Publikationer från Uppsala Universitet
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Ökade kognitiva krav för de redan kognitivt belastade? : Om digitala läromedel, ADHD och autism
No full textSamhällets och skolans digitalisering medför krav på digital läsförståelse, som enligt forskningen ställer fler kognitiva krav på oss människor än vid läsförståelse av analog text på papper. Vi behöver vid digital läsförståelse, som vid all läsförståelse, avkoda texten och förstå dess innehåll, men vi behöver också ett välutvecklat arbetsminne liksom en god visuospatial förmåga. Digitaliseringen i skolan och det breda införandet av en-till-en, dvs en digital enhet per elev, har fått marknaden för digitala läromedel att explodera, vilket betyder att svenska elever idag i hög utsträckning behöver en god digital läsförståelse när de ska tillägna sig information i en stor del av skolans ämnen. I och med detta behövs kunskap om hur detta införande påverkar eleverna. I den här studien undersöktes därför vilka kognitiva krav ett läromedelsavsnitt i en digital respektive analog utgåva ställer på sin läsare, samt hur elever generellt, och elever med ADHD eller autism i synnerhet, använder och upplever sitt användande av digitala läromedel i jämförelse med analoga sådana. Dessa undersökningar gjordes med hjälp av en läromedelsanalys av ett läromedelsavsnitt i biologi, samt genom en enkät distribuerad till niondeklassare med erfarenhet av både digitala och analoga läromedel. Resultaten visar att det digitala läromedlet ställer andra, eller högre krav, på kognition, men att elever både generellt, och specifikt elever med ADHD eller autism, ändå tycks föredra att använda digitala läromedel jämfört med analoga. De uppger heller inte att de upplever symptom som skulle kunna tyda på eventuell kognitiv belastning i större grad när de använder digitala läromedel, så som att de lättare tappar fokus eller snabbare blir trötta. En skillnad mellan elever med och utan ADHD eller autism är att fler elever med diagnoserna anger svårigheter att orientera sig i det digitala läromedlet, både i läromedlet som helhet och inom ett specifikt avsnitt. Dessa resultat har analyserats i relation till Mayer och Morenos cognitive theory of multimedia learning (2003), där det antagas att ny verbal och visuell information bearbetas kognitivt i två separata system, eller kanaler, och att dessa var för sig inte får överbelastas för att den nya informationen ska kunna integreras med tidigare lagrad information och inlärning ske
Observation of ψ(3686) →\u86\u92 Ξ-KS0Ω+<over-bar> + c.c.
No full textUsing a sample of (2.712 ± 0.014) x 109 ψ(3686) events collected with the BESIII detector at the electron positron collider BEPCII, the decay ψ(3686) → Ξ-KS0Ω+<over bar> + c.c. is observed for the first time, which has a significance of 5.9 standard deviations. The branching fraction of this decay is measured to be (2.91 ± 0.47 ± 0.33) x 10-6, where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The ratio between B ψ(3686)→Ξ-KS0Ω+<over bar>+c.c and B ψ(3686) → Ω-K+Ξ0<over bar>+c.c. is determined to be 1.05 ± 0.23 ± 0.14, which deviates from the isospin symmetry conservation predicted value of 0.5 by 2.1σ.For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/JHEP06(2025)233</p
Dissecting cell type compositions from blood cell bulk transcriptomes
No full textTranscriptomics is a promising tool for diagnostics and can provide a deeper understanding of disease diagnosis, progression, and treatment. Due to their dynamic nature, transcriptomes vary depending on tissue type, cellular conditions, function, and environmental factors. Assessing the transcriptome of bulk cells from whole blood can make it possible to estimate the cell-type composition of a sample, which is important for diagnostics. However, there are many ways to do this and it is not clear how consistent the methods are and which is most reliable. Transcriptome analysis is typically done using veinous blood samples. However, a deeper understanding of the applicability of RNA sequencing to dried blood spot (DBS) samples could greatly benefit healthcare. SampleFacts’ Blood Collection Device based on DBS, could be used to obtain transcriptome data for downstream analyses, offering a simple, cost-effective, and non-hazardous solution with broad potential impact. The aims of this project were to evaluate the utility of blood transcriptomes for cell-type estimation by generating deconvolution results from publicly available data, and analysing the variability of outcomes across datasets and the impact of the signature matrix composition on deconvolution results and their interpretation. Additionally, to investigate the extent to which the blood transcriptome correlates with the blood proteome, as well as the degree of similarity between the transcriptomes derived from fresh