Evidence for two interaction regions for phosphatidylinositol(4,5)-bisphosphate on mammalian profilin I

AbstractThe binding of phosphatidylinositol(4,5)-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) to profilin at a region distinct from the actin interaction surface is demonstrated by experiments with covalently cross-linked profilin:β-actin. The result is in agreement with observations made with several mutant profilins and provides strong evidence for two regions on mammalian profilin mediating electrostatic interaction with phosphatidylinositol lipids; one close to the binding site for poly(L-proline), and one partially overlapping with the actin-binding surface. Congruent with this, two plant profilins, which have a reduced number of positive amino acids in one of these regions, displayed a dramatically lower binding to PI(4,5)P2 compared to human profilin I

"Deras öde skakade hela Sverige": Kvällstidningarnas skildringar av dödade barns begravningar mellan åren 2005-2015

Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka på vilka sätt kvällstidningarna Aftonbladet och Expressen valde att gestalta offentliggjorda begravningar av barn som omkommit till följd av mord eller våldsbrott under tidsperioden 2005-2015. Vi har även analyserat vilka metoder och grepp tidningarna använt sig av för att styra läsaren mot ett visst sätt att sörja, samt om det finns outtalade normer eller en praxis gällande gråten. Vi har använt oss av medieforskaren Peter Dahlgrens analysmetod, som utgår från hermeneutiken och semiotiken, för att på ett allsidigt sätt tolka innehållet i tidningarnas texter. Genom en urvalsprocess av det omfattande material som skrivits om barnens begravningar, valde vi enbart att analysera kvällstidningarna Aftonbladets och Expressens texter. Detta på grund av tidningarnas räckvidder och deras iögonfallande gestaltningar. I arbetsprocessen urskiljde vi fyra utmärkande tematiska fält som vi valde att utgå från i vår analys: offret, de sörjande, mediernas delaktighet samt nationell samhörighet. Resultatet av våra empiriska studier visade att tidningarna skildrade begravningarna på ett mycket intimt och känslosamt sätt. De avlidna barnen upphöjdes och framställdes som bättre än oss andra. De anhöriga förväntades att följa så kallade “sorgemanuskript” för att vägleda läsarna om hur de skulle sörja. Gråten är ett synligt bevis på sorg och kvinnorna förväntades uttrycka sina känslor med tårar; vid avsaknaden av tårarna fick medierna problem med att berätta om sorgen. Samtidigt var utrymmet för manlig gråt mer restriktiv, såvida det inte gällde män med annan kulturell bakgrund. Genom exempelvis kampanjer och insamlingar hade kvällstidningarna direkt kommunikation med läsarna för att styrka den nationella gemenskapskänslan men också stötta de anhöriga i sin sorg. Genom att rapportera om insamlingarna skapade tidningarna sina egna nyheter. Slutligen har analysen visat att mediernas delaktighet samt sorgedirigering haft en mycket viktig roll i vinklingen av rapporteringen av såväl de anhörigas sorg som nationens gemensamma sorgeyttringar

Life Cycle Sustainability Performance Assessment Method for Comparison of Civil Engineering Works Design Concepts: Case Study of a Bridge

Standardized and transparent life cycle sustainability performance assessment methods are essential for improving the sustainability of civil engineering works. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the potential of using a life cycle sustainability assessment method in a road bridge case study. The method is in line with requirements of relevant standards, uses life cycle assessment, life cycle costs and incomes, and environmental externalities, and applies normalization and weighting of indicators. The case study involves a short-span bridge in a design-build infrastructure project, which was selected for its generality. Two bridge design concepts are assessed and compared: a concrete slab frame bridge and a soil-steel composite bridge. Data available in the contractor’s tender phase are used. The two primary aims of this study are (1) to analyse the practical application potential of the method in carrying out transparent sustainability assessments of design concepts in the early planning and design stages, and (2) to examine the results obtained in the case study to identify indicators in different life cycle stages and elements of the civil engineering works project with the largest impacts on sustainability. The results show that the method facilitates comparisons of the life cycle sustainability performance of design concepts at the indicator and construction element levels, enabling better-informed and more impartial design decisions to be made

