Smoking is a well-known risk factor for Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) in patients suffering from Graves' disease (GD). Cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (CYR61), which has multiple physiological functions, has been shown to be associated with GD and GO. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between smoking and CYR61 concentrations in GD patients with and without GO. Serum CYR61 wa

We investigated the occurrence of microplastics (size range 5,000-50 µm) in leach-ates at 11 landfills of different age and operational status in Finland, Iceland and Nor-way. Collective sampling was carried out by pumping leachate with a stainless-steel submergible pump through a custom-made, stainless-steel filter unit containing filter plates with decreasing pore sizes (5,000, 417 and 47 µm, re

The Swedish response to the pandemic at the national level has attracted considerable international attention, but little focus has been placed on the way municipalities dealt with the crisis. Using Hay's dimensions of politicization, namely the capacity for human agency, deliberation in the public domain, and social context, we analyze the politicization of the municipal response to the pandemic

We present electronic band structure properties of strained InxGa(1-x)As/InP heterostructure near surface quantum wells oriented in the (100) crystallographic direction using eight-band k · p theory, which are further parameterized by an energy level, effective mass, and nonparabolicity factor. The electronic band structure parameters are studied for the well composition of 0.2 ≤ x ≤ 1 and thickne

Farmers who keep livestock in large carnivore areas are exposed to threat of predation directly impacting on finances and workload as well as the associated psychological stress indirectly impacting on farmers well-being. So far, little is known about such stress responses. The concept of “stress” or “stress reaction” is often used as an undifferentiated umbrella concept for the experience of nega

The glymphatic system is a brain-wide solute clearance system that has developed in the brain to clear metabolic waste during sleep. This clearance is mediated by advective fluxes of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) along perivascular spaces (PVS) and through the brain. The movement of CSF from the PVS and through the brain is dependent on the polarised expression of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) at astrocyte endfe

The flexibility of β hairpin structure known as the flap plays a key role in catalytic activity and substrate intake in pepsin-like aspartic proteases. Most of these enzymes share structural and sequential similarity. In this study, we have used apo Plm-II and BACE-1 as model systems. In the apo form of the proteases, a conserved tyrosine residue in the flap region remains in a dynamic equilibrium

Language experience, particularly from our native language (L1), shapes our perception of other languages around us. The present study examined how L1 experience moulds the initial processing of foreign (L2) tone during acquisition. In particular, we investigated whether learners were able to rapidly forge new neural memory traces for novel tonal words, which was tracked by recording learners’ ERP

Protected area networks help species respond to climate warming. However, the contribution of a site's environmental and conservation-relevant characteristics to these responses is not well understood. We investigated how composition of nonbreeding waterbird communities (97 species) in the European Union Natura 2000 (N2K) network (3018 sites) changed in response to increases in temperature over 25

Circulatory failure is considered one of the entities of the post cardiac arrest syndrome contributing to poor outcome. It is reported at 15-70% of all patients successfully resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The pathophysiologic mechanism is attributed to limitation of cell metabolism due to inadequate supply of oxygen, caused by pump or conduction failure within the cardiov

Background: Absence seizures (petit mal seizures) are characterized by a brief loss of consciousness without loss of postural tone. The disease is diagnosed by an electroencephalogram (EEG) showing spike–wave discharges (SWD) caused by hypersynchronous thalamocortical (TC) oscillations. There has been an explosion of research highlighting the role of astrocytes in supporting and modulating neurona

BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitation is central in reducing mortality and morbidity after myocardial infarction. However, the fulfillment of guideline-recommended cardiac rehabilitation targets is unsatisfactory. eHealth offers new possibilities to improve clinical care.OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the effect of a web-based application designed to support adherence to lifestyle advice and se

The spinal cord is engaged in all forms of motor performance but its functions are far from understood. Because network connectivity defines function, we explored the connectivity of muscular, tendon, and tactile sensory inputs among a wide population of spinal interneurons in the lower cervical segments. Using low noise intracellular whole cell recordings in the decerebrated, non-anesthetized cat

The Sda histo-blood group antigen (GalNAcβ1-4(NeuAcα2-3)Galβ-R) is implicated in various infections and constitutes a potential biomarker for colon cancer. Sd(a−) individuals (2–4% of Europeans) may produce anti-Sda, which can lead to incompatible blood transfusions, especially if donors with the high-expressing Sd(a++)/Cad phenotype are involved. We previously reported the association of B4GALNT2

BACKGROUND: First-in-human studies to test the efficacy and safety of human embryonic stem cells (hESC)-derived dopaminergic cells in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) are imminent. Pre-clinical studies using hESC-derived dopamine neuron transplants in rat models have indicated that the benefits parallel those shown with fetal tissue but have thus far failed to consider how ongoing L-DOPA

While many projects have demonstrated the potential of single Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to contribute to urban climate change adaptation, the challenge now lies in moving from demonstration projects to a full-scale deployment. The aim of this research is to assess the potential for a full-scale implementation of NbS in Malmö (Sweden), and the expected benefits and co-benefits. We developed six

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) consist of a low coverage of isolated metal atoms dispersed on a metal substrate, called single-atom alloys (SAAs), or alternatively single metal atoms coordinated to oxygen atoms on an oxide support. We present the synthesis of a new type of Co1Cu SAC centers on a Cu2O(111) support by means of a site-selective atomic layer deposition technique. Isolated metallic Co at

The great development of the food industry in the last few years and the increase of the global food trade have highlighted the importance of developing reliable safety assessment and the establishment of strict directives in order to assure its correct performance and the security of consumers. In this sense, the application of nanotechnology has played an important role to carry out very sensiti

An implementation of a self-tuning regulator is described. The regulator algorithm consists of two steps. Firstly the parameters of a model of the process are estimated in real time using the method of least squares. Secondly a minimum variance regulator based on the estimated parameters is computed at each sampling interval. Implementation of the algorithm on a process computer is discussed. Ques

The motivation for this work has been to simplify the design of regulators for industrial processes. The regulators designed can be regarded as self-tuning regulators. They will serve as a substitute for the time-consuming process of plant experiments, parameter estimation and control design. The regulators can also be used as adaptive regulators for processes with slowly varying parameters. The p