RNA expression patterns in serum microvesicles from patients with glioblastoma multiforme and controls

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RNA from exosomes and other microvesicles contain transcripts of tumour origin. In this study we sought to identify biomarkers of glioblastoma multiforme in microvesicle RNA from serum of affected patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Microvesicle RNA from serum from patients with de-novo primary glioblastoma multiforme (N = 9) and normal controls (N = 7) were analyzed by microarray analysis. Samples were collected according to protocols approved by the Institutional Review Board. Differential expressions were validated by qRT-PCR in a separate set of samples (N = 10 in both groups).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Expression profiles of microvesicle RNA correctly separated individuals in two groups by unsupervised clustering. The most significant differences pertained to down-regulated genes (121 genes > 2-fold down) in the glioblastoma multiforme patient microvesicle RNA, validated by qRT-PCR on several genes. Overall, yields of microvesicle RNA from patients was higher than from normal controls, but the additional RNA was primarily of size < 500 nt. Gene ontology of the down-regulated genes indicated these are coding for ribosomal proteins and genes related to ribosome production.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Serum microvesicle RNA from patients with glioblastoma multiforme has significantly down-regulated levels of RNAs coding for ribosome production, compared to normal healthy controls, but a large overabundance of RNA of unknown origin with size < 500 nt.</p

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

Smärta och dess inverkan i vardagen hos individer med cerebral pares

Cirka två promille av barnen i Finland får diagnosen cerebral pares, CP. 44% av barn och unga med cerebral pares i Sverige upplever smärta. Av de personer som upplever smärta, anser 61% att smärtan försvårar vardagen. Hur motsvarande situation ser ut i Finland är inte ordentligt kartlagt. Ännu mindre hos vuxna personer med CP. Smärta är en komplex och skyddande mekanism där alla de faktorer som pekar på att individen behöver skyddas kommer att öka sannolikheten för smärta. I det här examensarbetet används den biopsykosociala modellen för smärta. Modellen är accepterad för beskrivning av vilka faktorer som påverkar smärta. Smärta influeras av fysiska, psykiska och sociala faktorer. Syftet med det här arbetet var att utreda hur vanligt smärta är hos personer med cerebral pares samt i vilken utsträckning smärtan inverkade i utvalda vardagliga situationer. För att undersöka detta skickades en enkät ut till medlemmarna inom CP-förbundet där de fick svara på frågor om lokaliseringen av smärta samt hur smärtan influerade vardagliga situationer. I enkäten registrerades 85 respondenter, varav 55 svarade på alla frågor. En stor andel av respondenterna var kvinnor och medelåldern var 37,64 år. Det fanns respondenter från alla nivåer av GMFCS-ER. Ett stort antal upplever smärta i nacke, axlar, rygg och bål samt höft, ljumskar och lår. Smärta relaterat till muskelspänningar var även vanligt förekommande. Smärta tycks inverka en stor del i dessa personers vardag. Normala och allmänna aktiviteter, rörelseförmåga, sömn och humör är sådant som betydande influerades av smärta. Liknande resultat kan ses i tidigare forskning. Studien identifierar inte någon signifikant korrelation mellan bakgrundsvariablerna ålder, kön eller GMFCS-ER nivå och smärtans lokalisering. Inte heller mellan bakgrundsfaktorerna och inverkan i vardagliga situationer. Det behövs ytterligare forskning för att vidare undersöka hur smärta inverkar i vardagen hos människor med cerebral pares. Arbetet är skrivet inom det samnordiska forskningsprojektet CP-North

Informative Art: Information Visualization in Everyday Environments

www.viktoria.se/fal Thanks to advances in display technologies, it will soon be possible to have electronic information displays virtually everywhere. We have developed the concept of Informative Art as a way to integrate information visualization in the everyday human environment. Informative Art combines a dynamically updated information display with the decorative role of visual art, such as posters and paintings. We present four examples of Informative Art, where we borrowed the styles of various modern artists to show different kinds of information. For instance, a composition similar to the style of an abstract painter, Piet Mondriaan, showed the current weather in six different cities, while a piece of “landscape art ” in the style of Richard Long gave a view of the last 30 days of global earthquake activity. We discuss how designing information visualizations for everyday environment introduces requirement that are different from those of graphical user interfaces for desktop computers

The LoveBomb: Encouraging the Communication of Emotions in Public Spaces

We are exploring the use of persuasive computational technology as an instrument for the communication of human emotions. Our current focus is on encouraging such communication between strangers. We present the concept of the LoveBomb- a mobile and persuasive device that allows people to anonymously communicate feelings of love (happiness) and sadness. The device contains a radio transceiver that the user can employ to send out shock waves of love, affecting people in the proximity carrying a LoveBomb device. The device also lets its users cry for compassion, quietly signaling to others that they are sad. The LoveBomb is intended to encourage people to express themselves emotionally when situated amongst strangers in public spaces. Focus group studies have provided us with an initial understanding regarding the LoveBomb’s potential social impact