The role of islet GPR40 protein in the pathogenesis of diabetes is unclear. We explored the influence of GPR40 protein levels on hormone secretion in islets from two rat models of spontaneous type 2 diabetes displaying either hyperlipidaemia or hyperglycaemia. GPR40 expression was analysed by confocal microscopy, Western blot and qPCR in islets from preobese Zucker (fa/fa) rats, diabetic Goto-Kaki

To compare the 1-year (previously published) and 3-year objective and subjective cure rates, and complications, related to the use of a collagen-coated transvaginal mesh for anterior vaginal wall prolapse against a conventional anterior repair.

In previous studies from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, a possible association between erythromycin therapy and an increased risk for cardiovascular defects was found. Other studies using different methodology have not verified this observation. The finding resulted in a warning for the use of erythromycin in early pregnancy, followed by a marked decline in such use. The present study was con

A common assumption regarding the residual organic matter, in bottom ash, is that it does not represent a significant pool of organic carbon and, beyond metal-ion complexation process, it is of little consequence to evolution of ash/leachate chemistry. This article evaluates the effect of residual organic matter and associated microbial respiratory processes on leaching of toxic metals (i.e. arsen

We give a new method for manifacturing complete minimal submanifolds of compact Lie groups and their homogeneous quotient spaces. For this we make use of harmonic morphisms and basic representation theory of Lie groups. We then employ our method to construct many examples of compact minimal submanifolds of the special unitary groups.

Stem cells have been extensively investigated as tumour-tropic vectors for gene delivery to solid tumours. In this review, we discuss the potential for using stem cells as cellular vector systems in gene therapy for malignant gliomas, with a focus on neural stem cells, and multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. Tumour cell-derived substances and factors associated with tumour-induced inflammation

Background Individual-based cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is in short supply and expensive. Aims The aim of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) was to compare mindfulness-based group therapy with treatment as usual (primarily individual-based CBT) in primary care patients with depressive, anxiety or stress and adjustment disorders. Method This 8-week RCT (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT0147637

Beryllium 10 concentrations (Be-10(con)) were measured at annual resolution from varved sediment cores of Lakes Tiefer See (TSK) and Czechowskie (JC) for the period 1983-2009 (similar to solar cycles 22 and 23). Calibrating the Be-10(con) time-series against complementing proxy records from the same archive as well as local precipitation and neutron monitor data, reflecting solar forced changes in

Background It is known that narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) radiation and oral vitamin D-3 supplementation can both improve serum levels of vitamin D, expressed as 25-hydroxyvitamin D-3 [25(OH)D-3]. However, surprisingly few studies have compared the effects of the two interventions in treating vitamin D deficiency. Objectives To compare the effect of NB-UVB exposure with oral vitamin D-3 supple

As automatic sensing and information and communication technology get cheaper, building monitoring data becomes easier to obtain. The availability of data leads to new opportunities in the context of energy efficiency in buildings. This paper describes the development and validation of a data-driven grey-box modelling toolbox for buildings. The Python toolbox is based on a Modelica library with th

Wood is a hygro-mechanical, non-isotropic and inhomogeneous material concerning both modulus of elasticity (MOE) and shrinkage properties. In stress calculations associated with ordinary timber design, these matters are often not dealt with properly. The main reason for this is that stress distributions in inhomogeneous glued laminated members (glulam) and in composite beams exposed to combined me

This study examined whether the behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of synaesthetic response conflict could be disrupted by posthypnotic suggestion. We recorded event-related brain potentials while a highly suggestible face-color synaesthete and matched controls viewed congruently and incongruently colored faces in a color-naming task. The synaesthete, but not the controls, displayed sl

Near field effects are found to create systematic errors, within the range of about 5-15%, in thickness estimations from Impact-Echo (IE) testing. This paper studies near field effects from a point source in a combined Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) and Impact-Echo analysis. The near field creates deviations in the measured velocity of the P-wave and the Rayleigh-wave, which lead to

Background: The role of inflammatory and hemodynamic stress biomarkers in heart failure (HF) patients treated de novo with beta-blockers has been poorly studied. Methods: A total of 86 patients (age 56 +/- 9 years, 81 men) with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 40% and previously not treated with beta-blockers were initiated on carvedilol. At baseline and 12 months later we performed ech

Objective: We studied the independent and joint effects of the genes encoding alpha-synuclein (SNCA) and microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) in Parkinson disease (PD) as part of a large meta-analysis of individual data from case-control studies participating in the Genetic Epidemiology of Parkinson's Disease (GEO-PD) consortium. Methods: Participants of Caucasian ancestry were genotyped for