Direct and indirect effects of copepod grazers on community structure.

Ecological theory and empirical research show that both direct lethal effects and indirect non-lethal effects can structure the composition of communities. While the direct effects of grazers on marine phytoplankton communities are well studied, their indirect effects are still poorly understood. Direct and indirect effects are inherently difficult to disentangle in plankton food webs.

Quality of life and asthma control related to hormonal transitions in women's lives.

Objectives: The aim was to investigate if menstruation and use of exogenous sex hormones influence self-reported asthma related quality of life (QoL) and asthma control.

Methods: The study is based on two asthma cohorts randomly selected in primary and secondary care. A total of 622 female patients 18-65 years were included and classified as premenopausal ≤ 46 years ( = 338) and peri/postmenopausal 47-65 years ( = 284).

Dietary Change during Pregnancy and Women's Reasons for Change.

Women often make dietary changes during pregnancy; however, dietary modifications and reasons for changes are not well studied. We aimed to describe the dietary changes made during pregnancy, describe reasons for dietary changes, and determine what changes aligned with recommendations. Pregnant women ( = 379) recruited to the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study in 2009/2010 completed a questionnaire in which they described dietary changes made during pregnancy and reasons for those changes.

Risk factors for subtherapeutic levels of posaconazole tablet.

Background: Posaconazole is the prophylactic antifungal of choice for patients with haematological malignancies at high risk of invasive fungal infections (IFIs). Studies have demonstrated that subtherapeutic concentrations of posaconazole are associated with breakthrough fungal infections and specific risk factors for subtherapeutic troughs associated with the suspension formulation have been identified. However, these risk factors have not been evaluated in a large patient population with the recently approved tablet formulation.

Primary Chronic Osteomyelitis of the Jaws in Children: An Update on Pathophysiology, Radiological Findings, Treatment Strategies, and Prospective Analysis of Two Cases.

Objective. Primary chronic osteomyelitis (PCO) of the jaws in children is associated with pain, trismus, and swelling. In children, temporomandibular joint involvement is rare and few studies have been published due to the relatively low incidence.

Assessment of Pre-Pregnancy Dietary Intake with a Food Frequency Questionnaire in Alberta Women.

Purpose: Pre-pregnancy is an under-examined and potentially important time to optimize dietary intake to support fetal growth and development as well as maternal health. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which dietary intake reported by non-pregnant women is similar to pre-pregnancy dietary intake reported by pregnant women using the same assessment tool.

Methods: The self-administered, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was adapted from the Canadian version of the Diet History Questionnaire, originally developed by the National Cancer Institute in the United States.

Nurse-led outpatient clinics in oncology care - Patient satisfaction, information and continuity of care.

Purpose: The aims of the present study were to investigate patients' satisfaction with nurse-led clinics, patients' perception of received information and associations between continuity of care and satisfaction with information.

Methods: Questionnaires on patient satisfaction were sent to consecutive samples of patients after they attended a nurse-led clinic at the Department of Oncology, Karolinska University Hospital in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. Patients' perceptions of received information were evaluated in 2011 and 2013, by the EORTC QLQ-INFO25.

Validation of triggers and development of a pediatric trigger tool to identify adverse events.

Background: Little is known about adverse events (AEs) in pediatric patients. Record review is a common methodology for identifying AEs, but in pediatrics the record review tools generally have limited focus. The aim of the present study was to develop a broadly applicable record review tool to identify AEs in pediatric inpatients.

Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) and arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) in Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from prosthetic joint infections.

The aim of the present study was to characterise the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) in Staphylococcus epidermidis isolated from prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) and, if possible, assign them to any of the presently known SCCmec types. In addition, the isolates were examined for the presence of the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME). Sixty-one S.

Selective inhibitors of nuclear export show that CRM1/XPO1 is a target in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The nuclear export protein XPO1 is overexpressed in cancer, leading to the cytoplasmic mislocalization of multiple tumor suppressor proteins. Existing XPO1-targeting agents lack selectivity and have been associated with significant toxicity. Small molecule selective inhibitors of nuclear export (SINEs) were designed that specifically inhibit XPO1.

Real-time multiplex PCR for direct detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in clinical samples enriched by broth culture.

A real-time multiplex PCR using the orfX and staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec of Staphylococcus aureus was developed. The aim was to achieve a rapid and sensitive high-throughput method for direct detection of heterogeneous methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in clinical samples, present in a low-endemic population, such as in Sweden.

EGFR inhibition fails to suppress vascular proliferation and tumor growth in a Ewing's sarcoma model.

Background: Expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a potent regulator of cellular homeostasis, is associated with aggressive tumor behavior. The mechanism by which EGFR inhibition functions is unclear, with controversial results demonstrating an effect on the tumor cells, endothelial cells, or pericytes. EGFR activation has been linked to the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a known mitogen of angiogenesis, but the relationship between these factors and their effect on tumor vessel development is vague.

