Tuotos- ja hehtaarikohtaisten kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen pienentäminen tuomalla lypsykarjataloutta ja biokaasunurmia viljavaltaiselle maatalousalueelle

Nykymuotoiseen maatalouteen liittyy useita ympäristökestävyyden haasteita niin globaalilla kuin kansallisellakin tasolla. Nykyiselle ruoantuotannolle tyypillistä piirteitä ovat muun muassa riippuvuus kemianteollisista tuotantopanoksista, maatalousekosysteemien heikentynyt biodiver- siteetti sekä kasvintuotannon ja kotieläintuotannon eriytyminen toisistaan. Ruoan alkutuotanto aiheuttaa myös suurimman osan koko ruokajärjestelmän kasvihuonekaasupäästöistä, jotka puo- lestaan ovat merkittävä osa globaaleja ja kansallisia kokonaispäästöjä. Ruoantuotannossa kasvihuonekaasupäästöjä aiheutuu erityisesti maankäytöstä ja sen muu- toksista, kotieläinten ruoansulatuksesta ja lannankäsittelystä, typpilannoituksesta sekä suorasta ja epäsuorasta fossiilisten polttoaineiden käytöstä. Päästöjä on kuitenkin mahdollista kompensoida varastoimalla ilmakehän hiilidioksidin hiiltä viljelymaiden hiilivarastoihin viljelykäytäntöjen avulla sekä tehostamalla kasvien yhteyttämän energian hyötykäyttöä maataloudessa. Agroekologisen symbioosin (AES) toimintamalli lisää maatalouden energia- ja ravin- neomavaraisuutta vähentäen tuotannon riippuvuutta ulkoisista energia- ja ravinnepanoksista. Toimintamallin keskiössä ovat biokaasun tuotanto ja typensitojanurmien viljely. Typensitojanur- met sopivat myös rehunurmiksi maitokarjalle ja maitokarjatuotannon lisääminen on keino lisätä typensitojanurmien viljelyä ja paikallista ruoantuotantoa kasviviljelyvaltaisella alueella. Tämän tutkimuksen taustana oli agroekologisten symbioosien teoria, ja tavoitteena oli sel- vittää biokaasun tuotannon ja maitokarjatalouden lisäämisen vaikutukset kasvintuotantovaltaisen maatalousalueen tuotos- ja hehtaarikohtaisiin kasvihuonekaasupäästöihin. Tutkimus toteutettiin päästökertoimiin ja viljelymaiden hiilitasearvioihin perustuvana päästölaskelmana kahdelle mal- linnetulle tuotantosysteemille. Toinen systeemeistä edusti tyypillistä kasvinviljelyvaltaista Etelä- Suomalaista maatalousaluetta ja toinen oli skenaario, jossa samalle alueelle sovellettaisiin ag- roekologisen symbioosin toimintamallia ja lisättäisiin maitokarjataloutta. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että skenaarion mukainen tuotantosysteemi vähentäisi tut- kitun alueen proteiinimääräisen ruokatuotoksen kasvihuonekaasupäästöjä 57 % ja energiamää- räisen 41 %. Skenaarioitu tuotantosysteemi ei vähentäisi hehtaarikohtaisia kasvihuonekaasupääs- töjä. Hehtaarikohtaiset päästöt kasvaisivat kuitenkin vain 4 % nykysysteemiin verrattuna

Haemodynamically significant plaque formation and regional endothelial dysfunction in cholesterol-fed ApoE

A B S T R A C T Flow-mediated vasodilation is suggested as one of the mechanisms involved in arterial expansive remodelling, which is thought to be a defence mechanism in atherogenesis. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that lumen obstructive plaque formation is associated with failure of NO (nitric oxide)-dependent vasodilation in conduit vessels. Cardiac function and aortic root flow velocities were assessed using high-resolution echocardiography and two-dimensional-guided pulsed Doppler in ApoE −/− (apolipoprotein E-deficient) mice fed a standard or high-cholesterol diet. Endothelial function in the proximal and mid-descending aortic regions was studied using a myograph technique. Flow velocity at the aortic root of cholesterol-fed ApoE −/− mice was significantly increased as a result of lumen narrowing, detected via histological analysis. NO-dependent vasodilatory responses were selectively impaired in the atherosclerosis-prone vascular regions in cholesterol-fed ApoE −/− mice. In conclusion, consumption of a high-cholesterol diet results in lumen obstructive plaque formation in ApoE −/− mice, which significantly alters aortic root haemodynamics. This phenomenon is associated with impaired NO-dependent vasodilation in vessel segments known to be prone to atherosclerosis

Carbon guide : An outlook on carbon in soil and on carbon cultivation

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Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Structural studies of FocB and Transthyretin

