SARS-CoV-2 can cause clinical and inapparent disease and mortality in several animals cohabitating with humans, and sheep are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 due to virus–receptor interactions similar to those in humans. Hence, sheep have the potential to be infected, spread, and develop neutralising antibodies (NAbs) against SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of SARS-Co

The human gut microbiome is a highly complex environment, where a myriad of intricate microbiota-microbiota and microbiota-host interactions occur. The human gut microbiota has been associated with both health and disease. The research presented in this thesis focuses on investigating how the butyrate-producing human gut bacterium Roseburia hominis A2-183 (R. hominis) processes β-mannan oligosacch

The first years of life are a critical period of development, and circumstances during this period can affect individuals throughout life. But to what extent do disadvantaged circumstances in childhood affect individual wellbeing in later life and for whom? Can interventions in childhood break adversity over the life course? For whom are interventions most effective and why?This thesis aims to invThe first years of life are a critical period of development, and circumstances during this period can affect individuals throughout life. But to what extent do disadvantaged circumstances in childhood affect individual wellbeing in later life and for whom? Can interventions in childhood break adversity over the life course? For whom are interventions most effective and why? This thesis aims to in

The impact of islet neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) is less understood. We investigated this issue by performing simultaneous measurements of the activity of nNOS versus inducible NOS (iNOS) in GSIS using isolated murine islets. Additionally, the significance of extracellular NO on GSIS was studied. Islets incubated at basal glucose showed modes

The discovery of exoplanets has revealed an intriguing class of planets unlike anything in the Solar System: ultra-hot Jupiters. These gas giants share similarities with Jupiter in size and in their hydrogen- and helium-dominated atmospheres, yet their proximity to their host stars results in vastly different atmospheric conditions. Intense stellar radiation heats them to temperatures exceeding 20

Particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) is the most efficient of the two groups of enzymes that can hydroxylate methane. The enzyme is membrane bound and therefore hard to study experimentally. For that reason, there is still no consensus regarding the location and nature of the active site. We have used combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) methods to study the reactivity

The European Union member states received about 385,000 asylum applications from children and adolescents below 18 years in 2015, and 398,000 in 2016. The latest political crises and war have led to an upsurge in refugee movements into European countries, giving rise to a re-evaluation of the epidemiology of psychiatric disorders and mental health problems among young refugees and asylum seekers.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry biological information from their parent cell to other cells in the body. To intercept and decipher this information necessitates the isolation of EVs from complex backgrounds such as blood or spinal fluid. Acoustic trapping has been previously demonstrated as a promising technique for EV isolation from cell media, blood plasma and urine. The acoustic fields stru

Background Our aim was to evaluate if increased survival and new ventilation strategies were accompanied by a changed incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in Sweden over a decade. Methods Data from two Swedish population-based studies of live-born infants with gestational age (GA) 22–26 weeks, born during 2004–2007 (n=702) and 2014–2016 (n=885), were compared for survival, any BPD, modera

The KEYNOTE-564 trial showed that adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy with pembrolizumab, a PD-1 antibody, significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) and overall (OS) survival in localised clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with a high risk of relapse. The TiNivo and CONTACT-03 trials have reported results for subsequent therapy after progression on ICI therapy in the met

Achieving good acoustic particle or cell separation performance requires skilled operators, who must carefully fine-tune the input parameters (actuation voltages, flow rates, and flow split ratios). Often the fine-tuning is done by time-consuming parameter sweeps, which are tedious and expensive. Here, we present a straightforward model-based approach to determining input parameters that yield opt

Varje cell i kroppen bär på drygt tjugotusen gener som ärvs från föräldrarna och som fungerar som instruktioner för att producera kroppens olika proteiner. Gener har en bestämd sekvens för att deras protein ska uppfylla rätt funktion men när cellerna delar på sig eller utsätts för yttre faktorer såsom strålning eller giftiga kemikalier kan en mutation uppstå. Det felaktiga proteinet kan ge upphov Background: The utility of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in diagnosing cardiomyopathies (CM) and heritable connective tissue disorders (HCTD) is limited by high costs and ambiguous results. Letting the referring physician decide whom to refer for WGS increases the absolute number of positive patients identified but lowers clinical yield (proportion of patients identified with a pathogenic gene var

Background: Malignant hyperthermia (MH) susceptibility is associated with variants in RYR1, the gene encoding the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor-1 (RyR1), in 70–75% of patients. Functional characterisation demonstrating an increased sensitivity to RyR1 agonists is necessary among other criteria for inclusion in the European Malignant Hyperthermia Group list of MH susceptibility diagnostic vari

Land use/vegetation cover change, reflecting a range of human land use practices, is the most prevalent and immediate influence on alterations in soil quality. The physical structure of soil is crucial for safeguarding soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), as it modulates the physical protection mechanisms and the distribution of these elements within the soil. Nevertheless, the impact of soil physica

This article presents new estimates of the material living standards among the rural population in southern Sweden from the 1670s up to 1865. The development of rural consumer patterns over the period is analyzed using a newly constructed database of 1665 probate inventories from three benchmark periods. It finds that that all rural households, no matter their socioeconomic status, diversified theThis article presents new estimates of the material living standards among the rural population in southern Sweden from the 1670s up to 1865. The development of rural consumer patterns over the period is analyzed using a newly constructed database of 1665 probate inventories from three benchmark periods. It finds that that all rural households, no matter their socioeconomic status, diversified the

Background: Problem gambling and gambling disorder cause severe social, psychiatric, and financial consequences, and voluntary self-exclusion is a common harm reduction tool used by individuals with gambling problems. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore users’ experience of a novel nationwide, multioperator gambling self-exclusion service, “Spelpaus,” in Sweden and to inform stakeholde

ObjectivesTo investigate bone mineral density (BMD), osteoporosis prevalence and SSc-specific associations of BMD in SSc patients compared with background population.MethodsIn total, 211 SSc patients (182 women, 29 men; mean age 61.3 and 62.2 years, respectively) and 505 age- and sex-matched controls from the same geographic area participated. BMD and T-score at total hip and lumbar spine was meas

Objective: The primary aim was to identify radiomics ultrasound features that can distinguish between benign and malignant adnexal masses with solid ultrasound morphology, and between primary malignant (including borderline and primary invasive) and metastatic solid ovarian masses, and to develop ultrasound-based machine learning models that include radiomics features to discriminate between benig