Antibodies have become a well-established tool in the fields of diagnostics and treatments, especially within oncology, immunology, and infectious diseases. Despite their effectiveness, antibodies are limited by their size, high production costs, and immunogenicity, which in the long run can lead to significant challenges in the medical field. Some well-researched options to antibodies are non-antibody proteins and peptide scaffolds. In this report, focus lies on providing an overview of designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins), Ankyrons, Affibodies, Anticalins, Adnectins and bicyclic peptides, all different formats of non-antibody proteins and peptide scaffolds. Ranging from 1-20 kDa, these non-antibodies feature stable structural elements and modifiable regions for highly specific bonds with high affinity. While originating from natural sources, non-antibodies can be produced synthetically at a low cost, while also decreasing immunogenicity. This report presents the structures of the chosen six formats, and also their function in various applications, as well as their potential to overcome the hurdles of regular antibodies. With the increasing risks of emerging diseases and other health-related issues, non-antibody proteins and peptide scaffolds show great potential for replacing or assisting conventional antibodies in healthcare and biomedical research.

Plants adapt genetically and phenotypically to abiotic and biotic environmental conditions, and associated changes in their traits and investment strategies may affect their palatability to herbivores. This study aims to investigate if ecosystem retrogression results in heritable adaptation of Betula pubescens and how this impacts seedling growth, response to fertilizer, and palatability to the herbivore Spodoptera littoralis. Seeds were collected from a retrogressive island chronosequence for which nutrient availability increased with island size. Seeds were grown in a common garden and a fertilizer experiment was carried out to analyze genetic and phenotypic adaptations to nutrient availability. A bioassay using S. littoralis larvae was conducted to reveal the effect of adaptations to nutrient availability and herbivory on plant palatability. Only the root-to-shoot ratio indicated any heritable adaptation, being higher for seedlings originating from small islands. Seedlings showed highly plastic responses to fertilizer, indicative of an increased acquisition of resources. The palatability of B. pubescens was mainly determined by a tradeoff between leaf dry matter content and specific leaf area and was reduced by induced defenses. The acquisition of resources, growth, and reproduction of B. pubescens appears to be driven largely by phenotypic plasticity rather than prior genetic adaptation. Since all treatment responses were independent of island size, the whole population may be resilient to future changes in environmental conditions. The study revealed that ecosystem retrogression does not have to result in heritable plant adaptations, even if changes in ecosystem conditions can be substantial. It is of great importance to gain more knowledge on how species may adapt to future changes in environmental conditions over different timescales, both to naturally and anthropogenically induced changes.

The American bully is a relatively new breed of dog, originating in United States of America and has in recent years increased in popularity in Sweden. It is an extension of the American Pitbull terrier, and is often described by breeders and owners as a gentle and friendly companion dog. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the breed and its description by reviewing legal cases and advertisements. I also reviewed information from the Swedish Board of Agriculture regarding registrations of the breed to examine how common it is in Sweden. The American Bully breed has increased with around 1000 dogs per year, and in 2023 there were 5538 dogs registered in as dogs of American Bully breed. Dogs of American Bully breed change owners over eight times more often than dogs in general in Sweden, making the breed overrepresented when it comes to ownership changes. The breed is the second most common dog breed to change ownership in the dog registry, with only mixed breed having more ownership changes. Changed circumstances in the family was the most commonly reason given in advertisements for rehoming of an American Bully dog. Breeders of American Bully describe their dogs with regard of their appearance and bloodlines instead of mentality and behaviour, and market the breed as an excellent family dog. The results of this study show that dogs of American Bully breed have caused injuries to both adults and children by attacking and biting them seemingly unprovoked. My conclusion of the American Bully breed is that it is a powerful and muscular breed of dog that is wrongly marketed as a lazy companion dog. More studies are needed with regard to the breeds health and behaviour. A breeding program from the American Bully clubs could be a possible way to correct the current problems regarding health and aggressive behaviour in the breed.

