Advances in laboratory techniques have led to a rapidly increasing use of biomarkers in epidemiological studies. Biomarkers of internal dose, early biological change, susceptibility and clinical outcomes are used as proxies for investigating the interactions between external and/or endogenous agent.; and the body components or processes. The need for improved reporting of scientific research led t

High levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) have been associated with increased risk of developing several types of cancer including breast cancer. A set of nine haplotype tagging SNPs (htSNPs) in the IGF1 gene were associated with IGF-1 levels and prostate cancer in a Swedish population. We aimed to study the nine htSNPs in three haplotype blocks (block1: rs855211, rs35765, rs2162679; blo

Optogenetics is an emerging powerful tool to investigate workings of the nervous system. However, the use of low tissue penetrating visible light limits its therapeutic potential. Employing deep penetrating near-infrared (NIR) light for optogenetics would be beneficial but it cannot be used directly. This issue can be tackled with upconversion nanoparticles (UCNs) acting as nanotransducers emittin

We performed fine mapping of 39 established type 2 diabetes (T2D) loci in 27,206 cases and 57,574 controls of European ancestry. We identified 49 distinct association signals at these loci, including five mapping in or near KCNQ1. 'Credible sets' of the variants most likely to drive each distinct signal mapped predominantly to noncoding sequence, implying that association with T2D is mediated thro

Sore throat is common in primary healthcare. Aetiological studies have focused on the presence of a limited number of pathogens. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of a wide range of bacteria and viruses, including Fusobacterium necrophorum, in patients with pharyngotonsillitis and in asymptomatic controls. A prospective case control study was performed in primary healthc

In this study, one-to-one tuition in higher music education (HME) was theorised as a culturally and historically grounded activity system consisting of relation- ships between musicians, instruments, music-making traditions and audiences. The ‘skills paradox’, as seen in the inherent conflict between musicians’ need for long-term artistic training and society’s demands for flexible knowledge produ

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are a promising source for cell replacement therapies. Parkinson's disease is one of the candidate diseases for the cell replacement therapy since the motor manifestations of the disease are associated with the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Stromal cell-derived inducing activity (SDIA) is the most commonly used method for the

Within the literature on innovation systems, there are a growing number of scholars emphasizing the importance of differentiated knowledge bases underlying innovation activities. The existing work on knowledge bases is largely grounded on in-depth case studies; while surprisingly little effort has been done so far to operationalize the concept in a more systematic manner. In this article, an attem

Evaluation of: Akada J, Kamei S, Ito A et al. A new type of protein chip to detect hepatocellular carcinoma-related autoimmune antibodies in the sera of hepatitis C virus-positive patients. Proteome Sci. 11(1), 33 (2013). Unlocking the proteome and delivering biomarkers to the clinic will be critical for early and improved diagnosis and prognosis. Conventional protein microarrays have evolved as a

BackgroundThe vast array and quantity of longitudinal samples collected in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young study present a series of challenges in terms of quality control procedures and data validity. To address this, pilot studies have been conducted to standardize and enhance both biospecimen collection and sample obtainment in terms of autoantibody collection, stool sam

The biological hierarchy of genes, cells, organisms and societies is a fundamental reality in the living world. This hierarchy of entities did not arise ex nihilo at the origin of life, but rather has been serially generated by a succession of critical events known as evolutionary transitions in individuality' (ETIs). Given the sequential nature of ETIs, it is natural to look for candidates to for

Rate-ratio asymptotic analysis is carried out to elucidate the influence of nitrous oxide on the structure and critical conditions for extinction of nonpremixed methane flames. Steady, axisymmetric, laminar flow of two counterflowing streams toward a stagnation plane is considered. One stream is made up of a mixture of methane and nitrogen. The other stream is a mixture of oxygen, nitrous oxide, a

It is not known if grassy margins contribute to the conservation of biodiversity if situated along organically managed cereal fields as the contrast in environmental conditions between fields and margins may be too small in absence of pesticide applications. Communities of spiders, ground beetles, true bugs and aphids were sampled in 2years along transects from the centre of organically managed ce

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) alters wound edge microvascular blood flow. Some preclinical data suggest that cycling between low and high negative pressure may be more beneficial than continuous NPWT. The purpose of this in vivo study was to compare the effect of intermittent negative pressure (cycled either from 0 to -75 or to -125 mm Hg) and variable negative pressure (cycled from -10 t

Research conducted over the last 50 years has produced discoveries on the importance of glucose control for reducing the risk of diabetic complications, the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, the development and validation of mechanistic glucose-lowering targets, and the preclinical and clinical development of individual drugs. This science established the different drug classes that are clinical

Natural disturbance dynamics, such as fire, have a fundamental control on forest composition and structure. Knowledge of fire history and the dominant drivers of fire are becoming increasingly important for conservation and management practice. Temporal and spatial variability in biomass burning is examined here using 170 charcoal and 15 fire scar records collated throughout Fennoscandia and Denma

To improve gas turbine performance, the operating temperature has been increased continuously. However, the heat transferred to the turbine blade is substantially increased as the turbine inlet temperature is increased. Cooling methods are, therefore, much needed for the turbine blades to ensure long durability and safe operation. The blade tip region is exposed to hot gas flow, and is difficult t

BACKGROUND: The 2011 European Society of Cardiology guidelines state that acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may be excluded with a rapid 3 h high-sensitivity troponin T (HsTnT) sampling protocol. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic performance of HsTnT in patients with chest pain admitted with possible ACS in routine care. METHODS: A total of 773 consecutive patients admitted for in-hos