Type-2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex disease characterized by insulin resistance in target tissues and impaired insulin release from pancreatic beta cells. As central tissue of glucose homeostasis, the pancreatic islet continues to be an important focus of research to understand the pathophysiology of the disease. The increased access to human pancreatic islets has resulted in improved knowledge of

Objective The interleukin 2 (IL-2) and interleukin 21 (IL-21) locus at chromosome 4q27 has been associated with several autoimmune diseases, and both genes are related to immune system functions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the IL-2/IL-21 locus in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Patients and methods The case control study included 4493 SSc Caucasian patients and 5856 healthy contro

Inom ramen för det svenska forskningsprojektet Taktik och metodik vid brand i undermarksanläggningar har ett enkelt planeringsverktyg utvecklats som bl a erbjuder stöd till beslutsfattare involverade i planeringen av räddningsinsatser i väg- och järnvägstunnlar. Verktyget, som har utvecklats vid Lunds universitet, heter TuFT och är en förkortning av Tunnel Fire Tools. TuFT kan beskrivas som ett my

Background: Repeat prescribing used in long-term pharmacotherapy is often associated with inadequate patient medication, including non-adherence. In this paper we explore patients' drug refill adherence with repeat prescriptions and relate refill data to patient age and gender, type of prescriber, type of prescribed drug, and reimbursement level. Methods: During one week of 2002, copies of 3636 re

BACKGROUND: The issue of inequalities in health has generated much discussion and socioeconomic status is considered an important variable in studies of health. It is frequently used in epidemiological studies, either as a possible risk factor or a confounder and the aim of this study was to analyse the relation between socioeconomic status and risk of disability pension. METHODS: Five complete bi

Objective: Lactobacilli are often considered to be beneficial or non-pathogenic to man, with small numbers of human infections being reported, including septicemia and infective endocarditis. To verify the safety of Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 9843 (=strain 299v) administration, we used a well-known endocarditis animal model. Design: Experimental study using Sprague-Dawley rats. Setting: Universit

Wetland creation aiming at a simultaneous increase in nutrient retention and species diversity in agricultural landscapes has recently become applied as a catchment-scale compensation measure for past wetland losses. Here, we evaluate if, and to what extend, dual-purpose wetlands benefit local and regional diversity of agricultural landscapes. We analysed composition and alpha, beta, and gamma div

Background: The quantification of the relationships between walking and health requires that walking is measured accurately. We correlated different measures of step accumulation to body size, overall physical activity level, and glucose regulation. Methods: Participants were 25 men and 25 women American Indians without diabetes (Age: 20-34 years) in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. We assessed steps/day du

Creep of concrete structures is in most cases regarded as a serviceability problem that may have impacts on maintenance and repair costs but cannot lead to structural collapse. However, several structural collapses during the past decades have been, at least partly, attributed to excessive creep deformations. Recent studies suggest that concrete creep may be further exacerbated by climate change.

Adopting circular business models (CBM) represents a key lever for industry to address urgent global challenges. Prior research recognizes the need for systems thinking and collaboration, but existing CBM tools and methods often implicitly assume that the focal firm has direct access to end customers, usage data and end-of-life phases. However, upstream suppliers who lack this access often produce

The upcycling trend has received renewed attention in the past few years due to growing concerns for the environment related to increased resource consumption and waste volumes. Indeed, cities across the world are supporting resource upcycling initiatives by establishing do-it-yourself (DIY) repair cafes and makerspaces as a means to transform societies towards sustainable develop-ment. However, t

Being physically active as part of everyday life reduces breast cancer risk. Less is known whether the benefits of an active lifestyle differ depending on the timing of physical activity in life or anthropometric characteristics. The aim of this study was to bring further insights to the association of physical activity in relation to menopausal status and body composition with breast cancer risk

There is limited knowledge about the associations between intakes of different foods and inconsistency in the literature of the relation between the quality of food intake and bodyweight in adolescents. The aim of this study is to explore how healthy self-reported food intakes are associated with each other and with overweight/obesity in adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study of seven cohort

Seagrass meadows are important ecosystem engineers, providing habitat for a range of marine organisms which sustain many ecosystem functions. Due to global loss of seagrass, conservation and restoration incentives are rapidly increasing. However, it is not well understood how environmental setting affects the structural and functional diversity of macrofaunal communities in eelgrass meadows (Zoste

We know that informal networks explain differences in career success. Historical differences in business careers of men and women have frequently been explained with differences in informal networks. We also know that corporations tend to recruit future leaders and professionals from highly ranked business schools, and that important social networks form among the students there. However, it is no

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a well-known academic support model to address retention and student performance in higher education. However, in studies reporting the effect of SI, the number of attendees at SI sessions are seldom mentioned or reflected upon. This study investigates whether there is a lower, optimal, and upper number of SI attendees for SI sessions with viable learning condition