BB rats develop various organ-specific autoimmune diseases, e.g. autoimmune diabetes and thyroiditis and have proven important to dissect genetic factors that govern autoimmune disease development. The lymphopenia (lyp) gene (iddm2) is linked to autoimmune disease development and is a major genetic difference between diabetes-resistant (DR) and diabetes-prone (DP) BB rats. To study the effects of

Aims/hypothesis Genetic and epidemiological studies suggest an association between gestational diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes. Both are polygenic multifactorial disorders characterised by beta cell dysfunction and insulin resistance. Our aim was to investigate whether common genetic variants that have previously been associated with type 2 diabetes or related phenotypes would also confer ri

Key design features of high performance houses are investigated for improving energy efficiency in cold climates. Reference dwellings with typical constructions and system designs are compared with high performance houses using the best technology available. The dwellings used for reference are a multi-family apartment building and a single-family detached house, designed according to a mix of Nor

The Jonkoping Anorthositic Suite (JAS) in S. Sweden has characteristics typical for (Proterozoic) massif-type anorthosites. The interstitial liquid of these plagioclase-porphyritic rocks solidified at 1,455 +/- A 6 Ma, as determined by U-Pb isotope analysis of baddeleyite. The JAS developed during a regional 1.47-1.44 event in Fennoscandia that generated widespread mafic magmatism (basalts, and di

The purpose of this study is to investigate propagation patterns in intracardiac signals recorded during atrial fibrillation (AF) using an approach based on partial directed coherence (PDC), which evaluates directional coupling between multiple signals in the frequency domain. The PDC is evaluated at the dominant frequency of AF signals and tested for significance using a surrogate data procedure

This paper provides an analysis of the EU ETS harmonised benchmark-based allocation procedures by comparing two energy-intensive sectors with activities in three Member States (MS); the cement industry (CEI) and the pulp and paper industry (PPI) in UK, Sweden and France. Results show that the new procedures are better suited for the homogenous CEI, for which allocation is to decrease in a consiste

Autoantibodies are highly characteristic of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and represent important tools to study its pathogenesis. Nonetheless, thus far no systematic investigations have assessed the presence of autoantibodies before diagnosis. We analysed how early and in which order these appear, how predictive they are for pSS and if they identify disease subsets.

A generic search for anomalous production of events with at least three charged leptons is presented. The data sample consists of pp collisions at TeV collected in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Events are required to have at least three selected lepton candidates, at least two of which must be electrons o

The annual fixation of dissolved Si (DSi) into terrestrial vegetation has been estimated to range from 60 to 200 Tmole, or 10-40 times more than the yearly export of DSi and biogenic Si (BSi) from the terrestrial geobiosphere to the coastal zone. Ecosystems form a large filter between primary mobilization of DSi from silicate weathering and its eventual export to the oceans, and a large reservoir

BackgroundPatients with metastatic osteosarcoma at diagnosis or axial primary tumors have a poor prognosis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of intensified treatment with high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and stem cell rescue in this group. MethodsFrom May 1996 to August 2004, 71 patients were included in a Scandinavian-Italian single arm phase II study. Preoperative c

Background: Pulmonary involvement, manifested as pulmonary arterial hypertension or pulmonary fibrosis, is the most common cause of death in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We aimed to explore the feasibility of detecting early pulmonary involvement in SSc using recently developed non-invasive quantitative measures of pulmonary physiology using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Methods: Twenty-se

The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study prospectively follows 8,677 children enrolled from birth, who carry HLA-susceptibility genotypes for development of islet autoantibodies (IA) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). During the median follow-up time of 57 months, 350 children developed at least one persistent IA (GADA, IA-2A or mIAA) and 84 of them progressed to T1D. We genot

The differential charged jet cross sections, jet fragmentation distributions, and jet shapes are measured in minimum bias proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV using the ALICE detector at the LHC. Jets are reconstructed from charged particle momenta in the midrapidity region using the sequential recombination k(T) and anti-k(T) as well as the SISCone jet finding algorith

A spin-echo-modulated small-angle neutron scattering (SEMSANS) instrument in a time-of-flight (TOF) mode will be able to excel at pulsed neutron sources such as the European Spallation Source (ESS), currently under construction. This work compares experimental data from a TOF SEMSANS setup, where a spatial beam modulation of a white beam is obtained using triangular field coils, with Monte Carlo r

A number of studies stress the importance of positive mealtime experiences for nursing home residents. However, the components that comprise an ideal nursing home meal remain unclear, reflecting the ambiguity of whether nursing homes should be framed as institutions, domestic settings or a type of hotel. In this study, nursing home meals were viewed as situations that the involved parties could co

Dietary cadmium exposure was recently found to alter DNA methylation in adults, but data on effects early in life are lacking. Our objective was to evaluate associations between prenatal cadmium exposure, DNA methylation and birth weight. In total 127 mother-child pairs from rural Bangladesh were studied. For comparison, we included 56 children at 4.5 y. Cadmium concentrations in mothers' blood (g

The number of approved antiangiogenic drugs is constantly growing and emphasizes the need for predictive biomarkers. The aim of this study was to analyze the predictive value of epidermal growth factor-like domain 7 (EGFL7) and microRNA-126 (miR126) to first-line chemotherapy combined with bevacizumab, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). A total of 158 patients from two different

I consider the current state of pharmaceutical marketing vis-à-vis ethical and legal standards and advocate measures to improve it. There is abundant evidence of unethical or illicit marketing. It fuels growing concerns about undue corporate influence over pharmaceutical research, education, and consumption. The most extensive evidence of industry transgressions comes from the United States (US),

Background The activity of the human enzyme thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) varies greatly between individuals because of genetic polymorphism. TPMT is involved in the detoxification and activation of thiopurines such as 6-mercaptopurine, 6-thioguanine, and azathioprine. These drugs are used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and inflammatory bowel disease. A total of 29 sequence