The metabolic syndrome considerably increases the risk of cardiovascular and renal events in hypertension. It has been associated with a wide range of classical and new cardiovascular risk factors as well as with early signs of subclinical cardiovascular and renal damage. Obesity and insulin resistance, beside a constellation of independent factors, which include molecules of hepatic, vascular, an

MAX IV will be Sweden's next-generation high-performance synchrotron radiation source. The project has recently been granted funding and construction is scheduled to begin in 2010. User operation for a broad and international user community should commence in 2015. The facility is comprised of two storage rings optimized for different wavelength ranges, a linac-based short-pulse facility and a fre

The plausibility of sympatric speciation has long been debated among evolutionary ecologists. The process necessarily involves two key elements: the stable coexistence of at least two ecologically distinct types and the emergence of reproductive isolation. Recent theoretical studies within the theoretical framework of adaptive dynamics have shown how both these processes can be driven by natural s

Context: CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha) is a transcription factor involved in adipogenesis and hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism. Objective: To test the hypothesis that adipose tissue C/EBPalpha regulates genes in lipid and glucose metabolism and to test for association between a polymorphism in C/EBPalpha and metabolic parameters. Design and Methods: Adipose tissue C/EBPalph

Background: In previous meta-analyses, tea consumption has been associated with lower incidence of type 2 diabetes. It is unclear, however, if tea is associated inversely over the entire range of intake. Therefore, we investigated the association between tea consumption and incidence of type 2 diabetes in a European population. Methodology/Principal Findings: The EPIC-InterAct case-cohort study wa

We introduce STORMED hybrid games (SHG), a generalization of STORMED hybrid systems, Vladimerou et al. (2008) [33], which have natural specifications that allow rich continuous dynamics and various decidable properties. We solve the control problem for SHG using a reduction to bisimulation on finite game graphs. This generalizes to a greater family of games, which includes o-minimal hybrid games,

Vartannat år anordnar Nordisk Lichenologisk Förening en exkursion, vanligen till något av medlemsländerna. 2013 var det Sveriges tur att vara värdland. Den första exkursionen gick till Saxnäs i Lappland och nu den 20e till Vadstena. Läs denna ingående rapport från arrangemanget.

Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is still a major health threat in endemic areas especially for children below 5 years of age. While it is recognized that antibody immunity plays an important role in controlling the disease, knowledge of the mechanisms of sustenance and natural boosting of immunity is very limited. Before, it has not been possible to investigate malaria specific B-cells dir

Background: ADAMTS13 is the physiological von Willebrand factor (VWF)-cleaving protease. The aim of this study was to examine ADAMTS13 expression in kidneys from ADAMTS13 wild-type (Adamts13(+/+)) and deficient (Adamts13(-/-)) mice and to investigate the expression pattern and bioactivity in human glomerular endothelial cells. Methodology/Principal Findings: Immunohistochemistry was performed on k

The gradient in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO(2)) across the air-sea boundary layer is the main driving force for the air-sea CO2 flux. Global data bases for surface seawater pCO(2) are actually based on pCO(2) measurements from several meters below the sea surface, assuming a homogeneous distribution between the diffusive boundary layer and the upper top meters of the ocean. Compili

Context: Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) have identified robust associations with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 9q22.33 (FOXE1), 14q13.3 (NKX2-1), and 2q35 (DIRC3). Our recently published GWAS suggested additional susceptibility loci specific for the high-incidence Italian population. Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify no

Blood coagulation and complement pathways are two important natural defense systems. The high affinity interaction between the anticoagulant vitamin K-dependent protein S and the complement regulator C4b-binding protein (C4BP) is a direct physical link between the two systems. In human plasma, similar to 70% of total protein S circulates in complex with C4BP; the remaining is free. The anticoagula

Wrist fracture causes pain and decreased physical, social and emotional function. The International Osteoporosis Foundation has developed a specific questionnaire to assess quality of life in patients with wrist fracture. This questionnaire, including 12 questions, was validated in a multicentre study and compared with an osteoporosis-specific questionnaire (Qualeffo-41) and a generic questionnair

The rapid development of handheld technologies such as smartphones and personal digital assistants in recent years has created opportunities for the mobile workforce to take advantage of computerised information systems. To apprehend and harness the opportunities of computerised information systems implemented on handheld devices it is crucial to fully understand the user group and the handheld te

Measurements of cross sections of inelastic and diffractive processes in proton-proton collisions at LHC energies were carried out with the ALICE detector. The fractions of diffractive processes in inelastic collisions were determined from a study of gaps in charged particle pseudorapidity distributions: for single diffraction (diffractive mass M-X < 200 GeV/c(2)) sigma(SD)/sigma(INEL) = 0.21 +/-

The main aim of this paper is to study land-atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) for semi-arid savanna ecosystems of the Sahel region and its response to climatic and environmental change. A subsidiary aim is to study and quantify the seasonal dynamics in light use efficiency (epsilon) being a key variable in scaling carbon fluxes from ground observations using earth observation data. The n

Autoimmune diabetes is a consequence of immune-cell infiltration and destruction of pancreatic β-cells in the islets of Langerhans. We analyzed the cellular composition of the insulitic lesions in the autoimmune-prone non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse and observed a peak in recruitment of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) to NOD islets around 8-9 weeks of age. This peak coincides with increased spo