The rs738409 C > G single-nucleotide polymorphism in PNPLA3 leads to a missense mutation (I148M) which increases liver fat but does not cause insulin resistance. We hypothesised that patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) due to the PNPLA3 variant ('PNPLA3 NAFLD'aEuro parts per thousand= PNPLA3-148MM) do not have adipose tissue (AT) inflammation in contrast with those with NAFLD d

Human land use changes perturb biogeochemical silica (Si) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. This directly affects Si mobilisation and Si storage and influences Si export from the continents, although the magnitude of the impact is unknown. A major reason for our lack of understanding is that very little information exists on how land use affects amorphous silica (ASi) storage in soils. We have qu

The current epidemiologic evidence suggests that men with type 2 diabetes mellitus may be at lower risk of developing prostate cancer, but little is known about its association with stage and grade of the disease. The association between self-reported diabetes mellitus at recruitment and risk of prostate cancer was examined in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Background High plasma HDL cholesterol is associated with reduced risk of myocardial infarction, but whether this association is causal is unclear. Exploiting the fact that genotypes are randomly assigned at meiosis, are independent of non-genetic confounding, and are unmodified by disease processes, mendelian randomisation can be used to test the hypothesis that the association of a plasma biomar

1. The mechanisms driving nonrandom assembly patterns in plant communities have long been of interest in ecological research. Competing ecological theories predict that coexisting species may either be more functionally dissimilar than expected by chance (with functional divergence' mainly reflecting niche differentiation) or be functionally more similar than expected (with functional convergence'

Dementia is the most common cause of functional decline among elderly people and is associated with high costs of national healthcare in European countries. With increasing functional and cognitive decline, it is likely that many people suffering from dementia will receive institutional care in their lifetime. To delay entry to institutional care, many European countries invest in home and communi

Limited epidemiological evidence suggests a protective role for plant foods rich in flavonoids and antioxidants in hepatocellular cancer (HCC) etiology. Our aim was to prospectively investigate the association between dietary intake of flavonoids, lignans and nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (NEAC) and HCC risk. Data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) coh

Metabolomics is a rapidly growing research field. It aims for quantification of all the metabolites in a biological sample such as plasma, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid or cells. Because the metabolite levels in a biological sample are the end result of the regulatory processes in cells, metabolomics is a very powerful approach for characterisation of phenotypes. Metabolomics has been used to find d

It is the aim of this thesis to contribute to a research-based understanding of researchers’ use of blogs as a part of scholarly communication. The following research questions guide the investigation: (1) How are scholarly blogs constructed and used as sociotechnical systems in scholarly communication? (2) Which roles do scholarly blogs play in relation to other forms of scholarly communicati

During the prolonged course of chronic viral infection there is a continuous reciprocal interaction between the host immune defence system and the viral immunogens, and viral genetic mutations capable of circumventing host immune defence could be selected for. Our observation of increasing prevalence of heterogeneity in the DNA sequence coding for the ‘a1 determinant of HBsAg in patients with pres

Increasing food production is a key step towards attaining food security in Cameroon. For the last half century, increase in production has been achieved by bringing more land under cultivation. In consequence of competition for land between agriculture and other uses that particular route to increasing production to meet the country’s growing demand is now limited. The alternative is to increase

OBJECTIVE. To evaluate the recurrence of foot ulcers as well as the cumulative amputation and mortality rates in diabetic patients with previous foot ulcers. DESIGN. A prospective study of consecutively presenting diabetic patients admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine because of foot ulcer with a median follow-up of 4 years. SETTING. A multidisciplinary foot-care team. POPULATION. Five-

Syftet med denna avhandling är att analysera hur berättelser om skyldiga och oskyldiga mödrar konstruerades under perioden ca. 1680-1800. De två brottskategorierna barnamord och barnkvävning har undersökts. Källmaterialet har huvudsakligen bestått av protokoll från hovrätten, underrätter och sockenstämmor. Jag har klarlagt vilka omständigheter som utreddes vid brottsutredningarna och fick betydelsThe objective of this thesis is to analyse how judicial texts concerning guilty and innocent mothers were constructed during the period of c. 1680-1800. The two crimes of infanticide and overlaying have been examined. Source materials have primarily consisted of proceedings from the appeals court, courts of first instance, and parish meetings. The aim has been to survey the judicial discourse, tha

Background: Since the cloning in 1990 of cDNA corresponding to mRNA transcribed at the blood-group ABO locus, polymorphisms due to ethnic and/or phenotypic variations have been reported. Some subgroups have been explained at the molecular level, but unresolved samples are frequently encountered in the reference laboratory. Results: ABO blood grouping discrepancies were investigated serologically a

Ethical issues in modern obstetrics commonly relate to a conflict between the rights and possibilities of the fetus versus those of the mother. After delivery, when the fetus by definition is a child, all legal rights are granted to this new individual. Whether any rights should be given or offered to the fetus is dependent on the prevailing situation. General rules are difficult to give due to th

IDDM is positively associated with HLA-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 (DQ8) and DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 (DQ2) and negatively associated with DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602 (DQ6). The aim of the present study was to analyze the importance of several polymorphic residues and domains of DQalpha and DQbeta, in addition to residue 52 DQalpha and residue 57 DQbeta, with regard to susceptibility or resistance in new-onset 0- to 1

Infertility, defined as the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected regular intercourse, affects up to 15% of all couples of reproductive age. The infertility can originate from female, male or both partners. In up to 50% of the affected couples, a male factor is the cause of infertility. Semen analysis is the cornerstone of male infertility assessment and an abnormal result often trig