It has been reported that the incretin system, including regulated GLP-1 secretion and locally expressed DPP-4, is present in pancreatic islets. In this study we comprehensively evaluated the expression and role of DPP-4 in islet alpha and beta cells from non-diabetic (ND) and type 2 diabetic (T2D) individuals, including the effects of its inhibition on beta cell function and survival. Isolated is

Recent evidence suggested a weak relationship between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer (PC) risk. In our study, the association between lifetime and baseline alcohol intakes and the risk of PC was evaluated, including the type of alcoholic beverages and potential interaction with smoking. Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, 1,283 incident

Background: Intermittent claudication (IC) is traditionally managed with risk factor modification, best medical treatment (BMT), and exercise training. Comorbidities such as diabetes and ischemic heart disease affect both results of invasive treatment and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) negatively. It is unknown how chronic widespread pain (CWP) influences the results of invasive treatment.

Bluff-body flame holders are commonly employed in many industrial applications. A bluff-body is usually adopted to enhance the downstream mixing of the combustion products and the fresh fuel-air mixtures, thus to improve the flame stability and to control the combustion process. In the present paper, flames stabilized by a conical-shape bluff-body flame holder with a central air/fuel jet were stud

In this paper, a discussion is undertaken concerning the use of so-called floating frames of reference in the calculation of the kinetic and elastic energies of parts in a multibody system. The use of floating frames may simplify the calculation of the elastic energy, although sometimes at the expense of more elaborate expressions for the kinetic energy. These expressions may involve terms that co

Let R denote a connected region inside a simple polygon, P. By building barriers (typically straight-line segments) in P∖R, we want to separate from R part(s) of P of maximum area. All edges of the boundary of P are assumed to be already constructed or natural barriers. In this paper we introduce two versions of this problem. In the budget fence version the region R is static, and there is an uppe

This book is about the idea of the university in modern Germany. Its primary focus is how the transformation of the Humboldtian tradition gave direction to debates around higher education. By combining approaches from intellectual history, conceptual history and the history of knowledge, the study investigates the ways in which Humboldt’s ideas have been appropriated for various purposes in differThis book is about the idea of the university in modern Germany. Its primary focus is how the transformation of the Humboldtian tradition gave direction to debates around higher education. By combining approaches from intellectual history, conceptual history and the history of knowledge, the study investigates the ways in which Humboldt’s ideas have been appropriated for various purposes in differ

In 1553-1554 one Pieter Bruegel purchased a corrody in Sint-Janshuis, a retirement home for former employees of the Marquises of Bergen, where he would receive necessities of life and a place to stay until he would pass away. The paper reconstructs the early financial history of the retirement home, demonstrating how it was unable to cope with inflation, and struggled to provide for the inmates. I

Germany has one of the most ambitious climate policy goals worldwide, having pledged to reduce national emissions by 40% by 2020, and 80–95% by 2050 (base year: 1990). 2015 data suggests that progress on decarbonisation has slowed, also because emissions from the transport sector have grown. Road transport, which is contributing 20.5% to Germany's CO2 emissions, has become a major obstacle to achi

Individual aspirations of associating with role models are routinely harnessed by marketers, who for instance, use celebrity endorsement in selling brands and products. It appears there has been no research to date, however, on the potential for celebrity activism, or role model advocacy beyond celebrities, such as from politicians, to form effective interventions for encouraging sustainable trans

Because of the good thermal stability and superior carrier transport characteristics of formamidinium lead trihalide perovskite HC(NH2)2PbX3 (FAPbX3), it has been considered to be a better optoelectronic material than conventional CH3NH3PbX3 (MAPbX3). Herein, we fabricated a FAPbBr3 microcrystal-based photodetector that exhibited a good responsivity of 4000 A W−1 and external quantum efficiency up

Objectives To describe the incidence of atrioventricular (AV) block II-III, atrial fibrillation (AF), pacemaker implantation (PM) and aortic regurgitation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), undifferentiated spondyloarthritis (uSpA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) compared with the general population (GP) and with each other. Methods A prospective nationwide study with cohorts of patients

This paper describes the adaptation of the laser-induced fluorescence measurement technique for the investigation of the primary breakup of modern diesel and gasoline direct injection sprays. To investigate the primary breakup, a microscopic technique is required, and with the help of special tracer dyes, a high fluorescence signal can be achieved in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectr

The arrival of the Digital Age added a new way to preserve memories of war and conflict. These developments beg deeper reflection on the role of cyberspace and how memories of conflict have become publicly and collectively owned, shared and mediated in the digital space. Cyberspace offers a context for the deposit of digital memorials for victims and casualties of war from any adversary in a confl

The Earth has seen El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-the leading mode of interannual climate variability-for at least millennia and likely over millions of years. This paper reviews previous studies from perspectives of both paleoclimate proxy data (from traditional sediment records to the latest high-resolution oxygen isotope records) and model simulations (including earlier intermediate models