Growth of diabetes drug expenditure decomposed-A nationwide analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to quantify different factors underlying the growth of diabetes drug expenditure in Finland.

Methods: Data representing purchases of antidiabetic agents between 2003 and 2015 were extracted from a nationwide prescription register. By using Fisher's Ideal Indexes, the per capita expenditure growth for both insulins and non-insulin antidiabetic agents was decomposed into six different determinants: purchase volume, purchase size, switches between therapeutic classes, switches within therapeutic classes, unit costs and switches to generic alternatives.

Genome sequencing and population genomic analyses provide insights into the adaptive landscape of silver birch.

Silver birch (Betula pendula) is a pioneer boreal tree that can be induced to flower within 1 year. Its rapid life cycle, small (440-Mb) genome, and advanced germplasm resources make birch an attractive model for forest biotechnology. We assembled and chromosomally anchored the nuclear genome of an inbred B.

Peroxidase-Generated Apoplastic ROS Impair Cuticle Integrity and Contribute to DAMP-Elicited Defenses.

Cuticular defects trigger a battery of reactions including enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. However, the source of ROS generated by such impaired cuticles has remained elusive. Here, we report the characterization of mutant, a () - overexpressing line that demonstrates enhanced defense responses that result both from increased accumulation of ROS and permeability of the leaf cuticle.

ERD15--an attenuator of plant ABA responses and stomatal aperture.

Plants are continuously challenged by abiotic and biotic stress factors and need to mount appropriate responses to ensure optimal growth and survival. We have identified ERD15 as a central component in several stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Comparative genomics demonstrates that ERD15 is a member of a small but highly conserved protein family ubiquitous but specific to the plant kingdom.

Requirement of a homolog of glucosidase II beta-subunit for EFR-mediated defense signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana.

EFR is a plasma-membrane resident receptor responsible for recognition of microbial elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and thus triggering plant innate immunity to fend off phytopathogens. Functional EFR must be subject to the endoplasmic reticulum quality control (ERQC) machinery for the correct folding and proper assembly in order to reach its final destination. Genetic studies have demonstrated that ERD2b, a counterpart of the yeast or mammalian HDEL receptor ERD2 for retaining proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen, is required for EFR function in plants (Li et al.

Blood pressure is lower in children and adolescents with a low-saturated-fat diet since infancy: the special turku coronary risk factor intervention project.

Blood pressure was measured in the prospective randomized Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project Study with an oscillometric method every year from 7 months to 15 years of age in 540 children receiving a low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol diet and in 522 control children. Dietary intakes, family history of parental hypertension, and grandparental vascular disease were recorded. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 1.

Wireless and inductively powered implant for measuring electrocardiogram.

The development of an active implantable device for measuring electrocardiogram (ECG) is presented. The study is a part of a project which aims at developing implantable ECG instrumentation with wireless data and power transfer ( http://www.ele.

Acceleration of ethanol and acetaldehyde oxidation by D-glycerate in rats.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether d-glycerate (glycerate) could accelerate ethanol and acetaldehyde (AcH) oxidation in vivo in rats by circumventing the rate-limiting step, that is, the reoxidation of the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. Male rats belonging to the ANA (Alko, nonalcohol) and AA (Alko, alcohol) rat lines were challenged with 1.2 g ethanol per kilogram with or without glycerate administration (0.

EARLY RESPONSIVE TO DEHYDRATION 15, a negative regulator of abscisic acid responses in Arabidopsis.

EARLY RESPONSIVE TO DEHYDRATION 15 (ERD15) is rapidly induced in response to various abiotic and biotic stress stimuli in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Modulation of ERD15 levels by overexpression or RNAi silencing altered the responsiveness of the transgenic plants to the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). Overexpression of ERD15 reduced the ABA sensitivity of Arabidopsis manifested in decreased drought tolerance and in impaired ability of the plants to increase their freezing tolerance in response to this hormone.

Differential responses of silver birch (Betula pendula) ecotypes to short-day photoperiod and low temperature.

We investigated interrelations of dormancy and freezing tolerance and the role of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) in the development of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) ecotypes in controlled environments. Short-day treatment induced growth cessation, bud set and dormancy development, as well as initiation of cold acclimation and an increase in freezing tolerance. Subsequent low temperature and short days (12-h photoperiod) resulted in a significant increase in freezing tolerance, whereas bud dormancy was gradually released.

Short-day potentiation of low temperature-induced gene expression of a C-repeat-binding factor-controlled gene during cold acclimation in silver birch.

Development of winter hardiness in trees is a two-stage process involving sequential perception of distinct environmental cues, short-day (SD) photoperiod and low temperature (LT). We have shown that both SD and LT are recognized by leaves of silver birch (Betula pendula cv Roth) leading to increased freezing tolerance, and thus leaves can be used as an experimental model to study the physiological and molecular events taking place during cold acclimation. To obtain a molecular marker for the acclimation process in birch we cloned a gene, designated Bplti36, encoding a 36-kD acidic SK2 type of dehydrin.

Overexpression of multiple dehydrin genes enhances tolerance to freezing stress in Arabidopsis.

To elucidate the contribution of dehydrins (DHNs) to freezing stress tolerance in Arabidopsis, transgenic plants overexpressing multiple DHN genes were generated. Chimeric double constructs for expression of RAB18 and COR47 (pTP9) or LTI29 and LTI30 (pTP10) were made by fusing the coding sequences of the respective DHN genes to the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Overexpression of the chimeric genes in Arabidopsis resulted in accumulation of the corresponding dehydrins to levels similar or higher than in cold-acclimated wild-type plants.

Photoperiod and temperature differentially regulate the expression of two dehydrin genes during overwintering of birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.).

The overwintering of trees in northern areas depends on processes regulated by photoperiod and temperature. To identify the physiological and genetic factors involved in this environmental control, three latitudinal ecotypes of pubescent birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) growing in a common garden experiment were used.

Different responses of northern and southern ecotypes of Betula pendula to exogenous ABA application.

We investigated responses of northern and southern ecotypes of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) to exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) under controlled environmental conditions to determine the role of ABA in cold acclimation and dormancy development. Abscisic acid was sprayed on the leaves and changes in freezing tolerance, determined by the electrolyte leakage test, and bud dormancy were monitored. Applied ABA induced cold acclimation but had no effect on growth cessation in seedlings grown in long day conditions (LD, 24-h photoperiod at 18 degrees C).