The molecular structure of a protein decides its function, its way to interact with other molecules. Using X-ray crystallography methods, a 3-dimensional, atomic model of a macromolecule can be determined. In this thesis work, the X-ray structures of two different proteins involved in human diseases were studied: FocB, which is associated with urinary tract infections, and transthyretin, which is the causative of hereditary systemic transthyretin amyloidosis. FocB is a 12 kDa protein which binds DNA in an oligomeric fashion. It is involved in the regulation of the expression of bacterial surface organelles (fimbriae), responsible for the adhesion to specific receptors in host tissue. Specifically, FocB regulates the expression of one fimbrial type found in uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC): F1C. Our FocB structure revealed it to be an all-alpha helical protein with an atypical helix-turn-helix (HTH) motif. Residues previously found important for DNA-binding in the FocB homologue PapB, were not located in the putative “recognition helix” of the HTH-motif. FocB was also found to bind to the minor groove of the DNA. Together with homology searches showing that the DNA-interactions possible for FocB are greatly diversified, these findings indicated a DNA-interaction different from the typical DNA-interaction of a HTH-protein. Transthyretin (TTR) is a plasma protein involved in transport of thyroxin (T4) and retinol. Mutated TTR is also the cause of the neurodegenerative disease hereditary systemic transthyretin amyloidosis, which is characterized by systemic deposition of TTR amyloid fibrils. The amyloid occurs through a process of TTR tetramer destabilization and partial unfolding. A common way to inhibit amyloid formation is to design small molecules that bind unoccupied thyroxin binding sites and stabilize the tetrameric form of the protein. The structural characterization of the binding of chloride and iodide ions to TTR revealed that two of three previously identified halogen binding pockets in the T4-binding site were just as optimal for halide binding. In addition, a third halide-binding site, bridging two TTR subunits, was found. In biochemical experiments, chloride and iodide ions were shown to stabilize the TTR structure and inhibit the TTR aggregation and/or amyloid formation, with iodide ions doing so more efficiently than the chloride ions. In the search for new TTR amyloid-inhibiting drugs, the identified halide-binding sites in the T4-binding pocket are possible starting points for structure-based drug design

Vad döljer sig bakom orden? : Strategi och variation vid utläsning av matematiska symboluttryck

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka variationen i utläsningen av matematiska symboluttryck och vilka strategier, liknande dem som identifierats vid andraspråks-kommunikation, som används för att överkomma problem vid muntlig kommunikation av uttrycken. Genom att studenter fick läsa utvalda symboluttryck högt innantill, men också med ord skriva hur de skulle läsa olika integraluttryck, identifierades en rad olika strategier för utläsning och många variationer noterades. Då den skriftliga datainsamlingsmetoden var ny, utvärderades denna. Att instruera informanterna om att ”skriva som de skulle säga” resulterade i text som lätt kunde översättas i talspråk och därefter analyseras på liknande sätt som muntliga utläsningar. Studien resulterade i en presentation av några av de vanligaste variationerna när det gäller utläsning av valda symboluttryck; en ovan läsare av integraluttryck kastar t.ex. relativt ofta om integrationsgränserna och/eller utelämnar ”dx”, att göra omskrivningar för att kompensera för bristande ordförråd är vanligt och vid uttal av en främmande symbol verkar de flesta välja att ersätta uttalet med uttalet av en till formen likartad symbol. Att många av de strategier som förekommer vid andraspråkskommunikation kunde identifieras vid symbolutläsningarna kan vara ett tecken på att de hinder man ska överkomma vid kommunikationen, t.ex. brister i ordförråd och komplikationer vid språkväxling, liknar varandra. Vikten av att kunna läsa symboluttryck, dels för att lösa matematiska problem, men också för att förstå matematiska texter diskuteras. Att öva på att översätta symboluttryck till talat språk kan vara värdefull matematikundervisning

Mellan symboler och ord : om strukturella kopplingar i matematiktexter och hur dessa kan påverka läsningen

While students progress through their school years, they are expected to develop reading skills in all academic subjects, including mathematics. Mathematics texts, being multisemiotic, require readers to make meaning not only from written language but also from mathematical symbols and visualizations. Integrating content presented through different sign systems is essential for creating coherence. Thus, the organizational structure of these texts becomes critically important when designing texts for learning. The purpose of this thesis is to build knowledge of the organization of mathematical symbols and written language, and to achieve better understanding of how this organization influences the reading of mathematics texts.  First, the structural connections between mathematical symbols and written language in mathematics texts designed for students are characterized. Five distinct categories of such connections—Interwoven, Chunked, Marked, Adjoined, and Referenced—are identified, ranging from connections in which mathematical symbols are integrated into sentences (Interwoven), to those based solely on the proximity between two text sequences (Adjoined). The prevalence of these connection categories in textbooks from different school levels is also investigated. The results indicate a progression in the use of structural connections, with a shift from reliance on proximity in early school years towards a preference for symbols interwoven in sentences between years 2 and 5, suggesting that all students eventually need to navigate texts with interwoven symbols. Additionally, changes can be seen in how symbols are being connected to more detailed meanings. Second, the reading of mathematics texts employing two distinct text designs inspired by the new framework is compared: one design features only sentences with interwoven symbols, whereas the other uses a graphic to highlight key connections between symbols and words. The reading processes and experiences of students are investigated by analyzing gaze measurements and interviews. The results indicate that the two designs have different advantages depending on the situation. While the graphic design can facilitate reading and interpretation by drawing attention to the connections between symbols and words, enabling quicker content matching, the symbols interwoven in sentences might provide better access to details or allow more efficient reading in other contexts. Moreover, individual differences in processing and experiences were noted: while some readers benefitted from the graphic design, others did not. Yet, as reading becomes more complex, the graphic is increasingly appreciated. It is concluded that while readers generally prefer text designs that enhance readability, the optimal design varies based on the reader and the context. The discussion includes what text design benefits whom and under what circumstances.

Students’ reception of two alternative arrangements of mathematical symbols and words : differences in focus and text navigation

To engage with specialized subject content, students must develop adequate reading skills. In mathematics, this includes to integrate information from different semiotic resources. This study elucidates how differences in the structural connections between mathematical symbols and written language in mathematics texts can affect the reading process. With the help of eye-tracking techniques, we investigated differences in focus and navigation when 15-year-olds read task texts in two distinct designs: a traditional design with written language presented in lines and all connections based on semantics; and a design including a graphic emphasizing links between symbols and explanations. While the graphic design was found to facilitate fast interpretation of the symbol–language connections, the traditional design seemed to encourage global reading, involving more text parts. When designing texts for mathematics learning, structural connections may be chosen to adapt texts to various student groups and purposes