Obesity, and obesity-associated conditions such as hypertension, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, are important risk factors for severe Coronavirus dis-ease-2019 (COVID-19). The common denominator is metaflammation, a portmanteau of metabolism and inflammation, which is characterized by chronically elevated levels of leptin and pro-inflam-matory cytokines. These

Worldwide, and especially in Western civilizations, most of the staple diets contain high amounts of fat and refined carbohydrates, leading to an increasing number of obese individuals. In addition to inducing metabolic disorders, energy dense food intake has been suggested to impair brain functions such as cognition and mood control. Here we demonstrate an impaired memory function already 3 days

Over the past decades, it has become more and more obvious that ongoing globalisation processes have substantial impacts on the natural environment. Studies reveal that intensified global economic relations have caused or accelerated dramatic changes in the Earth system, defined as the sum of our planet’s interacting physical, chemical, biological and human processes (Schellnhuber et al. 2004). Cl

The stomatopod crustaceans, or mantis shrimps, are colourful marine invertebrate predators. Their unusual compound eyes have dorsal and ventral regions resembling typical crustacean apposition designs separated by a unique region called the midband that consists of from two to six parallel rows of ommatidia. In species with six-row midbands, the dorsal four rows are themselves uniquely specialized

Focusing on forest policy and urban climate politics in Brazil and Indonesia, the primary objective of this chapter is to identify domestic pioneers and leaders who, compared to other sectors, governmental levels or jurisdictions within the same nation-state, move ‘ahead of the troops’ (Liefferink and Wurzel, 2017: 2-3). The chapter focuses especially on the role of multilevel governance in bringi

Given the regulatory gap in earth system governance, numerous new governance initiatives, such as multilateral clubs, private certification schemes and multi-stakeholder forums, have emerged to tackle transboundary environmental challenges. This plethora of different governance initiatives has led to a significant increase in the institutional complexity of global (environmental) policymaking and

The visual environment provides vital cues allowing animals to assess habitat quality, weather conditions or measure time of day. Together with other sensory cues and physiological conditions, the visual environment sets behavioral states that make the animal more prone to engage in some behaviors, and less in others. This master-control of behavior serves a fundamental and essential role in deter

BACKGROUND: Lead exposure has been associated with increased incidence of adverse clinical cardiovascular outcomes. Atherosclerosis has been suggested as one of the underlying mechanisms, and findings from experimental studies support this, but human data are scarce. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to determine the association between environmental lead exposure based on blood lead (B-Pb) concentrat

We introduce the concept of subalgebra spectrum, Sp(A), for a subalgebra A of finite codimension in K[x]. The spectrum is a finite subset of the underlying field. We also introduce a tool, the characteristic polynomial of A, which has the spectrum as its set of zeroes. The characteristic polynomial can be computed from the generators of A, thus allowing us to find the spectrum of an algebra given

Ammonia (NH3) is regarded as a promising future carbon-free fuel but needs to overcome drawbacks including extremely low burning velocity in practical combustion apparatus. In this study, ozone (O3) additive is used to elucidate one of the mechanisms of potential flame enhancement method based on plasma-assisted combustion. The effects of ozone addition on the laminar burning velocity of premixed

Background: The mast cell-specific metalloprotease CPA3 has been given important roles in lung tissue homeostasis and disease pathogenesis. However, the dynamics and spatial distribution of mast cell CPA3 expression in lung diseases remain unknown. Methods: Using a histology-based approach for quantitative spatial decoding of mRNA and protein single cell, this study investigates the dynamics of CP

Efter flera krig övergick på 1600-talet Skåne, Halland och Blekinge från Danmark till Sverige, medan Bornholm förblev danskt. Övergången var gradvis, inte utan motstånd, och den varierade mellan och även inom landskapen. Artikeln undersöker hur dansk och svensk överhöghet synliggjordes i kyrkorna under denna övergångstid med bilder på riksvapnet, kungliga namn och monogram, särskilt på altaruppsat

Purpose: Crisis planning and improvements to business resilience are increasingly significant aspects of hotel management. This study investigates the crisis preparation of hotel managers in Malaysia and how their perceptions affect crisis planning and preparation. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research method of semi-structured interviews with 24 hospitality managers in Malaysia was

Background: Hypertension remains a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We hypothesize that appropriate mechanotransduction and contractile function in vascular smooth muscle cells are crucial to maintain vascular wall integrity. The Hippo pathway effectors YAP (yes-associated protein 1) and TAZ (WW domain containing transcription re

Currently, static cold storage (SCS) of hearts from donations after brainstem death remains the standard clinically. However, machine perfusion (MP) is considered an approach for donor organ management to extend the donor pool and/or increase the utilization rate. This review summarizes and critically assesses the available clinical data on MP in heart transplantation. We searched Medline (PubMed)

The study was an extension of our earlier work on antiinflammatory and anticancer properties of G. asiatica fruit. We aimed to develop a bioassay guided multistep purification technique for producing bioactive fractions of G. asiatica crude extracts. Dried fruit powder was sequentially fractionated with 100% dichloromethane, 100% methanol (MeOH), and 50% MeOH. Active extracts were subjected to liq

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients are an attractive disease model to study tissues with poor accessibility such as the brain. Using this approach, we and others have shown that trisomy 21 results in genome-wide transcriptional dysregulations. The effects of loss of genes on chromosome 21 is much less characterized. Here, we use patient-derived neural cells from an individual wit

α-Synuclein (aSyn) is a 140 residue long protein present in presynaptic termini of nerve cells. The protein is associated with Parkinson's disease, in which case it has been found to self-Assemble into long amyloid fibrils forming intracellular inclusions that are also rich in lipids. Furthermore, its synaptic function is proposed to involve interaction with lipid membranes, and hence, it is of in