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Traditional explanations for the negative fitness consequences of parasitism have focused on the direct pathogenic effects of infectious agents. However, because of the high selection pressure by the parasites, immune defences are likely to be costly and trade off with other fitness-related traits, such as reproductive effort. In a field experiment, we immunized breeding female flycatchers with no

Purpose Earlier studies have shown that endogenous gonadal hormones play an important role in the etiology of breast cancer among BRCA1/ 2 mutation carriers. So far, little is known about the safety of exogenous hormonal use in mutation carriers. In this study, we examined the association between oral contraceptive use and risk of breast cancer among BRCA1/ 2 carriers. Patients and Methods In the

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is one of the most important short-term complications to hemodialysis (HD). Inadequate cardiac filling due to a reduction in the central blood volume is believed to be a major etiological factor. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether these pathophysiologic events are reflected in the central venous oxygen saturation (ScO2) and thoracic admittance (TA) during

The concept of sustainable development at present permeates public discourse. An inter-organisational perspective can be used to analyse the processes through which this concept has found its way into policy and programme in four different settings: the United Nations, the European Communities, the government of Sweden and the city of Lund, Sweden. Although visible in treaties, laws and action pro

Molecularly imprinted nanoparticles are cross-linked polymer colloids containing tailor-made molecular recognition sites. In this study, molecularly imprinted nanoparticles were easily encapsulated within polymer nanofibers using an electrospinning technique to produce a new type of molecular recognition material. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was used as the supporting nanofibers matrix to e

It has been proposed that lack of social support in a work place characterized by high levels of stress, may increase the likelihood of future cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the prospective impact of social support at work in combination with self-reported work stress on incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in a cohort of 4707 women (mean age: 54.2 years

We present a study of Young's modulus of epitaxially grown InAs nanowires with diameters from 40 to 95 nm. The dynamic behavior of the nanowires is investigated using optical stroboscopic imaging. The Young's modulus, evaluated using the eigenfrequencies of the fundamental and the first excited modes in air, decreases for smaller diameters. To avoid the influence of the electric field on the reson

The Pegomya meridiana species group is established for three Palaearctic species that supposedly all as larvae attack seed-capsules of Hypericum spp. (Clusiaceae). Pegomya meridiana (Villeneuve) and P. provecta (Villeneuve) are widespread Eurasian species, while the third species, P. canariensis Michelsen, is endemic to the western Canary Islands. Synapomorphies for the Pegomya meridiana species g

Airway reactivity to bronchoconstrictor mediators changes with age. We studied the effects of maturational change on airway responses induced by a thromboxane A2 mimetic, U-46619 (2, 6 and 20 nmol/kg; i.v.), leukotriene D4 (0.6 and 2 nmol/kg; i.v.) or vehicle (0.9% NaCl; i.v.) in immature (196 +/- 3 g: 2 weeks) and adult guinea pigs (512 +/- 5 g: 11 weeks). In the same animals, we measured both lu

Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus is an extremely thermophilic, gram-positive anaerobe which ferments cellulose-, hemicellulose- and pectin-containing biomass to acetate, CO2, and hydrogen. Its broad substrate range, high hydrogen-producing capacity, and ability to coutilize glucose and xylose make this bacterium an attractive candidate for microbial bioenergy production. Here, the complete gen

This paper deals with the problem of finding a model for industrially manufactured fin-and-tube heat exchangers to determine the heat transfer for the complete fin-and-tube heat exchanger. The model is based on the temperature efficiency of the gas. The thermal conductance of the contact area between the fins and tubes is taken into consideration in the model. The influence of the fact that for in

The interactions, in aqueous media, between a pyrene-labelled polyelectrolyte poly(acrylic acid) (PAAMePy) with two different degrees of labelling and beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins (beta- and gamma-CD) were studied using absorption and fluorescence (steady-state and time-resolved) techniques. In addition to qualitative and quantitative parameters obtained from absorption and steady-state fluoresce

Aims: The aims of this study are threefold: to investigate formal and informal help with clinical and social needs that patients who attempted suicide received during the year after their attempt; to examine whether help from services was estimated to be adequate; and to look at whether patients who repeated suicide attempt(s) during follow-up differed from those who did not. Methods: The Camberwe

The spawning behaviour of wild caught brood stock as well as early egg and larval development were studied in yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi). Spawning occurred naturally in the austral spring/summer (November–February) when the seawater temperature was above 17 °C. Courtship behaviour involved one male and female, and consisted of a high-speed pursuit punctuated by stalling, nipping and tou

This paper presents a new damage identification technique based on the statistical moments of the energy density function of the vibration responses in the time-scale (or time-frequency) domain. The continuous wavelet transform is first conducted to decompose the vibration responses into discrete energy distributions as a joint function of time and scale. The principal structural response features

The wavelength is an important quantity in a number of ocean-engineering applications, e.g. for design of structures that have dimensions of the same order of magnitude as the wavelength. Most often however, the description of the wave climate is given by a spectrum. We present a methodology based on a representation of a sea state in the frequency domain which returns the joint distribution of cr

Vehicle technology is currently facing a transition period in which vehicles equipped with alternative powertrains, such as battery powered electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles or fuel cell vehicles, are being developed for future markets. An assessment of the competitiveness of vehicles using alternative powertrains has been made here. Previous studies estimating future costs and the technical perf

A temporal filtering technique, complementary to spectral filtering, has been developed for laser-induced fluorescence measurements. The filter is applicable in cases where the laser-induced interfering signals and the signal of interest have different temporal characteristics. For the interfering-signal discrimination a picosecond laser system along with a fast time-gated intensified CCD camera w