and dried blood samples. Finally, to generate RNA-sequencing data from dried blood cell fractions captured on SampleFacts’ device to be included in the abovementioned investigation. For the deconvolution of the samples, publicly available transcriptome data from blood samples was downloaded. The data was analysed and treated using RStudio and the Seurat package, among others. For the deconvolution analysis, CIBERSORTx and ABIS tools were used. As for the signature matrices needed, one of them was created from single-cell RNA data, and the remaining two were downloaded. For RNA extraction, different kits were tested. Reverse transcription, gel visualization and TapeStation were used to analyse the quality and integrity of the samples. Qubit, qPCR with a standard curve and TapeStation were used to quantify the samples. The Illustra RNAspin Mini RNA Isolation Kit was chosen to extract the RNA samples for library preparation and sequencing, final samples were sent to the National Genomics Infrastructure (NGI) at SciLifeLab Uppsala for their sequencing. Scatter plots were generated to compare different signature matrices, transcriptome datasets, and deconvolution tools. Data from Brucellosis and Leishmaniasis were added to see the differences with healthy samples. These analyses highlighted the importance of the conformation of the signature matrices for a correct deconvolution, depending on the goals of the analysis. A preliminary correlation test between proteomic and transcriptomic data in CD4+ T cells revealed low correlation, highlighting the need of using data from same individuals to obtain reliable and interpretable results. RNA extracted from SampleFacts’ device showed high quality, with a mean RNA Integrity Number equivalent (RINe) of 7 and mean concentration of 534.5pg/mL, indicating strong potential for comparison with RNA derived from fresh blood. The generation of RNA sequencing data from SampleFacts’ device was initiated but could not be completed within the timeframe of the project, future work will aim to finalise this analysis. In conclusion. Cell-type composition from blood samples was successfully estimated using RStudio, CIBERSORTx and ABIS deconvolution tools. The findings highlight the importance of selecting study-specific signature matrices to ensure accurate deconvolution results. No significant correlation between transcriptomic and proteomic data was observed, further studies using matched datasets are needed to improve reliability and that RNA samples extracted from SampleFacts` device demonstrated high quality.
Temporal genomic change in the Scandinavian Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus)
No full textDemographic declines have important consequences for population viability, since they can lead to losses in genome diversity, as well as increased inbreeding and expression of deleterious mutations. Scandinavia was colonized by the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition, and the population has since been on the periphery of the global distribution. The Scandinavian population became even more fragmented in the early 1900s due to human persecution, and experienced an additional decline in the 1980s. We generated high-coverage genomes from pre-bottleneck, as well as modern Scandinavian and Russian specimens, and found that genome-wide diversity was lower and inbreeding higher in Scandinavia compared to the Siberian population, even prior to the historical bottleneck, most likely reflecting the long-term partial isolation and recent postglacial origin of the Scandinavian population. The southern subpopulation has the highest inbreeding levels, likely due to having been recently founded and highly isolated. Our results also show that although inbreeding increased substantially over the past century, the amount of total genetic load did not change. Overall, these findings illustrate the utility of a temporal approach to disentangle the genomic consequences of recent declines from ancient biogeographic processes
Elastic-Wave Propagation in Chiral Metamaterials : A Couple-Stress Theory Perspective
No full textChiral metamaterials, lacking centrosymmetry at the unit cell level, exhibit acoustic activity and are promising candidates for elastic-wave manipulation. For numerical analysis, their complex structures require substantial computational resources, making wave propagation simulations of chiral metamaterials challenging. Well-known homogenization methods, based on the classical Cauchy continuum, fail to predict acoustic activity in chiral metamaterials. This failure is due to the use of even-order material property tensors, which only account for centrosymmetric behavior, overlooking the intrinsic chirality and microrotations essential for tailored acoustic responses. In this study, augmented asymptotic homogenization