BACKGROUND: Floods are the most frequent and devastating type of natural disaster worldwide, causing unprecedented deaths, diseases, and destruction of property and crops. Flooding has a greater impact in developing countries due to lack of sufficient disaster management structures and a lack of economic resources. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted with the aim of contributing to the knowledge b

A major difference in the revised diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the incorporation of biomarkers to support a clinical diagnosis and allow the identification of preclinical AD due to AD neuropathological processes. However, AD-specific fluid biomarkers which specifically distinguish clinical AD dementia from other dementia disorders are still missing. Here we aimed to evaluate

Recent decades have been characterised by increasingly complex governance structures. In order to tackle threats from epidemics, environmental degradation and other trans-boundary problems governments collaborate not only with actors from other governments, international agencies and civil society, but also from the private sector and business community. Large numbers of global partnerships, inclu

The ALICE experiment at the LHC has studied inclusive J/psi production at central and forward rapidities in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV. In this Letter, we report on the first results obtained detecting the J/psi through the dilepton decay into e(+)e(-) and mu(+)mu(-) pairs in the rapidity ranges vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.9 and 2.5 < y < 4, respectively, and with acceptance down to zero

In order to investigate the structure-property correlations of grafted proton conducting membranes, the model system consisting of an ETFE base film grafted with polystyrene and subsequent sulfonation (ETFE-g-PSSA) along with crosslinked derivatives ETFE-g-P(SSA-co-DiPB) were synthesized. The characteristics of the final membranes were characterized by PFG-NMR diffusometry, in-plane conductivity a

The main concern of this paper is to study the presence of a cascaded Butler network in diversity antenna systems. The advantages of a cascaded Butler network in 2-D multipath environments have been already shown. These advantages are limited to either correlated or nonuniform multipath environments with a line-of-sight component. In the frame of this paper, for the first time, we show a further a

A model membrane system based on lipid lyotropic phases confined inside the pores of a well-defined scaffold membrane, thereby forming a double-porous membrane structure, is described. The model membrane system is characterized with regard to lipid structure, lipid location, and phase transitions, using small-angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, and confocal microscopy. The s

CD1d-restricted natural killer T (NKT) cells can have multiple effects on an immune response, including the activation, regulation and attraction of innate immune cells, and modulation of adaptive immunity. Recent studies reveal that there are distinct subsets of NKT cells which selectively perform some of the functions attributed to CD1d-restricted cells, but the mechanisms underlying these funct

The ultrafast photophysics of [Ru(bpy)(2)dppz](2+) (dppz = dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]-phenazine) embedded into the walls of phospholipid vesicles has been studied by femtosecond time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy. While [Ru(bpy)(2)dppz](2+) has been studied intensively with respect to its intramolecular charge transfer processes, which are associated with the well known light-switch effect, this s

Aims. The aim of our new laboratory measurements is to measure accurate absolute oscillator strengths for neutral manganese transitions in the infrared needed for the study of late-type stars and ultracool dwarfs. Methods. Branching fractions have been measured by high resolution Fourier transform spectroscopy and combined with radiative level lifetimes in the literature to yield oscillator streng

The MUC1 mucin is differentially expressed and glycosylated in cancer tissue as opposed to healthy tissue. Due to these differences, MUC1 is considered a potential biomarker suitable for cancer diagnosis and therapy. In a previous study, the human MUC1-specific antibody 12ESC-6 was able to bind a sequence variant of the tandem repeat of MUC1 that is not recognized by many other MUC1-specific antib

When we speak of the “Cultural Revolution” in China, we actually refer not to the past but to a narrative interpretation of the past, a particular organization of knowledge which has gone unquestioned for a long time. This paper attempts to develop an alternative narrative scope from which to view the final ten-plus years of politics in the People’s Republic under Mao Zedong. It looks at that same

In this study, we extend pioneering studies and demonstrate straightforward applicability of the corrin-based chemosensor, aquacyanocobyrinic acid (ACCA), for the instantaneous detection and rapid quantification of endogenous cyanide in fresh and processed cassava roots. Hydrolytically liberated endogenous cyanide from cyanogenic glycosides (CNp) reacts with ACCA to form dicyanocobyrinic acid (DCC

Background. Antimicrobial stewardship programs are increasingly implemented in hospital care. They aim to simultaneously optimize outcomes for individual patients with infections and reduce financial and health-associated costs of overuse of antibiotics. Few studies have examined the effects of antimicrobial stewardship programs in settings with low proportions of antimicrobial resistance, such as

Objectives: As exposures to airborne particulates in the European rubber industry might still be causing genotoxic risks, it is important to assess trends in levels of inhalable dust and its cyclohexane soluble fraction (CSF) between the 1970s and 2003. Methods: 13 380 inhalable and 816 respirable dust and 5657 CSF measurements, collected within the framework of the European Union Concerted Action

BACKGROUND: Sexual reproduction entails the encounter of the sexes and the multiplicity of rituals is parallel to the diversity of mating systems. Evolutionary mechanisms such as sexual selection and sexual conflict have led to the elaboration of traits to gain attention and favours from potential partners. A paradox exists about how coordinated systems can evolve and diverge when there would seem

Polarized light (PL) sensitivity is relatively well studied in a large number of invertebrates and some fish species, but in most other vertebrate classes, including birds, the behavioural and physiological mechanism of PL sensitivity remains one of the big mysteries in sensory biology. Many organisms use the skylight polarization pattern as part of a sun compass for orientation, navigation and in

Popular Abstract in Swedish Avhandlingen består av fyra uppsatser som handlar om individers hälsorelaterade beteende och investeringar i högre utbildning. Tre av uppsatserna fokuserar på olika aspekter av läkemedelsanvändning och syftar till att förklara varför individer med liknande medicinska behov är olika benägna att använda receptbelagda läkemedel. Den fjärde uppsatsen studerar hälsans betydeThis thesis consists of four essays on individual health behaviour and investment in higher education. Three of them consider different aspects of pharmaceutical utilization and aim at explaining some of the observed individual variation in access and adherence to treatment regimens. The fourth explores the potential link from health in young adulthood to subsequent university education. The firs