Effects of 6 weeks of treatment with dapagliflozin, a sodium- glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor, on myocardial function and metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled, exploratory study

Aim: To explore the early effects of dapagliflozin on myocardial function and metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes without heart failure.Materials and methods: Patients with type 2 diabetes on metformin treatment were randomized to double-blind, 6-week placebo or dapagliflozin 10 mg daily treatment. Investigations included cardiac function and structure with myocardial resonance imaging; cardiac oxygen consumption, perfusion and efficiency with [11 C]-acetate positron emission tomography (PET); and cardiac and hepatic fatty acid uptake with [18 F]-6-thia-heptadecanoic acid PET, analysed by ANCOVA as least square means with 95% confidence intervals.Results: Evaluable patients (placebo: n = 24, dapagliflozin: n = 25; 53% males) had a mean age of 64.4 years, a body mass index of 30.2 kg/m2 and an HbA1c of 6.7%. Body weight and HbA1c were significantly decreased by dapagliflozin versus placebo. Dapagliflozin had no effect on myocardial efficiency, but external left ventricular (LV) work (-0.095 [-0.145, -0.043] J/g/min) and LV oxygen consumption were significantly reduced (-0.30 [-0.49, -0.12] J/g/min) by dapagliflozin, although the changes were not statistically significant versus changes in the placebo group. Change in left atrial maximal volume with dapagliflozin versus placebo was -3.19 (-6.32, -0.07) mL/m2 (p = .056). Peak global radial strain decreased with dapagliflozin versus placebo (-3.92% [-7.57%, -0.28%]; p = .035), while peak global longitudinal and circumferential strains were unchanged. Hepatic fatty acid uptake was increased by dapagliflozin versus placebo (0.024 [0.004, 0.044] μmol/g/min; p = .018), while cardiac uptake was unchanged.Conclusions: This exploratory study indicates reduced heart work but limited effects on myocardial function, efficiency and cardiac fatty acid uptake, while hepatic fatty acid uptake increased, after 6 weeks of treatment with dapagliflozin.</p

Monks &amp; Oliver: Two Sides of the Same Coin in Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist is a novel loved by many, read by more. It is a classic novel by Charles Dickens, portraying the life and hardships of a young boy named Oliver Twist, who was born in a work house. Oliver is bright and righteous, the exact opposite of his brother Edward “Monks” Leeford. This essay will follow Oliver and Monks and analyse their characters in the light of the literary hero and the literary villain and in doing so see how Dickens use the characters as literary tools to convey his view of a dark, uncaring Victorian society as well as his hopes for a brighter future. Their strong characteristics make way for a fascinating story, a story that do not only tell us about Oliver’s bravery and Monks’ egoism, but one that do also prove that they are characters created by Dickens to show both the Victorian society that he lived in as well as the society that it could become.

Drug addiction and it's place within social sience : A study about student's comprehension of drug addiction

With the purpose of creating a material for teachers to use when educating about narcotics, this study has inquired students understanding of drug addiction as well as their comprehension of the education about addiction. The understanding has then been analysed through an individual perspective and a structural perspective. The apprehension of the given education has been analysed by prevention theory. The result displays a broad spectrum of understanding, varying from a clear individual perspective to an almost exclusive structural understanding. The informants are over all in an agreement that their received education have not had any effect in particular on their comprehension of drug addiction and they require more education in the subject. Their apprehension is supported by previous studies, which show that the education given today have non to little effect on youth attitudes towards drugs. Instead, the home is mentioned as a key factor. However, three success factors are also presented which, from the students’ apprehension, with one exception are not present in their received education which could be an explanation to the lack of effect. The fact that narcotics is not prioritized within the teaching of social studies could be explained by a strong subject tradition where political science and national economics receive most attention

Svartsjuka : i relation till självkänsla, kön och relationsstatus

This quantitative study examined the relation between jealousy, self-esteem, gender and relationship status. Data was collected at Växjö University in the autumn of 2009, with two predesigned questionnaires. From the questionnaire Tennessee Self-Concept Scale created by Roid and Fitts (1988) that measures self-worth, the part Physical self was used to measure self-esteem. Jealousy was measured with the Questionnaire on the Affective Relationships designed by Marazziti et al., (2003). 188 male and female students participated of which 169 were used. A significant correlation was found between jealousy and self-esteem, where low self-esteem correlated with higher jealousy. The study rejected the existence of gender differences on jealousy. There was no evidence that individuals who date are more jealous than individuals in a relationship. The result did however showed a significant relation between jealousy and relationship status, where singles were more jealous than individuals in a relationship

Transcriptomics unravels molecular changes associated with cilia and COVID-19 in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a common upper respiratory tract complication where the pathogenesis is largely unknown. Herein, we investigated the transcriptome profile in nasal mucosa biopsies of CRSwNP patients and healthy individuals. We further integrated the transcriptomics data with genes located in chromosomal regions containing genome-wide significant gene variants for COVID-19. Among the most significantly upregulated genes in polyp mucosa were CCL18, CLEC4G, CCL13 and SLC9A3. Pathways involving "Ciliated epithelial cells" were the most differentially expressed molecular pathways when polyp mucosa and non-polyp mucosa from the same patient was compared. Natural killer T-cell (NKT) and viral pathways were the most statistically significant pathways in the mucosa of CRSwNP patients compared with those of healthy control individuals. Upregulated genes in polyp mucosa, located within the genome-wide associated regions of COVID-19, included LZTFL1, CCR9, SLC6A20, IFNAR1, IFNAR2 and IL10RB. Interestingly, the second most over-expressed gene in our study, CLEC4G, has been shown to bind directly to SARS-CoV-2 spike's N-terminal domain and mediate its entry and infection. Our results on altered expression of genes related to cilia and viruses point to the de-regulation of viral defenses in CRSwNP patients, and may give clues to future intervention strategies