The thesis aims to provide a systematic, structured and evidence-based view of the internationalisation of Chinese NGOs and examine their role in Chinese international development by primarily... Show moreThe thesis aims to provide a systematic, structured and evidence-based view of the internationalisation of Chinese NGOs and examine their role in Chinese international development by primarily studying 28 Chinese NGOs based on fieldwork, interviews and analysis of organizational discourses. The thesis has shown that the major characteristic of the autonomy of Chinese NGOs is that the Chinese state’s influence does not come directly from its interventions in the operations of Chinese NGOs as there are limited direct policies, funding and other operational intervention from the Chinese government related to internationalisation. Instead, the Chinese state’s influence is embedded in the existing regulatory system regarding NGO registration and supervision and in the sources of legitimacy for internationalisation, a phenomenon dubbed as “embedded internationalisation”. The process of Chinese NGOs’ internationalisation is not sufficiently autonomous from the influence of the Chinese state and corporations and, thus, cannot offer a viable alternative to China’s mainstream international development landscape. Instead, Chinese NGOs have played a complementary role, as they have enriched the varieties of China’s aid and development cooperation and promoted China’s soft power. Show less
The circadian timing system is highly integrated with the sleep-wake regulation system. This thesis focuses on how different pharmacological treatments influence the sleep regulation system and the... Show moreThe circadian timing system is highly integrated with the sleep-wake regulation system. This thesis focuses on how different pharmacological treatments influence the sleep regulation system and the circadian timing rhythm in two murine models. In the first animal model, which is presented in Chapter 2 and 3, we implanted EEG/EMG electrodes in freely moving Brown Norway rats. We chose this rat strain because it is pigmented and therefore a more representative model than the more mainstream rat strains which are usually albino rats. This study aimed to investigate the effect of caffeine, sleep deprivation and ketamine on sleep and circadian-controlled activity under constant darkness. In the second animal model, which is presented in Chapter 4 and 5, we implanted EEG/EMG or Multi-unit electrodes in chemotherapy-induced fatigue mice. All the results from this thesis and future perspectives were discussed in Chapter 6. We are able to see how disruption of sleep and the circadian clock adversely affect health and may contribute to many diseases in modern society. In this thesis, these studies provide a better understanding of these drugs influence the circadian timing system and sleep-wake regulation and maybe new treatment approaches for antidepressant therapy and cancer related fatigue. Show less
Background Acute exacerbations of chronic inflammatory lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are frequently associated with rhinovirus (RV) infections. Despite these... Show moreBackground Acute exacerbations of chronic inflammatory lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are frequently associated with rhinovirus (RV) infections. Despite these associations, the pathogenesis of virus-induced exacerbations is incompletely understood. We aimed to investigate effects of cigarette smoke (CS), a primary risk factor for COPD, on RV infection in airway epithelium and identify novel mechanisms related to these effects. Methods Primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) from COPD patients and controls were differentiated by culture at the air-liquid interface (ALI) and exposed to CS and RV-A16. Bulk RNA sequencing was performed using samples collected at 6 and 24 h post infection (hpi), and viral load, mediator and l-lactate levels were measured at 6, 24 and 48hpi. To further delineate the effect of CS on RV-A16 infection, we performed growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) knockdown, l-lactate and interferon pre-treatment in ALI-PBEC. We performed deconvolution analysis to predict changes in the cell composition of ALI-PBEC after the various exposures. Finally, we compared transcriptional responses of ALI-PBEC to those in nasal epithelium after human RV-A16 challenge. Results CS exposure impaired antiviral responses at 6hpi and increased viral replication at 24 and 48hpi in ALI-PBEC. At 24hpi, CS exposure enhanced expression of RV-A16-induced epithelial interferons, inflammation-related genes and CXCL8. CS exposure increased expression of oxidative stress-related genes, of GDF15, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. GDF15 knockdown experiments suggested involvement of this pathway in the CS-induced increase in viral replication. Expression of glycolysis-related genes and l-lactate production were increased by CS exposure, and was demonstrated to contribute to higher viral replication. No major differences were demonstrated between COPD and non-COPD-derived cultures. However, cellular deconvolution analysis predicted higher secretory cells in COPD-derived cultures at baseline. Conclusion Altogether, our findings demonstrate that CS exposure leads to higher viral infection in human bronchial epithelium by altering not only interferon responses, but likely also through a switch to glycolysis, and via GDF15related pathways. Show less
