in the CNS

An RNA aptamer perturbs heat shock transcription factor activity in Drosophila melanogaster

Heat shock transcription factor (HSF1) is a conserved master regulator that orchestrates the protection of normal cells from stress. However, HSF1 also protects abnormal cells and is required for carcinogenesis. Here, we generate an highly specific RNA aptamer (iaRNAHSF1) that binds Drosophila HSF1 and inhibits HSF1 binding to DNA. In Drosophila animals, iaRNAHSF1 reduces normal Hsp83 levels and promotes developmental abnormalities, mimicking the spectrum of phenotypes that occur when Hsp83 activity is reduced. The HSF1 aptamer also effectively suppresses the abnormal growth phenotypes induced by constitutively active forms of the EGF receptor and Raf oncoproteins. Our results indicate that HSF1 contributes toward the morphological development of animal traits by controlling the expression of molecular chaperones under normal growth conditions. Additionally, our study demonstrates the utility of the RNA aptamer technology as a promising chemical genetic approach to investigate biological mechanisms, including cancer and for identifying effective drug targets in vivo

Validation of reference genes for quantitative RT-qPCR studies of gene expression in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua l.) during temperature stress

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One important physiological response to environmental stress in animals is change in gene expression. To obtain reliable data from gene expression studies using RT-qPCR it is important to evaluate a set of possible reference genes as normalizers for expression. The expression of these candidate genes should be analyzed in the relevant tissues during normal and stressed situations. To find suitable reference genes it was crucial that the genes were stably expressed also during a situation of physiological stress. For poikilotermic animals like cod, changes in temperature are normal, but if the changes are faster than physiological compensation, the animals respond with typical stress responses. It has previously been shown that Atlantic cod show stress responses when elevation of water temperature is faster than 1 degree/day, for this reason we chose hyperthermia as stress agent for this experiment.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We here describe the expression of eight candidate reference genes from Atlantic cod (<it>Gadus morhua l</it>.) and their stability during thermal stress (temperature elevation of one degree C/day for 5 days). The genes investigated were: Eukaryotic elongation factor 1 alpha, <it>ef1a</it>; 18s ribosomal RNA; <it>18s</it>, Ubiquitin conjugate protein; <it>ubiq</it>, cytoskeletal beta-actin; <it>actb</it>, major histcompatibility complex I; MHC-I light chain, beta-2 -microglobulin; <it>b2m</it>, cytoskeletal alpha-tubulin; <it>tba1c</it>, acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein; <it>rplp1</it>, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; <it>g6pd</it>. Their expression were analyzed in 6 tissues (liver, head kidney, intestine, spleen, heart and gills) from cods exposed to elevated temperature and compared to a control group. Although there were variations between tissues with respect to reference gene stability, four transcripts were more consistent than the others: <it>ubiq</it>, <it>ef1a</it>, <it>18s </it>and <it>rplp1</it>. We therefore used these to analyze the expression of stress related genes (heat shock proteins) induced during hyperthermia. We found that both transcripts were significantly upregulated in several tissues in fish exposed to increased temperature.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first study comparing reference genes for RT-qPCR analyses of expression during hyperthermia in Atlantic cod. <it>ef1a, 18s, rplp1 </it>and <it>ubiq </it>transcripts were found to be well suited as reference genes during these experimental conditions.</p

Cortico-muscular coherence is reduced acutely post-stroke and increases bilaterally during motor recovery: a pilot study

Motor recovery following stroke is believed to necessitate alteration in functional connectivity between cortex and muscle. Cortico-muscular coherence has been proposed as a potential biomarker for post-stroke motor deficits, enabling a quantification of recovery, as well as potentially indicating the regions of cortex involved in recovery of function. We recorded simultaneous EEG and EMG during wrist extension from healthy participants and patients following ischaemic stroke, evaluating function at three time points post-stroke. EEG–EMG coherence increased over time, as wrist mobility recovered clinically, and by the final evaluation, coherence was higher in the patient group than in the healthy controls. Moreover, the cortical distribution differed between the groups, with coherence involving larger and more bilaterally scattered areas of cortex in the patients than in the healthy participants. The findings suggest that EEG–EMG coherence has the potential to serve as a biomarker for motor recovery and to provide information about the cortical regions that should be targeted in rehabilitation therapies based on real-time EEG

‘Medical Men’ and ‘Mad Women’ - A Study into the Frequency of Words through Collocations

Frequent lexical patterns can explain how language, society and culture interact. In this paper, we analyze the most frequent adjectival collocates which precede lemmas WOMAN and MAN, by searching the node words woman, women, man and men in the British National Corpus (BNC) using the statistical procedure list. The primary postulate is that frequent collocational patterns reveal common societal and cultural concepts. The research is based on Sinclair’s theory about how frequency points to what is typical and central in a language (17). Furthermore, Stubbs’s understanding of a community’s value system being built up and maintained by the recurrent use of particular phrasings in texts (Words and Phrases 166) is explored through the repetition of lexical patterns in the corpus, thus exposing dominant cultural models. Keywords: WOMAN, MAN, BNC, frequency, collocates, language, society, cultureMichael Stubbs’s principle that “language in use transmits the culture,” by which he provides his understanding of the relations between form and meaning (Text 43), is a good foundation for the study of the frequency of words by means of electronic corpora. Since meaning is language in use, electronic corpora facilitate just that – an analysis of raw, unaltered data, as clearly stated by Stubbs’s second principle concerning language being studied in “actual, attested, authentic instances of use” (Text 28)