based on couple-stress theory (CST) is employed. The governing partial differential equations involve second- and fourth-order spatial derivatives of displacements. Herein, their solution is demonstrated both analytically in a closed form for the low-frequency range and numerically using COMSOL Multiphysics, employing the equation-based module. The homogenized results are verified by comparing with band diagram and polarization rotation analysis results derived from conducting a computationally expensive detailed modelling. The analytical and numerical results are closely aligned with the predictions of the detailed modelling in the low-frequency domain, indicating that asymptotic homogenization with CST offers an efficient and accurate method for predicting the acoustic activity of rationally designed chiral metamaterials
Genetics of monozygotic twins reveals the impact of environmental sensitivity on psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes
No full textIndividual sensitivity to environmental exposures may be genetically influenced. This genotype-by-environment interplay implies differences in phenotypic variance across genotypes, but these variants have proven challenging to detect. Genome-wide association studies of monozygotic twin differences are conducted through family-based variance analyses, which are more robust to the systemic biases that impact population-based methods. We combined data from 21,792 monozygotic twins (10,896 pairs) from 11 studies to conduct one of the largest genome-wide association study meta-analyses of monozygotic phenotypic differences, in children, adolescents and adults separately, for seven psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, autistic traits, anxiety and depression symptoms, psychotic-like experiences, neuroticism and wellbeing. The proportions of phenotypic variance explained by single-nucleotide polymorphisms in these phenotypes were estimated (h2 = 0-18%), but were imprecise. We identified 13 genome-wide significant associations (single-nucleotide polymorphisms, genes and gene sets), including genes related to stress reactivity for depression, growth factor-related genes for autistic traits and catecholamine uptake-related genes for psychotic-like experiences. This is the largest genetic study of monozygotic twins to date by an order of magnitude, evidencing an alternative method to study the genetic architecture of environmental sensitivity. The statistical power was limited for some analyses, calling for better-powered future studies
Interaction of Sodium Polystyrenesulfonate with Fluorinated Ionic Surfactant of Opposite Charge
No full textPolyelectrolyte-surfactant systems of opposite charge have been widely studied because of their relevance in applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to advanced materials. However, the role of hydrophobic interactions in such systems remains debated, particularly for sodium poly(styrenesulfonate) (NaPSS) and cationic surfactants. This study investigates the binding behavior of NaPSS with the conventional hydrocarbon surfactant dodecylpyridinium chloride (DPC) or the fluorinated surfactant 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecylpyridinium chloride (HFDePC), with the objective of elucidating the importance of hydrophobic interactions in such systems. The binding isotherms of both surfactants were measured in both linear NaPSS solutions and covalently cross-linked NaPSS hydrogels. HFDePC exhibited a binding isotherm with a negative slope, indicative of unique binding behavior. Thermodynamic modeling revealed that the negative slope arises from the formation of metastable colloidal states. For DPC, modeling indicated the formation of mixed micelles with NaPSS with a consistent surfactant/polyion charge ratio, explaining its lower cooperativity and atypical phase behavior. In NaPSS hydrogels, the swelling isotherms revealed a uniform hydrogel collapse in the case of DPC and the formation of biphasic core-shell structures in the case of HFDePC. Small-angle X-ray scattering showed rod-like micelle formation for both systems, with increased micelle length at higher binding ratios and the emergence of hexagonal packing of micelles near coil saturation. Overall, the findings of this study underscore the importance of surfactant and polyelectrolyte structure and hydrophobicity and offer new insights into the nature of interactions in polyelectrolyte-surfactant systems of opposite charge
How do Europeans want to fight climate change? : Comparing and explaining public support for a wide variety of policies
