The feasibility of exploiting genomic information for individualized treatment of polygenic diseases remains uncertain. A genetic variant in ADRA2A, which encodes the α2A-adrenergic receptor (α2AAR), was recently associated with type 2 diabetes. This variant causes receptor overexpression and impaired insulin secretion; thus, we hypothesized that blocking α2AAR pharmacologically could improve insu

Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 6q25.1, near the ESR1 gene, have been implicated in the susceptibility to breast cancer for Asian (rs2046210) and European women (rs9397435). A genome-wide association study in Europeans identified two further breast cancer susceptibility variants: rs11249433 at 1p11.2 and rs999737 in RAD51L1 at 14q24.1. Although previously identified breast cancer sus

Several studies suggest that the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele modulates cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of β-amyloid 42 (Aβ42). Whether this effect is secondary to the association of the APOE ε4 allele with cortical Aβ deposition or whether APOE ε4 directly influences CSF levels of Aβ42 independently of Aβ pathology remains unknown.

The Selvester QRS scoring system has previously been shown to enable estimation of myocardial infarct (MI) size by quantitative evaluation of the 12-lead ECG. The aim of this study was to assess the system's ability to detect and quantify lateral MI, using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) as reference standard.

Laibl, L., Fatka, O., Budil, P., Ahlberg, P., Szabad, M., Voka, V. & Kozak, V., 24.3.2015. The ontogeny of Ellipsocephalus (Trilobita) and systematic position of Ellipsocephalidae. Alcheringa 39, 477-487. ISSN 0311-5518.Well-preserved early holaspid stages of the Cambrian Series 3 trilobites Ellipsocephalus hoffi (Schlotheim, 1823) and Ellipsocephalus polytomus Linnarsson, 1877 have been disco

The origins of allergic asthma, particularly in infancy, remain obscure. Respiratory viral infections and allergen sensitization in early life have been associated with asthma in young children. However, a causal link has not been established. We investigated whether an influenza A infection in early life alters immune responses to house dust mite (HDM) and promotes an asthmatic phenotype later in

The present study reports on the comparison of direct and mediated electron transfer pathways in the interaction of the fungal enzyme cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) with the redox protein cytochrome c (cyt c) immobilised at a modified gold electrode surface. Two types of CDHs were chosen for this investigation: a basidiomycete (white rot) CDH from Trametes villosa and a recently discovered ascomyc

Measurements of transverse-single-spin asymmetries (A(N)) in p + p collisions at root s = 62.4 and 200 GeV with the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider are presented. At midrapidity, A(N) is measured for neutral pion and eta mesons reconstructed from diphoton decay, and, at forward rapidities, neutral pions are measured using both diphotons and electromagnetic clusters. The neut

We propose a layered statistical model for image segmentation and labeling obtained by combining independently extracted, possibly overlapping sets of figure-ground (FG) segmentations. The process of constructing consistent image segmentations, called tilings, is cast as optimization over sets of maximal cliques sampled from a graph connecting all non-overlapping figure-ground segment hypotheses.

Cerebral vasospasm and late cerebral ischemia (LCI) remain leading causes of mortality in patients experiencing a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This occurs typically 3 to 4 days after the initial bleeding and peaks at 5 to 7 days. The underlying pathophysiology is still poorly understood. Because SAH is associated with elevated levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1), focus has been on counteracting endoth

To investigate whether betamethasone decreases the incidence of postoperative nausea/vomiting (PONV) and reduces postoperative pain following partial mastectomy.

AIMS: Studies investigating mental health professionals' attitudes towards people with mental illness are scarce and there is a lack of comparative studies including both patients' and mental health professionals' attitudes. The aim of the present study was to investigate mental health staff's attitudes towards people with mental illness and compare these with the attitudes of patients in contact

Mouse CD8 alpha(+) dendritic cells (DCs) in lymphoid organs and CD103(+) CD11b(-) DCs in nonlymphoid tissues share phenotypic and functional similarities, as well as a unique shared developmental dependence on the transcription factor Batf3. Human DCs resembling mouse CD8 alpha(+) DCs in phenotype and function have been identified in human blood, spleen, and tonsil. However, it is not clear whethe

Using population-wide data on inventors and their demographic characteristics, the paper analyzes trends and patterns by technologies in age, the level of education, and gender gap. We find that the education level of inventors has risen over time. We also find that the gender gap is closing but at slower pace than in other comparable areas of society. Much to our surprise, the average age of inve

Abstract in UndeterminedIn this paper I criticize the standard argument for deontological egalitarianism, understood as the thesis that there is a moral claim to have an equal share of well-being or whatever other good counts. That argument is based on the idea that equals should be treated equally. I connect the debate over egalitarianism with that over comparative justice. A common theme is a ge

Background: A high prevalence of sickness absence in many countries, at a substantial societal cost, underlines the importance to understand its determining mechanisms. This study focuses on the link between relative deprivation and the probability of sickness absence. Methods: 184,000 men and women in Sweden were followed between 1982 and 2001. The sample consists of working individuals between t

Peptides of the C-terminal region of human thrombin are released upon proteolysis and identified in human wounds. In this study, we wanted to investigate minimal determinants, as well as structural features, governing the antimicrobial and immunomodulating activity of this peptide region. Sequential amino acid deletions of the peptide GKYGFYTHVFRLKKWIQKVIDQFGE (GKY25), as well as substitutions at

Most plot-scale methane emission models - of which many have been developed in the recent past - are validated using data collected with the closed-chamber technique. This method, however, suffers from a low spatial representativeness and a poor temporal resolution. Also, during a chamber-flux measurement the air within a chamber is separated from the ambient atmosphere, which negates the influenc