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Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), 56 of which are novel. Five loc
Background Low socioeconomic status (low education and income level) has been found to be associated with increased stroke mortality. However, findings from previous studies on the association between socioeconomic status and case fatality (survival) after stroke have been inconsistent. Aims The study aims to explore the association between socio-economic status and survival after stroke using Rik
The awareness of the significance of the Southern Ocean in the Earth's climate system has become increasingly obvious. The deglacial atmospheric CO2 rise during warming periods in Antarctica has been attributed to CO2 ventilation from the deep ocean caused by enhanced upwelling around the Antarctic Divergence. It has been hypothesized that, more intense Southern Hemisphere westerly winds aligned w
Background: Ultrasound-guided transvaginal oocyte retrieval is often performed under local anaesthesia on an outpatient basis. The objective of this study was to compare the overall pain experience of a newly designed reduced needle (RN) compared with a thicker standard needle (SN). Methods: A prospective, randomized, multi-centre study was performed at four different clinics from June to December
Abstract is missing (Short).
Raptors have excellent vision, yet it is unclear how they use colour information. It has been suggested that raptors use ultraviolet (UV) reflections from vole urine to find good hunting grounds. In contrast, UV plumage colours in songbirds such as blue tits are assumed to be 'hidden' communication signals, inconspicuous to raptors. This ambiguity results from a lack of knowledge about raptor ocul
We have studied how disturbance by ploughing and rotavation affects the carbon (C) flow to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in a dry, semi-natural grassland. AM fungal biomass was estimated using the indicator neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) 16:1ω5, and saprotrophic fungal biomass using NLFA 18:2ω6,9. We labeled vegetation plots with (13)CO(2) and studied the C flow to the signature fatty acids a
The M2 protein is a small, single-span transmembrane (TM) protein from the influenza A virus. This virus enters cells via endosomes; as the endosomes mature and become more acidic M2 facilitates proton transport into the viral interior, thereby disrupting matrix protein/RNA interactions required for infectivity. A mystery has been how protons can accumulate in the viral interior without developing
The stability of the Nyström method for the Sherman–Lauricella equation on piecewise smooth closed simple contour $\Gamma$ is studied. It is shown that in the space $L_2$ the method is stable if and only if certain operators associated with the corner points of $\Gamma$ are invertible. If $\Gamma$ does not have corner points, the method is always stable. Numerical experiments show the transformati
Interactions between metals and natural organic matter (NOM) are of great environmental importance and one of the key factors influencing hydrolysis, solubility, and speciation of the metals. However, studying geochemically relevant metals like Al, Fe, and Cu is sometimes associated with analytical problems; for example Fe and Cu are both redox active. Gallium (Ga) is a non-redox active metal that
Stochastic differential equations (SDEs) are established tools for modeling physical phenomena whose dynamics are affected by random noise. By estimating parameters of an SDE, intrinsic randomness of a system around its drift can be identified and separated from the drift itself. When it is of interest to model dynamics within a given population, i.e. to model simultaneously the performance of sev
Helicobacter species have been isolated and cultured from both the gastric and enterohepatic niches of the gastrointestinal tract and are associated with a wide spectrum of diseases. Some members of the enterohepatic Helicobacter species (EHS), which include Helicobacter bilis, Helicobacter hepaticus and Helicobacter pullorum, are associated with chronic inflammatory and proliferative bowel inflam
Collagen fibers expose distinct domains allowing for specific interactions with other extracellular matrix proteins and cells. To investigate putative collagen domains that govern integrin alpha(V)beta(3)-mediated cellular interactions with native collagen fibers we took advantage of the streptococcal protein CNE that bound native fibrillar collagens. CNE specifically inhibited alpha(V)beta(3)-dep
Objective: To update estimates of cancer risk in SLE relative to the general population. Methods: A multisite international SLE cohort was linked with regional tumor registries. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated as the ratio of observed to expected cancers. Results: Across 30 centres, 16,409 patients were observed for 121,283 (average 7.4) person years. In total, 644 cancers occ
The mechanisms that increase cardiovascular risk in individuals born small for gestational age (SGA) are not well understood. Telomere shortening has been suggested to be a predictor of disease onset. Our aim was to determine whether impaired intrauterine growth is associated with early signs of vascular aging and whether telomere length could be a biomarker of this pathway.
Children's blood-lead concentration (B-Pb) is well studied, but little is known about cadmium (B-Cd) and mercury (B-Hg), in particular for central Europe. Such information is necessary for risk assessment and management. Therefore, we here describe and compare B-Pb, B-Cd and B-Hg in children in six European, and three non-European cities, and identify determinants of these exposures. About 50 scho
Vortices are found in a fermion system with repulsive dipole-dipole interactions, trapped by a rotating quasi-two-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential. Such systems have much in common with electrons in quantum dots, where rotation is induced via an external magnetic field. In contrast to the Coulomb interactions between electrons, the (externally tunable) anisotropy of the dipole-dipole inte
