Filetype
Nearly a quarter of the world population lives in the South Asian region (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives). Due to rapid demographic and epidemiological transition in these countries, the burden of non-communicable diseases is growing, which is a serious public health concern. Particularly, the prevalence of pre-diabetes, diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiov
Background and objectives: Progressing climate change is accompanied by a worldwide increase in the intensity, frequency, and duration of heat wave events. Research has shown that heat waves are an emerging public health problem, as they have a significant impact on mortality. As studies exploring this relationship are scarce for Latvia, this study aims to investigate the short-term associations b
In addition to their fundamental role in clearance, the kidneys release select molecules into the circulation, but whether any of these anabolic functions provides insight on kidney health is unknown. Using aptamer-based proteomics, we characterized arterial (A)-to-renal venous (V) gradients for >1,300 proteins in 22 individuals who underwent invasive sampling. Although most of the proteins that c
The aethalometer model has shown to offer a fast, inexpensive and robust method for source apportionment. The method relies on aerosol light absorption attribution, mass balance of the total carbon and results in a fraction of unaccounted, residual carbon that has been associated to biogenic carbon due to its presumably non-light absorbing properties. This residual carbon and its relation to trace
The Northern high latitudes are warming twice as fast as the global average, and permafrost has become vulnerable to thaw. Changes to the environment during thaw leads to shifts in microbial communities and their associated functions, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Understanding the ecological processes that structure the identity and abundance (i.e., assembly) of pre- and post-thaw communitiesThe Northern high latitudes are warming twice as fast as the global average, and permafrost has become vulnerable to thaw. Changes to the environment during thaw leads to shifts in microbial communities and their associated functions, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Understanding the ecological processes that structure the identity and abundance (i.e., assembly) of pre- and post-thaw communities
BACKGROUND: The incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) and melanoma in situ (MIS) has been increasing during the last 50 years. Malignant melanoma (MM) is also the most common intraocular malignancy (IMM). Besides ultraviolet radiation, the cause of these tumours is largely unknown.OBJECTIVES: We designed a study to examine the effect of body mass index (BMI) and tobacco use on the risk f
Intensification of arable crop production degrades soil health and production potential through loss of soil organic carbon. This, potentially, reduces agriculture's resilience to climate change and thus food security. Furthermore, the expected increase in frequency of adverse and extreme weather events due to climate change are likely to affect crop yields differently, depending on when in the gr
Introduction: Patients addicted to alcohol or drug often have additional unhealthy lifestyles, adding to the high mortality and morbidity in this patient group. Therefore, it is important to consider lifestyle interventions as part of the usual addiction treatment. Objective: The aim was to identify predictors of successful changes in lifestyle risk factors among patients in treatment for alcohol
Transitional care for adolescents with congenital malformations, such as anorectal malformations (ARM), is described sparsely in the literature and referred to as being inadequate. In order to organize future successful healthcare structures, knowledge of patient-reported important aspects of transition is required. The aim of the study was therefore to explore the needs and expectations of transi
Aims: Appropriate analysis of big data is fundamental to precision medicine. While statistical analyses often uncover numerous associations, associations themselves do not convey predictive value. Confusion between association and prediction harms clinicians, scientists, and ultimately, the patients. We analyzed published papers in the field of diabetes that refer to “prediction” in their titles.
Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is a global disease caused by the inability of pancreatic β-cells to secrete adequate insulin. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the failure of β-cells to respond to glucose in T2D remains unknown. Here, we investigated the relative contribution of UDP-glucose (UDP-G), a P2Y14-specific agonist, in the regulation of insulin release using human isolated pancreatic is
DESIGN: Addison disease (AD) is a rare autoimmune disease (AID) of the adrenal cortex, presenting as an isolated AD or part of autoimmune polyendocrine syndromes (APSs) 1 and 2. Although AD patients present with a number of AID co-morbidities, population-based family studies are scarce. We aimed to carry out an unbiased study on AD and related AIDs.METHODS: We collected data on patients diagnosed
Objective To determine if the Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system (FSAm-NPS), which grades the nutritional quality of food products and is used to derive the Nutri-Score front-of-packet label to guide consumers towards healthier food choices, is associated with mortality. Design Population based cohort study. Setting European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) c
Objective: A deficiency in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nitric oxide (NO) contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). An inhibitory effect on liver gluconeogenesis has been reported in rats with T2D with co-administration of sodium nitrite and sodium hydrosulfide (NaSH); the underlying mechanisms have however not yet been elucidated. The aim of this study is to determine the long-term e
Objectives: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with extensive heterogeneity in disease presentation between patients, which is likely due to an underlying molecular diversity. Here, we aimed at elucidating the genetic aetiology of SLE from the immunity pathway level to the single variant level, and stratify patients with SLE into distinguishable molecular subgroups, which
To study whether activation of GLP-1 receptors importantly contributes to the insulinotropic action of exogenously administered glucagon, we have performed whole animal experiments in normal mice and in mice with GLP-1 receptor knockout. Glucagon (1, 3 or 10 μg/kg), the GLP-1 receptor antagonist exendin 9-39 (30 nmol/kg), glucose (0.35 g/kg) or the incretin hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic
