Evolvability is the capacity of a population to generate heritable variation that can be acted upon by natural selection. This ability influences the adaptations and fitness of individual organisms. By viewing this capacity as a trait, evolvability is subject to natural selection and thus plays a critical role in eco-evolutionary dynamics. Understanding this role provides insight into how species

Most antibodies produced in the body are of the IgA class. The dominant cell population producing them are plasma cells within the lamina propria of the gastrointestinal tract, but many IgA-producing cells are also found in the airways, within mammary tissues, the urogenital tract and inside the bone marrow. Most IgA antibodies are transported into the lumen by epithelial cells as part of the muco

When looking at language historically, one Ànds that many words are derived from more complex constructions. For instance, in English, never used to be ›not ever‹ (Old English ne æfre), and maybe means ›it may be that‹; a rather bizarre case is ampersand (the name of the character ›&‹), which apparently is derived from ›and per se and‹. In today’s English, we accept these words as fully legitiOn-Going Change in English Modality: Emancipation Through Frequency The English modal expressions BE going to, HAVE got to, and want to are often contracted to gonna, gotta, and wanna in spoken language. These contracted forms have gained both in frequency and conventionality in recent times.In this article, I present an investigation into the status of the contractions between phonetic reduction

Solutions of macromolecules exhibit viscoelastic properties and unlike Newtonian fluids, they may break time-reversal symmetry at low Reynolds numbers resulting in elastic turbulence. Furthermore, under some conditions, instead of the chaotic turbulence, the result is large-scale waves in the form of cyclic spatial and temporal concentration variations, as has been shown for macromolecular DNA flo

Introduction: Bedwetting, also known as enuresis, is the second most common chronic health problem among children and it affects their everyday life negatively. A first-line treatment option is the enuresis alarm. This method entails the child being awoken by a detector and alarm unit upon urination at night, thereby changing their arousal mechanisms and potentially curing them after 6–8 weeks of

Using the configuration constrained, cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky model, we point to a mechanism that could explain why identical bands are much more likely to occur in superdeformed than in normal-deformed nuclei. The role of the high-N orbitals in the superdeformed configuration is stressed, and correlated with the observed peaks in the fractional change distribution of the script J sign(2) moment

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become a safe procedure. However, complications occur, including uncommon complications such as valve malposition, which requires the implantation of an additional rescue valve (rescue-AV). The aim was to study the occurrence and outcomes of rescue-AV in a nationwide registry. Methods: The Swedish national TAVI registry was used as the

Amassing the available solar energy over the Sahara desert, through the installation of a large-scale solar farm, would satisfy the world’s current electricity needs. However, such land use changes may affect the global carbon cycle, possibly offsetting mitigation efforts. Here a fully coupled Earth System model EC-Earth was used to investigate the impact of a Saharan solar farm on the terrestrial

One example of a PET exam that suffers from noise problems is [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC, where patients are generally administered between 100 and 200 MBq [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC, irrespective of size. However, a fixed activity can result in low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) in larger patients. This study aimed to evaluate the impact on image quality with respect to injected activity and patient habitus through

Trackwork planning and scheduling are demanding because they require strategic foresight and must be completed well in advance. In Sweden, trackwork is performed by maintenance contracting companies during an operation period free from trains. In the contractors’ practice, once the maintenance plan is authorised, some unexpected events might interrupt the plan’s execution, leading to uncertainties

If human behavior is to become more sustainable, people will have to be willing to sacrifice personal gains and benefits for the sake of sustainability. Decisions will have to involve making tradeoffs between what is good for the self and what is good for sustainability. In the present paper, we studied the psychology of such tradeoffs in the context of a carbon dioxide (CO2) emission versus trave

In this article, Mats Bemark and Tomas Leanderson discuss the levels at which immunoglobulin gene transcription is controlled, and highlight the complex nature and mode of action of immunoglobulin promoters.

Low-coordinate surface sites, such as those present on high-index step edges, often exhibit chemical reactivity that markedly differs from more close-packed facets. To understand the site-specific reactivity, insight into the three-dimensional atomic arrangement of step edges is needed. Here, we employ atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of nanoparticles in combination with sc

Somatic hypermutation and isotype switch recombination occur in germinal center B cells, are linked to transcription, and are similarly affected by deficiency in MutS homologue (MSH)2. Class-switch recombination is abrogated by disruption of genes encoding components of the catalytic subunit of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK(cs))/Ku complex and likely involves nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ

Manganese dioxide is a good candidate for effective energy storage and conversion as it possesses rich electrochemistry. The compound also shows a wide polymorphism. The γ-variety, an intergrowth of β- and R-MnO2, has been extensively studied in several types of batteries (e.g., Zn/MnO2, Li-ion) and is a common electrode material for commercial batteries. It is well known that the insertion of pro

Dense colloidal dispersions exhibit complex wave-vector-dependent diffusion, which is controlled by both direct particle interactions and indirect nonadditive hydrodynamic interactions mediated by the solvent. In bulk the hydrodynamic interactions are probed routinely, but in confined geometries their studies have been hitherto hindered by additional complications due to confining walls. Here we s

A literature review and statistical analysis of the potential of agricultural residual waste as building materials in South Sweden was carried out. This data showed that there is a clear capacity for the use of mainly straw-generating crops as building materials in the region.A literature review and statistical analysis of the potential of agricultural residual waste as building materials in South Sweden was carried out. This data showed that there is a clear capacity for the use of mainly straw-generating crops as building materials in the region.

Managed bee species provide essential pollination services that contribute to food security worldwide. However, managed bees face a diverse array of threats and anticipating these, and potential opportunities to reduce risks, is essential for the sustainable management of pollination services. We conducted a horizon scanning exercise with 20 experts from across Europe to identify emerging threats

The global demand for ultralow-temperature (ULT) refrigeration units gets greatly promoted, for storage, transportation, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. In this work, a ULT freezer is developed with a cascade refrigeration system (CRS) utilizing environmentally friendly refrigerants R290 and R170. The performance of the ULT freezer is experimentally evaluated under different ambient tempera