Jordbrukens ekosystem är mer komplexa än vad man tidigare trott och består av många olika arter kopplade till olika ekosystemtjänster som jordbruket tillhandahåller. De interaktioner som bildas mellan arterna bildar ett ekologiskt nätverk där växterna är de energiproducerande resurserna för konsumenter högre upp i nätverket. Vi lever idag i ett sjätte massutdöende med pågående klimatkris som påverkar sannolikheten för arters överlevnad. Syftet med det här arbetet är därför att ta reda på hur jordbrukets ekosystemtjänster påverkas vid artbortfall av vissa växter skapade av hoten invasiva arter, patogener och pollinatörbrist. Syftet är även att titta på hur detta arbetssätt kan användas inom undervisningen av biologi på gymnasiet. Undersökningen av artbortfallens påverkan sker med hjälp av Bayesianska nätverk som utifrån alla artinteraktioner och tillhandahållanden av ekosystemtjänster beräknar och simulerar sannolikheten för arters överlevnad och därmed även sannolikheten för att ekosystemtjänsterna ska finnas kvar. Det visade sig att oavsett hot så blir så gott som alla ekosystemtjänster påverkade vilket tyder på många indirekta effekter. Det visade sig även att hoten pollinatörbrist har störst påverkan på minskningen av de aktuella ekosystemtjänsterna. Simuleringen av artbortfall skulle kunna implementeras i biologiundervisningen på gymnasiet för att visa på hur komplexa ekosystemen är och ge eleverna en djupare förståelse i hur de ekologiska, ekonomiska och sociala aspekterna hänger samman och försöka hitta metoder för att åtgärda minskningarna av ekosystemtjänsterna. / Agricultural ecosystems are more complex than previously thought and consist of many different species linked to different ecosystem services that agriculture provides. The interactions between the species form an ecological network where the plants are the energy-producing resources for consumers higher up in the network. Today we live in a sixth mass extinction with an ongoing climate crisis that affects the probability of species survival. The purpose of this work is therefore to find out how agricultural ecosystem services are affected in the case of species extinction of certain plants created by the threats of invasive species, pathogens and pollinator shortages. The secondary aim is also to look at how this can be used in the teaching of biology at upper secondary school. The investigation of the impact of species loss is done with Bayesian networks which, based on all species interactions and the provision of ecosystem services, calculate and simulate the probability of species survival and thus also the probability that the ecosystem services will remain. It turned out that regardless of the threat, almost all ecosystem services are affected, which indicates many indirect effects. It also turned out that the threatened pollinator shortage has the greatest impact on the reduction of the current ecosystem services. The simulation of species loss could be implemented in upper secondary school biology classes to show how complex ecosystems are and give students a deeper understanding of how the ecological, economic and social aspects are connected and try to find methods to remedy the reductions in ecosystem services.

En stor andel av Sveriges hotade växt- och djurarter är beroende av skogen som livsmiljö, och har under en lång tid påverkats negativt av skogsbrukets framfart i skogslandskapet. Skogsbruksåtgärder såsom avverkning, gallring och röjning kan förstöra både livsmiljöer och påverka interaktionerna mellan populationer om miljöhänsynen är bristande, vilket kan hota den långsiktiga överlevnaden på platsen och därigenom även artens bevarandestatus. Artskyddsförordningen är det huvudsakliga regelverket i svensk lagstiftning som reglerar skyddet av växter och djur, och är en viktig del i arbetet för att upprätthålla en gynnsam bevarandestatus för arter. Syftet med mitt projekt är att analysera hur fem skogslevande nationellt hotade arter och deras livsmiljö påverkas av skogsbruket, samt hur en skogsbruksåtgärd kan genomföras på ett sådant sätt så att den inte bryter mot förbuden inom artskyddsförordningen och därmed hotar arternas bevarandestatus. Åtta fältbesök gjordes till skogsbestånd där arterna observerats, där den omgivande miljön och viktiga strukturer såsom mängd död ved, vegetationssammansättning och ljusinsläpp noterades. Specifika fallstudier för varje art och dess förekomstlokal kunde sedan konstrueras utefter den insamlade informationen för att besvara den aktuella frågeställningen. Ett hållbart skogsbruk i linje med artskyddsförordningen har framförallt visat sig innebära avsättande av större sammanhängande områden och tillämpning av hyggesfria metoder vid avverkning, men även ökad miljöhänsyn är en viktig faktor. Grunden till ett hållbart skogsbruk bygger på medvetenhet, vilket endast kan uppnås genom satsningar på utbildning inom branschen.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene regulation mechanism conserved among eukaryotes. To silence gene expression, RNAi relies on a short single-stranded guide RNA to steer the RNA-induced Silencing Complex (RISC) to mRNAs with guide strand-complementary sequences. RNAi is a highly membrane-associated process. The RISC complex is likely loaded at the rough Endoplasmic Reticulum, where it can bind to and degrade mRNAs. Components of the RISC complex also colocalize to late endosomes, and the efficiency of RNAi-mediated silencing is affected by changes in late endosome to lysosome fusion. RNAi can be systemic and inherited, effecting gene silencing in distal tissues and in the offspring. In this thesis, the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans was used to identify and characterize factors connecting systemic and inherited RNAi to the endomembrane system. We identify two SNARE proteins, SEC-22 and SYX-6, that both act as negative regulators of RNAi. SNAREs are necessary for vesicle fusion. Both SEC-22 and SYX-6 localize to late endosomes, and both interact with systemic RNAi protein SID-5 in a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screen. We find that in addition to its function in systemic RNAi, SID-5 is required for proper maturation of late endosomes. Furthermore, we identify the putative RNA-binding protein C12D8.1 as a novel regulator of RNAi inheritance. Mutant C12D8.1 animals will have enhanced inheritance of RNAi silencing, which negatively affects the ability of the progeny to silence new targets using RNAi. Finally, we describe a novel, object-based method for estimating significance in colocalization studies. This method helped us describe and quantify spatial relations between fluorophore-labeled proteins in situations where such analyses would otherwise be impossible. In conclusion, the work presented here further elucidates the connection between cellular RNAi, the endomembrane system, and the outside world.

