FTO is the strongest known genetic susceptibility locus for obesity. Experimental studies in animals suggest the potential roles of FTO in regulating food intake. The interactive relation among FTO variants, dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) is complex and results from previous often small-scale studies in humans are highly inconsistent. We performed large-scale analyses based on data from

Spatial data are crucial in disaster planning. However, because of the dynamic, urgent and uncertain nature of disasters, certain data and functionalities may be inaccessible to decision makers when they are required. Web service composition offers a possible solution whereby disaster planners can integrate spatial web services to generate new spatial data and functionalities, quickly, from existi

Cholecystokinin (CCK-) positive basket cells form a distinct class of inhibitory GABAergic interneurons, proposed to act as fine-tuning devices of hippocampal gamma-frequency (30-90 Hz) oscillations, which can convert into higher frequency seizure activity. Therefore, CCK-basket cells may play an important role in regulation of hyper-excitability and seizures in the hippocampus. In normal conditio

Using a sample of dilepton top-quark pair ((tt) over bar) candidate events, a study is performed of the production of top-quark pairs together with heavy-flavor (HF) quarks, the sum of (tt) over bar + b + X and (tt) over bar + c + X, collectively referred to as (tt) over bar + HF. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mas

Twentieth-century massification of higher education and academic research led to mission diversification and structural diversification of national higher education systems (HESs), but also a tendency of non-university colleges to seek to develop into full-scale universities by the emulation of practices of established academic organizations, a tendency that has been called academic drift. The dri

A novel 2 pi detector geometry for small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) applications is presented and its theoretical performance evaluated. Such a novel geometry is ideally suited for a SANS instrument at the European Spallation Source (ESS). Motivated by the low availability and high price of 3 He, the new concept utilizes gaseous detectors with B-10 as the neutron converter. The shape of the d

Decrease of the human brain temperature was induced by intranasal cooling. The main purpose of this study was to compare the two magnetic resonance methods for monitoring brain temperature changes during cooling: phase-difference and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) with high spatial resolution. Ten healthy volunteers were measured. Selective brain cooling was performed through nasa

Parasites and infectious diseases represent ecological forces shaping animal social evolution. Although empirical studies supporting this link abound in various vertebrate orders, both the study of the dynamics and impact of parasite infections and infectious diseases in strepsirrhine primates have received little empirical attention. We conducted a longitudinal parasitological study on four group

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) aggressiveness is determined by tumor inherent molecular characteristics, such as molecular subtypes, as well as by host reactions directed toward the tumor. Cell types responsible for the host׳s response include tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). The aim of the present investigation was to explore the immunological response in

Heart failure is often complicated by arrhythmias that can adversely affect the quality of life and increase the risk for sudden cardiac death. Current risk stratification strategies for sudden cardiac death in the heart failure patient are not ideal, with much potential for further refinement. Overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system has been shown to be associated with worsening heart fa

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome is associated with severe coagulopathy. The purpose of this study was to examine thrombin generation in systemic inflammation triggered by the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the exotoxin streptococcal M1 protein.

Invasive species often have instable population dynamics and are known to collapse or oscillate heavily after passing through the initial lag/growth phases. Long-term data-series documenting these fluctuations are however rare. We use long-term (starting in the early 1960s), semi-quantitative data on the invasive signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), capturing its population development afte

We used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to study responses to speech and music on the auditory cortices of 13 healthy full-term newborn infants during natural sleep. The purpose of the study was to investigate the lateralization of speech and music responses at this stage of development. NIRS data was recorded from eight positions on both hemispheres simultaneously with electroencephalography, e

Conventional antennas in single-antenna terminals that resonate at frequencies lower than 1 GHz usually rely on the chassis as the main radiator. To effectively exploit chassis excitation for MIMO terminals, each of the multiple antennas is required to excite one distinct chassis mode. However, in today's terminals, there is typically only one chassis mode that can radiate efficiently at frequenci

Light field reconstruction algorithms can substantially decrease the noise in stochastically rendered images. Recent algorithms for defocus blur alone are both fast and accurate. However, motion blur is a considerably more complex type of camera effect, and as a consequence, current algorithms are either slow or too imprecise to use in high quality rendering. We extend previous work on real-time l

Are Fran T Kafka's representations of law and legality figments of his imagination, or do they go beyond his obsessive probing of his neurosis to reflect issues that also engaged the social and legal theorists of his time? Does Kafka's conception of law offer anything new in respect to law, justice, and bureaucracy that was not explored by his contemporaries or by later legal scholars? This paper

The incidence in appendicitis and the appendectomy rate are different between boys and girls. This study aimed to further evaluate appendicitis in children from a gender perspective. Gender differences in presentation, perioperative care, and outcome after appendectomy were examined.

The Advanced Resource Connector (ARC) is a light-weight, non-intrusive, simple yet powerful Grid middleware capable of connecting highly heterogeneous computing and storage resources. ARC aims at providing general purpose, flexible, collaborative computing environments suitable for a range of uses, both in science and business. The server side offers the fundamental job execution management, infor