No full textMost people are concerned about climate change and want policymakers to address it. But how? To investigate which policy options are more versus less popular, with whom, and why, we collected data in four European countries on attitudes toward 16 policies: taxes, bans, regulations, and subsidies/spending. We argue that support for different policies should reflect perceptions of policies’ net costs, and that such perceptions are likely influenced by people’s political trust. We tested this expectation by randomly assigning survey respondents to read different versions of given policies and confirmed that individuals with low political trust, who are less supportive overall of most policies, are most sensitive to variation in implied costs. We argue this interaction effect is a previously untested implication of the influential theory that political trust operates as a heuristic, and it helps explain policies’ varying popularity, including the puzzle of why carbon taxes are highly unpopular
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, European guideline targets, and cardiovascular outcomes : an individual patient data meta-analysis
No full textBackground and Aims Hypertension is the predominant modifiable cardiovascular risk factor. This cohort study assessed the association of risk with the percentage of time that the ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) is within the target range (PTTR) proposed by the 2024 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for blood pressure (BP) management. Methods In a person-level meta-analysis of 14 230 individuals enrolled in 14 population cohorts, systolic and diastolic ABPs were combined to assess 24-h, daytime, and nighttime PTTR with thresholds for non-elevated ABP set at <115/65, <120/70, and <110/60 mmHg, respectively. Results Median 24-h PTTR was 18% (interquartile range 5-33) corresponding to 4.3 h (1.2-7.9). Over 10.9 years (median), deaths (N = 3117) and cardiovascular endpoints (N = 2265) decreased across increasing 24-h PTTR quartiles from 21.3 to 16.1 and from 20.3 to 11.3 events per 1000 person-years. The standardized multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for 24-h PTTR were 0.57 (95% confidence interval 0.46-0.71) for mortality and 0.30 (0.23-0.39) for cardiovascular endpoints. Analyses of daytime and nighttime ABP, cardiovascular mortality, coronary endpoints and stroke, and subgroups produced confirmatory results. The 2024 ESC non-elevated 24-h PTTR, compared with the 2018 ESC/European Society of Hypertension non-hypertensive 24-h PTTR, shortened the interval required to reduce relative risk for adverse outcomes from 60% to 18% (14.4-4.3 h). Office BP, compared with 24-h PTTR, misclassified most participants with regard to BP control. Conclusions Longer time that ABP is within the 2024 ESC target range is associated with reduced adverse outcomes; PTTR derived from ABP refines risk prediction and compared with office BP avoids misclassification of individuals with regard to BP control
The relationships between sporadic and repetitive non-suicidal self-injury and mental disorders among first-year college students : results from the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative
No full textBackground: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with mental disorders, yet work regarding the direction of this association is inconsistent. We examined the prevalence, comorbidity, time-order associations with mental disorders, and sex differences in sporadic and repetitive NSSI among emerging adults. Methods: We used survey data from n = 72,288 first-year college students as part of the World Mental Health-International College Student Survey Initiative (WMH-ICS) to explore time-order associations between onset of NSSI and mental disorders, based on retrospective age-of-onset reports using discrete-time survival models. We distinguished between sporadic (1-5 lifetime episodes) and repetitive (≥ 6 lifetime episodes) NSSI in relation to DSM-5 mood, anxiety, and externalizing disorders. Results: We estimated a lifetime NSSI rate of 24.5%, with approximately half reporting sporadic NSSI and half repetitive NSSI. The time-order associations between onset of NSSI and mental disorders were bidirectional, but mental disorders were stronger predictors of the onset of NSSI (median RR = 1.94) than vice versa (median RR = 1.58). These associations were stronger among individuals engaging in repetitive rather than sporadic NSSI. While associations between NSSI and mental disorders generally did not differ by sex, repetitive NSSI was a stronger predictor for the onset of subsequent substance use disorders among females compared to males. Most mental disorders marginally increased the risk for persistent repetitive NSSI (median RR = 1.23). Conclusions: Our findings offer unique insights into the temporal order between NSSI and mental disorders. Further work exploring the mechanism underlying these associations will pave the way for early identification and intervention of both NSSI and mental disorders