While intercellular communication processes are frequently characterized by switch-like transitions, the endocrine system, including the adipose tissue response to insulin, has been characterized by graded responses. Yet here individual cells from adipose tissue biopsies are best described by a switch-like transition between the basal and insulin-stimulated states for the trafficking of the glucos

Ischemic stroke, resulting from occlusion of a brain artery is the most common type of stroke with a prevalence of 15 million people and the leading cause of long-term disability worldwide. Importantly, partial spontaneous recovery of lost neurological functions occurs mainly during the first months after stroke onset, albeit to a limited extent. Recovery has been attributed to mechanisms of compe

Transient heat and mass transport in a wall-cooled tubular catalytic bed reactor is numerically investigated. A two-dimensional pseudo-heterogeneous model, accounting for transport in the solid and fluid phases, with axial and radial dispersions is used to describe transport in the reactor. The effects of inlet process conditions, viz., temperature and concentration, are investigated and their imp

A search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The datasets used correspond to integrated luminosities of approximately 4.8 fb(-1) collected at, root s = 7 TeV in 2011 and 5.8 fb(-1) at root s = 8 TeV in 2012. Individual searches in the channels H -> ZZ(()*()) -> 4l, H -> gamma gamma and H -> WW (()*()) -> ev mu v in the 8 T

We report on extending hard X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) along with resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) to study ultrafast phenomena in a pump-probe scheme at MHz repetition rates. The investigated systems include low-spin (LS) Fe-II complex compounds, where optical pulses induce a spin-state transition to their (sub)nanosecond-lived high-spin (HS) state. Time-resolved XES clearly refl

The thesis shows how different aspects of sustainable development have been handled or not handled in the third generation infrastructure development in Sweden. The difference between the design of the 3G development - emphasizing competition, growth and regional access, based on a strong technological optimism - and the implementation, as the roll out struck the landscape, including the non-handl

Sixty genetic loci associated with abdominal obesity, measured by waist circumference (WC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR), have been previously identified, primarily from studies conducted in European-ancestry populations. We conducted a meta-analysis of associations of abdominal obesity with approximately 2.5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among 53,052 (for WC) and 48,312 (for WHR) ind

Background: The relation between vitamin D status and lymphoma risk is inconclusive. Objective: We examined the association between prediagnostic plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and lymphoid cancer risk. Design: We conducted a study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort of 1127 lymphoma cases and 1127 matched controls with a mean follow-up time

Transport biofuels are currently the subject of heated debate in the EU. In the past decade the deployment of these technologies has been justified by claims of attractive environmental, geopolitical and rural development benefits. However, expectations have rapidly turned into deep criticism regarding the sustainability of these technologies and the desirability of pursuing the biofuel path. This

Many scholars and philosophers inspired by Antiquity, have commented upon a transformation of lived religion and a changing picture and technology of the Self during Late Antiquity. The Nag Hammadi Library contains a diverse body of thought and it is here argued that these texts are found in the epicentre of Late Antique conversion of religion and Self, containing important illustrations of new em

Background : In order to increase access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV-infected children, paediatric HIV care has been introduced in health centres in Ethiopia, where patients are managed by health professionals with limited training. Objective : To compare outcomes of paediatric HIV care in hospital and health centre clinics and to determine risk factors for death and loss to follow-up (

The technique of time-resolved pump-probe x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using the free-electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH) is described in detail. Particular foci lie on the macrobunch resolving detection scheme, the role of vacuum space-charge effects and the synchronization of pump and probe lasers. In an exemplary case study, the complete Ta 4f core-level dynamics in the layered charge-density

BACKGROUND: In some animal studies, perfluorinated alkyl substances are suggested to induce weight gain. Human epidemiological studies investigating these associations are sparse. OBJECTIVE: We examined pregnancy serum concentrations of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluoro-octane sulfonate (PFOS) and the prevalence of offspring overweight (> 1 SD) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) > 0.5 at 5-9 y

Objectives To determine the prevalence of HIV and related behavioural risks among Iranian female sex workers (FSW) via the first national biobehavioural surveillance survey. Methods In 2010, 1005 FSW were approached and 872 recruited using facility-based sampling from 21 sites in 14 cities in Iran. We collected dried blood samples and conducted face-to-face interviews using a standardised question

In his original contribution, Exner's principal concern was a comparison between the properties of different aftereffects, and particularly to determine whether aftereffects of motion were similar to those of color and whether they could be encompassed within a unified physiological framework. Despite the fact that he was unable to answer his main question, there are some excellent-so far unknown-

ObjectiveTo examine the frequency, characteristics, and outcome of mood disorders, as well as clinical and autoantibody associations, in a multiethnic/racial, prospective inception cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). MethodsPatients were assessed annually for mood disorders (4 types, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) and

We designed and investigated four-arm nanostructures, composed of two perpendicularly crossed stripes, fabricated from ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As layer by means of electron-beam lithography patterning and chemical etching. The nanostructures exhibit a bistable resistance behavior resulting from two configurations of magnetic domain walls in the central part of the structures. We demonstrate a possibi

Reproductive investment decisions form an integral part of life-history biology. Selection frequently favours plasticity in investment that can generate maternal effects on offspring development. For example, if females differentially allocate resources based on mate attractiveness or quality, this can create a non-genetic link between mate attractiveness and offspring fitness with potential conse

Objective: Different hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function tests are used for diagnosing disease and evaluating suppressive effects of corticosteroid treatment. Our objectives were to evaluate sensitivity and precision of different HPA axis tests to be able to select one that combines good performance with good practicability, suitable for investigation of new corticosteroids in clini