A large number of proteins interact with biological membranes, either integrated in the membrane (PepTSo2), embedded on a membrane surface (5-lipoxygenase) or encircling a cutout of lipid bilayer (apolipoprotein1 (apoA-I). They function as transporters, receptors or biocatalysts in cellular processes like inflammation or cholesterol transport which are touched upon here. Malfunction of specific membrane proteins are the cause for several diseases or disorders. Knowledge of protein structure supports understanding of its mechanism of function. Here, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used for structure determination. To obtain structure information to high resolution for membrane proteins, normally surrounded by lipids, demands specific methods and materials for stabilization. Stabilized in detergent the structure of the bacterial transporter PepTSo2 was shown to form a tetramer even bound to substrate. However, with a protein based stabilizer, Salipro, the structure of PepTSo2 could be determined to high resolution. High density lipoprotein (HDL) in blood plasma, involved in the removal of cholesterol from peripheral tissues, have a central role in cardiovascular function, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. The HDL-particle is composed of two copies of ApoA1 and around hundred lipid molecules. From TEM data, for the first time the clearly discoidal shape could be shown by 3-dimendional reconstructions. These were used for modelling the ApoA1 protein dimer by a "biased fitting" procedure. The results indicate how ApoA1 folds around a lipid bilayer in a disc-shaped structure. Modified HDL called nanodiscs were here used to show the Ca2+ dependent binding of 5-lipoxygenase on the nanodisc bilayer and thereby increased production of the inflammatory mediator leukotrieneA4. Dimerization of 5-lipoxygenase inactivates these functions. / <p>QC 20170323</p>

The soybean has become one of the world's largest agricultural commodities, with growth in soybean production being driven by two prime demands, animal feed and food products. The purpose of this report is to analyze the role of the soybean in the world and study its consumption in order to make a projection of future demand. The report is based on literature and data from previous studies and public databases, and the main way of analyzing the role of soybean production is through valuation of the ecosystem services lost in conversion to cropland. Argentina, Brazil and the USA are the main producers of soybean, and as such they were the focus of the production segment. In all these countries the conversion rate of natural ecosystems was found to be high, with losses of ecosystem services as a result. Demand showed steady growth and the projection indicated that it would continue to grow, creating the question of where to convert natural habitat to new cropland. The result shows there is a lack of such suitable land, and hence a reduced demand is the only viable solution. As animal feed is the main driver of demand, the conclusion is that the main way of reducing demand is to change our eating habits and reducing animal products in our diets. / Syftet med denna rapport är att analysera sojans roll i världen. Detta genom att redogöra för hur produktionen ser ut och vilka ekologiska konsekvenser denna medför. Vidare har konsumtion och konsumtionstrender studerats för att slutligen ta fram en trolig framtidsprognos. Studien utgår ifrån två användningsområden; djurfoder och mänsklig konsumtion, samt de tre främsta produktionsländerna; Brasilien, Argentina och USA.   Rapporten är en litteraturstudie och grundar sig i resultat från tidigare gjorda undersökningar, studier och artiklar. Syftet har besvarats genom ekonomiska värderingar av påverkade ekosystem och dess ekosystemtjänster till förmån för produktionen av sojabönan. Vidare har data från officiella databaser insamlats för att redogöra för den historiska och nutida konsumtionen av sojabönor och påvisa en stigande trend kring konsumtionen världen över, som inte visar några tecken i dagsläget att stagnera.  Resultat visar på en ökad global efterfråga av sojabönan som till största del grundar sig i en ökad levnadsstandard och där av förändrade kostvanor. Det blir allt vanligare att inkludera kött och andra animaliska produkter i den mänskliga kosten vilket leder till en ökad efterfrågan på djurfoder och följaktligen konsumtionen av sojabönan.   Det har konstaterats att de olika ekosystemen har varierande ekonomiskt värde i de olika länderna. Några av de som är värderade högst är våtmarkerna i Brasilien och USA samt Amazonas regnskog. Baserat på detta konstateras att det skulle vara fördelaktigt att odla upp de ekosystem som ger mindre ekosystemtjänster till samhället, men det är problematiskt då de i många fall redan exploaterats till mycket stor andel. Detta leder till att marginella områden måste konverteras för fortsatt expansion, med större risker för både ekosystem och jordbrukare, alternativt att de högre värderade ekosystemen kommer konverteras i större utsträckning.   Att bemöta den ökade efterfrågan av sojabönan anses därför problematisk, i synnerhet på grund av dess stora omfattning. Det enda hållbara alternativet på lång sikt måste därför bli att minska behovet. Detta innebär att världens konsumtionsmönster måste ändras så att den genomsyras av mer hållbart tänkande och att kosten är mer baserat mer på vegetabiliska produkter.