Next to the Pareto dominance relation, alternative order relations can be useful in many-objective optimization. In particular, it is interesting to extend the Pareto dominance relation in order to... Show moreNext to the Pareto dominance relation, alternative order relations can be useful in many-objective optimization. In particular, it is interesting to extend the Pareto dominance relation in order to make more pairs comparable and decrease the size of the optimal set (for discrete approximations in continuous optimization or discrete problems), which tends to grow exponentially with an increasing number of objectives. Here, we review some basic concepts in order theory with a focus on the concept of an order extension. Moreover, we will define and discuss properties of some orders that have been proposed as alternatives to the Pareto dominance relation in the context of dealing with larger number of objective functions. The chapter compares the different concepts and reveals commonalities between them. It will be shown that many of the order extensions proposed are special cases of cone orders. Therefore, the chapter puts particular emphasize on the concept of dominance cones and demonstrates how different ways of defining dominance cones, such as by means of angles or by trade-offs, can be mapped onto each other. Show less
In cardiac fibrosis, in response to stress or injury, cardiac fibroblasts deposit excessive amounts of collagens which contribute to the development of heart failure. The biochemical stimuli in... Show moreIn cardiac fibrosis, in response to stress or injury, cardiac fibroblasts deposit excessive amounts of collagens which contribute to the development of heart failure. The biochemical stimuli in this process have been extensively studied, but the influence of cyclic deformation on the fibrogenic behavior of cardiac fibroblasts in the ever-beating heart is not fully understood. In fact, most investigated mechanotransduction pathways in cardiac fibroblasts seem to ultimately have profibrotic effects, which leaves an important question in cardiac fibrosis research unanswered: how do cardiac fibroblasts stay quiescent in the ever-beating human heart? In this study, we developed a human cardiac fibrosis-on-a-chip platform and utilized it to investigate if and how cyclic strain affects fibrogenic signaling. The pneumatically actuated platform can expose engineered tissues to controlled strain magnitudes of 0–25% – which covers the entire physiological and pathological strain range in the human heart – and to biochemical stimuli and enables high-throughput screening of multiple samples. Microtissues of human fetal cardiac fibroblasts (hfCF) embedded in gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) were 3D-cultured on this platform and exposed to strain conditions which mimic the healthy human heart. The results provide evidence of an antifibrotic effect of the applied strain conditions on cardiac fibroblast behavior, emphasizing the influence of biomechanical stimuli on the fibrogenic process and giving a detailed overview of the mechanosensitive pathways and genes involved, which can be used in the development of novel therapies against cardiac fibrosis. Show less
The consequences of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can range from asymptomatic to fatal disease. Variations in epithelial susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2... Show moreThe consequences of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can range from asymptomatic to fatal disease. Variations in epithelial susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection depend on the anatomical location from the proximal to distal respiratory tract. However, the cellular biology underlying these variations is not completely understood. Thus, air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures of well-differentiated primary human tracheal and bronchial epithelial cells were employed to study the impact of epithelial cellular composition and differentiation on SARS-CoV-2 infection by transcriptional (RNA sequencing) and immunofluorescent analyses. Changes of cellular composition were investigated by varying time of differentiation or by using specific compounds. We found that SARS-CoV-2 primarily infected ciliated cells but also goblet cells and transient secretory cells. Viral replication was impacted by differences in cellular composition, which depended on culturing time and anatomical origin. A higher percentage of ciliated cells correlated with a higher viral load. However, DAPT-treatment, which increased number of ciliated cells and reduced goblet cells, decreased viral load, indicating the contribution of goblet cells to infection. Cell-entry factors, especially cathepsin L and transmembrane protease serine 2, were also affected by differentiation time. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that viral replication is affected by changes in cellular composition, especially in cells related to the mucociliary system. This could explain in part the variable susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection between individuals and between anatomical locations in the respiratory tract. Show less
