We explored the role of the Krebs cycle enzyme fumarate hydratase (FH) in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Mice lacking Fh1 in pancreatic β cells (Fh1βKO mice) appear normal for 6–8 weeks but then develop progressive glucose intolerance and diabetes. Glucose tolerance is rescued by expression of mitochondrial or cytosolic FH but not by deletion of Hif1α or Nrf2. Progressive hyperglycem

The impacts of natural disasters on communities living in hazard prone areas are wide ranging and complex. In Mwanza, steep slopes, rocky hills and river valleys are inhabited by society's poorest people. These areas are prone to natural disasters. Residents have accumulated coping mechanisms for disaster risks and impact reduction. We combine spatial data, household surveys and data from focus gr

Generation of precisely patterned neural cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is instrumental in developing disease models and stem cell therapies. Here, we provide a detailed 16-d protocol for obtaining high-purity ventral midbrain (VM) dopamine (DA) progenitors for intracerebral transplantation into animal models and for in vitro maturation into neurons. We have successfully transplan

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are a promising source for a cell-based therapy to treat Parkinson's disease (PD), in which midbrain dopaminergic neurons progressively degenerate. However, long-term analysis of human iPS cell-derived dopaminergic neurons in primate PD models has never been performed to our knowledge. Here we show that human iPS cell-derived dopaminergic progenitor cells

Background The aims of this study were to estimate the risk for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to identify risk factors. We investigated a nationwide population-based cohort with diabetes diagnosed at age 15–34 years. Patients and methods Of 794 patients registered 1987–1988 in the Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS) 444 (56%) patients with retinal photos available for classification of retin

We found that 20 (10.6%) of 188 patients with chronic suppurative otitis media in Angola were co-colonized with fluoroquinolone-resistant Alcaligenes faecalis, commonly found in birds. A likely explanation for our findings was the use of bird feces by residents as a traditional remedy to prevent ear secretions caused by primary ear infection.

High pressure reducing valve (HPRV) is widely used for pressure and temperature control of heated steams in power plant and other related process engineering. The structures of throttling components inside HPRVs have important effects on the control performances. In this paper, a parametric study of throttling components in a multi-stage high pressure reducing valve (MSHPRV) is carried out, includ

Small remnants of non-arable habitat within the farmland mosaic are considered important for the conservation of farmland biodiversity, but their contribution to landscape-scale species richness is poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the relative contributions of different habitat types to the landscape-scale species richness of vascular plants within farmland of varying landscape

The purpose of this article is to analyze how university teachers’ professionalism shapes the coordination processes in higher education institutions (HEIs). By developing an innovative framework, which combines governance theories and theories about professionalization, we found that university teachers’ roles in coordination with governance actors in HEIs follow two different logics: to comply w

Endovascular redo aortic operations are a challenging undertaking. Techniques for treatment date almost as far back as the original open repair itself. Risk factors for failure following aortic repair include larger abdominal aortic aneurysm necks, severe neck angulation, as well as clinical variables such as age, family history, obesity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The armamentarium

Objective Endoscopic pituitary surgery has shown favorable clinical outcomes. Less is known about the impact of surgical approaches on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work capacity. The present study was undertaken to compare transsphenoidal microscope-assisted surgery with endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery regarding preoperative and surgical factors for the final outcome of HRQoL and

A search for strongly produced supersymmetric particles using signatures involving multiple energetic jets and either two isolated same-sign leptons (e or μ), or at least three isolated leptons, is presented. The analysis relies on the identification of b-jets and high missing transverse momentum to achieve good sensitivity. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV recorded with the A

Objective/Background The objective was to evaluate the feasibility and mid-term outcomes of endoconduits (EC) with the “pave and crack” technique during endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of varying complexity. Methods This was a retrospective study. All patients undergoing EC between July 2009 and October 2015 were included. The primary endpoint was technical success of the EC defined as the abi

We report on the in situ synthesis and stabilization of manganese dioxide (MnO2) onto four different silk yarns (mulberry, tasar, muga and eri silks). A new ultrasound-assisted procedure was used to reduce permanganate (MnO4 −) and yielded MnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) on/in the different silk fibers. Using a factorial design we assessed the influence of the silk type, manganese precursor concentration

In this paper, we present a time-recursive implementation of a recent hyperparameter-free group-sparse estimation technique. This is achieved byr eformulating the original method, termed group-SPICE, as a square-root group-LASSO with a suitable regularization level, for which a time-recursive implementation is derived. Using a proximal gradient step for lowering the computational cost, the propose

A method for synthesizing proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers for process models with probabilistic parametric uncertainty is presented. The proposed method constitutes a stochastic extension to the well-studied maximization of integral gain optimization (MIGO) approach, i.e., maximization of integral gain under constraints on the H-infinity norm of relevant closed-loop transfer fun

To account for dynamic cross-coupling of structures via the soil, a computational model must be accurate enough to provide the correct overall behaviour of the scattered wave field. However, simplicity is also important when a model should be used for design purposes, especially in the early design stages and feasibility studies. The paper addresses the accuracy of simple models in which an array

Membrane hybrid processes-coagulation coupled with ultrafiltration (UF)-have become a common method to comply with the legal, chemical, and microbiological requirements for drinking water. The main advantages of integrating coagulation with membrane filtration are the enhanced removal of natural organic matter (NOM) and reduced membrane fouling. With in-line coagulation, coagulants are patched int

In this paper, we propose a novel multi-pitch estimator for stereophonic mixtures, allowing for pitch estimation on multi-channel audio even if the amplitude and delay panning parameters are unknown. The presented method does not require prior knowledge of the number of sources present in the mixture, nor on the number of harmonics in each source. The estimator is formulated using a sparse signal