Isolation and Identification of a Strain of Aspergillus Tubingensis With Deoxynivalenol Biotransformation Capability

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common contaminants of various foodstuffs. A biotransformation system was used in order to lessen the toxicity of DON. A strain of Aspergillus (NJA-1) was isolated from soil and cultured in an inorganic salt medium containing DON. Bt2a/Bt2b primers were used to amplify the β-tubulin gene of NJA-1. Sequence analysis the PCR product and morphology observation indicated that NJA-1 belonged to Aspergillus tubingensis (aerobic fungi). The DNA sequence information of the PCR product was deposited in GenBank (accession number DQ9025790). The DNA sequence had 99% similarity to the Aspergillus tubingensis accession number AY820009. An unknown compound in NJA-1 showed the ability to convert DON into another product. The molecular weight of the bioconversion product was 18.1 D (H2O) larger than that of DON. The analysis showed that DON could be hydrolyzed by NJA-1. The mean DON biotransformation rate was 94.4% after two weeks of cultivation. The finding presents a new method for DON biotransformation

Plasma haptoglobin and immunoglobulins as diagnostic indicators of deoxynivalenol intoxication

This study aimed to discover potential biomarkers for dioxynivalenol (DON) intoxication. B6C3F1 male mice were orally exposed to 0.83, 2.5 and 7.5 mg/kg body weight (bw) DON for 8 days and the differential protein expressions in their blood plasma were determined by SELDI - Time-of-Flight/Mass Spectrometry (TOF/MS) and the immunoglobulins (Igs) G, A, M and E in the serum were investigated. 11.7 kDa protein was significantly highly expressed according to DON administration and this protein was purified by employing a methyl ceramic HyperD F column with using optimization buffer for adsorption and desorption. The purified protein was identified as a haptoglobin precursor by peptide mapping with using LC/Q-TOF/MS and MALDI-TOF/MS and this was confirmed by western blotting and ELISA. IgG and IgM in serum were decreased in a dose-dependent manner and IgA was decreased at 7.5 mg/kg bw DON administration, but the IgE level was not changed. To compare the expressions of haptoglobin and the Igs patterns between aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEA) and DON intoxications, rats were orally administered with AFB1 1.0, ZEA 240 and DON 7.5 mg/kg bw for 8 days. Haptoglobin was increased only at DON 7.5 mg/kg bw, while it was slightly decreased at ZEA 240 mg/kg bw and it was not detected at all at AFB1 1.0 mg/kg bw. IgG and IgA were decreased by DON, but IgG, IgA, IgM and IgE were all increased by AFB1. No changes were observed by ZEA administration. These results show that plasma haptoglobin could be a diagnostic biomarker for DON intoxication when this is combined with examining the serum Igs

Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells Restore Brain Damage Induced Changes in Rat Somatosensory Cortex

Intraperitoneal transplantation of human umbilical cord blood (hUCB) cells has been shown to reduce sensorimotor deficits after hypoxic ischemic brain injury in neonatal rats. However, the neuronal correlate of the functional recovery and how such a treatment enforces plastic remodelling at the level of neural processing remains elusive. Here we show by in-vivo recordings that hUCB cells have the capability of ameliorating the injury-related impairment of neural processing in primary somatosensory cortex. Intact cortical processing depends on a delicate balance of inhibitory and excitatory transmission, which is disturbed after injury. We found that the dimensions of cortical maps and receptive fields, which are significantly altered after injury, were largely restored. Additionally, the lesion induced hyperexcitability was no longer observed in hUCB treated animals as indicated by a paired-pulse behaviour resembling that observed in control animals. The beneficial effects on cortical processing were reflected in an almost complete recovery of sensorimotor behaviour. Our results demonstrate that hUCB cells reinstall the way central neurons process information by normalizing inhibitory and excitatory processes. We propose that the intermediate level of cortical processing will become relevant as a new stage to investigate efficacy and mechanisms of cell therapy in the treatment of brain injury

Astrocyte activation and reactive gliosis : A new target in stroke?

Stroke is an acute insult to the central nervous system (CNS) that triggers a sequence of responses in the acute, subacute as well as later stages, with prominent involvement of astrocytes. Astrocyte activation and reactive gliosis in the acute stage of stroke limit the tissue damage and contribute to the restoration of homeostasis. Astrocytes also control many aspects of neural plasticity that is the basis for functional recovery. Here, we discuss the concept of intermediate filaments (nanofilaments) and the complement system as two handles on the astrocyte responses to injury that both present attractive opportunities for novel treatment strategies modulating astrocyte functions and reactive gliosis.Peer reviewe

The effect of astrocytes and reactive gliosis on neurogenesis and astrogenesis in mice