Försök till transspråkande undervisning

Today many classrooms in Sweden are multilingual, characterized by a diversity of linguistic, cultural and epistemological resources available for teaching and learning. Handling this diversity puts certain demands on teachers in order to provide all students equal learning opportunities in a context where the language of instruction is Swedish. As a response to this, local school development projects based on multilingualism as a resource have been initiated. This study focuses on two such projects with the aim to deepen the knowledge about how translanguaging teaching practices can be developed. To make visible what characterizes as well as enable and constrain translanguaging teaching practices under development, the theory of practice architectures is used. Three different practices are identified The Multilingual, The Ambivalent multilingual and The Monolingual teaching practice. The practices are formed by differing cultural-discursive, material-economic and social-political arrangements. Above all, cultural-discursive arrangements such as norms and ideas affect the differences between the three practices. Existing norms and ideas affect how material and economic resources, mostly identic in all three practices, are used. Furthermore, monolinguistic norms seem to form hierarchical relations. Thus, we argue to develop translanguaging practices multilingual norms are important to develop

Correction: Farnfield, M.M., et al. Whey Protein Ingestion Activates mTOR-dependent Signalling after Resistance Exercise in Young Men: A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients 2009, 1, 263-275.

We found an error in our paper recently published in Nutrients [1]

A harmonized method for automatable life cycle sustainability performance assessment and comparison of civil engineering works design concepts

The life cycle sustainability performance of civil engineering works is increasingly important. The possibility to influence the sustainability of a project design is larger in the conceptual stage than in later stages. Better-informed decisions regarding design choices’ impact on sustainability can be made by comparing conceptual project designs based on an assessment of their life cycle sustainability performance. It is essential that concepts are assessed in a harmonized way and compared impartially. Current standards provide the general framework for the assessment of sustainability performance, but do not give detailed guidance on calculation of sustainability indicators and their aggregation. Since design in automated systems is becoming increasingly common, there is a growing need for machine-readable data and automatable assessment methods. Assessment methods which can be applied using open-access data is important to achieve fair competition. This paper aims to provide a method for life cycle sustainability performance assessment and comparison of civil engineering works design concepts, possible to apply using open-access Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and life cycle assessment (LCA) data. The purpose is to enable fair and automatable sustainability assessments of design concepts, to facilitate impartial comparisons of such assessments as a basis for choosing sustainable designs. A literature review of relevant standards and scientific papers on sustainability assessment of construction and civil engineering works was performed. A harmonized, fair and automatable method for life cycle sustainability assessment and comparison of civil engineering works design concepts, well-suited for optimization purposes, is presented. However, the aim currently limits categories and indicators possible to include. The proposed method includes guidance on the calculation of environmental, social and economic indicators, based on LCA, life cycle costing (LCC) and external costs, and aggregation using normalisation and weighting factors of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF). The proposed method allows for an impartial comparison of the sustainability of design concepts, resulting in better-informed decisions

Information technology aspects of large-scale implementation of automated surveillance of healthcare-associated infections

PRAISE network: Maaike S. M. van Mourik, Stephanie M.van Rooden, Mohamed Abbas, Olov Aspevall, Pascal Astagneau, Marc J. M. Bonten, Elena Carrara, Aina Gomila-Grange, Sabine C. de Greeff , Sophie Gubbels, Wendy Harrison, Hilary Humphreys, Anders Johansson, Mayke B. G. Koek, Brian Kristensen, Alain Lepape, Jean-Christophe Lucet, Siddharth Mookerjee, Pontus Naucler, Zaira R. Palacios-Baena, Elisabeth Presterl, Miquel Pujol, Jacqui Reilly, Christopher Roberts, Evelina Tacconelli, Daniel Teixeira, Thomas Tängdén, John Karlsson Valik, Michael Behnke, PetraGastmeier.[Introduction] Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major public health concern. Monitoring of HAI rates, with feedback, is a core component of infection prevention and control programmes. Digitalization of healthcare data has created novel opportunities for automating the HAI surveillance process to varying degrees. However, methods are not standardized and vary widely between different healthcare facilities. Most current automated surveillance (AS) systems have been confined to local settings, and practical guidance on how to implement large-scale AS is needed.[Methods] This document was written by a task force formed in March 2019 within the PRAISE network (Providing a Roadmap for Automated Infection Surveillance in Europe), gathering experts in HAI surveillance from ten European countries.[Results] The document provides an overview of the key e-health aspects of implementing an AS system of HAI in a clinical environment to support both the infection prevention and control team and information technology (IT) departments. The focus is on understanding the basic principles of storage and structure of healthcare data, as well as the general organization of IT infrastructure in surveillance networks and participating healthcare facilities. The fundamentals of data standardization, interoperability and algorithms in relation to HAI surveillance are covered. Finally, technical aspects and practical examples of accessing, storing and sharing healthcare data within a HAI surveillance network, as well as maintenance and quality control of such a system, are discussed.[Conclusions] With the guidance given in this document, along with the PRAISE roadmap and governance documents, readers will find comprehensive support to implement large-scale AS in a surveillance network.This network has been supported under the 7th transnational call within the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR), Network Call on Surveillance (2018) and was thereby funded by ZonMw (grant 549007001). This project also received support from the COMBACTE MAGNET EPI-Net project funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement 115523 | 115620 | 115737 | 777362, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and EFPIA companies in kind contribution. J.K.V. was supported by grants from Region Stockholm and Vinnova.Peer reviewe

