In a corner of the Egyptian revolutionary drama, the fisherfolk of the northern Nile Delta have begun to organise. They suffer an indicative predicament. The two great lagoons of Borullus and Manzala have largely been enclosed by fish farms as the Mubarak regime sought to expand Egypt's aquaculture industry. On the other hand, the sea is threatening to submerge the ground on which the very same fi

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disorder directed against the β cells of the pancreatic islets. The genetic risk of the disease is linked to HLA-DQ risk alleles and unknown environmental triggers. In most countries, only 10-15% of children or young adults newly diagnosed with T1DM have a first-degree relative with the disease. Autoantibodies against insulin, GAD65, IA-2 or the ZnT

Non-stretched laminar burning velocities, SL, of acetaldehyde + air mixtures at initial gas mixture temperatures, T, of 298, 318, 338, 348 and 358 K are reported for the first time. The flames were stabilized on a perforated plate burner at 1 atm using the heat flux method at conditions where the net heat loss from the flame to the burner is zero. Uncertainties of the measurements were analyzed an

Several psychiatric disorders may be characterized by peripheral telomere shortening. However, it is unclear whether telomere shortening is associated with these psychiatric disorders per se or, rather, with underlying dimensional parameters that are often, but not necessarily, associated with them. We explored the association between dimensional psychopathological measures and telomere length (TL

International guidelines advocate an implantable cardioverter and defibrillator (ICD) in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) to prevent sudden death (SCD). Previous data suggest that the benefit of ICD therapy in real life may be lower than expected from the results of controlled studies and side-effects are not negligible. It is also unclear whether women benefit from

Municipal solid waste is one of the major environmental problems in Jordan. The World Bank visibility study (2004) showed that the rate of production of solid waste in Jordan was estimated annually of about 1.46 million ton, and is expected to reach 2.5 million ton by the year 2015 with a generation of 0.9/kg/capita/day. This solid waste volume is still increasing at high rates due to the rapid in

This paper describes measurements of the sum of the transverse energy of particles as a function of particle pseudorapidity, eta, in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy, root s = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are performed in the region \eta\ < 4.8 for two event classes: those requiring the presence of particles with a low transverse

The objective was to describe pregnancy outcomes in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in comparison with general population in Sweden.

Genetic, transcript, and protein level variations have important functional and evolutionary consequences. We performed systematic data collection and analysis of copy-number variations, single-nucleotide polymorphisms, disease-causing variations, messenger RNA splicing variants, and protein posttranslational modifications for the genes and proteins essential for human immune system. Information a

Although bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) systemic administration reduces sepsis-associated inflammation, organ injury, and mortality in clinically relevant models of polymicrobial sepsis, the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating beneficial effects are controversial. This study identifies the molecular mechanisms of MSC-conferred protection in sepsis by interrogating transcri

Background:The objective was to analyze the association between neighborhood deprivation and prostate cancer mortality, after adjusting for individual characteristics.Methods:This study was designed as a follow-up study of prostate cancer mortality between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 2008 in patients aged 25-74 years (a total of 73 159 patients). Multilevel logistic regression analyses were per

The compound eye of the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus contains a specialized dorsal rim area (DRA) populated by distinct blue-sensitive photoreceptors responsible for perception of polarized light. The rest of the eye is dominated by green-sensitive photoreceptors. Using patch clamp we studied dissociated ommatidia of nocturnal adults and diurnal eight-instar nymphs with the goals (1) of characteriz

We consider the problem of decomposing a video sequence into a superposition of (a given number of) moving layers. For this problem, we propose an energy minimization approach based on the coding cost. Our contributions affect both the model (what is minimized) and the algorithmic side (how it is minimized). The novelty of the coding-cost model is the inclusion of a refined model of the image form

Magneto-transport properties of a Ga0.93Mn0.07As ferromagnetic semiconductor film with strong epitaxial strain (Ga0.7In0.3As buffer) have been studied. The observed magnetoresistance showed peculiar peaks at the magnetic fields corresponding to magnetization switching probed by Hall voltage. Computer simulations showed that these anomalies could originate from the formation of complex, island-like

Aims: Animal studies indicate a role for 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1) in the development of obesity. The association to glucose homeostasis is less clear. We investigated the relationship between HSD11B1 mRNA levels in adipose tissue and in skeletal muscle and anthropometric and metabolic measurements in humans with and without impaired glucose homeostasis. Methods: Twelve

Waterpipe smoking is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Research has shown that cigarette smoke, in addition to hundreds of carcinogenic and otherwise toxic compounds, may also contain compounds of microbiological origin. In the present study we analyzed waterpipe smoke for some microbial compounds. Both of the two markers studied, viz 3-hydroxy fatty acids of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (L

The ocean heat transport into the Arctic and the heat budget of the Barents Sea are analyzed in an ensemble of historical and future climate simulations performed with the global coupled climate model EC-Earth. The zonally integrated northward heat flux in the ocean at 70A degrees N is strongly enhanced and compensates for a reduction of its atmospheric counterpart in the twenty first century. Alt

BACKGROUND: Increased levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) have been shown to reduce the hormones in the HPA axis. In this study we addressed the question whether patients with unmedicated major depressive disorder (MDD) might have altered baseline levels of these natriuretic peptides and an altered response to acute exercise. METHODS: An incremental exerc

BACKGROUND: CYP2J2 is responsible for the production of 5,6 8,9 11,12 and 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, vasodilator and anti-inflammatory substances. It is abundantly expressed in human heart and also present in kidney and vasculature. Carriers of a common polymorphism, the CYP2J2-50G>T, rs890293, have reduced expression of CYP2J2 mRNA level in the heart putatively through the interference with

This paper focuses on the use of egress models to assess the optimal strategy in the case of total evacuation in high-rise buildings. The model case study consists of two identical twin towers linked with two sky-bridges at different heights. Each tower is a 50-floor office building. The use of either horizontal or vertical egress components or a combination of them is simulated. The egress compon