Astrocytes are the most common cell type in mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin constitute intermediate filaments (known also as nanofilaments), a part of the cytoskeleton, in astrocytes. In damaged CNS, astrocytes become reactive and increase the expression of GFAP and vimentin and alter the expression of the host of other genes, a process referred to as reactive gliosis. Reactive astrocytes have a neuroprotective effect in neurotrauma or brain ischemia, but they have also been shown to inhibit CNS regeneration. GFAP-/-Vim-/- mice are deficient in astrocyte intermediate filaments and after neurotrauma or in brain ischemia show less prominent reactive gliosis than wildtype mice. Mild reactive gliosis occurs in the hippocampus of healthy aging individuals, both in rodents and humans. Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus is known to decline during life. We assessed the effect of age-related reactive gliosis on hippocampal neurogenesis in GFAP-/-Vim-/- and wildtype mice (Paper I). We found that attenuated reactive gliosis in aged GFAP-/-Vim-/- mice was linked to higher hippocampal cell proliferation and neurogenesis. Our data suggest that age-related reactive gliosis may be a cause for declining neurogenesis in aging brain. Our research group previously showed that the attenuation of reactive gliosis in GFAP-/-Vim-/- mice improved integration of neural grafts. Here, we addressed whether GFAP-/-Vim-/- astrocytes affect neural progenitor cell differentiation in vitro and survival and differentiation of grafted neural progenitor cells in a neurogenic niche in the brain (Paper II). Using cocultures of neural progenitor cells and astrocytes, we found that GFAP-/-Vim-/- astrocytes increased the number of neural progenitor-derived neurons and astrocytes. When adult hippocampal progenitor cells were grafted in the hippocampal region, GFAP-/-Vim-/- recipients showed more graft-derived astrogenesis and neurogenesis. These findings suggest that attenuation of reactive gliosis may be a suitable strategy for enhancing adult neurogenesis and for increasing the efficiency of neural progenitor cell transplantation. In the next study (Paper III), we found that the baseline and posttraumatic hippocampal neurogenesis and some aspects of learning and memory were improved in GFAP-/-Vim-/- mice compared to wildtype controls. Moreover, we provide evidence that astrocytes constitute an important niche for production of new neural cells in the adult hippocampus

ANALYSIS OF LEXICON IN JAPANESE ADULT AND CHILDREN’S LITERATURE. Comparison of Kawauso and Serohiki no Gauche

This paper investigates the usage of Japanese vocabulary in two different texts: Kawauso (The Otter) by Kuniko Mukōda and Serohiki no Gauche (Gauche the cellist) by Kenji Miyazawa. Japanese vocabulary is commonly divided into three main lexical classes: Native Japanese words (NJ, 和語), Sino-Japanese Words (SJ, 漢語) and foreign loan words (FL, 外来語). In addition, many scholars consider onomatopoeia as a fourth lexical class. It has therefore been considered as such in this study. The framework for this study is based on the work of Yamaguchi (2007) and the frequency of appearance of the four lexical classes in each of the texts is measured and compared between each other. The results show that with respect to the total number of words in each respective text, Mukōda more frequently used NJ, SJ than Miyazawa while FL was used more frequently by Miyazawa. Both authors however used many hybrid words, which were not included in this study. Nonetheless, when comparing the number of appearance of NJ, SJ and FL with respect to the appearance of those three categories in the texts, the results show very similar results between both texts. Finally, onomatopoeia was used infrequently, with Miyazawa using much more than Mukōda

Upplevelser av att använda en applikation till smartmobil för att upprätthålla dygnsrytm : En intervjustudie med personer som har en eller flera psykiatriska diagnoser

