Background: Observational studies have consistently associated obesity with colorectal cancer risk. Because both traits are genetically determined and share some metabolic biomarkers, we hypothesized that obesity-related polymorphisms could also influence the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive population-based case-control study in 1,792 German colorectal c

Background: Mucopolysaccharidosis VI (MPS VI) is an autosomal recessive progressive multiorgan disorder due to mutation in the gene encoding the enzyme Arylsulfatase B (ARSB). Dysfunctional ARSB causes lysosomal accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAG). Currently, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is preferred to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) due to the treatment-related risks of th

Most visual systems are more sensitive to luminance than to colour signals. Animals resolve finer spatial detail and temporal changes through achromatic signals than through chromatic ones. Probably, this explains that detection of small, distant, or moving objects is typically mediated through achromatic signals. Macroglossum stellatarum are fast flying nectarivorous hawkmoths that inspect flower

This paper describes the fabrication of efficient ultra-thin silicon transmission detectors for use as pre-cell detectors in single-ion experiments on living cells at the Lund Ion Beam Analysis Facility. More than 40 detectors of different thicknesses down to 5 mu m have been fabricated and packaged. The main design considerations were very low leakage current (below 9 nA) and low full depletion v

The unique ability of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase to form and utilize the cyclic maltooligosaccharide cyclodextrin (CD) makes this enzyme an attractive catalyst for the synthesis of alkyl glycosides. Here, we characterize the sugar headgroup elongation of alkyl glucosides (acceptor) via two transglycosylation reactions from either a linear (maltohexose) or a cyclic (CD) glycosyl donor. Inclus

Multifunctional buildings, often hosting societal important functions, have become increasingly more common during the last years. The combination of many functions within the same building as well as an increased exposure to antagonistic attacks create new, not previously well analyzed problems for fire safety. A method for selection and evaluation of fire scenarios in multifunctional buildings h

A measurement of the multi-strange Xi(-) and Omega(-) baryons and their antiparticles by the ALICE experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is presented for inelastic proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The transverse momentum (p(T)) distributions were studied at mid-rapidity (vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.5) in the range of 0.6 < p(T) < 8.5 GeV/c Xi(-) for an

The overall aim of this thesis was to describe parents’ expectations, experiences and reactions to a routine ultrasound examination during the second trimester of pregnancy and to develop, test and use a questionnaire. The aim was also to conceptualize the parents’ experiences and ways of handling the situation when the diagnosis was a non-viable fetus. The data for this thesis was collected betw

This paper considers a concept gaining popularity: entrepreneurial ecosystems. It finds a significant lacuna in the concept as it stands as it does not sufficiently consider learning within regional ecosystems. Considering the established centrality of learning for entrepreneurial activity and regional development, it is surprising that the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature does not yet incorpo

This paper examines the use of European Union Structural Funds to support the development of innovation policy within Wales during the period 2000–06. Drawing on data from the Welsh government and interviews with key stakeholders, it focuses specifically on the Technium programme, a high-profile technology-based innovation intervention that took a predominantly supply-side approach to supporting i

The student of innovation studies is faced with a vast, multi-national and interdisciplinary field on which she must gain an overview and make a novel contribution. There exist a plethora of academic journals, networks, conferences and fora wherein researchers of innovation discuss and advance the topic. How to manage and understand this is a major challenge. This paper helps to make sense of this

This paper considers the recent developments in regional innovation policy pertaining to the smart specialisation agenda from the perspective of a peripheral and semi-autonomous region – Wales in the UK. Through a case study of innovation policy developments in Wales over the past 20 years, and also a consideration of extant literature pertaining to regional innovation policy and smart specialisat

The root-associated habit has evolved on numerous occasions in different fungal lineages, suggesting a strong evolutionary pressure for saprotrophic fungi to switch to symbiotic associations with plants. Species within the ubiquitous, saprotrophic genus Mycena are frequently major components in molecular studies of root-associated fungal communities, suggesting that an evaluation of their trophic

BACKGROUND: Non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) is a common syndrome in men. NGU may have several causes, but many cases are caused by sexually transmitted infections that may also cause complications in their female partners. Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium are the most common causes of NGU, but in up to 35% of the cases, none of the known viral or bacterial causes are found. Traditio

BACKGROUND: The development of diagnostic metagenomics is driven by the need for universal, culture-independent methods for detection and characterization of pathogens to substitute the time-consuming, organism-specific, and often culture-based laboratory procedures for epidemiological source-tracing. Some of the challenges in diagnostic metagenomics are, that it requires a great next-generation s

BAM (2,6-dichlorobenzamide) is a metabolite of the pesticide dichlobenil. Naturally occurring bacteria that can utilize BAM are rare. Often the compound cannot be degraded before it reaches the groundwater and therefore it poses a serious threat to drinking water supplies. The bacterial strain Aminobacter MSH1 is a BAM degrader and therefore a potential candidate to be amended to sand filters in w

We describe two novel flagellates isolated from soil, Regin rotiferus and Otto terricolus, genera et species novae, which we cultivated and characterized by light and transmission electron microscopy and by 18S rDNA sequence analysis. Both strains exhibit the key characteristic structural feature of Bicosoecida; i.e. the L-shaped cytostomal root system with an x-fiber, used for feeding. Otto terri

Cercozoa are abundant free-living soil protozoa and quantitatively important in soil food webs; yet, targeted high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has not yet been applied to this group. Here we describe the development of a targeted assay to explore Cercozoa using HTS, and we apply this assay to measure Cercozoan community response to drought in a Danish climate manipulation experiment (two sites exp