Circulating metabolites associated with insulin sensitivity may represent useful biomarkers, but their causal role in insulin sensitivity and diabetes is less certain. We previously identified novel metabolites correlated with insulin sensitivity measured by the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. The top-ranking metabolites were in the glutathione and glycine biosynthesis pathways. We aimed to ide

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether adolescents born extremely preterm differ from full-term born regarding mental health, social support and attachment style. Methods: Fifty-one young adults, born before the 29(th) gestational week and 54 born at term were investigated by self-reports. Psychological health was measured by the Beck Youth Inventories of Emotional and Soci

We present a model relating analysis of abstract and concrete word meaning in terms of semantic features and contextual frames within a general framework of neurocognitive information processing. The approach taken here assumes concrete noun meanings to be intimately related to sensory feature constellations. These features are processed by posterior sensory regions of the brain, e.g. the occipita

In 2007, the European Commission (EC) commissioned a group of experts to undertake the revision of Report Radiation Protection (RP) 91, written in 1997, on oCriteria for acceptability of radiological (including radiotherapy) and nuclear medicine installations'. The revised draft report was submitted to the EC. Before publication, the EC issued this document for public consultation and has commissi

Laminar burning velocities have been measured using the heat flux method on a flat flame adiabatic burner. Measurements were done for iso-octane, n-heptane, toluene, a toluene reference fuel (i.e., a mixture of iso-octane, n-heptane and toluene) and a commercial gasoline. The laminar burning velocities of the toluene reference fuel were in correspondence with the laminar burning velocities of the

We recently showed that lycopene inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced productions of nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in murine RAW264.7 macrophages by mechanisms related to inhibition of ERK and nuclear factor-kappa B. Since the assembly of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in lipid rafts is a key element in LPS induced signaling, we investigated whether this process would be influenced

A detailed investigation of aluminum plasma induced by a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser in air was performed. The emission of spectral lines arising from Al I transition at 396.07 nm, Al II transition at 358.46 nm, Al Ill transition at 360.72 nm and Al IV transition at 363.05 nm were well-resolved. The plasma parameters including electron temperature and electron density were determined through the Boltzman

A tracking problem for a mechanical system is considered. We start with a feedback controller that is designed without attention to disturbances, which are assumed to be adequately described by a dynamic LuGre friction model. We are interested in deriving a superimposed observer-based compensator to annihilate or reduce the influence of such a disturbance. We exploit a recently suggested approach

Objective and methods A member of the major human cytochrome P450 superfamily of hemoproteins, CYP3A4/5, converts cholesterol into 4 beta-hydroxycholesterol. We studied plasma 4 beta-hydroxycholesterol levels prior to and 4 weeks after initiating antiretroviral therapy that included efavirenz, ritonavir-boosted atazanavir or ritonavir-boosted lopinavir with the aim of exploring the usefulness of p

Partial ion yield spectroscopy was used to study fragmentation processes in cyanogen after C 1s and N 1s photoexcitation. The interpretation of the core excitation spectrum mostly follows the literature, but the high resolution has in some cases allowed a more detailed assignment. Using the fact that in Rydberg states there is an intensity increase as the fragmentation process becomes more extensi

The management of primary gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) has evolved with the introduction of adjuvant therapy. Recently reported results of the SSG XVIII/AIO trial by the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group (SSG) and the German Working Group on Medical Oncology (AIO) represent a significant change in the evidence for adjuvant therapy duration. The objectives of this European Expert Panel meeting

In 1996 there was no convincing laboratory evidence that EMFs used in wireless communication could cause tumour promotion at non-thermal exposure levels. Therefore we then performed a study of the effects from exposure to such electromagnetic fields in the rat brain glioma model we were using in our research for brain tumour therapy. By stereotaxic technique rat glioma cells (RG2 or N32) were inje

In this article, we draw on a postcolonial sensibility to deconstruct how culture is discussed in mainstream international business textbooks. Through this deconstruction we show: (1) how the initial disclaimers that call for cultural sensitivity can be seen as pointing to the opposite of what they claim, which leads us to question the cultural sensitivity notion from ethical and political standpo

We report lifetime measurements of the five levels in the 3d(4)(a(5)D)5s e(6)D term in Cr II at an energy around 83 000 cm(-1), and log(gf) values for 38 transitions from the investigated levels. The lifetimes are obtained using time-resolved, laser-induced fluorescence on ions from a laser-produced plasma. Since the levels have the same parity as the low-lying states directly populated in the pla