Mine Herrer og Venner. Handelsnettverk i Bergen ca. 1750-1801

For å være en vellykket kjøpmann i tidlig moderne Europa måtte en kunne disponere et nettverk av kunder og leverandører. Denne oppgaven vil vise hvordan to handelshus i siste halvdelen av 1700-tallet i Bergen brukte sine respektive nettverk til å ble noen av mest vellykkede og rikeste kjøpmennene i byen. Bergen hadde i flere århundrer vært koblet sammen med et internasjonalt handelsnettverk med hanseatiske byer takket være byens status som mellommann for salg av fisk fra Nord-Norge. Men etter lengre tid med forvitring stengte det hanseatiske Kontor i 1754 på grunn av at handelen i større grad var i byens handelsborgerskaps hender. Samme år ble det Norske Kontor stiftet av tidligere hanseater og lokale kjøpmenn, og gamle hanseatiske metoder og det gamle kontorets organiseringsform ble ivaretatt. Hildebrand Harmens og Herman D. Janson var to kjøpmenn som tok forskjellige stier for å etablere seg i utenlandshandelen. Harmens var sønnen til en tysk innvandrer som etablerte seg etter å ha gått i lære under Kontoret. Gjennom hans eget arbeid og ved å kjøpe andre kjøpmenns forretninger utvidet gradvis Harmens sitt handelsnettverk. Janson var sønn av en nederlandsk innvandrer, og var utdannet som skipskaptein. Som kaptein jobbet han blant annet for den betydelige kjøpmannen Danckert D. Krohn. Krohn likte den unge kapteinen, og ville at han skulle gifte seg med broren Wollert Krohns eneste datter. Når Jansons nye familie overlot ham deler av deres forretninger etablerte Jansons seg i utenlandshandelen med et nettverk av kontakter og infrastrukturen til et handelshus allerede på plass. Fra både Harmens og Janson er det bevart kopibøker der alle deres utgående brev til kontakter over hele Europa er lagret. Ved hjelp av vennskap, kjøp av andre kjøpmenns bedrifter og en pragmatisk bruk av familie kunne de to kjøpmennene ekspandere sine handelshus selv i en tid preget av konstant urolighet i store deler av Europa.To be a successful merchant in the early modern Europe one had to rely on a network of contacts, both as customers and suppliers. This thesis will show how two traders in late 18th century Bergen used their respective networks to become some of the richest and most successful merchants in the city in this period. The city of Bergen had for centuries been connected to a trade network of hanseatic cities thanks to the city's connection with dry-fish supplied from the northern parts of Norway. But after a period of decline the hanseatic Kontor in Bergen was closed in 1754 after a period where more and more of the city's trade were in the hands of its own people. In its wake a new Kontor was established by former hansa-merchants and local Norwegian merchants, and the former hanseatic techniques and methods were kept alive. Hildebrand Harmens and Herman D. Janson were two merchants who took different paths in establishing their respective businesses. Harmens was the son of a German immigrant who established himself by going through an apprenticeship at the Kontor. Through his own work and purchasing other merchant's businesses Harmens gradually expanded his trade and his network of contacts. Janson, the son of a Dutch immigrant, was educated as a ship captain, and worked for the prominent merchant, agent and ship-owner Danckert D. Krohn. Krohn took a liking to the young captain and wanted him married to his brother Wollert's only daughter. When his new family left him parts of their trade businesses Janson established his own business with a network of contacts and an infrastructure for successful trade already in place. From both Harmens and Janson remains archives of the outgoing letters sent to their trade contacts and partners throughout Europe, through which we can understand what their network connections were based on. These letterbooks form the basis of this thesis. From friendships, purchases of other merchants' businesses and a pragmatic use of familial connections the two merchants were able to expand and grow their business of foreign trade, even in an era of war almost constantly affecting large parts of Europe, until the wars on the continent also spread to Denmark-Norway.Master i HistorieMAHF-HISHIS35

Evidence for three genetic loci involved in both anorexia nervosa risk and variation of body mass index

The maintenance of normal body weight is disrupted in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) for prolonged periods of time. Prior to the onset of AN, premorbid body mass index (BMI) spans the entire range from underweight to obese. After recovery, patients have reduced rates of overweight and obesity. As such, loci involved in body weight regulation may also be relevant for AN and vice versa. Our primary analysis comprised a cross-trait analysis of the 1000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the lowest p-values in a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of AN (GCAN) for evidence of association in the largest published GWAMA for BMI (GIANT). Subsequently we performed sex-stratified analyses for these 1000 SNPs. Functional ex vivo studies on four genes ensued. Lastly, a look-up of GWAMA-derived BMI related loci was performed in the AN GWAMA. We detected significant associations (p-values < 5×10−5, Bonferroni corrected p < 0.05) for 9 SNP alleles at 3 independent loci. Interestingly, all AN susceptibility alleles were consistently associated with increased BMI. None of the genes (chr. 10: CTBP2, chr. 19: CCNE1, chr. 2: CARF and NBEAL1; the latter is a region with high linkage disequilibrium) nearest to these SNPs has previously been associated with AN or obesity. Sex-stratified analyses revealed that the strongest BMI signal originated predominantly from females (chr. 10 rs1561589; poverall: 2.47 × 10−06/pfemales: 3.45 × 10−07/pmales: 0.043). Functional ex vivo studies in mice revealed reduced hypothalamic expression of Ctbp2 and Nbeal1 after fasting. Hypothalamic expression of Ctbp2 was increased in diet induced obese (DIO) mice as compared to age-matched lean controls. We observed no evidence for associations for the look-up of BMI related loci in the AN GWAMA. A cross-trait analysis of AN and BMI loci revealed variants at three chromosomal loci with potential joint impact. The chromosome 10 locus is particularly promising given that the association with obesity was primarily driven by females. In addition, the detected altered hypothalamic expression patterns of Ctbp2 and Nbeal1 as a result of fasting and DIO implicate these genes in weight regulation

Dissecting the physiology and pathophysiology of glucagon-like peptide-1

Copyright © 2018 Paternoster and Falasca. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. An aging world population exposed to a sedentary life style is currently plagued by chronic metabolic diseases, such as type-2 diabetes, that are spreading worldwide at an unprecedented rate. One of the most promising pharmacological approaches for the management of type 2 diabetes takes advantage of the peptide hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) under the form of protease resistant mimetics, and DPP-IV inhibitors. Despite the improved quality of life, long-term treatments with these new classes of drugs are riddled with serious and life-threatening side-effects, with no overall cure of the disease. New evidence is shedding more light over the complex physiology of GLP-1 in health and metabolic diseases. Herein, we discuss the most recent advancements in the biology of gut receptors known to induce the secretion of GLP-1, to bridge the multiple gaps into our understanding of its physiology and pathology