Background Cardiac fibrosis is thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Retrospective studies have suggested that circulating fibrosis biomarkers are associated with AF, but prospective studies are limited. Methods We measured circulating levels of 2 fibrosis biomarkers, procollagen type III, N-terminal propeptide (PIIINP) and transforming growth factor β1 am

Systematic profiling of expressed gene products represents a promising research strategy for elucidating the molecular phenotypes of islet cells. To this end, we have combined complementary genomic and proteomic methods to better assess the molecular composition of murine pancreatic islet glucagon-producing αTC-1 cells as a model system, with the expectation of bypassing limitations inherent to ei

Background: Membrane proteins constitute up to 30% of the human proteome. These proteins have special properties because the transmembrane segments are embedded into lipid bilayer while extramembranous parts are in different environments. Membrane proteins have several functions and are involved in numerous diseases. A large number of prediction methods have been introduced to predict protein subc

Aims. The central region of a circumstellar disk is difficult to resolve in global numerical simulations of collapsing cloud cores, but its effect on the evolution of the entire disk can be significant. Methods. We used numerical hydrodynamics simulations to model the long-term evolution of self-gravitating and viscous circumstellar disks in the thin-disk limit. Simulations start from the gravitat

Assessment of bilingual children in only one language fails to acknowledge their distributed linguistic competence and has been shown to overidentify language disorder in bilingual populations. However, other factors, sometimes associated with bilingualism, may also contribute to low results in language assessments. Our aim was to examine the impact of these factors on language abilities. We used

Bakgrund Med en snabbt växande äldre populationsgrupp kommer även andelen med kognitiva störningar, som demens, att växa. Det är således nödvändigt med forskning på kognition och åldrande. Denna avhandling, genom fyra delarbeten, redogör för testledareffekter vid kognitionsmätningar och hur yngre födelsekohorter (generationer) presterar bättre än äldre på kognitionstester. Den kommer även förklaraGiven a growing population of older adults and the common occurrence of natural as well as pathological cognitive decline, i.e. dementia, there is a need to better understand how to accurately measure and classify level of cognitive functioning. Both using multiple test administrators to collect cognitive data and what year the participant is born (birth cohort effects) can influence participants’

Abstract: Catalysts used for selective catalytic reduction of NOx on diesel engines were deactivated for 890 and 2299 h in the exhausts from a diesel engine running on Swedish diesel fuel mark 1. The deactivated catalytic monoliths (100 mm long) were cut in 10 mm pieces along their axis and were characterized by physicochemical methods as well as by determination of the activity in the reduction o

Background Nocturia is one of the most prevalent and bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men, leading to increased morbidity and mortality and a considerable economic burden on healthcare systems. Understanding its natural history, effect of pharmacotherapy, and predictors of failure of pharmacotherapy would allow optimised patient management. Objective To evaluate the prevalence an

Equatorial volcanic eruptions are known to impact the atmospheric circulation on seasonal time scales through a strengthening of the stratospheric zonal winds followed by dynamic ocean-atmosphere coupling. This emerges as the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation in the first 5 years after an eruption. In the North Atlantic, other modes of atmospheric circulation contribute to the clima

In this paper, we study how increasing the cognitive demands of multitasking affects time preferences. The novelty of this paper is that it studied how time perception mediates the effect of multitasking on time preferences. Results from experimental psychology have demonstrated that people tend to experience the passage of time as quicker when they are busy with cognitively-demanding tasks. If ti

OBJECTIVES: There is highly suggestive evidence for an effect of air pollution exposure on dementia-related outcomes, but evidence is not yet present to clearly pinpoint which pollutants are the probable causal agents. The aims of this study was to assess the longitudinal association between exposures of fine ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) from residential wood burning, and vehicle exhaust, wi

Objectives: Genetic variations in TNFAIP3 (A20) de-ubiquitinase (DUB) domain increase the risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis. A20 is a negative regulator of NF-κB but the role of its DUB domain and related genetic variants remain unclear. We aimed to study the functional effects of A20 DUB-domain alterations in immune cells and understand its link to SLE pathogenes

Over the last few years, there has been growing international concern about the risk of overdiagnosis in breast screening and about how to communicate this to women. There has also been an increasing policy drive to provide people with information to enable them to make an informed choice about screening. In response to this, a novel approach to developing the information about cancer screening ha

Reliable wireless communication links are a critical but challenging aspect for high-speed railway (HSR). To develop and analyze such systems, accurate models for the propagation channel are required. The radio channel properties in HSR scenarios are different from those in cellular scenarios not only due to the high velocity, but also due to the special construction elements and the type of surro