We previously showed that dietary sphingomyelin (SM) inhibited cholesterol absorption in animals. The key enzyme hydrolyzing SM in the gut is alkaline sphingomyelinase (alk-SMase, NPP7). Here using fecal dual-isotope ratio method we compared cholesterol absorption in the wild type (WT) and alk-SMase knockout (KO) mice. The animals were fed an emulsion containing (14)C-cholesterol and (3)H-sitoster

Patients with low thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO) and increased TSH-receptor antibodies (TRAb) at diagnosis of Graves' disease (GD) have been suggested to have an increased risk to develop Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO). The aim was to evaluate if GO development can be predicted.This is an observational study with registration of possible GD and GO risk factors.399 patients with GD were regi

The most frequently used, and effective, treatment for morbid obesity is Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB), which results in rapid remission of T2D in most cases. To what extent this is accounted for by weight loss or other factors remains elusive. To gain insight into these mechanisms, we investigated the effects of RYGB on ß-cell function and ß-cell mass in the pig, a species highly remini

Carboxylic acids (CAs), amino acids (AAs) and carbohydrates (CHs) in dissolved free forms can be readily assimilated by aquatic bacteria and metabolized at high growth efficiencies. Previous studies have shown that these low-molecular-weight (LMW) substrates are released by phytoplankton but also that unidentified LMW compounds of terrestrial origin is a subsidy for bacterial metabolism in unprodu

Population fluctuations and synchrony influence population persistence; species with larger fluctuations and more synchronised population fluctuations face higher extinction risks. Here, we analyse the effect of diet specialisation, mobility, length of the flight period, and distance to the northern edge of the species' distribution in relation to between-year population fluctuations and synchrony

Background: Performance of migrating birds can be affected by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors like morphology, meteorological conditions and migration strategies. We compared travel speeds of four raptor species during their crossing of the Sahara desert. Focusing the analyses on this region allows us to compare different species under equivalent conditions in order to disentangle whic

Context/Objective: The variant rs13266634 in SLC30A8, encoding a beta-cell-specific zinc transporter, is associated with type 2 diabetes. We aimed to identify other variants in SLC30A8 that increase diabetes risk and impair beta-cell function, and test whether zinc intake modifies this risk. Design/Outcome: We sequenced exons in SLC30A8 in 380 Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) participants and ide

Several studies have found protective effects of low/moderate (hereafter 'light') alcohol consumption compared with 'abstinence' on mortality, health and wage. Some of these studies have been criticised because former drinkers have been included among the abstainers, which may overstate the protective effect of light alcohol consumption. It has also been proposed, but not shown, that the commonly

In our previous genome-wide scan of Finnish nuclear families, obesity was linked to chromosome Xq24. Here we analyzed this 15-Mb region by genotyping 9 microsatellite markers and 36 single nucleotide polyp morphisms (SNPs) for 11 positional and functional candidate genes in an extended sample of 218 obese Finnish sibling pairs (sibpairs) (BMI > 30 kg/m(2)). Evidence of linkage emerged mainly from

The displacement operations that Chomsky (1999) terms ‘themati¬zation/extraction’ and takes to be phonological of nature, are truly syntactical operations. Concerning leftward displacement, I add another argument for its syntactic nature to those already known from the literature. My argument is based on the behaviour of Mainland Scandinavian bare singular nominals, which neither move to Spec-IP

The importance of load demand variation, when analysing energy and environmental impact of residential energy use, is increasing. Load demand in residential houses is a significant contributor to peak load problems experienced by utilities. The knowledge about demand variation in households is limited as well as the use of methodologies to analyse the demand is. Many utilities have recently instal

AIM: The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of using a structured nursing intervention programme in hypertension care. BACKGROUND: Counselling on lifestyle changes to address hypertension helps patients reduce risk factors such as smoking, high alcohol consumption, overweight, dyslipidemia, negative stress and physical inactivity. DESIGN: The study was performed as a pre-test-post-tes

Since 1984, 577 knee arthroplasty operations were performed in Al Razi Orthopedic hospital in Kuwait. An increase in the number of these operations occurred during the last four years and in 2007 there were almost 100 knee arthroplasty operations performed. Six out of seven operated patients were female. The mean age at operation was 67 years for male and 62 years for female patients. The vast maj