PACAP and orphanin FQ/nociceptin -Distribution, importance and regulation in sensory neurons and spinal cord

Neuropeptide expression in the nervous system is abundant and plastic, and an altered expression after injury is an example of a functional response, helping the neuron to cope with adverse changes, and involves effects on differentiation, synthesis, repair/regeneration, survival, and modulation of signal transmission. I have investigated the distribution/expression of the neuropeptides, orphanin FQ/nociceptin (OFQ/N) and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), under normal conditions, in response to nerve injuries, and also studied sensory responses in mice deficient for the PAC1 receptor (PAC1-/-). Expression of OFQ/N and its receptor is demonstrated in neurons in spinal cord dorsal and ventral horns, DRG and SCG. Expression in specific neurons in these tissues gives a morphological basis supporting their suggested role as modulators of sensory, especially nociceptive, transmission. Further modulatory roles are suggested by expression in motor neurons and SCG. Expression of PACAP in spinal cord dorsal and ventral horn neurons, and induced expression in motor neurons in response to sciatic nerve injury, is demonstrated. Further, PACAP expression is induced in DRG neurons in response to nerve transection, and compression injury. Intrathecal anti-BDNF infusion mitigates this injury induced expression, suggesting that endogenous BDNF can regulate PACAP expression. The injury induced PACAP expression, in DRG and motor neurons, indicates a possible role for PACAP in repair/regeneration and modulation of the sensory/nociceptive and motor transmission. More direct evidence for this is the finding of a pronounced decrease in pain behaviour in PAC1–/– mice, strongly suggesting a role for PACAP in modulation of inflammatory pain

Sign use and communicative behaviour after sign support course: An explorative case study

At the Habilitation center in Nacka, Stockholm, Sweden, a sign support course was developed where the sign selection was based on relevant everyday situations and the amount of signs was limited. The aim of the study was to examine if participants in the course “Våga teckna” changed their sign language use, lexical variation and communicative behavior after participating and if it was maintained over time. In this study a parent and a resource person participated, each with a child with disabilities. Participants were filmed and video recorded interactions were analyzed. Sign use was calculated per each film session. The adults' communicative behavior in interaction with the children was rated by the assessment instrument KOMMUNIKATIV. The parent used fewer signs and got lower ratings of communicative behavior after the course. The resource person increased her sign use and communicative quality after the course. Analysis of the number of signs, lexical variation and communicative behavior can be an informative way to evaluate sign support courses.På Habiliteringscenter Nacka har en teckenstödskurs utvecklats där teckenurvalet baseras på relevanta vardagssituationer och teckenantalet är relativt begränsat. Studien syftade till att undersöka om deltagare i kursen ”Våga teckna” förändrade sin teckenanvändning, om deras kommunikativa beteende påverkades och om det kvarstod över tid. I studien deltog en förälder och en resursperson med varsitt barn med funktionsnedsättning. Deltagarna filmades och videoinspelad interaktion analyserades. Teckenanvändningen beräknades utifrån lexikal variation och antal tecken per filmtillfälle. De vuxnas kommunikativa beteende i interaktion med barnen skattades med bedömningsinstrumentet KOMMUNIKATIV. Föräldern använde färre tecken och skattades lägre i kommunikativt beteende efter kursen. Hos resurspersonen observerades däremot ökad teckenanvändning och kommunikativ kvalitet efter genomgången ”Våga teckna”-kurs. Analys av antalet tecken, lexikal variation och kommunikativt beteende kan vara ett informativt sätt att utvärdera teckenstödskurser

Changes in expression of PACAP in rat sensory neurons in response to sciatic nerve compression.

In the present study, expression of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and sciatic nerve following experimental sciatic nerve compression was studied with the use of quantitative immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Previously, we have investigated changes in PACAP expression after nerve transection and, here, the far more frequently encountered condition of nerve compression injury is examined. Nerve compression was performed unilaterally on the rat sciatic nerve, at mid-thigh level, by application of a narrow silicone tube around the nerve for 3, 7, 14 or 28 days, respectively. We detect a statistically significant upregulation in the number and density of PACAP mRNA expression in both small and large DRG neurons in response to nerve compression. An increased number of PACAP-immunoreactive neurons is also found in the ipsilateral DRG. In addition, PACAP immunoreactivity is observed in the compressed sciatic nerve segment and adjacent nerve tissue after nerve compression. The present findings can be compared with previous studies where we have shown that PACAP expression is upregulated in DRG; in response to peripheral inflammation (primarily in small-medium neurons), and after axotomy (dramatic upregulation in medium-large neurons). In view of the recent findings of an increased PACAP expression in DRG after nerve compression, as well as the previous findings of a modulation of PACAP expression in response to axotomy and inflammation, it is likely that PACAP is also involved in the modulation of the response to peripheral nerve compression

Size-dependent long-term tissue response to biostable nanowires in the brain

AbstractNanostructured neural interfaces, comprising nanotubes or nanowires, have the potential to overcome the present hurdles of achieving stable communication with neuronal networks for long periods of time. This would have a strong impact on brain research. However, little information is available on the brain response to implanted high-aspect-ratio nanoparticles, which share morphological similarities with asbestos fibres. Here, we investigated the glial response and neuronal loss in the rat brain after implantation of biostable and structurally controlled nanowires of different lengths for a period up to one year post-surgery. Our results show that, as for lung and abdominal tissue, the brain is subject to a sustained, local inflammation when biostable and high-aspect-ratio nanoparticles of 5 μm or longer are present in the brain tissue. In addition, a significant loss of neurons was observed adjacent to the 10 μm nanowires after one year. Notably, the inflammatory response was restricted to a narrow zone around the nanowires and did not escalate between 12 weeks and one year. Furthermore, 2 μm nanowires did not cause significant inflammatory response nor significant loss of neurons nearby. The present results provide key information for the design of future neural implants based on nanomaterials

