Systematic background radiation variations can lead to both false positives and failures to detect an orphan source when searching using car-borne mobile gamma-ray spectrometry. The stochastic variation at each point is well described by Poisson statistics, but when moving in a background radiation gradient the mean count rate will continually change, leading to inaccurate background estimations.

Monodisperse short-chain amorphous or semicrystalline amylose-glycerol monostearate (GMS) complexes, or, as a reference, pure GMS, were added to starch dispersions which were gelatinized and allowed to cool. The largest impacts on rheological properties were observed when GMS or amorphous GMS complexes were added. The controlled release of the short amylose chains of the latter induced double heli

Occupational skin diseases are among the most frequent work-related diseases in industrialized countries. Good occupational skin disease statistics exist in few countries. Questionnaire studies are needed to get more data on the epidemiology of occupational skin diseases. The Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire Group has developed a new questionnaire tool - Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnair

Objectives Exposure to persistent organohalogen pollutants was suggested to impair male reproductive function. A gene-environment interaction has been proposed. No genes modifying the effect of persistent organohalogen pollutants on reproductive organs have yet been identified. We aimed to investigate whether the CAG and GGN polymorphisms in the androgen receptor gene modify the effect of persiste

Folate concentrations in strawberries and folate retention during storage and commercial processing of strawberries were investigated. No previous study has focused on the effects of cultivar, ripeness, and year of harvest of strawberries with respect to the folate content. This study showed the folate concentration in strawberries to significantly depend on all of these different factors. Total f

Salt-inducible kinase 2 (SIK2) is an AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) related kinase abundantly expressed in adipose tissue. Our aim was to identify molecular targets and functions of SIK2 in adipocytes, and to address the role of PKA-mediated phosphorylation of SIK2 on Ser358. Modulation of SIK2 in adipocytes resulted in altered phosphorylation of CREB-regulated transcription co-activator 2 (C

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) has been regarded as a potential marker of biologic aging because it usually shortens in a predictable way with age. Recently, a growing interest in cardiovascular aging has led to a number of new epidemiologic studies investigating LTL in various disease conditions. Some methodological problems exist because there are different methods available to determine LTL, a

The study explored the utility of four-point preprandial glucose self-monitoring to calculate several indices of glycemic control and variability in a study adding the DPP-4 inhibitor vildagliptin to ongoing insulin therapy. This analysis utilized data from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study in 29 patients with type 2 diabetes treated with vildagliptin or placebo on top

Objectives. Our aim was to identify a group of patients with clinical signs of tonsillitis to whom antibiotics could be prescribed without further diagnostic actions, and to compare the outcome of clinical assessment with the result of an antigen detection test using culture as the gold standard. Methods. During two winter months, patients aged >=4 years attending for sore throat at three primary

When a limiting resource (e.g. food) varies drastically between years, and population density is measured in the conventional way as individuals per area, demographic processes such as productivity and survival may erroneously be considered density-independent. We tested the hypothesis that if the variation in a limiting resource is not taken into account in the density measure, this may lead to e

Weeds constitute major constraints for farmers by reducing crop yield and quality. However, weeds are managed effectively using herbicides, but this may cause harmful effects on human health and the environment. In an experiment on weed seed predation, we tested the biological control potential of carabid beetles to combat weeds in the absence of herbicides. Seeds from three common weed species we

Abstract Background: Empowerment is essential in the rehabilitation process for people with psychiatric disabilities and knowledge about factors that may play a key role within this process would be valuable for further development of the day centre services. Objective: The present study investigates day centre attendees' perceptions of empowerment. The aim was to investigate which factors show th

Glucagon was discovered in 1922 as a hyperglycemic factor in the pancreas. During its early history up to 1970, glucagon was shown to increase circulating glucose through stimulating glycogenolysis in the liver. It was also shown to be a constituent of islet non-ß cells and to signal through G protein coupled receptors and cyclic AMP. Furthermore, its chemical characteristics, including amino acid