The Genome of Nectria haematococca: Contribution of Supernumerary Chromosomes to Gene Expansion

The ascomycetous fungus Nectria haematococca, (asexual name Fusarium solani), is a member of a group of >50 species known as the “Fusarium solani species complex”. Members of this complex have diverse biological properties including the ability to cause disease on >100 genera of plants and opportunistic infections in humans. The current research analyzed the most extensively studied member of this complex, N. haematococca mating population VI (MPVI). Several genes controlling the ability of individual isolates of this species to colonize specific habitats are located on supernumerary chromosomes. Optical mapping revealed that the sequenced isolate has 17 chromosomes ranging from 530 kb to 6.52 Mb and that the physical size of the genome, 54.43 Mb, and the number of predicted genes, 15,707, are among the largest reported for ascomycetes. Two classes of genes have contributed to gene expansion: specific genes that are not found in other fungi including its closest sequenced relative, Fusarium graminearum; and genes that commonly occur as single copies in other fungi but are present as multiple copies in N. haematococca MPVI. Some of these additional genes appear to have resulted from gene duplication events, while others may have been acquired through horizontal gene transfer. The supernumerary nature of three chromosomes, 14, 15, and 17, was confirmed by their absence in pulsed field gel electrophoresis experiments of some isolates and by demonstrating that these isolates lacked chromosome-specific sequences found on the ends of these chromosomes. These supernumerary chromosomes contain more repeat sequences, are enriched in unique and duplicated genes, and have a lower G+C content in comparison to the other chromosomes. Although the origin(s) of the extra genes and the supernumerary chromosomes is not known, the gene expansion and its large genome size are consistent with this species' diverse range of habitats. Furthermore, the presence of unique genes on supernumerary chromosomes might account for individual isolates having different environmental niches

Functional electrical stimulation driven by a brain–computer interface in acute and subacute stroke patients impacts beta power and long-range temporal correlation

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a standard rehabilitation approach applied by therapists to aid motor recovery in a paretic limb post-stroke. Information pertaining to the timing of a movement attempt can be obtained from changes in the power of oscillatory electrophysiological activity in motor cortical regions, derived from scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. The use of a brain–computer interface (BCI), to enable delivery of FES within a tight temporal window with a movement attempt detected in scalp EEG, is associated with greater motor recovery than conventional FES application in patients in the chronic phase post-stroke. We hypothesized that the heightened neural plasticity early post-stroke could further enhance motor recovery and that motor improvements would be accompanied by changes in the motor cortical sensorimotor rhythm after compared with before treatment. Here we assessed clinical outcome and changes in the sensorimotor rhythm in patients following subcortical stroke affecting the non-dominant hemisphere from a study comparing timing of FES delivery using a BCI, with a Sham group, receiving FES with no such temporal relationship. The BCI group showed greater clinical improvement following the treatment, particularly early post-stroke, and a greater decrease in beta oscillatory power and long-range temporal correlation over contralateral (ipsilesional) motor cortex. The electrophysiological changes are consistent with a reduction in compensatory processes and a transition towards a subcritical state when movement is triggered at the time of movement detection based on motor cortical oscillations

Development of Secondary Woodland in Oak Wood Pastures Reduces the Richness of Rare Epiphytic Lichens

Wooded pastures with ancient trees were formerly abundant throughout Europe, but during the last century, grazing has largely been abandoned often resulting in dense forests. Ancient trees constitute habitat for many declining and threatened species, but the effects of secondary woodland on the biodiversity associated with these trees are largely unknown. We tested for difference in species richness, occurrence, and abundance of a set of nationally and regionally red-listed epiphytic lichens between ancient oaks located in secondary woodland and ancient oaks located in open conditions. We refined the test of the effect of secondary woodland by also including other explanatory variables. Species occurrence and abundance were modelled jointly using overdispersed zero-inflated Poisson models. The richness of the red-listed lichens on ancient oaks in secondary woodland was half of that compared with oaks growing in open conditions. The species-level analyses revealed that this was mainly the result of lower occupancy of two of the study species. The tree-level abundance of one species was also lower in secondary woodland. Potential explanations for this pattern are that the study lichens are adapted to desiccating conditions enhancing their population persistence by low competition or that open, windy conditions enhance their colonisation rate. This means that the development of secondary woodland is a threat to red-listed epiphytic lichens. We therefore suggest that woody vegetation is cleared and grazing resumed in abandoned oak pastures. Importantly, this will also benefit the vitality of the oaks