The discovery that variants in the melatonin receptor 2 (MTNR1B) gene were associated with glucose levels, insulin secretion, and risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) reinforced the previously suggested link between glucose homeostasis and circadian rhythmicity. Diurnal secretion of melatonin has reported to be altered in people with diabetes and rodent models o

Aims This study examines the association between the incidence of drug abuse (DA) and linking (communal) social capital, a theoretical concept describing the amount of trust between individuals and societal institutions. Methods We present results from an 8-year population-based cohort study that followed all residents in Sweden, aged 15–44, from 2003 through 2010, for a total of 1,700,896 men and

Background and objectives: This cross-sectional, epidemiological study sought to assess the prevalence and extent of potential risk factors for hypertension, particularly renal function related to haematuria and their associations in people with haemophilia. Methodology: Demographic and medical data were collected at a single time-point in patients with haemophilia over 40 years of age from 16 Eur

Background: We aimed to explore the association between self-reported leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations in men and women with and without impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Methods: In a cross-sectional study, a random sample (n = 2,816) was examined with an oral glucose tolerance test, CRP and information about LTPA. Those with IGT or normal glucose

The marine environment harbors a large proportion of the total biodiversity on this planet, including the majority of the earths’ different phyla and classes. Studying the genomes of marine organisms can bring interesting insights into genome evolution. Today, almost all marine organismal groups are understudied with respect to their genomes. One potential reason is that extraction of high-quality

Nutrigenetics considers the influence of individual genetic variation on differences in response to dietary components, nutrient requirements and predisposition to disease. Nutrigenomics involves the study of interactions between the genome and diet, including how nutrients affect the transcription and translation process plus subsequent proteomic and metabolomic changes, and also differences in r

Type 2 diabetes has become a leading health problem throughout the world. The escalating epidemic of type 2 diabetes is believed to result from a collision between inherent biological susceptibilities (genotypes) and a shift toward dietary habits and lifestyle that promote obesity over the past several decades; the transition from “traditional” to modern “obesogenic” lifestyles is characterized by

Context: Alkyl glucosides and alkyl poly-glucosides are widely used as wetting agents, surfactants and emulsifiers in several industrial and cosmetic products. They are known as well-tolerated and are usually added to the primary surfactants in order to reduce the irritating potential of the main foaming agents.Objective: Recently, some authors suggested that allergic contact dermatitis to alkyl g

Mice with striatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions are widely used as a model to study the effects of neurorestorative, symptomatic, or antidyskinetic treatments for Parkinson's disease (PD). The standard praxis is to utilize young adult mice with relatively acute 6-OHDA lesions. However, long post-lesion intervals may be required for longitudinal studies of treatment interventions, and the lon

In many cases, the principle goal of a fire safety engineering (FSE) design is the life safety of the users of a structure. There are, however, other potential fire safety goals to consider, e.g., property protection, continuity of operations, protection of the environment and protection of cultural heritage [1]. Whatever the goal, users of the building, both building managers and occupants, will

Effect of misfit strain in the layers of (Ga,Mn)(Bi,As) quaternary diluted magnetic semiconductor, epitaxially grown on either GaAs substrate or (In,Ga)As buffer, on their magnetic and magneto-transport properties has been investigated. High-resolution X-ray diffraction, applied to characterize the structural quality and misfit strain in the layers, proved that the layers were fully strained to th

We consider a two-dimensional inviscid irrotational flow in a two layer fluid under the effects of gravity and interfacial tension. The upper fluid is bounded above by a rigid lid, and the lower fluid is bounded below by a rigid bottom. We use a spatial dynamics approach and formulate the steady Euler equations as a Hamiltonian system, where we consider the unbounded horizontal coordinate x as a t

In this work, we utilize classical polymer density functional theory (DFT) to study gelation in systems containing colloidal particles onto which polymers are grafted. The solution conditions are such that the corresponding bulk system displays a lower critical solution temperature (LCST). We specifically compare our predictions with experimental results by Shay et al. (J. Rheol. 2001, 45, 913-927

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are multipotent cells with regenerative and immune-modulatory properties. Therefore, MSC have been proposed as a potential cell-therapy for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). On the other hand, there are publications demonstrating that MSC might be involved in the development of BOS. Despite limited knowledge regarding the functional role of tissue-resident lu

This paper analyses the use of wonder in the TV-series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980). Popular science has been studied extensively (e.g. Broks 2006; Leane 2007; Perrault 2013), and wonder has been studied moderately (e.g. Daston & Park 1998; Fuller 2006; Vasalou 2015). However, there are very few studies of wonder in popular science. This paper explores how and why wonder is used in Cosmos,

A method based on using supercritical CO2 as an antisolvent (SAS method) is explored as a co-crystallization technique. Co-crystallization is an emerging and powerful technique to improve the physicochemical properties of an active pharmaceutical ingredient. The solid-state and solution co-crystallization methods usually employed present several disadvantages. The one-step SAS method has a low env

Aquaporins (AQPs) are membrane channel proteins that transport water and uncharged solutes across different membranes in organisms in all kingdoms of life. In plants, the AQPs can be divided into seven different subfamilies and five of these are present in higher plants. The most recently characterized of these subfamilies is the XIP subfamily, which is found in most dicots but not in monocots. In

Objective: To highlight expectant parents’ attitudes concerning prenatal diagnosis, what the parents wish to know and what they chose not to know about their unborn baby, also in what form and to what extent they wish for prenatal diagnosis. Background: Parents have to make decisions concerning prenatal diagnosis. Screening programmes change rapidly and there is a need for parental influence on th

An adaptive algorithm optimizing single-particle translational displacement parameters in Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations is presented. The optimization is based on maximizing the mean square displacement of a trial move. It is shown that a large mean square displacement is strongly correlated with a high precision of average potential energy. The method is here demonstrated on model systems re