Den sjuknärvarande läraren: En kvantitativ studie kring sjuknärvaro i relation till hälsa och arbetsorganisatoriska faktorer

Sickness presence, also referred to sickness presenteeism, applies when the individual goes to work, despite feeling ill. This thesis serves to highlight this fairly new research area in the context of compulsory school teachers in the southern part of Sweden. The response rate of the survey was 37 % (n=71 valid cases). Earlier research states that there are many factors with a connection to sickness presence where sickness absence is one of them. Self-rated health, irreplaceability, work load and work related control are others, which are all related to teachers. The results show that sickness presence is indeed present among the respondents. The results also reveal a connection between sickness presence and sickness absence and a connection between sickness presence and self-rated health. Lastly, a difference occurred in work demands and level of control between teachers employed at municipal and at independent schools. Sickness presence seems to be widespread among the teachers and may play an important role regarding the health of the workforce. A conclusion we draw from this is that it is time to further the field to get a better understanding of what seems to be an important health and work related factor

Coronatine-insensitive 1 (COI1) mediates transcriptional responses of <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> to external potassium supply

The ability to adjust growth and development to the availability of mineral nutrients in the soil is an essential life skill of plants but the underlying signaling pathways are poorly understood. In &lt;i&gt;Arabidopsis thaliana&lt;/i&gt;, shortage of potassium (K) induces a number of genes related to the phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA). Using comparative microarray analysis of wild-type and coi1-16 mutant plants, we classified transcriptional responses to K with respect to their dependence on COI1, a central component of oxylipin signaling. Expression profiles obtained in a short-term experiment clearly distinguished between COI1-dependent and COI1-independent K-responsive genes, and identified both known and novel targets of JA-COI1-signaling. During long-term K-deficiency, coi-16 mutants displayed de novo responses covering similar functions as COI1-targets except for defense. A putative role of JA for enhancing the defense potential of K-deficient plants was further supported by the observation that plants grown on low K were less damaged by thrips than plants grown with sufficient K

Decreasing incidence of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm already before start of screening.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has led to a decrease in ruptured AAA (rAAA) incidence. METHOD: The Malmö population was evaluated regarding the incidence of rAAA and elective AAA surgery 4 years before and after start of AAA-screening in 2010. Data from 1971 to 1986 (J Vasc Surg 18:74-80, 1993) and 2000-2004 (J Vasc Surg 44:237-43, 2006), enabled analysis of trends over time. RESULTS: Analysis of time-periods 1971-1986, 2000-2004, 2006-2010 and 2010-2014 showed an incidence of rAAA of 5.6 (4.9-6.3), 10.6 (8.9-12.4), 6.1 (4.6-7.6) and 4.0 (2.9-5.1), respectively. In men aged 60-69 years the incidences were 16.0 (10.7-21.3), 45.6 (27.7-63.4), 19.3 (9.2-35.3) and 8.9 (2.8-20.6), respectively. The incidences of elective AAA surgery in men aged 60-69 years were 22.9 (16.5-29.2), 34.6 (19.1-50.2), 9.7 (1.2-18.5) and 44.2 (27.0-61.6), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A decrease in incidence of rAAA in men was evident before the implementation of screening. We were yet not able to demonstrate a certain reduction in rAAA incidence after the start of screening

Arabidopsis PDK1: identification of sites important for activity and downstream phosphorylation of S6 kinase