Holistic methodological framework for assessing the benefits of delivering industrial excess heat to a district heating network

In Sweden, over 50% of building heating requirements are covered by district heating. Approximately 8% of the heat supply to district heating systems comes from excess heat from industrial processes. Many studies indicate that there is a potential to substantially increase this share, and policies promoting energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reduction provide incentives to do this. Quantifying the medium and long-term economic and carbon footprint benefits of such investments is difficult because the background energy system against which new investments should be assessed is also expected to undergo significant change as a result of the aforementioned policies. Furthermore, in many cases, the district heating system has already invested or is planning to invest in non-fossil heat sources such as biomass-fueled boilers or CHP units. This paper proposes a holistic methodological framework based on energy market scenarios for assessing the long-term carbon footprint and economic benefits of recovering excess heat from industrial processes for use in district heating systems. In many studies of industrial excess heat, it is assumed that all emissions from the process plant are allocated to the main products, and none to the excess heat. The proposed methodology makes a distinction between unavoidable excess heat and excess heat that could be avoided by increased heat recovery at the plant site, in which case it is assumed that a fraction of the plant emissions should be allocated to the exported heat. The methodology is illustrated through a case study of a chemical complex located approximately 50 km from the city of Gothenburg on the West coast of Sweden, from which substantial amounts of excess heat could be recovered and delivered to heat to the city\u27s district heating network which aims to be completely fossil-free by 2030

An array of highly flexible electrodes with a tailored configuration locked by gelatin during implantation-initial evaluation in cortex cerebri of awake rats.

A major challenge in the field of neural interfaces is to overcome the problem of poor stability of neuronal recordings, which impedes long-term studies of individual neurons in the brain. Conceivably, unstable recordings reflect relative movements between electrode and tissue. To address this challenge, we have developed a new ultra-flexible electrode array and evaluated its performance in awake non-restrained animals

Biochar in urban applications

Urban use of Biochar is increasing but the effect on the plant growth is neither verified nor estimated. Biochar use in urban tree plantings and raingardens is becoming generic in some of the largest Sweden Cities. The objective behind using biochar in tree plantations have been that it is safer to establish in this substrate than in structural soils and the trees grow well. Carbon/macadam and structural soils are used below hardcover surfaces and sustain the load from traffic. In raingardens, which is a dry system, biochar increases the water-holding capacity and thereby secure the establishment and growth of the plants. Biochar is also purifying the storm-water reducing the pollution loads to recipients. New applications that have been tested is in green roofs, in living walls, in parks, street trees, courtyards and urban meadows. Survival and growth of the vegetation is determined and preliminary results show that biochar can be used in and benefit these vegetation systems. By expanding the use of biochar into urban vegetation, the CO2 mitigation potential is increasing Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Association study between autistic-like traits and polymorphisms in the autism candidate regions RELN, CNTNAP2, SHANK3, and CDH9/10

The Swedish Research CouncilThe Swedish Council for Working Life and Social ResearchThe Petrus and Augusta Hedlund FoundationÅke Wiberg foundationÅhlens FoundationWilhelm and Martina Lundgren FoundationThe Sahlgrenska AcademyPublishe

Survival trends in patients diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer in the nordic countries 1990-2016 : The NORDCAN survival studies

Background: Survival of patients with colon and rectal cancer has improved in all Nordic countries during the past decades. The aim of this study was to further assess survival trends in patients with colon and rectal cancer in the Nordic countries by age at diagnosis and to present additional survival measures. Methods: Data on colon and rectal cancer cases diagnosed in the Nordic countries between 1990 and 2016 were obtained from the NORDCAN database. Relative survival was estimated using flexible parametric models. Both age-standardized and age-specific measures for women and men were estimated from the models, as well as reference-adjusted crude probabilities of death and life-years lost. Results: The five-year age-standardized relative survival of colon and rectal cancer patients continued to improve for women and men in all Nordic countries, from around 50% in 1990 to about 70% at the end of the study period. In general, survival was similar across age and sex. The largest improvement was seen for Danish men and women with rectal cancer, from 41% to 69% and from 43% to 71%, respectively. The age-standardized and reference-adjusted five-year crude probability of death in colon cancer ranged from 30% to 36% across countries, and for rectal cancer from 20% to 33%. The average number of age-standardized and reference-adjusted life-years lost ranged between six and nine years. Conclusion: There were substantial improvements in colon and rectal cancer survival in all Nordic countries 1990-2016. Of special note is that the previously observed survival disadvantage in Denmark is no longer present. (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Trends in cancer survival in the Nordic countries 1990-2016 : the NORDCAN survival studies

Background Differences in cancer survival between the Nordic countries have previously been reported. The aim of this study was to examine whether these differences in outcome remain, based on updated information from five national cancer registers. Materials and methods The data used for the analysis was from the NORDCAN database focusing on nine common cancers diagnosed 1990-2016 in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with maximum follow-up through 2017. Relative survival (RS) was estimated at 1 and 5 years using flexible parametric RS models, and percentage point differences between the earliest and latest years available were calculated. Results A consistent improvement in both 1- and 5-year RS was found for most studied sites across all countries. Previously observed differences between the countries have been attenuated. The improvements were particularly pronounced in Denmark that now has cancer survival similar to the other Nordic countries. Conclusion The reasons for the observed improvements in cancer survival are likely multifactorial, including earlier diagnosis, improved treatment options, implementation of national cancer plans, uniform national cancer care guidelines and standardized patient pathways. The previous survival disadvantage in Denmark is no longer present for most sites. Continuous monitoring of cancer survival is of importance to assess the impact of changes in policies and the effectiveness of health care systems.Peer reviewe