What is the relationship between ballot reforms and electoral malpractice? This article contributes to the growing comparative politics literature on the causes of election fraud in democratizing countries using the case of the 19th-century United States. We examine the adoption of the Australian ballot and disenfranchisement laws, and estimate their effects on multiple types of election fraud. Us

Tortuosity is a measure of the geometric complexity of the porous media. Knowing the tortuosity value of the porous media is helpful to get detailed information about the fluid behavior at microscale. In order to calculate the tortuosity, the velocity field of the fluid troughthe porous media is determined using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The particle size of the obstacles is varied, keep

In this work, we present a detailed investigation of the growth of palladium-seeded GaAs nanowires. Nanowires grown on GaAs (111)B substrates consist of three different morphologies, denoted as curly (containing multiple kinks), inclined (relative to the substrate, such as 〈001〉), and vertical. We show that the relative yield of the different types is controllable by a combination of V/III ratio a

Technology scaling in advanced CMOS nodes has been very successful in reducing the cost and increasing the operating frequency, however, it has also resulted in reduced transistor intrinsic gain and increased thermal noise coefficient, and most importantly, deteriorated linearity performance. At the same time, advanced wireless communication standards offer ever increasing data rates and pose more

This thesis deals with the development and application of new estimation approaches based on factor analysis for estimation and inference in dynamic panel data models with fixed-effects. A new factor analytical method (FA) for the estimation of fixed-effects dynamic panel data models is proposed in Bai ("Fixed-Effects Dynamic Panel Models, A Factor Analytical Method". Econometrica 81, 285-314, 201

There are many studies portraying iron (Fe) and nitrogen (N)-functionalzed carbon as an electrocatalyst along with possible elucidation of catalytically active sites. Despite continuous controversial debate on the active sites/species, the presence of N is believed to be undeniably needed for the efficient catalysis, whereas the necessity and role of Fe are still debated. To clearly understand the

Because incubation by birds is energetically costly, parents frequently trade off investment in incubation against self-maintenance. This can be manifested by a reduction in incubation temperature, which comes at high somatic costs for nestlings. The extent to which these costs constrain fitness is poorly understood. We incubated wild blue tit clutches at three biologically relevant temperatures aBecause incubation by birds is energetically costly, parents frequently trade off investment in incubation against self-maintenance. This can be manifested by a reduction in incubation temperature, which comes at high somatic costs for nestlings. The extent to which these costs constrain fitness is poorly understood. We incubated wild blue tit clutches at three biologically relevant temperatures a

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Acute lesions in patients with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) are important as they are associated with increased risk for recurrence. Characteristics associated with acute lesions in young TIA patients were therefore investigated.METHODS: The sifap1 study prospectively recruited a multinational European cohort (n = 5023) of patients aged 18-55 years with acute cerebrovas

AIMS: Hemiarthroplasty of the hip is usually carried out through either a direct lateral or posterior approach. The aim of this prospective observational study was to determine any differences in patient-reported outcomes between the two surgical approaches.PATIENTS AND METHODS: From the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register we identified patients of 70 years and above who were recorded as having had

Nursing homes are a setting in which death and dying is common. How death and dying is articulated and the actions that take place in a nursing home constitute a discourse that guides the staff in their work. The aim of this study was to explore the discourse of death and dying in nursing homes from the perspective and understanding of the staff. The study draws on Foucault’s discourse analysis. D

BACKGROUND: Routine thrombus aspiration during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) did not reduce the primary composite endpoint in the "A Randomised Trial of Routine Aspiration ThrOmbecTomy With PCI Versus PCI ALone in Patients With STEMI Undergoing Primary PCI" (TOTAL) trial. We aimed to analyse a similar endpoint in "The Thrombus Aspira

Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) is highly prevalent among elderly patients. It can be difficult to distinguish ABU from symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) in this population, which leads to unnecessary antibiotic treatment. Urinary heparin-binding protein (U-HBP) and urinary interleukin-6 (U-IL-6) have previously been studied as diagnostic markers for UTI. In this study, biomarkers were meas

According to current models of hematopoiesis, lymphoid-primed multi-potent progenitors (LMPPs) (Lin(-)Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+)CD34(+)Flt3(hi)) and common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) (Lin(-)Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+)CD34(+)CD41(hi)) establish an early branch point for separate lineage-commitment pathways from hematopoietic stem cells, with the notable exception that both pathways are proposed to generate all myeloid

The focus of this paper is to explore better strategies for optimising bone strength and reducing risk of fracture, while at the same time decreasing risk of cardiovascular disease. The majority of Americans do not consume the current recommended dietary allowance for calcium, and the lifetime risk of osteoporosis is about 50%. However, traditional mononutrient calcium supplements may not be ideal