Singlet-singlet (S-S) and singlet-triplet (S-T) exciton annihilation was studied in poly(3-2(')-methoxy-5(')octylphenyl)thiophene films. For the S-S exciton annihilation studies, transient absorption spectroscopy at excitation laser pulse fluences of 1.2x10(13)-4.4x10(14) photons/cm(2) and 2.5 kHz pulse repetition rate was applied. The obtained kinetics demonstrate a typical nonexponential charact

Age-dependent associations between type 1 diabetes risk genes HLA, INS VNTR, and CTLA-4 and autoantibodies to GAD65 (GADAs), ICA512/IA-2, insulin, and islet cells were determined by logistic regression analysis in 971 incident patients with type 1 diabetes and 702 control subjects aged 0-34 years. GADAs were associated with HLA-DQ2 in young but not in older patients (P = 0.009). Autoantibodies to

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We investigated the potential role of Antarctic tourism in the introduction of human-associated pathogens into Antarctic wildlife. We collected and analyzed 233 fecal samples from eight bird species. The samples were collected at six localities on the Antarctic Peninsula, which often is visited by tourists. Every sample was investigated for pathogens of potential human origin: Campylobacter jejuni

Straw was evaluated as a biofilm carrier in the methanogenic stage of the two-stage anaerobic digestion of crop residues. Three reactor configurations were studied, a straw-packed-bed reactor, a glass packed-bed reactor and a reactor containing suspended plastic carriers. The reactor with the packed straw bed showed the best results. It had the highest methane production, 5.4 11(-1) d(-1), and the

A laterally extensive and conspicuously smooth erosional surface is exposed near the Wenlock-Ludlow boundary on east-central Gotland, Sweden. It occurs in the reef complex area of a carbonate platform, has an undulating topography, and separates truncated bioherms and biostromes from overlying allochthonous high energy deposits. On a basin regional scale, the surface is associated to a shift from

One out of ten cases of acute pancreatitis develops into severe acute pancreatitis which is a life threatening disorder with a high mortality rate. The other nine cases are self limiting and need very little therapy. The specificity of good clinical judgement on admission, concerning the prognosis of the attack, is high (high specificity) but misses a lot of severe cases (low sensitivity). The pre

Objectives. To explore whether a reduced lung function is a risk factor for developing diabetes and insulin resistance (IR), and whether such relationship contributes to the largely unexplained association between lung function and incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Design. Forced vital capacity (FVC) was assessed at baseline. Incidence of diabetes and IR [according to the homeostasis mod

For at least a decade, no new drug principles have been added to the therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with or suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Theoretically, there seem to be several possibilities to improve the current treatment, which is based mainly on alpha1-adrenoceptor (AR) antagonists, 5alpha-reductase inhibitors

Up to date SNOM tips have. been prepared from SiO2 based materials using etching or locally melt fibre's stretching for tip sharpening [1,2] Usage of other metal oxides has been restricted because of the lack Of methods for obtaining the tips with suitable geometrical configuration. In our previous work we have proposed the technique for preparing transparent and electroconductive SnO2 fibres and

The reaction pathways in the ammoxidation of propene and of propane over an Sb-V-oxide catalyst were studied by analyzing the modes of transient responses of reactants and products resulting from step changes from inert gas to reactant feed. The pathway from propane to acrylonitrile begins with the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to form propene. After readsorption, the propene is then transf

This paper presents a novel approach to the modeling of failure of finger-joints in glued-laminated beams. A nonlinear strain-softening model with stochastic material parameters was used to characterize the failure zone of the finger-joint. Monte Carlo simulations of the behavior of finger-joint laminations and of laminated beams were performed using the finite-element method. Various lamination t