The wide production and use of metallic nanomaterials (MNMs) leads to increased emissions into the aquatic environments and induces high potential risks. Experimentally evaluating the (eco)toxicity... Show moreThe wide production and use of metallic nanomaterials (MNMs) leads to increased emissions into the aquatic environments and induces high potential risks. Experimentally evaluating the (eco)toxicity of MNMs is time-consuming and expensive due to the multiple environmental factors, the complexity of material properties, and the species diversity. Machine learning (ML) models provide an option to deal with heterogeneous data sets and complex relationships. The present study established an in silico model based on a machine learning properties-environmental conditions-multi species-toxicity prediction model (ML-PEMST) that can be applied to predict the toxicity of different MNMs toward multiple aquatic species. Feature importance and interaction analysis based on the random forest method indicated that exposure duration, illumination, primary size, and hydrodynamic diameter were the main factors affecting the ecotoxicity of MNMs to a variety of aquatic organisms. Illumination was demonstrated to have the most interaction with the other features. Moreover, incorporating additional detailed information on the ecological traits of the test species will allow us to further optimize and improve the predictive performance of the model. This study provides a new approach for ecotoxicity predictions for organisms in the aquatic environment and will help us to further explore exposure pathways and the risk assessment of MNMs. Show less
The research described in this thesis focuses on the responses of lung epithelial cells lining the airways and alveoli. In the study, the effects of viruses that cause lung infections on these... Show moreThe research described in this thesis focuses on the responses of lung epithelial cells lining the airways and alveoli. In the study, the effects of viruses that cause lung infections on these epithelial cells were mapped in detail. Combinations with exposure to cigarette smoke were also included. To do this, epithelial cells obtained from lung tissue were cultured in the lab and exposed to rhinovirus, a common cold virus, and to SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. Exposure of the epithelial cells to these viruses induces very specific reactions in the airway epithelium. These can be further affected by cigarette smoke. The results of our research have taught us more about the processes specifically involved in the different responses of the epithelium, and how external factors such as cigarette smoke influence these responses. For example, we now better understand how cigarette smoke leads to a higher infection rate of rhinovirus, and it has become clear that the response of the airway epithelium to SARS-CoV-2 differs from the response to other coronaviruses. Our findings are therefore important for a better understanding of the role of viral infections in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and for understanding what makes SARS-CoV-2 a unique virus. Show less
Due to special properties, nano-TiO2 will interact with heavy metals and other pollutants in water, thus affecting the environmental behavior and ecotoxicity of these pollutants. However, the exact... Show moreDue to special properties, nano-TiO2 will interact with heavy metals and other pollutants in water, thus affecting the environmental behavior and ecotoxicity of these pollutants. However, the exact manner in which nano-TiO2 affects the bioaccumulation mechanisms of heavy metals is still unclear now. In the present study, quantitative structure bioaccumulation relationship (QSBAR) models were established to explore the relationships between physicochemical parameters of heavy metals and their accumulation in Daphnia magna in the absence and presence of nano-TiO2 at low metal exposure concentrations. The results showed that different physicochemical parameters affected the bioaccumulation of metals in Daphnia magna. The metal accumulation could be described by means of a Comprehensive Parameter composed of seven parameters, i.e., atomic number (AN), relative atomic weight (AW), atomic radius (AR), atomic ionization potential (AN/ΔIP), covalent index (X2r), second ionization energy (I2) and electrochemical potential (E0), in the absence of nano-TiO2, whereas the metal accumulation increased with the increase in Van Der Waals radius (rw) of metals in the presence of nano-TiO2. It was demonstrated that the bioaccumulation mechanism of the metals to Daphnia magna changed in the presence of nano-TiO2. Moreover, the bioaccumulation of more than 85% of the metals increased in the presence of nano-TiO2, but it increased differently for different metals. The present study provides an alternative approach to understand the mechanism of heavy metal bioaccumulation at low metal exposure concentrations and the effect of nano-TiO2 on metal bioaccumulation. Show less
Grafton-Waters, S.; Mao, J.; Mehdipour, M.; Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Page, M.; Kaastra, J.S.; ... ; Ebrero, J. 2023
