The mechanism of how patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) variant M148 is associated with increased risk of development of hepatic steatosis is still debated. Here, we propose a novel role of PNPLA3 as a key player during autophagosome formation in the process of lipophagy. A human hepatocyte cell line, HepG2 cells, expressing recombinant I148 or 148M, was used to study

Charged fluorescent bowl-shaped colloids consisting of a polystyrene core surrounded by a poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) shell are obtained by nanoengineering spherical composite microgels. The phase diagram of these soft bowl-shaped colloids interacting through long-range Yukawa-type interactions is investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The bowl-shaped structure leads to marked

Introduction: Noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM) patients may develop sustained ventricular arrhythmias (VA). Currently no known electrocardiogram (ECG) parameter has demonstrated predictive value for VA development. The spatial QRS-T angle has demonstrated ability to identify VA in other cardiomyopathy populations. Methods: A total of 39 patients with NCCM, defined by compact to non-compact rati

We study a system of spherical non-adsorbing particles immersed in a polydisperse polymer fluid. We derive an analytic expression for the many-body depletion interactions between the colloidal particles in the limit of very long chains. We argue that this expression is essentially exact for long chains and justify this using explicit simulations. In this way we are able to elucidate the profound e

I förra veckan antog Svenska Akademien en ny kommentar till sina stadgar. Där menade man att det ligger närmast till hands att jämföra Akademien med privaträttsliga organisationer. Men frågan är om man inte borde ha jämfört sig mer med de statliga institutionerna.

Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a major cause of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Murine models indicate key roles for chemokines CCL19 and CCL21 and their receptor CCR7 in lung inflammation leading to PAH. The objective of this study was to assess the chemokine CCL19–CCL21 axis in patients with SSc-related PAH. Methods: Serum samples obtained from 2 independent prospective SSc cohort

Martin Sunnqvist reflekterar över olika aspekter som rör rättsstaten. Hur byggs en rättsstat upp? Hur bryts en rättsstat ned? Den första frågan har lett till att fri- och rättigheter, oavhängiga domstolar, författningsdomstolar och självständiga advokatväsenden har införts i många länder. Nu måste den motsatta frågan ställas, så att varningsklockorna kan identifieras.

During recent years, many sites with sediments pre-dating the Last Glacial Maximum have been identified in formerly glaciated areas. As more and better dates are presented from these sites, the dynamic behaviour of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet is becoming increasingly clear. In this study, we revisited the site Skorgenes in western Norway. Here, sediments from two ice-free periods are found below an

Megacephalosaurus eulerti is a large macropredatory plesiosaur representing one of the last members of the diverse pliosaurid clade Brachaucheninae. The taxon was established upon a nearly complete skull including the mandible and fragments of the postcranial skeleton originating from the lower middle Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) of Kansas, USA. Owing to its age, reasonable completeness and its sta

Purpose: Patients with acromegaly have an increased risk of sleep apnea, but reported prevalence rates vary largely. Here we aimed to evaluate the sleep apnea prevalence in a large national cohort of patients with acromegaly, to examine possible risk factors, and to assess the proportion of patients diagnosed with sleep apnea prior to acromegaly diagnosis. Methods: Cross-sectional multicenter stud

This study grounds a highly charged debate on agriculture in developing countries within economic theory, by establishing a structured analytical framework for considering the potential role of foreign investment in supporting agricultural development. The framework is developed to be time and space neutral, such that it can be utilized in various geographic settings and across different time peri

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a neuroendocrine tumour that exhibits rapid growth and metastatic spread. Although SCLC represents a prototypically undifferentiated cancer type, thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1, gene symbol NKX2-1), a master regulator for pulmonary epithelial cell differentiation and lung morphogenesis, is strongly upregulated in this aggressive cancer type. The aim of this

TomoWarp2 is a Python based code that allows full-field vector displacements to be measured between 2D or 3D image sets, based on a local approach of Digital Image Correlation. These displacements can be used to calculate the complete 2D or 3D strain tensor field to study, for example, heterogeneous deformation responses of materials during loading. The code is provided with a GUI, and can handle

Background: Early cartilage changes in knee osteoarthritis (OA) can be assessed by both intravenous (i.v.) and intra-articular (i.a.) delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC). Purpose: To examine the relationship between i.a. dGEMRIC and delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of menisci (dGEMRIM), and to investigate if the approach can be used to assess the morphological degeneration of men

Objective: We endeavored to create a comprehensive course in global surgery involving multinational exchange. Design: The course involved 2 weeks of didactics, 2 weeks of clinical rotations in a low-resource setting and 1 week for a capstone project. We evaluated our success through knowledge tests, surveys of the students, and surveys of our Zimbabwean hosts. Setting: The didactic portions were h