Stiffness of photocrosslinked RGD-alginate gels regulates adipose progenitor cell behavior.

Adipose progenitor cells (APCs) are widely investigated for soft tissue reconstruction following tumor resection; however, the long-term success of current approaches is still limited. In order to develop clinically relevant therapies, a better understanding of the role of cell-microenvironment interactions in adipose tissue regeneration is essential. In particular, the effect of extracellular matrix (ECM) mechanics on the regenerative capability of APCs remains to be clarified.

Methods for photocrosslinking alginate hydrogel scaffolds with high cell viability.

Methods for seeding high-viability (>85%) three-dimensional (3D) alginate-chondrocyte hydrogel scaffolds are presented that employ photocrosslinking of methacrylate-modified alginate with the photoinitiator VA-086. Comparison with results from several other photoinitiators, including Irgacure 2959, highlights the role of solvent, ultraviolet exposure, and photoinitiator cytotoxicity on process viability of bovine chondrocytes in two-dimensional culture. The radicals generated from VA-086 photodissociation are shown to be noncytotoxic at w/v concentrations up to 1.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus saprophyticus in Sweden carries various types of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec).

Staphylococcus saprophyticus is a common cause of uncomplicated urinary tract infections and is usually susceptible to the antimicrobial agents used for their treatment. However, S. saprophyticus resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics and carrying mecA has been reported.

The origin of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolate at a neonatal ward in Sweden-possible horizontal transfer of a staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec between methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus.

The first methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain originated when a staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) with the gene mecA was integrated into the chromosome of a susceptible S. aureus cell. The SCCmec elements are common among the coagulase-negative staphylococci, e.

Genetic diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying type IV SCCmec in Orebro County and the western region of Sweden.

Background: Recent studies have shown a predominance of type IV SCCmec among the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated in the low endemic areas of Orebro County and the western region of Sweden. However, many of these isolates were not possible to classify as existing subtypes IVa, IVb, IVc or IVd.

Methods: We analysed 16 such MRSA isolates by multilocus sequence typing, spa typing, staphylocoagulase (SC) typing and detection of type IVg and IVh SCCmec.

Simultaneous presence of an invasive and a carrier strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a family.

Simultaneous carriage of multiple clones of MRSA has rarely been reported. We describe a case of bacteraemia and osteomyelitis due to CA-MRSA and the simultaneous presence of 2 clones of MRSA in a family, 1 strain with an invasive capacity and another strain colonizing several family members.

Novel type of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated in Sweden.

We identified a novel type of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) element carried by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain JCSC6082 isolated in Sweden. The SCCmec element was demarcated by characteristic nucleotide sequences at both ends and was integrated at the 3' end of orfX. The element carried a novel combination of a type 5 ccr gene complex and class C1 mec gene complex.

The genes for Panton Valentine leukocidin (PVL) are conserved in diverse lines of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated in the community (CA-MRSA) have been reported to carry the loci for Panton Valentine leukocidin (PVL) in high frequency. CA-MRSA in Orebro County, Sweden, constitutes at least 50% of MRSA and the PVL locus is detected in as many as 66% of these CA-MRSA isolates. The aim of this study was to characterize PVL-positive methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus by molecular methods, to determine the nucleotide sequence of lukS-PV and lukF-PV in S.

Multilocus sequence typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from an area of low endemicity by real-time PCR.

A protocol for multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was adapted to real-time LightCycler System PCR for efficient and rapid amplification of seven housekeeping genes in the same PCR run and real-time detection of the products. The method was evaluated on a representative and well-characterized collection of clinical MRSA isolates (n = 57) obtained from an area of low endemicity. Twenty sequence types (STs) and nine clonal complexes were identified.

Predominance of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type IV among methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a Swedish county and presence of unknown SCCmec types with Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an established nosocomial pathogen, but has recently begun to appear in the community. The clones in the community may not have originated in the hospital setting, and are referred to as community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA). Resistance to methicillin is mediated by the gene mecA, which is carried by the mobile genetic element staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec).

UV-induced apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells: contribution to apoptosis by JNK signaling and cytochrome c.

Activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway is suggested to be required for neuronal apoptosis. We investigated the role of JNK on phosphorylation of c-Jun, Bcl-2, and apoptotic translocation of cytochrome c (cyt c) in UV-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. We confirm that UV irradiation induces both apoptosis and necrosis in SH-SY5Y cells and that phosphorylation of JNK at Thr183/Tyr185 in SH-SY5Y cells treated with UV is an early event preceding apoptosis.