General-purpose Monte Carlo event generators have become important tools in particle physics, allowing the simulation of exclusive hadronic final states. In this article we examine the PYTHIA 8 generator, in particular focusing on its parton-shower algorithms. Some relevant new additions to the code are introduced, that should allow for a better description of data. We also implement and compare w

In order to fully understand pathogen induced natural variation in fitness in wild animal populations it is important to identify and study the degree of non-synonymous alleles in genes that code for components of the immune system. This study investigates the degree of natural genetic variation at 6 innate immune genes belonging to the -defensin family within a single population of birds, the gre

Nuclides that are considered to be isotopes of element Z = 115 were produced in the reaction 48Ca + 243Am at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung Darmstadt. The detector setup TASISpec was used. It was mounted behind the gas-filled separator TASCA. Thirty correlated α-decay chains were found, and the energies of the particles were determined with high precision. Two important spectros

The HECT-type E3 ligase Itch is increasingly being shown to have a vital role in immune regulation. Itch deficiency leads to deleterious inflammatory disorders both in mice and humans. By adding ubiquitin to the key signaling intermediates, Itch functions as a critical regulator of lymphocyte-cell activation, differentiation and immune tolerance. Also, Itch cooperates with deubiquitinating enzymes

Reformulation strategies for solving Fitch’s paradox of knowability date back to Edgington. Their core assumption is that the formula \ , from which the paradox originates, does not correctly express the intended meaning of the verification thesis , which should concern possible knowledge of actual truths, and therefore the contradiction does not represent a logical refutation of verificationism.

Bats are mammals of chief conservation concern and also represent potentially powerful bio-indicators. Surveying bats is thus an important task but the approaches adopted may either be too invasive (capture) or prone to identification errors (acoustic methods). We here report on the use of a photographic trap to survey bat species richness we tested at two drinking sites in central Italy. The spec

Abstract is not available

The comparative and combined effects of nitric oxide (NO) and higher alkanes on methane oxidation were examined by experimentation and kinetic modeling. Experiments were conducted using fuel-lean, lower-alkanes mixtures with NO (0-400 ppm v/v) in an atmospheric flow reactor at residence time of 2 s over the temperature range of 820-950 K. NO was found to greatly promote methane conversion, and its

Phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase (PIPK) is an enzyme involved in the regulation of cellular levels of phosphoinositides involved in various physiological processes, such as cytoskeletal organization, ion channel activation, and vesicle trafficking. In animals, research has focused on the modes of activation and function of PIPKs, providing an understanding of the importance of plasma membrane

A high level of galectin-3-binding protein (G3BP) appears to distinguish circulating cell-derived microparticles in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study is to characterize the population of G3BP-positive microparticles from SLE patients compared to healthy controls, explore putative clinical correlates, and examine if G3BP is present in immune complex deposits in kidney biopsi

Studying the evaporation process and its link to the atmospheric circulation is central for a better understanding of the feedbacks between the surface water components and the atmosphere. In this study, we use 5 months of deuterium excess (d) measurements at the hourly to daily timescale from a cavity ring-down laser spectrometer to characterise the evaporation source of low-level continental wat

Background: Results from several cohort and case-control studies suggest a protective association between current alcohol intake and risk of thyroid carcinoma, but the epidemiological evidence is not completely consistent and several questions remain unanswered. Methods: The association between alcohol consumption at recruitment and over the lifetime and risk of differentiated thyroid carcinoma wa

Based on its outstanding antifungal properties, it is reasonable to believe that fengycin might be efficient to topically treat localized dermatomycoses. Since most of the fungi species involved in the formation of those mycotic skin diseases colonize primarily the stratum corneum (SC), studying the interaction between fengycin and SC-mimicking lipid membranes is a primary step to determine the po

The national identity of the source culture often constitutes an important hermeneutic frame from which a translated text is understood. At the same time, literary texts themselves sometimes have a tendency to resist cultural narratives and stereotypical ideas of a certain nation. This article explores how such a resistance is made in the English translations of four Swedish novels from the 1930s.

Rye bran was added to frankfurter-type sausages and meatballs with the aim of producing low-fat products with increased dietary fibre content. The addition of untreated rye bran to sausages was detrimental, causing a substantial increase in frying loss (20% compared to 13.2%). The addition of rye bran treated with hydrolytic enzymes reduced the frying loss to 15.2-16.4%. The firmness was also impr

Aim: Although prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening reduces mortality from prostate cancer, substantial over-diagnosis and subsequent overtreatment are concerns. Early screening of men for PSA may serve to stratify the male population by risk of future clinical prostate cancer. Methods and material: Case-control study nested within the Danish 'Diet, Cancer and Health' cohort of 27,179 men aged

According to a widely held assumption, the main mechanism underlying motor learning in the cerebellum, such as eyeblink conditioning, is long-term depression (LTD) of parallel fibre to Purkinje cell synapses. Here we review some recent physiological evidence from Purkinje cell recordings during conditioning with implications for models of conditioning. We argue that these data pose four major chal

Epidemiological studies suggest health-protective effects of flavan-3-ols and their derived compounds on chronic diseases. The present study aimed to estimate dietary flavan-3-ol, proanthocyanidin (PA) and theaflavin intakes, their food sources and potential determinants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) calibration cohort. Dietary data were collected using