Access to a quiet side in one's dwelling is thought to compensate for higher noise levels at the most exposed façade. It has also been indicated that noise from combined traffic sources causes more noise annoyance than equal average levels from either road traffic or railway noise separately.

We propose a method of reducing the switching noise in the substrate of an integrated circuit. The main idea is to design the digital circuits to obtain a periodic supply current with the same period as the clock. This property locates the frequency components of the switching noise above the clock frequency. Differential return-to-zero signaling is used to reduce the data-dependency of the curren

International Relations (IR) research is constantly undergoing change, both in reaction to real changes in international politics and to new patterns of and trends in cooperation and conflict, as well as to methodological innovations within the academy. In general the discipline of IR has paid extensive attention to the definition and dynamics of conflict, while in comparison fewer efforts have be

Purpose This study aims to report the clinical outcome of computer-assisted fundoplication (CAF) in children. Methods As our center changed policy to using computer-assisted surgery only, a prospectively studied cohort of 40 children underwent CAF, during the period from January 2006 through May 2013. The collected data include patient demographics and postoperative complications as well as medica

To determine the frequency of each American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criterion met at time of enrollment, and the increase in each of the criteria over 5 years.

Somatotropinomas have unique "fingerprints" of somatostatin receptor (sst) expression, which are targets in treatment of acromegaly with somatostatin analogues (SSAs). However, a significant expression of sst is not always related to the biochemical response to SSAs. Headache is a common complaint in acromegaly and considered a clinical marker of disease activity. SSAs are reported to have an own

The honeybee is one of several insect model systems for the study of olfaction, yet our knowledge regarding the spectrum of odorants detectable by Apis mellifera is limited. One class of odorants that has never been tested so far are the amino acids, which are important constituents of floral nectar. Using the proboscis extension response paradigm, we assessed whether the odor of amino acids is de

Background: Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is the most promising neurotrophin for restorative treatments in Parkinson's disease, but its biological effects are not completely understood. Objective: To define a model of GDNF gene therapy in the mouse, we studied the long-term effects of lentiviral GDNF delivery in mice with striatal 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions. Methods: L

Baddeleyite (ZrO2) is today recognized as the key mineral for dating the emplacement of mantle-derived igneous rocks, primarily gabbro and dolerite dykes and sills. The comment by Michard and Gasquet calls for a discussion on the significance of baddeleyite U-Pb TIMS dates of two dykes in the Bas-Draa inlier, dated at 1381 +/- 8 and 1384 +/- 6 Ma, presented in El Bahat et al. (2013-in this issue).

The addition of crop residues is a common farming practice to increase the organic carbon content of agricultural soils with particular importance in organically managed crops. Residues can be added either from the crop plant itself or from other plants and the type of litter may differentially affect decomposer populations. Effects of litter addition may cascade up to affect generalist predators

Few studies have investigated the relationship between predefined dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes incidence; little is known about the generalisability of these associations. We aimed to assess the association between predefined dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes risk in European populations. From among a case-cohort of 12,403 incident diabetes cases and 16,154 subcohort members nested with

BACKGROUND: It is well established that parity and use of oral contraceptives reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, but the associations with other reproductive variables are less clear. METHODS: We examined the associations of oral contraceptive use and reproductive factors with ovarian cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Among 327 396 eligible women, 878

A series of nine radiocarbon measurements obtained at increments of 50 years was used to wiggle match varved sediments in Lake Kalksjon (west central Sweden) to the calendar year time scale provided by the tree-ring-derived radiocarbon calibration curve. The anchor point for a series of 400 varves known to span the '8.2 kyr cold event' was derived from a combination of correlation analysis, Monte

Optical spectroscopy has been used as a supplement to conventional techniques for analyzing and diagnosing cancer in many human organs. Because ocular tumors may be characterized by their different melanin content, we investigated the feasibility of using transscleral visible/near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis/NIRS) to estimate the quantity of melanin in a novel uveal melanoma phantom of ex vivo porc

A highly sensitive and stable solid state electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for tri-n-propylamine (TPrA, as coreactant) detection was developed using Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) ion-exchanged into the composite film of ZnO nanoparticles decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (nanoZnO-MWCNTs) and Nafion. The electrocatalytic activity of nano-ZnO active sites towards Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) redox reaction and also t

In spite of the growing attention to climate-induced migration, a coherent understanding of the matter is lackingas any articulated governance strategy. Although such an impasse relates to the unprecedented socioecological processes involved, we argue that many of the challenges posed by climate-induced migration are not unique in the history of global environmental governance. Proceeding from thi

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a common condition that causes severe symptoms, bother, and quality-of-life impact in the 8.2% of men who are believed to be affected. Research suggests a complex pathophysiology underlying this syndrome that is mirrored by its heterogeneous clinical presentation. Management of patients diagnosed with CP/CPPS has always been a formidabl

The European Association of Urology non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) guidelines recommend that all low- and intermediate-risk patients receive a single immediate instillation of chemotherapy after transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB), but its use remains controversial.

Regional government formation in varying multilevel contexts: a comparison of eight European countries, Regional Studies. Although governance in multilevel settings has become a prominent research field in political science, there are few comparative studies that focus on explaining sub-national coalition outcomes in such settings. This paper sets out to study regional government formation in eigh