Erratum to: Frequency and typing of Propionibacterium acnes in prostate tissue obtained from men with and without prostate cancer

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in Western countries but the exact pathogenic mechanism of the disease is still largely unknown. An infectious etiology and infection-induced inflammation has been suggested to play a role in prostate carcinogenesis and Propionibacterium acneshas been reported as the most prevalent microorganism in prostatic tissue. We investigated the frequency and types of P. acnes isolated from prostate tissue samples from men with prostate cancer and from control patients without the disease. Methods: We included 100 cases and 50 controls in this study. Cases were men diagnosed with prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy and controls were men undergoing surgery for bladder cancer without any histological findings of prostate cancer. Six biopsies taken from each patient’s prostate gland at the time of surgery were used for cultivation and further characterization of P. acnes. Results: The results revealed that P. acnes was more common in men with prostate carcinoma than in controls, with the bacteria cultured in 60 % of the cases vs. 26 % of the controls (p = 0.001). In multivariable analyses, men with P. acnes had a 4-fold increase in odds of a prostate cancer diagnosis after adjustment for age, calendar year of surgery and smoking status (OR: 4.46; 95 % CI: 1.93–11.26). To further support the biologic plausibility for a P. acnes infection as a contributing factor in prostate cancer development, we subsequently conducted cell-based experiments. P. acnes- isolates were co-cultured with the prostate cell line PNT1A. An increased cell proliferation and cytokine/chemokine secretion in infected cells was observed. Conclusion: The present study provides further evidence for a role of P. acnes in prostate cancer development

Rapid Identification of Bio-Molecules Applied for Detection of Biosecurity Agents Using Rolling Circle Amplification

Detection and identification of pathogens in environmental samples for biosecurity applications are challenging due to the strict requirements on specificity, sensitivity and time. We have developed a concept for quick, specific and sensitive pathogen identification in environmental samples. Target identification is realized by padlock- and proximity probing, and reacted probes are amplified by RCA (rolling-circle amplification). The individual RCA products are labeled by fluorescence and enumerated by an instrument, developed for sensitive and rapid digital analysis. The concept is demonstrated by identification of simili biowarfare agents for bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pantoea agglomerans) and spores (Bacillus atrophaeus) released in field

Evaluation and Improvement of Image Acquisition and Processing Methods for the BioNanoLab

BioNanoLab is a project aimed towards developing a prototype for a system capableof fast and sensitive detection of biological warfare agents. One of the important partsin the project is image acquisition and processing. My task was to evaluate andimprove these methods. The first step was to choose a machine vision library to useand then to write a program for acquiring images from line scan cameras to disctrough frame grabbers and to write code for processing the images. The two different machine vision libraries I tested were Sapera Essential andCommon vision blox (CVB). Sapera Essential is a machine vision library from Dalsa. Itis platform dependent as it only works for Dalsa hardware. CVB on the other hand isa hardware independent machine vision library from Stemmer imaging. The run times for the two libraries were almost the same but Sapera Essential waschosen as the winner because we wanted the more low level control which Saperaoffers, as it is written specifically for the hardware we used. Another reason was thatthe blob counting for CVB started to miscount some times

Dora García : I Always Tell the Truth

"What is truth and who speaks the truth? Through film, drawing, text and performance, Dora García explores the concept of truth. In contemporary information society, the boundary between true or false seems to erode more and more, especially in the political field where the presence of “alternative facts” makes it difficult to verify statements. The exhibition presents a series of works posing questions regarding truth, credibility and authority." -- Publisher's website

Comparison between confocal microscopy and the dedicated instrument for detection of RCPs.

<p>The quantitative response of the same dilution series of EC DNA was measured using the dedicated instrument as well as the confocal setup used in Jarvius <i>et al</i> 2006. Filled symbols: dedicated instrument, open symbols: Zeiss 510 Meta confocal microscope.</p

Sequences of the oligonucleotides used in the study. Underlined nucleotides are locked nucleic acids [17].

<p>Nucleotides in italic style are 2′OMe-RNA. The NRP is furthermore labeled by biotin in the 3′end.</p

Detection scheme of the bio-monitoring system.

<p>A) Collection of environmental samples is realized using the Airborne Sample Analysis Platform (ASAP) equipment. Aerosolized particulates stick to a filter, and the content is extracted and analyzed. In contrast to protein detection, detection of nucleic acids requires preparation of the filter content prior to exposure to the molecular procedures. The molecular procedures detect the target molecules using dedicated probes and reacted probes are then amplified. The amplification products are analyzed using a dedicated prototype instrument. B) The molecular procedures of DNA (left) and protein (right) detection. Detection of nucleic acids is achieved by padlock probes that are specifically circularized if correctly hybridized to the correct target in the presence of DNA ligase. Padlock and capture probes are added to the samples along with DNA ligase (5 min). Reacted padlock probes are captured on magnetic beads and excess probes are eliminated by washing (3 min). Detection of proteins is initiated by capture of the target protein using magnetic beads equipped with antibodies. The addition of a pair of PLA probes, which are antibodies with attached oligonucleotides (3 min), forms a DNA circle guided by two connector oligonucletides, and a DNA ligase (5 min). Unreacted probes are eliminated by washing the circles, and from this step the magnetic beads are treated identically in both the genetic and PLA assays. A first RCA is initiated either by an extra primer or the target itself on the beads to replicate the DNA circles (11 min). The products are then restriction digested (2 min), and the monomers are collected. The monomers can then bind head-to-tail to the excess amount of replication oligonucleotides and formed new DNA circles. The new circles are amplified and labeled with fluorescence-tagged detection probes. The ligation, amplification and labeling are performed in one reaction (8 min). The RCPs are therefore ready for analysis in the detection instrument.</p

Discrimination of EC and PA bacteria based on a single nucleotide difference in the target DNA sequence in two samples containing either 1 ng EC genome or PA genome (approximately 300 000 copies), assayed with probes specific for EC and PA genomes in duplex reactions.

<p>Error bars, ±1 s.d.; n = 2.</p