Blomsterlupin (Lupinus polyphyllus) är en välkänd invasiv växt i Sverige som frekvent växer i vägkanter. På grund av dess egenskaper, som konkurrensförmåga och kvävefixering, kan den ha negativa effekter på biodiversiteten vid vägkanter, vilket är habitat som utgör en tillflykt för många inhemska ängsväxter. Trots skötsel av vägkanter är blomsterlupin vanlig längs vägar av olika storlekar. Detta arbete undersöker om det finns skillnader i artens fördelning, täthet och storlek mellan asfaltsvägar och grusvägar. Eftersom asfaltsvägarnas vägkanter sannolikt utsätts för en mer intensiv skötsel, var mina hypoteser att grusvägar hade fler plantor per m2 inom populationerna och att en högre andel av deras vägkanter täcktes av lupin jämfört med asfaltsvägar. Femton lämpliga sträckor av vardera vägtyp var slumpmässigt utvalda och deras lupinpopulationer mättes. Mätningarna inkluderade populationsarea, antal plantor, plantstorlekar, det minsta avståndet mellan plantor och väg, samt vägkantsbredd. Efter analysen av datan med hjälp av Chi2-test och t-tester hittades enbart ett fåtal signifikanta skillnader mellan vägtyper. Det fanns en tendens att blomsterlupin förekommer längs fler asfaltssträckor jämfört med grusvägar men grusvägar hade en högre täthet inom populationer, täckning av kanterna, större populationer och större genomsnittlig plantstorlek. En signifikant skillnad var att plantor växte längre från vägen längs asfaltsvägar jämfört med grusvägar, vilket kan indikera att plantor som undkommer röjningen kan bevara populationerna längs asfaltsvägar. / Garden lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) is a well-known invasive plant in Sweden that frequently inhabits road verges. Because of its traits, such as competitive ability and nitrogen-fixation, it may have negative effects on biodiversity of road verges, which are habitats that represent a refuge for many native meadow plant species. Despite management of roadsides, Garden lupine is common along roads of different sizes. The present work investigates if there are differences in the species’ distribution, density and size among asphalt roads and gravel roads. As the asphalt roads’ road verges most likely experience a more intense management, my hypotheses were that gravel roads had more plants per m2 within the populations and a higher proportion of their verges were covered by lupine compared to asphalt roads. Fifteen suitable sections of each road type were randomly chosen and their lupine populations were measured. The measurements included population area, number of lupine plants, the plant sizes, the minimum distance of plants to the road and road verge width. After analyzing the data using Chi2-test and t-tests only a few significant differences between road types were found. There was a tendency of Garden lupine to occur in more sections of asphalt roads compared to gravel roads but gravel roads had a higher density within populations, coverage of the verges, larger populations and larger average plant size. One significant difference was that plants grew further away from the road along asphalt than on gravel roads, which could indicate that plants that escape management through clipping may sustain the populations along asphalt roads.

There is little knowledge about olfactory learning in primates, even though primates are known to use olfaction in several behaviors including food selection and territorial defense. Therefore I assessed the olfactory learning and memory performance in five adult spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) using a food-rewarded two-choice olfactory discrimination paradigm. The spider monkeys acquired the initial odor discrimination in 530-1102 trials and in a series of intramodal transfer tasks they needed 30-510 trials to reach the learning criterion. There was a significant negative correlation between the number of trials needed to reach the learning criterion and the number of transfer tasks completed. Thus, as a group, the animals displayed olfactory learning set formation. The number of trials that the spider monkeys needed in initial olfactory learning was comparable to that of other primate species tested previously but higher compared to that of other mammals such as dogs and rats. The learning speed of the spider monkeys in intramodal transfer tasks was similar to that of other mammals tested, suggesting that primates are less prepared to use olfactory cues in the initial solving of a problem but that once they learn the concept, their learning speed with novel odor discrimination problems is not generally slower than that of non-primate mammals. All spider monkeys tested reached the learning criterion in the memory tasks straight on the first testing day, that is: within 30 trials, suggesting similar long-term odor memory capabilities in spider monkeys and other mammals such as dogs, mice and rats.