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OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to assess the reliability of nailfold capillary assessment in terms of image evaluability, image severity grade ('normal', 'early', 'active', 'late'), capillary density, capillary (apex) width, and presence of giant capillaries, and also to gain further insight into differences in these parameters between patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), patients with primary Raynaud

A hallmark of parasite infection is the accumulation of innate immune cells, notably granulocytes and mast cells, at the site of infection. While this is typically viewed as a transient response, with the tissue returning to steady state once the infection is cleared, we found that mast cells accumulated in the large-intestinal epithelium following infection with the nematode Trichuris muris and p

It is well known, that in case of oil spill, seabirds are among the groups of animals most vulnerable. Even small amounts of oil can have lethal effects by destroying the waterproofing of their plumage, leading to loss of insulation and buoyancy. In the Arctic these impacts are intensified. To protect seabirds, a rapid removal of oil is crucial and in situ burning could be an efficient method. In

Objectives: Mini Mental State Examination’s (MMSE’s) sensitivity in its upper level is questioned, hence we investigated cognitive abnormalities and defects in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in elderly with MMSE scores ≥24. Methods: One hundred and four men at age 81 with MMSE scores ≥24 (mean 28.4 ± 1.7), no dementia or stroke, were examined with neuropsychological test battery, and their rC

Pelagic seabirds are exposed to an array of potential threats during the non-breeding period, and effective management of these threats on a large scale requires knowledge of which populations winter where. Thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) are emblematic of this conservation challenge, since they breed widely in the circumpolar Arctic, with many declining populations in the Atlantic. Threats faci

Introduction: Several studies have suggested that anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) without wound drainage has no impact on long-term follow-up. Aim: To investigate a prospective patient series as measured by the patient-administered disease-specifc questionnaire Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Material and methods: The study included 101 consecutive patients (7

This methodological and electrophysiological study was undertaken with the aim of obtaining possibilities for evaluating objectively the ethical value of using high concentration CO2 inhalation as pre-slaughter anaesthesia for swine. A technique for implantation of recording electrodes into the porcine neocortex and limbic system is described, as are results of EEG recording from these brain regio

Colour discrimination is based on opponent photoreceptor interactions, and limited by receptor noise. In dim light, photon shot noise impairs colour vision, and in vertebrates, the absolute threshold of colour vision is set by dark noise in cones. Nocturnal insects (e.g. moths and nocturnal bees) and vertebrates lacking rods (geckos) have adaptations to reduce receptor noise and use chromatic visi

Nocturnal insects have evolved remarkable visual capacities, despite small eyes and tiny brains. They can see colour, control flight and land, react to faint movements in their environment, navigate using dim celestial cues and find their way home after a long and tortuous foraging trip using learned visual landmarks. These impressive visual abilities occur at light levels when only a trickle of p

Nocturnal dung beetles (Scarabaeus satyrus) are currently the only animals that have been demonstrated to use the Milky Way for reliable orientation. In this study, we tested the capacity of S. satyrus to orient under a range of artificial celestial cues, and compared the properties of these cues with images of the Milky Way simulated for a beetle’s visual system. We find that the mechanism that p

Flight control in insects is heavily dependent on vision. Thus, in dim light, the decreased reliability of visual signal detection also prompts consequences for insect flight. We have an emerging understanding of the neural mechanisms that different species employ to adapt the visual system to low light. However, much less explored are comparative analyses of how low light affects the flight behav

Night vision is ultimately about extracting information from a noisy visual input. Several species of nocturnal insects exhibit complex visually guided behaviour in conditions where most animals are practically blind. The compound eyes of nocturnal insects produce strong responses to single photons and process them into meaningful neural signals, which are amplified by specialized neuroanatomical

The presence of two spectrally different kinds of rod photoreceptors in amphibians has been hypothesized to enable purely rod-based colour vision at very low light levels. The hypothesis has never been properly tested, so we performed three behavioural experiments at different light intensities with toads (Bufo) and frogs (Rana) to determine the thresholds for colour discrimination. The thresholds

Economic research on child health and future labor market outcomes has mainly focused on children with impaired health themselves, and only recently begun to assess spillover effects for siblings. Yet, the challenge to accommodate a family's routines within the requirements of a complex and time-consuming disease is most likely to spillover on siblings. While the burden of ill health and managing

This study explores a bi-isotopic approach to migration, adding δ18O values to samples with 87Sr/86Sr values for 109 individuals from the Iron Age (500 BCE–1050 CE) on the island of Öland, Sweden. Determining a local baseline for 87Sr/86Sr was complicated due to the wide range of variation in faunal samples so we divided the human values into three groups: local, non-local and undetermined. The ad

Time-resolved multi-pulse methods were applied to investigate the excited state dynamics, the interstate couplings, and the excited state energy transfer pathways between the light-harvesting pigments in peridinin-chlorophyll a-protein (PCP). The utilized pump-dump-probe techniques are based on perturbation of the regular PCP energy transfer pathway. The PCP complexes were initially excited with a

Epitaxial semiconductor nanowires grown with vapor-liquid-solid crystallization processes are very attractive nanoscale objects for many different applications. Despite extensive studies of the growth mechanism, there is still a lack of understanding of the growth process; in particular, the stability of the vapor-liquid-solid crystallization process has not previously been studied. Here we examin

Historical documents record the operation of a silver mine from the 16th century AD located near the former village of Salberget in central Sweden. The historical record describes several categories of inhabitants, including local families, workers and miners, foreign engineers and mining specialists, as well as war captives and criminals used as forced labor in the mines. A church yard in the vic