This thesis illuminates the deliberative democratic ideal's claim for efficiency and legitimacy that is brought forward by Robyn Eckersley and John S. Dryzek as being an essential brick in the struggle for a societal development that is ecologically sustainable. The take off lies in the belief that the current liberal democracy is incapable of responding sufficiently to the ecological problems

Dysregulation of gene expression in islets from type 2 diabetic patients might be causally involved in the development of hyperglycemia or it could develop as a consequence of hyperglycemia, i.e. glucotoxicity. To separate the genes potentially causally involved in pathogenesis from those likely to be secondary to the hyperglycemia we exposed islets from human donors to normal or high glucose conc

The evolution of phenotypic plasticity requires a number of conditions. Selection of plasticity is favoured when the organism experience environmental change, costs are low and cues are reliable about the environmental heterogeneity. However, organisms living in stable environments, not showing constitutive traits but a large amount of plasticity, are predicted to demonstrate high rates of gene fl

Background: Day centers are a common form of mental health service internationally. They are aimed at enhancing occupational engagement and social relations, but there is a need to clarify the outcomes of day center programs, including the impact on important aspects of recovery such as empowerment. Aims: The aim of this study was to explore whether perceived empowerment changed over time among Sw

Severely deficient activity of the von Willebrand Factor (VWF) cleaving metalloprotease,ADAMTS 13, is associated with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The mutation spectrum ofADAMTS 13 is rather heterogeneous, and numerous mutations spread across the gene have been described in association with congenital TTP. The 4143insA mutation is unusual with respect to its geographic concentration.

Background and Objectives: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several genetic regions involved in immune-regulatory mechanisms to be associated with celiac disease. Previous GWAS also revealed an over-representation of genes involved in type 2 diabetes and anorexia nervosa associated with celiac disease, suggesting involvement of common metabolic pathways for development of the

Conclusion: The data indicate important roles for phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3, 4, 5, and related cAMP and cGMP pools in the regulation of inner ear fluid homeostasis. Thus, dysfunction of these enzymes might contribute to pathologies of the inner ear. Objective: The mechanisms underlying endolymphatic hydrops, a hallmark of inner ear dysfunction, are not known in detail; however, altered balance in

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE—: Patient selection in clinical trials on intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) affects overall applicability of results. We estimated eligibility for completed, ongoing, and planned clinical trials in an unselected cohort of patients with ICH. METHODS—: Large clinical ICH trials were identified using trial registration databases. Each trial’s inclusion criteria were applied to a c

The value of course evaluations has been debated since they frequently fail to capture the complexity of education and learning. Group Concept Mapping (GCM), a participant-centred mixed-method was explored as a tool for evaluation and development in nursing education and to better understand students' learning experiences, using data from a GCM-based evaluation of a research training assignment in

Background and aims: Ca2+-induced exocytosis is essential for insulin to be secreted from beta-cells, and in islets from type-2 diabetic (T2D) donors the expression of several genes coding for exocytotic proteins is reduced. Largely this phenomenon cannot be explained by polymorphism; rather it is likely due to epigenetic factors like microRNAs (miRNAs). Indeed, previous studies have identified a