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Introduction Cigarette smoke is suggested to be a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD), urinary bladder cancer (UBCa) or lung cancer (LCa). However, not all heavy smokers develop these diseases and elevated cancer risk among first-degree relatives suggests an important role of genetic factor. Methods Three hundred and ten healthy blood donors (controls), 98 CAD, 74 UBCa and 38 LCa patients were included in this pilot study. The influence of 92 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and impact of cigarette smoking were analysed. Results Out of 92 SNPs tested, differences in distribution of 14 SNPs were detected between controls and patient groups. Only CTLA4 rs3087243 showed difference in both CAD and UBCa patient group compared to control group. Stratified by smoking status, the impact of smoking was associated to frequencies of 8, 3 and 4 SNPs in CAD, UBCa, LCa patients, respectively. None of these 92 SNPs showed a statistically significant difference to more than one type of disease among smoking patients. In non-smoking patients, 7, 3 and 6 SNPs were associated to CAD, UBCa, LCa, respectively. Out of these 92 SNPs, CTLA4 rs3087243 was associated to both non-smoking CAD and UBCa. The XRCC1 rs25487 was associated to both non-smoking UBCa and LCa. Conclusion SNPs might be important risk factors for CAD, UBCa and LCa. Distribution of the SNPs was specific for each patient group, not a random event. Impact of cigarette smoking on the disease was associated to the specific SNP sequences. Thus, smoking individuals with SNPs associated to risk of these serious diseases is an important target group for smoking cessation programs.

Anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) compounds and their long-range transport have caused widespread negative impacts on different ecosystems. Critical loads (CLs) are deposition thresholds used to describe the sensitivity of ecosystems to atmospheric deposition. The CL methodology has been a key science-based tool for assessing the environmental consequences of air pollution. We computed CLs for eutrophication and acidification using a European long-term dataset of intensively studied forested ecosystem sites (n = 17) in northern and central Europe. The sites belong to the ICP IM and eLTER networks. The link between the site-specific calculations and time-series of CL exceedances and measured site data was evaluated using long-term measurements (1990–2017) for bulk deposition, throughfall and runoff water chemistry. Novel techniques for presenting exceedances of CLs and their temporal development were also developed. Concentrations and fluxes of sulphate, total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) and acidity in deposition substantially decreased at the sites. Decreases in S deposition resulted in statistically significant decreased concentrations and fluxes of sulphate in runoff and decreasing trends of TIN in runoff were more common than increasing trends. The temporal developments of the exceedance of the CLs indicated the more effective reductions of S deposition compared to N at the sites. There was a relation between calculated exceedance of the CLs and measured runoff water concentrations and fluxes, and most sites with higher CL exceedances showed larger decreases in both TIN and H+ concentrations and fluxes. Sites with higher cumulative exceedance of eutrophication CLs (averaged over 3 and 30 years) generally showed higher TIN concentrations in runoff. The results provided evidence on the link between CL exceedances and empirical impacts, increasing confidence in the methodology used for the European-scale CL calculations. The results also confirm t

Microbial contamination in mammalian cell cultures causing rejected batches is costly and highly unwanted. Most methods for detecting a contamination are time-consuming and require extensive off-line sampling. To circumvent these efforts and provide a more convenient alternative, we used an online in situ microscope to estimate the cell diameter of the cellular species in the culture to distinguish mammalian cells from microbial cells depending on their size. A warning system was set up to alert the operator if microbial cells were present in the culture. Hybridoma cells were cultured and infected with either Candida utilis or Pichia stipitis as contaminant. The warning system could successfully detect the introduced contamination and alert the operator. The results suggest that in situ microscopy could be used as an efficient online tool for early detection of contaminations in cell cultures., Funding Agencies|Technical Faculty of Linkoping University; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gottselig, N., W. Amelung, J. W. Kirchner, R. Bol, W. Eugster, S. J. Granger, C. Hernández-Crespo, et al. 2017. Elemental Composition of Natural Nanoparticles and Fine Colloids in European Forest Stream Waters and Their Role as Phosphorus Carriers. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 31 (10). American Geophysical Union (AGU): 1592 1607. doi:10.1002/2017gb005657, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005657. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.", [EN] Biogeochemical cycling of elements largely occurs in dissolved state, but many elements may also be bound to natural nanoparticles (NNP, 1-100 nm) and fine colloids (100-450 nm). We examined the hypothesis that the size and composition of stream water NNP and colloids vary systematically across Europe. To test this hypothesis, 96 stream water samples were simultaneously collected in 26 forested headwater catchments along two transects across Europe. Three size fractions (similar to 1-20 nm, >20-60 nm, and >60 nm) of NNP and fine colloids were identified with Field Flow Fractionation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and an organic carbon detector. The results showed that NNP and fine colloids constituted between 2 +/- 5% (Si) and 53 +/- 21% (Fe; mean +/- SD) of total element concentrations, indicating a substantial contribution of particles to element transport in these European streams, especially for P and Fe. The particulate contents of Fe, Al, and organic C were correlated to their total element concentrations, but those of particulate Si, Mn, P, and Ca were not. The fine colloidal fractions >60 nm were dominated by clay minerals across all sites. The resulting element patterns of NNP <60 nm changed from North to South Europe from Fe-to Ca-dominated particles, along with associated changes in acidity, forest type, and dominant lithology.

Clear-cutting is today the primary driver of large-scale forest disturbance in boreal regions of Fennoscandia. Among the major environmental concerns of this practice for surface waters is the increased mobilization of nutrients, such as dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) into streams. But while DIN loading to first-order streams following forest harvest has been previously described, the downstream fate and impact of these inputs is not well understood. We evaluated the downstream fate of DIN and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) inputs in a boreal landscape that has been altered by forest harvests over a 10-year period. The small first-order streams indicated substantial leaching of DIN, primarily as nitrate (NO3-) in response to harvests with NO3- concentrations increasing by similar to 15-fold. NO3- concentrations at two sampling stations further downstream in the network were strongly seasonal and increased significantly in response to harvesting at the mid-sized stream, but not at the larger stream. DIN removal efficiency, E-r, calculated as the percentage of "forestry derived" DIN that was retained within the stream network based on a mass-balance model was highest during the snowmelt season followed by the growing season, but declined continuously throughout the dormant season. In contrast, export of DON from the landscape indicated little removal and was essentially conservative. Overall, net removal of DIN between 2008 and 2011 accounted for similar to 65% of the total DIN mass exported from harvested patches distributed across the landscape. These results high-light the capacity of nitrogen-limited boreal stream networks to buffer DIN mobilization that arises from multiple clear-cuts within this landscape. Further, these findings shed light on the potential impact of anticipated measures to increase forest yields of boreal forests, such as increased fertilization and shorter forest rotations, which may increase the pressure on boreal surface waters in the