Introduktion: Litteraturen gällande Applikationer till smartmobil som på olika sätt behandlar bristande aktivitetsengagemang, aktivitetsobalans och sömnsvårigheter är i dagsläget begränsad. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva hur personer med en eller flera psykiatriska diagnoser upplever sömn, aktivitetsbalans och aktivitetsengagemang i vardagen efter att ha använt en applikation inställd för att upprätthålla dygnsrytm. Metod: Åtta deltagare med en eller flera psykiatriska diagnoser deltog i en intervention som innebar att de använde en applikation med larm- och påminnelsefunktioner. Specifika funktioner för den applikationen som användes var att deltagaren behövde genomföra en procedur för att stänga av alarmet, t.ex. att röra på sig eller lösa ett antal matematiska uppgifter. Därefter deltog de i en individuell intervju om deras upplevelser om hur applikationen har påverkat deras aktivitetsengagemang, aktivitetsbalans samt sömnsvårigheter. Resultat: Deltagarna beskrev att applikationen framför allt var användbar som stöd i att lyckas stiga upp på morgonen. Detta medförde en dygnsrytm som påverkade sömn, aktivitetsbalans och aktivitetsengagemang på ett positivt sätt. Konklusion: Det finns indikationer på att en applikation med dessa larmfunktioner kan vara ett alternativ för att förbättra aktivitetsbalans, aktivitetsengagemang och sömnsvårigheter, eftersom vikten av att kunna starta sina morgonrutiner i god tid gav goda förutsättningar att kunna ta till vara på vardagen och att känna sig mer trygg. Dessa indikationer skall absolut inte tolkas som några vetenskapligt grundade faktum, främst eftersom datainsamlingen inte gav förutsättningar för några sådana fynd.Introduction: The literature on how smartphone applications affects occupational engagement, occupational balance and sleep experience is currently limited. Purpose: The purpose was to describe how people with one or several psychiatric diagnoses experience sleep, occupational balance and occupational engagement in everyday life after using an application set to maintain circadian rhythm. Method: Eight participants with one or more psychiatric diagnoses participated in an intervention in which they used an application with alarm and reminder functions. Specific features of the application used were that the participant needed to perform a procedure to turn off the alarm, e.g. to engage in body movement or solve a number of math tasks. Afterwards they participated in an individual interview about their experiences about how the application has affected their occupational engagement, occupational balance and insomnia. Results: The participants described that the application was useful as support in rising out of bed in the morning. This resulted in a circadian rhythm that had a positive impact on sleep, occupational balance and occupational engagement. Conclusion: There are indications that an application with these alarm functions can be a suitable alternative to improve sleep, occupational balance and occupational engagement. The importance of being able to start their morning routines in good time provided good conditions for being able to take advantage of everyday life. These indications should not be interpreted as scientifically proven facts, mainly because the data collection did not provide the basis for such findings

Risk för förväxling av varumärken - en komparativ studie av varumärkesintrång i Benelux, Storbritannien och Sverige

Varumärkesrätten är den mest harmoniserade immaterialrätten i EU. I och med EG-rättens inträde skall frågorna om tolkningen av de gemensamrättsliga reglerna göras av EG-domstolen. Uppsatsen syftar till att kartlägga den utveckling av varumärkesrätten som skett i Sverige, Storbritannien och Beneluxländerna vid varumärkesintrång. Tyngdpunkten ligger på risk för förväxling som uppställs som ett kriterium för att varumärkesintrång skall föreligga. När varumärkesdirektivet införlivades i de nationella rättssystemen existerade ett långt ifrån homogent skydd för varumärken i de olika medlemsstaterna. I Beneluxländerna stod ett varumärkes goodwill och reklamfunktion i fokus för skyddet. I Storbritannien har skyddet för varumärken i stort sett endast omfattat ett skydd mot att ett varumärkes ursprung kan komma att förväxlas. Svensk rätt har använt förväxlingsbegreppet men det har inte varit särskilt väldefinierat i lagtexten utan lösningen har snarare varit att finna i tolkning av förarbeten och sedermera i varumärkesdirektivets tolkning. Enligt EG-domstolens tolkningar skall risk för förväxling ses som ett tämligen omfångsrikt uttryck. Det krävs i vart fall att den genomsnittlige konsumenten, som domstolen refererar till, skall tro att det finns ett ekonomiskt samband mellan företagen bakom varumärkena. Framtida avgöranden från domstolen lär komma att klargöra om det finns ytterligare någon legal grund för skydd mot förväxling som exempelvis det kommunikativa värdet och den kommersiella aspekten. Relationen mellan förväxlingsrisk och särskiljningsförmåga är enligt domstolen att varumärkens skyddsomfång ökar i takt med dess särskiljningsförmåga

Portfolion ur ett föräldraperspektiv

I den här studien tillfrågas föräldrar till elever i årskurs 6-9 hur de upplever portfoliometodiken på deras barns skola. Syftet är att öka kunskapen om hur föräldrar kan uppleva portfoliometodiken och därigenom förhoppningsvis kunna bidra till en förädling av metoden på sikt. Studien är genomförd i form av en enkätundersökning på en skola där man använder portfolion som pedagogiskt redskap sedan 2004. Resultatet visar att föräldrarna i huvudsak är positiva till portfoliometodiken. Majoriteten svarar att de tittar i sitt barns portfolio ungefär en gång per termin i samband med utvecklingssamtalet. De flesta anser att utvecklingssamtalen påverkas positivt av portfolion. En möjlig slutsats är att föräldrarna märker portfolion främst på utvecklingssamtalen och inte så mycket hemma eller i andra sammanhang i skolan. I den avslutande diskussionen konstateras att portfolion kan anses vara ett bra redskap för att öka föräldrars delaktighet och samverkan med skolan eftersom många föräldrar är positivt inställda till metoden, trots att portfolion på den undersökta skolan inte synliggörs så mycket för föräldrarna