Type II diabetes is caused by a failure of the pancreatic beta-cells to compensate for insulin resistance leading to hyperglycaemia. There is evidence for an essential role of an increased beta-cell apoptosis in type II diabetes. High glucose concentrations induce IL-1 beta production in human beta-cells, Fas expression and concomitant apoptosis owing to a constitutive expression of FasL. FASL and

Context: Immune functions seem to have connections to variations in body fat mass. Studies of knockout mice indicate that endogenous interleukin (IL)-1 can suppress mature-onset obesity. Objective: To systematically investigate our hypotheses that single- nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and/or haplotypes variants in the IL-1 gene system are associated with fat mass. Subjects: The Gothenburg osteop

A test method to obtain the strength and the fracture characteristics of the bond of glued-in rods for timber structures is presented. Test results from a series of tests using the proposed method are also given. The test method makes it possible to record the complete stress-displacement response of small test specimens. This response includes the softening behaviour after peak stress,i.e. the de

The doubly magic superdeformed band in the N = Z nucleus Zn-60 has been identified. Linking transitions connecting this band to the yrast line provide the first spin, parity, and excitation energy measurements for superdeformed states in the A similar to 60 region. The stretched-E2 character and relatively large B(E2) values of these transitions suggest a nonstatistical decay-out process.

BACKGROUND: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is gaining increased popularity in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal lesions; and, in many patients, a definitive diagnosis can be rendered from aspiration smears alone. The main limitation of FNAC of soft tissue and bone neoplasms is in the evaluation of tissue architecture. In addition cytologic specimens are not always adequate for ancillary stu

All stars are formed in some form of cluster or association. These environments can have a much higher number density of stars than the field of the galaxy. Such crowded places are hostile environments: a large fraction of initially single stars will undergo close encounters with other stars or exchange into binaries. We describe how such close encounters and exchange encounters will affect the pr

The influence on the crack growth rate for a short edge crack under fatigue loading due to changes in crack length, grain size, load range and grain boundary configuration, is investigated under quasi-static and plane strain conditions. The geometry is modelled by distributed dislocation dipole elements in a boundary element method approach and the plasticity is described by discrete dislocations.

Laminin (LN) {alpha}2 chain deficiency in humans and mice leads to severe forms of congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD). Here, we investigated whether LN{alpha}1 chain in mice can compensate for the absence of LN{alpha}2 chain and prevent the development of muscular dystrophy. We generated mice expressing a LN{alpha}1 chain transgene in skeletal muscle of LN{alpha}2 chain deficient mice. LN{alpha}1

Rheology and phase separation were investigated for aqueous mixtures of two oppositely charged hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes. The typical phase separation, normally seen for oppositely charged polymer mixtures, is dramatically reduced by the presence of hydrophobic modification, and phase separation is only detected close to the point of charge neutralization. While the two polyelectro

In as tationary stochastic process the wave-length and amplitude are defined as the difference in time and height between a crest and the following trough. The distributions of these quantities are of great practical importance, but no closed form expressions are known at present. In previous papers we have presented an approximation which gives correct upper and lower bounds, regardless of the co

Fifty consecutive outpatients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) received treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor tacrine in an open longitudinal study. Assessments using Mini-Mental State Examination, Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – cognitive subscale, and a global rating were made at baseline and at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months. Three outcome groups were characterized: responders, uncha

Objectives To assess, first, the prevalence and severity of symptoms associated with the climacteric period and their treatment and, second, the prevalence of exercise, smoking and body weight in a population-based sample of Swedish women. Material and methods Prospective, longitudinal cohort study, initiated in 1992, in women aged 46, 50, 54, 58 and 62 years with a follow-up 6 years later. Inform

The outermost, singly ionized valence state of N-2, the X (2)Sigma(g)(+) state, is investigated in detail as a function of the photon frequency bandwidth for core excitation to the N 1s-->pi(*) resonance, where the photon frequency is tuned in between the first two vibrational levels of this bound intermediate electronic state. We find a strong, nontrivial dependence of the resulting resonant phot

Dysphagia is a common symptom from the oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus, and its causes may be morphological or functional. A biphasic barium swallow is the best way of evaluating these patients. Using a careful clinical history, and by tailoring the examination to the individual case, the radiologist is usually able to pinpoint the cause of the patient's complaints and suggest further diagnosti

Several hundred specimens of a tiny olenid trilobite, Ctenopyge ceciliae sp. nov., have been found in stinkstone nodules in the upper Cambrian Peltura scarabaeoides Zone in southern Sweden. This exceptionally spinose form is known only from disarticulated specimens, but is quite well preserved, and all growth stages are represented. The early ontogenetic stages are exceptionally small, the protasp

In 1782, Jon Petursson, a district physician in Northern Iceland, published a textbook on arthritis and its remedies intended for common use. Working within a very simple diagnostic system, essentially comprising osteoarthritis (arthritis h a ) and inflammatory arthritis (arthritis vaga), he describes arthritis vaga as a common, chronic, symmetric, destructive, inflammatory polyarthritis, sometime