Background/Aims: Cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is an anorexigenic regulatory peptide highly expressed in the brain's appetite control centers, but also in peripheral neurons and in endocrine cells in the adrenal medulla, thyroid, pancreatic islets, and in the gastrointestinal tract. Plasma levels of CART were recently shown to be elevated in patients with neuroendocrine tumor

The firefighter problem models the situation where an infection, a computer virus, an idea or fire etc. is spreading through a network and the goal is to save as many as possible nodes of the network through targeted vaccinations. The number of nodes that can be vaccinated at a single time-step is typically one, or more generally O(1). In a nonstandard model, the so called spreading model, the vac

We investigated insulin action (insulin sensitivity index, ISI) and insulin secretion (oral disposition indices, DIo) and studied metabolic, demographic and lifestyle-related risk factors for type 2 diabetes and insulin action, in the largest non-European immigrant group to Sweden, immigrants from Iraq and native Swedes.

Limited blood supply and the avascular nature of articular cartilage restricts its self repair capacity, frequently leading to osteoarthritis. This work focuses on scaffolds for tissue repair from natural polymers, for example gelatin, chitosan, and agarose in the form of composite. A novel way of fabrication, known as cryogelation, is presented, in which matrices are synthesized at sub-zero tempe

Due to the very limited availability of He-3, new kinds of neutron detectors, not based on 3He, are urgently needed. Here, we present a method to produce thin films of (B4C)-B-10, with maximized detection efficiency, intended to be part of a new generation of large area neutron detectors. B4C thin Films have been deposited onto Al-blade and Si wafer substrates by dc magnetron sputtering from (B4C)

An explicitly solvable model of the gated Aharonov-Bohm ring touching a quantum wire is constructed and investigated. The inverse spectral and scattering problems are discussed. It is shown that the Titchmarsh-Weyl matrix function associated with the boundary vertices determines a unique electric potential on the graph even though the graph contains a loop. This system gives another family of isos

Objective. To examine the help preferences of employees in the Danish police who had acknowledged that they wished to change health behaviors. In addition, we explored whether preferences varied with age, gender, chronic health concerns, positive expectations of good health, and past experiences of in-house health promotion services (i.e., wellness service). Methods. Respondents to an electronic q

We highlight some results from our detailed abundance analysis study of 703 kinematically selected F and G dwarf stars in the solar neighbourhood. The analysis is based on spectra of high-resolution (R = 45 000 to 110 000) and high signal-to-noise (S/N approximate to 150 to 300). The main findings include: (1) at a given metallicity, the thick disk abundance trends are more alpha-enhanced than tho

The Lifestyle Interventions for Expectant Moms (LIFE-Moms) Consortium is designed to determine, in pregnant women with overweight or obesity, whether various behavioral and lifestyle interventions reduce excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) and subsequent adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes and obesity in offspring. The design and planning process of the LIFE-Moms Consortium is described.

Lifestyle interventions (i.e., diet and/or physical activity) are effective in delaying or preventing the onset of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, policymakers must know the cost-effectiveness of such interventions before implementing them at the large-scale population level. This review discusses various issues (e.g., characteristics, modeling, and long-term effectiveness) in the ec

The increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is expected to lead to enhanced competition between plants and microorganisms for the available nitrogen (N) in soil. Here, we present novel results from a 15N tracing study conducted with a sheep-grazed pasture soil that had been under 10 years of CO(2) enrichment. Our study aimed to investigate changes in process-specific gross N

The surface properties of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are important because different enzymes bind and carry out their functions at the surface of HDL particles during metabolic processes. However, the surface properties of HDL and other lipoproteins are poorly known because they cannot be directly measured for nanoscale particles with contemporary experimental methods. In this work, we carri

Bromate, which is a potential carcinogen, should be removed from drinking water to levels of less than 10 mug/L. A chitosan-based molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and a sol-gel ion-exchange double hydrous oxide (Fe(2)O(3).Al(2)O(3).xH(2)O) adsorbent (inorganic adsorbent) were prepared for this purpose. The sorption behavior of each adsorbent including sorption kinetics, isotherms, effect of pH

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of separate and simultaneous dietary intake of atorvastatin (ATO) and the soluble fiber oat bran on serum and hepatic lipid levels and the degree of atherosclerosis. Ninety female LDL-receptor-deficient (LDLr-/-) mice were fed a Western-type diet containing either low dose (0.0025%), high dose (0.01%) or no ATO, with or without oat bran (27%) (n =

Knowledge about the existing safety culture in a maritime organization such as in shipping companies or on board ships can enable the formulation of effective interventions to maintain and improve safety culture and safety in the organization. When assessing the safety culture, questionnaires developed for this purpose are often used. This paper proposes a work process that facilitates the analysi

Abstract: We report on a 1000 year long oxygen isotope record in sediments of the eastern Norwegian Sea which, we argue, represents the temperature and transport of warm Atlantic waters entering the Nordic Sea basin via the North Atlantic Drift and the large-scale Meridional Overturning Circulation. The single-sample resolution of the record is 2.5-10 years and age control is provided by Pb-210 an

Scabies is an infectious skin disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei and has been classified as one of the six most prevalent epidermal parasitic skin diseases infecting populations living in poverty by the World Health Organisation. The role of the complement system, a pivotal component of human innate immunity, as an important defence against invading pathogens has been well documented and

Survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) may experience psychological distress but the actual prevalence is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate anxiety and depression within a large cohort of OHCA-survivors.