Bayesian model and selection signature analyses reveal risk factors for canine atopic dermatitis

Canine atopic dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disease with clinical similarities to human atopic dermatitis. Several dog breeds are at increased risk for developing this disease but previous genetic associations are poorly defined. To identify additional genetic risk factors for canine atopic dermatitis, we here apply a Bayesian mixture model adapted for mapping complex traits and a cross-population extended haplotype test to search for disease-associated loci and selective sweeps in four dog breeds at risk for atopic dermatitis. We define 15 associated loci and eight candidate regions under selection by comparing cases with controls. One associated locus is syntenic to the major genetic risk locus (Filaggrin locus) in human atopic dermatitis. One selection signal in common type Labrador retriever cases positions across the TBC1D1 gene (body weight) and one signal of selection in working type German shepherd controls overlaps the LRP1B gene (brain), near the KYNU gene (psoriasis). In conclusion, we identify candidate genes, including genes belonging to the same biological pathways across multiple loci, with potential relevance to the pathogenesis of canine atopic dermatitis. The results show genetic similarities between dog and human atopic dermatitis, and future across-species genetic comparisons are hereby further motivated

Stakeholder consensus for decision making in eye-gaze control technology for children, adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy service provision: findings from a Delphi study.

BACKGROUND: Limited research exists to guide clinical decisions about trialling, selecting, implementing and evaluating eye-gaze control technology. This paper reports on the outcomes of a Delphi study that was conducted to build international stakeholder consensus to inform decision making about trialling and implementing eye-gaze control technology with people with cerebral palsy. METHODS: A three-round online Delphi survey was conducted. In Round 1, 126 stakeholders responded to questions identified through an international stakeholder Advisory Panel and systematic reviews. In Round 2, 63 respondents rated the importance of 200 statements generated by in Round 1. In Round 3, 41 respondents rated the importance of the 105 highest ranked statements retained from Round 2. RESULTS: Stakeholders achieved consensus on 94 of the original 200 statements. These statements related to person factors, support networks, the environment, and technical aspects to consider during assessment, trial, implementation and follow-up. Findings reinforced the importance of an individualised approach and that information gathered from the user, their support network and professionals are central when measuring outcomes. Information required to support an application for funding was obtained. CONCLUSION: This Delphi study has identified issues which are unique to eye-gaze control technology and will enhance its implementation with people with cerebral palsy

Whey Protein Ingestion Activates mTOR-dependent Signalling after Resistance Exercise in Young Men: A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of resistance exercise with the ingestion of supplementary protein on the activation of the mTOR cascade, in human skeletal muscle has not been fully elucidated. In this study, the impact of a single bout of resistance exercise, immediately followed by a single dose of whey protein isolate (WPI) or placebo supplement, on the activation of mTOR signalling was analyzed. Young untrained men completed a maximal single-legged knee extension exercise bout and were randomized to ingest either WPI supplement (n = 7) or the placebo (n = 7). Muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis before, and 2, 4 and 24 h post-exercise. WPI or placebo ingestion consumed immediately post-exercise had no impact on the phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473). However, WPI significantly enhanced phosphorylation of mTOR (Ser2448), 4E-BP1 (Thr37/46) and p70S6K (Thr389) at 2 h post-exercise. This study demonstrates that a single dose of WPI, when consumed in modest quantities, taken immediately after resistance exercise elicits an acute and transient activation of translation initiation within the exercised skeletal muscle