Diabetic kidney disease is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. Genetic factors have been suggested to contribute to its susceptibility. However, results from genetic studies are disappointing possibly because the role of glucose in diabetic kidney disease predisposed by epigenetic mechanisms has not been taken into account. Since thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) has been shown to

We report a case of neuropathy induced by vibration and compression in the hand of a dental hygienist. Her hand function was improved considerably by repeated treatment during which EMLA(R) cream (EMLA(R) cream is a local anaesthetic agent containing lidocain 2.5% and priolocain 2.5%) was applied to the forearm to induce cutaneous anaesthesia.

Interannual variability in meteorological dryness and wetness in central Finland during the period 1959–2009 was analysed using Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) on three timescales (annual, seasonal and monthly). For different time steps (12, 3 and 1 months) of SPI values (SPI12, SPI3 and SPI1), trends based on the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test and the most significant relationships with

Given images of a scene taken by a moving camera or recordings of a moving smart phone playing a song by a microphone array, how hard is it to reconstruct the scene structure or the moving trajectory of the phone? In this thesis, we study and solve several fundamental geometric problems in order to provide solutions to these problems. The key underlying technique for solving such geometric probl

e concept of ecosystem services was originally developed to illustrate the benefits that natural ecosystems generate for society and to raise awareness for biodiversity and ecosystem conservation. In this article we identify major challenges and opportunities for ecologists involved in empirical or modeling ecosystem service research. The first challenge arises from the fact that the ecosystem ser

Preference formation and choice are dynamic cognitive processes arising from interactions between decision-makers and their immediate choice environment. This thesis examines how preferences and decisions are played out in visual attention, captured by eye-movements, as well as in group contexts. Papers I-II make use of the Choice Blindness paradigm. Paper I compares participants’ eye movements

The Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat is a well-studied non-obese spontaneous type 2 diabetes (T2D) animal model characterized by impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in the pancreatic beta cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short regulatory RNAs involved in many fundamental biological processes. We aim to identify miRNAs that are differentially-expressed in the pancreatic islets of the GK rats an

We consider the following problems related to the construction and analysis of turbo-codes: asymptotic behavior of interleavers (permutors), asymptotic behavior of the minimum distance, and also some examples of practical application of the developed methods to concrete turbo-codes.

A tabulation of binary systematic convolutional codes with an optimum distance profile for rates1/3and1/4is given. A number of short rate1/3binary nonsystematic convolutional codes are listed. These latter codes are simultaneously optimal for the following distance measures: distance profile, minimum distance, and free distance; they appear attractive for use with Viterbi decoders. Comparisons wit

An undergraduate course in Strategic Management seemingly provides similar basic content to students including the infamous SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat) analysis along with the identification of functional level, business level, and generic strategies to enhance an organization’s competitiveness. One of the most common resources for this type of course is the article outl