It is hoped that information garnered from studies on population genetics will one day be translated into a form in which it meaningfully improves the prediction, prevention or treatment of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes genetics researchers have made extraordinary progress in identifying common genetic variants that are associated with type 2 diabetes, which has shed light on the biological pat

Background. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a multifunctional protein involved in innate immunity. We tested whether MBL and elevated viral and bacterial antibodies were risk factors for acute coronary events. Design. Controlled cohort study. Methods. A total of 354 patients with unstable angina pectoris (UA) or acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were compared with 334 paired controls. Results. Ent

To determine if type III collagen is concentrated in the chymotrypsin-extractable collagen pool from osteoarthritic articular cartilage to assess its potential as a biomarker of Osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenic mechanisms.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether musculoskeletal pain was associated with impaired sexual function in a population sample of middle-aged and older men. METHODS: The European Male Ageing Study (EMAS), a multicenter population-based study of men aged 40-79 years, was used to investigate this hypothesis. A questionnaire asked about the presence and duration of musculoskeletal pain, allowing subjects t

A time-gated technique to enhance viewing through highly scattering media such as tissue is discussed. Experiments have been performed on tissue like plastic phantoms to determine the possibilities and limitations of the technique. The effects of the time-gate width and the localization, size, and optical properties of hidden objects have been studied. A computer model to simulate light propagatio

The single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systemis a new systemthat was adopted in the standardization of the upcoming 3GPP long-term evolution (LTE). Designing diversity-achieving schemes for the SC-FDMA system is a challenging task. The codes adopted should not affect the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) among other constraints. In this paper, we consider the design of co

This study sought to assess the safety and efficacy of transcatheter valve annuloplasty in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR).

The experimentally known phenomenon that originally collinear mode I cracks seem to avoid each other before coalescence is studied by investigating the stability of straight crack paths. To this end a periodic array of approximately collinear but slightly curved cracks is considered. Stress intensity factors for modes I and II are derived and the growth of originally straight cracks under mode I c

Intratumoral heterogeneity is an inherent feature of most human cancers and has profound implications for cancer therapy. As a result, there is an emergent need to explore previously unmapped mechanisms regulating distinct subpopulations of tumor cells and to understand their contribution to tumor progression and treatment response. Aberrant platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) si

Introduction: Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment is well known for, for example, photo rejuvenation, where higher cut-off filters are used. The longer wavelengths penetrate deeper in the dermis leading to damage of the collagen and stimulation of new collagen formation, which lead to more soft and elastic skin. Microstomia in systemic sclerosis is the end result of excessive collagen deposition,

A homozygous mutation in the complex III chaperone BCS1L causes GRACILE syndrome (intrauterine growth restriction, aminoaciduria, cholestasis, hepatic iron overload, lactacidosis). In control and patient fibroblasts we localized BCS1L in inner mitochondrial membranes. In patient liver, kidney, and heart BCS1L and Rieske protein levels, as well as the amount and activity of complex III, were decrea

In this paper we give a unified framework for constructing harmonic morphisms from the irreducible Riemannian symmetric spaces HHn, CHn, RH2n+l, HPn, CPn and RP2n+1 of rank one. Using this we give a positive answer to the global existence problem for the non-compact hyperbolic cases.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a serine/threonine kinase that regulates cellular and whole body energy homeostasis. In adipose tissue, activation of AMPK has been demonstrated in response to a variety of extracellular stimuli. However, the upstream kinase that activates AMPK in adipocytes remains elusive. Previous studies have identified LKB1 as a major AMPK kinase in muscle, liver and oth

Background/Aims: Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are non-linear pattern recognition techniques, which can be used as a tool in medical decision-making. The aim of this study was to construct and validate an ANN model for early prediction of the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods: Patients treated for AP from 2002 to 2005 (n = 139) and from 2007 to 2009 (n = 69) were analyzed to develop

An infinite summation method is used to obtain the intrinsic photoemission spectrum of a conduction electron in the sudden limit. It is predicted that an electron at the bottom of the conduction band should have an asymmetry index comparable to that of a core electron and that the strengths of its plasmon satellites should be similar to those of a core electron. The width of their plasmon satellit

Neutrophil-mediated lung damage is an insidious feature in septic patients, although the adhesive mechanisms behind pulmonary recruitment of neutrophils in polymicrobial sepsis remain elusive. The aim of the present study was to define the role of lymphocyte function-antigen 1 (LFA-1) and membrane-activated complex 1 (Mac-1) in septic lung injury. Pulmonary edema, bronchoalveolar infiltration of n