The A rabidopsis thaliana protein kinase AtPDK1 was identified as a homologue of the mammalian 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK1), which is involved in a number of physiological processes including cell growth and proliferation. We now show that AtPDK1 expressed in E. coli as a recombinant protein, undergoes autophosphorylation at several sites. Using mass spectrometry, three phosphorylated amino acid residues, Ser-177, Ser-276 and Ser-382, were identified, followed by mutational analyses to reveal their roles. These residues are not conserved in mammalian PDK1s. Mutation of Ser-276 in AtPDK1 to alanine resulted in an enzyme with no detectable autophosphorylation. Autophosphorylation was significantly reduced in the Ser177Ala mutant but was only slightly reduced in the Ser382Ala mutant. Other identified sites of importance for autophosphorylation and/or activity of AtPDK1 were Asp-167, Thr-176, and Thr-211. Sites in the mammalian PDK1 corresponding to Asp- 167 and Thr-211 are essential for PDK1 autophosphorylation and activity. Autophosphorylation was absent in the Asp167Ala mutant while the Thr176Ala and The211Ala mutants exhibited very low but detectable autophosphorylation, pointing to both similarity and difference between mammalian and plant enzymes. We also demonstrate that AtS6k2, an A. thaliana homologue to the mammalian S6 kinases, is an in vitro tar et of AtPDK1. Our data clearly show that Asp- 167, Thr-176, Ser-177, Thr-211, and Ser-276 in AtPDK1 are important for the downstream phosphorylation of AtS6k2. The results confirm that AtPDK1, like mammalian PDK1, needs phosphorylation at several sites for full downstream phosphorylation activity. Finally, we investigated A. thaliana 14-3-3 proteins as potential AtPDK1 regulatory proteins and the effect of phospholipids on the AtPDK1 activity. Nine of the 12 14-3-3 isoforms tested enhanced AtPDK1 activity whereas one isoform suppressed the activity. No significant effects on AtPDK1 activity by the various phospholipids (including phosphoinositides) were evident. (C) 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved

Gene-specific expression and calcium activation of Arabidopsis thaliana phospholipase C isoforms

PI-PLCs synthesise the calcium releasing second messenger IP3. We investigated the expression patterns of the Arabidopsis PI-PLC gene family and measured in vitro activity of encoded enzymes. Gene specific RT-PCR and promoter-GUS fusions were used to analyse AtPLC gene expression patterns. The five available AtPLC cDNAs were expressed as fusion proteins in Escherichia coli. All members of the AtPLC gene family were expressed in multiple organs of the plant. AtPLC1, and AtPLC5 expression was localized to the vascular cells of roots and leaves with AtPLC5::GUS also detected in the guard cells. AtPLC4::GUS was detected in pollen and cells of the stigma surface. In seedlings, AtPLC2 and AtPLC3 were constitutively expressed, while AtPLCs 1, 4 and 5 were induced by abiotic stresses. AtPLC1-5 were all shown to have phospholipase C activity in the presence of calcium ions. AtPLCs showed limited tissue specific expression and expression of at least three genes was increased by abiotic stress. The differing calcium sensitivities of recombinant AtPLC protein activities may provide a mechanism for generating calcium signatures

The phosphoproteome of Arabidopsis plants lacking the oxidative signal-inducible1 (OXI1) protein kinase

The AGC protein kinase OXI1 is a key protein in plant responses to oxidative signals, and is important for two oxidative burst-mediated processes: basal resistance to microbial pathogens and root hair growth. To identify possible components of the OXI1 signalling pathway, phosphoproteomic techniques were used to detect alterations in the abundance of phosphorylated proteins and peptides in an oxi1 null mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana. The relative abundance of phosphorylated proteins was assessed either using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and staining with the phosphoprotein stain Pro-Q Diamond or by the identification and quantification, by mass spectrometry, of stable-isotope labelled phosphopeptides. A number of proteins show altered phosphorylation in the oxi1 mutant. Five proteins, including a putative F-box and 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1, show reduced phosphorylation in the oxi1 mutant, and may be direct or indirect targets of OXI1. Four proteins, including ethylene insensitive 2 and phospholipase d-gamma, show increased phosphorylation in the oxi1 mutant. This study has identified a range of candidate proteins from the OXI1 signalling pathway. The diverse activities of these proteins, including protein degradation and hormone signalling, may suggest crosstalk between OXI1 and other signal transduction cascades.</p