Lund University

About: Lund University is a education organization based out in Lund, Sweden. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 42345 authors who have published 124676 publications receiving 5016438 citations. The organization is also known as: Lunds Universitet & University of Lund.

Variants in MTNR1B influence fasting glucose levels

Abstract: To identify previously unknown genetic loci associated with fasting glucose concentrations, we examined the leading association signals in ten genome-wide association scans involving a total of 36,610 individuals of European descent. Variants in the gene encoding melatonin receptor 1B (MTNR1B) were consistently associated with fasting glucose across all ten studies. The strongest signal was observed at rs10830963, where each G allele (frequency 0.30 in HapMap CEU) was associated with an increase of 0.07 (95% CI = 0.06-0.08) mmol/l in fasting glucose levels (P = 3.2 x 10(-50)) and reduced beta-cell function as measured by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-B, P = 1.1 x 10(-15)). The same allele was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (odds ratio = 1.09 (1.05-1.12), per G allele P = 3.3 x 10(-7)) in a meta-analysis of 13 case-control studies totaling 18,236 cases and 64,453 controls. Our analyses also confirm previous associations of fasting glucose with variants at the G6PC2 (rs560887, P = 1.1 x 10(-57)) and GCK (rs4607517, P = 1.0 x 10(-25)) loci.

Persistent production of neurons from adult brain stem cells during recovery after stroke

Abstract: Neural stem cells in the subventricular zone of adult rodents produce new striatal neurons that may replace those that have died after stroke; however, the neurogenic response has been considered acute and transient, yielding only small numbers of neurons. In contrast, we show herein that striatal neuroblasts are generated without decline at least for 4 months after stroke in adult rats. Neuroblasts formed early or late after stroke either differentiate into mature neurons, which survive for several months, or die through caspase-mediated apoptosis. The directed migration of the new neurons toward the ischemic damage is regulated by stromal cell-derived factor-1alpha and its receptor CXCR4. These results show that endogenous neural stem cells continuously supply the injured adult brain with new neurons, which suggests novel self-repair strategies to improve recovery after stroke.

The Evolution of the Protein Corona around Nanoparticles: A Test Study

Abstract: The importance of the protein corona formed around nanoparticles upon entering a biological fluid has recently been highlighted. This corona is, when sufficiently long-lived, thought to govern the particles’ biological fate. However, even this long-lived “hard” corona evolves and re-equilibrates as particles pass from one biological fluid to another, and may be an important feature for long-term fate. Here we show the evolution of the protein corona as a result of transfer of nanoparticles from one biological fluid (plasma) into another (cytosolic fluid), a simple illustrative model for the uptake of nanoparticles into cells. While no direct comparison can be made to what would happen in, for example, the uptake pathway, the results confirm that significant evolution of the corona occurs in the second biological solution, but that the final corona contains a “fingerprint” of its history. This could be evolved to map the transport pathways utilized by nanoparticles, and eventually to predict nanoparticle f...

Chronic venous disease.

Abstract: This account of chronic venous disease summarizes the clinical aspects of the disorder and reviews the recent advances in studies of the hydrodynamic and biochemical changes that underlie the disorder.

Objectivity and truth: Problems in doing feminist research☆

Abstract: This paper examines principles of feminist research and discusses the authors' attempts to use these principles in a systematic way in their own research. Three principles of feminist research are identified: research should contribute to women's liberation through producing knowledge that can be used by women themselves; should use methods of gaining knowledge that are not oppressive; should continually develop a feminist critical perspective that questions dominant intellectual traditions and can reflect on its own development. Consciously applying these principles in a research study of the relation between changes in consciousness and the changes in the structural situation of individuals raised several methodological issues and dilemmas. These include the impossibility of creating a research process that completely erases the contradictions in the relationship between the researcher and the researched; the difficulties in analysing change as a process; the tension between the necessity of organizing the data and producing an analysis which reveals the totality of women's lives; and problems of validity, particularly those raised when the research process becomes part of the process of change.