We present our successful efforts to improve intuitive programming of synchronized dual-arm operations in industrialrobotic assembly tasks. To this end we extend an earlier proposed skill representation (based on our work with ontologies for industrial robots) and our respective programminginterface to integrate options for the specification, adaptationand refinement of synchronization points, syn

This study analyses cross-border capital flows in order to verify the existence and direction of the effect of the soft regulation promoted by international organizations against banking secrecy which characterized the so called tax and financial heavens. This effect is called in the literature Stigma Effect, but both the existence and the direction of the stigma effect are far from being obvious.

Prior research established that simultaneously holding discrepant explicit (deliberate, controlled) and implicit (automatic, uncontrolled) self-esteem gives rise to self-enhancing behaviours. Given that individuals tend to enhance their self-concepts with brands that are associated with positive identities, this study examined whether self-esteem discrepancy was related to the extent to which indi

I present an alternative to a widely used item-bias analysis procedure known as the ANOVA method. The new method is based on the Johnson-Neyman procedure, which is a multiple regression-based technique with properties that can overcome the major weaknesses of the ANOVA method. I introduce the proposed procedure in a non-technical manner, provide an illustrative example, and suggest guidelines for

In this chapter, the author presents a brief introduction of marketing and market research, and subsequently highlights the contemporary developments that influence current thinking in these areas. By familiarizing marketing academics and practitioners with the state-of-the-art discussions, this chapter aims at improving the knowledge and understanding of marketing and market research, as well as

Lung diseases belong the major causes of death worldwide. Recent innovative methodological developments now allow more and more for the use of primary human tissue and cells to model such diseases. In this regard, the review covers bronchial air-liquid interface cultures, precision cut lung slices as well as ex vivo cultures of explanted peripheral lung tissue and de-/re-cellularization models. Di

BACKGROUND: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) provides a comprehensive assessment of risk factor exposure and attributable burden of disease. By providing estimates over a long time series, this study can monitor risk exposure trends critical to health surveillance and inform policy debates on the importance of addressing risks in context.METHODS: We u

BACKGROUND: As mortality rates decline, life expectancy increases, and populations age, non-fatal outcomes of diseases and injuries are becoming a larger component of the global burden of disease. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) provides a comprehensive assessment of prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 328 causes in 195

BACKGROUND: Detailed assessments of mortality patterns, particularly age-specific mortality, represent a crucial input that enables health systems to target interventions to specific populations. Understanding how all-cause mortality has changed with respect to development status can identify exemplars for best practice. To accomplish this, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors

Coexistence between humans and wildlife faces challenges for wildlife as well as human wellbeing and livelihoods. Learning, development, and transformative change in the adaptive use of management interventions across cultures and species are highly needed. This calls for thorough evaluation of interventions on both ecological and human dimensions parameters. Existing evaluations of management int

Streptococcus suis is an important meningitis-causing pathogen in pigs and humans. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been identified as host defense mechanism against different pathogens. Here, NETs were detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of S. suis-infected piglets despite the presence of active nucleases. To study NET-formation and NET-degradation after transmigration of S. suis

NETs (neutrophil extracellular traps) have been described as a fundamental innate immune defence mechanism. During formation of NETs, the nuclear membrane is disrupted by an as-yet unknown mechanism. In the present study we investigated the role of human cathelicidin LL-37 in nuclear membrane disruption and formation of NETs. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that 5 μM LL-37 significantly fac

BACKGROUND: Aquaporins (AQPs) are integral membrane proteins that facilitate transport of water and/or other small neutral solutes across membranes in all forms of life. The X Intrinsic Proteins (XIPs) are the most recently recognized and the least characterized aquaporin subfamily in higher plants. XIP1s have been shown to be impermeable to water but permeable to boric acid, glycerol, hydrogen pe

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Water drainage from porous media is a highly dynamic process often marked by rapid piston-like air invasion events at the front and other rapid interfacial reconfigurations. Liquid phase entrapped behind the moving front drains at significantly slower rates often via gravity driven flow through corners and crevices. This distribution of slowly draining residual water phase determines the plant ava