A major challenge in neuroscience is to determine the nanoscale position and quantity of signaling molecules in a cell type- and subcellular compartment-specific manner. We developed a new approach to this problem by combining cell-specific physiological and anatomical characterization with super-resolution imaging and studied the molecular and structural parameters shaping the physiological prope

Castellani D. and Pieri F. Outward investments and productivity: evidence from European regions, Regional Studies. Using a novel data set on international investment projects, this paper builds measures of outward foreign direct investments (FDIs) for 262 regions of the European Union. This allows as estimation to be made of regressions of productivity growth over the 2007–11 period as a function

Hyperinsulinemia is an adaptive mechanism that enables the maintenance of normoglycemia in the presence of insulin resistance. We assessed whether glucagon is also involved in the adaptation to insulin resistance. A total of 1,437 individuals underwent an oral glucose tolerance test with measurements of circulating glucose, insulin, and glucagon concentrations at 0, 30 and 120 min. Early glucagon

The urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) is a non-integrin vitronectin (VN) cell adhesion receptor linked to the plasma membrane by a glycolipid anchor. Through structure-function analyses of uPAR, VN and integrins, we document that uPAR-mediated cell adhesion to VN triggers a novel type of integrin signalling that is independent of integrin-matrix engagement. The signalling is ful

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex structural entity surrounding and supporting cells present in all tissue and organs. Cell-matrix interactions play fundamental roles during embryonic development, morphogenesis, tissue homoeostasis, wound healing, and tumourigenesis. Cell-matrix communication is kept in balance by physical contact and by transmembrane integrin receptors providing the dyn

PURPOSE: To investigate whether TT virus (TTV) viral load may be used as a surrogate marker for functional immune reconstitution in HIV-infected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).METHOD: Fifteen protease inhibitor-naïve HIV-infected patients were included in a longitudinal study. From each patient, three serum samples taken before HAART initiation and three samples ta

Arsenic, a carcinogen with immunotoxic effects, is a common contaminant of drinking water and certain food worldwide. We hypothesized that chronic arsenic exposure alters gene expression, potentially by altering DNA methylation of genes encoding central components of the immune system. We therefore analyzed the transcriptomes (by RNA sequencing) and methylomes (by target-enrichment next-generation

We have created devices that are extremely simple to fabricate, function without pumps, are reusable and capable of dealing with very large differences in particle sizes without clogging. Our new approach to microfluidic particle sorting is precise enough for applications in blood fractionation, cancer cell sorting, parasite detection and sample decomplexing in general. We achieve this using Deter

Flexible multibody dynamics (FMD) has found many applications in control, analysis and design of mechanical systems. FMD together with the theory of structural optimization can be used for designing multibody systems with bodies which are lighter, but stronger. Topology optimization of static structures is an active research topic in structural mechanics. However, the extension to the dynamic case

Conditional knockout mice are commonly used to study the function of specific genes in hematopoiesis. Different promoters that drive Cre expression have been utilized, with the interferon-inducible Mx1-Cre still being the most commonly used “deleter strain” in experimental hematology. However, different pitfalls associated with this system could lead to misinterpretation in functional studies. We

The last decade has witnessed a revolution in genetic technology, where genome-wide analyses, covering the majority of genetic variation, were thought to explain disease-causing mechanisms in common metabolic disorders. However, these genetic data only explain a modest proportion of the estimated heritability of type 2 diabetes and obesity and hence suggest a potential role for epigenetic variatio

The aim of this study was to determine how self-presentation is formulated in victim supporters’ narratives of their interactions with crime victims, and identify the function of the presentation of the crime victim in this self-presentation. This was done through a narrative analysis of material from 12 focus groups in which representatives of Victim Support Sweden discussed their work. A master

French is characterized by major differences between phonology and orthography. Consequently, learning the deep orthography of written French is a challenge to both first (L1) and second (L2) language learners. This empirical study focuses on the production of silent number morphology in written French and illustrates that a group of L2 learners, exposed to limited amounts of spoken French in a ty

Textile craft and textile design have always had an important social, cultural and economic impact on both individuals and societies. The cultural heritage of textiles does not end with the preservation and collection of costumes and other textiles in museums. It also includes living traditions inherited from our ancestors. Furthermore, understanding craft and craft processes are crucial when cons

Because of the vital roles of industry in sustainable development, it is essentialthat environmental management is effective in preventing pollution. To this end,environmental management systems have been implemented to a growing extent inindustry. Moreover, this Ph.D. research has demonstrated that environmentalmanagement efforts must be systematic to use environmental performanceindicators effec

In this work, we consider the problem of multi-pitch estimation using sparse heuristics and convex modeling. In general, this is a difficult non-linear optimization problem, as the frequencies belonging to one pitch often overlap the frequencies belonging to other pitches, thereby causing ambiguity between pitches with similar frequency content. The problem is further complicated by the fact that

Half the global soil carbon (C) is held in high-latitude systems. Climate change will expose these to warming and a shift towards plant communities with more labile C input. Labile C can also increase the rate of loss of native soil organic matter (SOM); a phenomenon termed ‘priming’. We investigated how warming (+1.1 °C over ambient using open top chambers) and litter addition (90 g m−2 yr−1) tre