In Europe, agri-environmental schemes (AES) have been introduced in response to concerns about farmland biodiversity declines. Yet, as AES have delivered variable results, a better understanding of what determines their success or failure is urgently needed. Focusing on pollinating insects, we quantitatively reviewed how environmental factors affect the effectiveness of AES. Our results suggest th

Evidence for an involvement of striatal D1 receptors in levodopa-induced dyskinesia has been presented whereas the contribution of striatal D2 receptors remains controversial. In addition, whether D1 and D2 receptors located in the substantia nigra reticulata shape the response to levodopa remains unknown. We therefore used dual probe microdialysis to unravel the impact of striatal and nigral D1 o

The target for the oral erectile dysfunction drugs, phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, is part of a pathway implicated in the development of malignant melanoma. An increased risk of melanoma in sildenafil users was recently reported.

Obestatin is a 23-amino acid peptide encoded by the ghrelin gene. We have investigated the effect of obestatin on intestinal contractility in rats ranging from the suckling period till adolescence. Duodenal and middle jejunum whole-thickness preparations from neonatal and adult rats were studied in an organ bath, for isometric recording under treatment with obestatin (1 mu mol L-1) in the presence

The aim of this work was to develop a model suited for detailed studies of aerosol dynamics, gas and particle phase chemistry within urban plumes, from local scale (1x1 km(2)) to regional scale. This article describes and evaluates the trajectory model for Aerosol Dynamics, gas and particle phase CHEMistry and radiative transfer (AD-CHEM). The model treats both vertical and horizontal dispersion p

We have measured the land-atmosphere CO2 exchange using the eddy covariance technique in a high Arctic tundra heath in northeast Greenland (Zackenberg). On the basis of 11 years of measurements (2000-2010), it was found that snow cover dynamics was important for the CO2 exchange. The start of CO2 uptake period correlated significantly with timing of snowmelt. Furthermore, for years with deep and l

Atmospheric ions participate in the formation of new atmospheric aerosol particles, yet their exact role in this process has remained unclear. Here we derive a new simple parameterization for ion-induced nucleation or, more precisely, for the formation rate of charged 2-nm particles. The parameterization is semi-empirical in the sense that it is based on comprehensive results of one-year-long atmo

The known monogenic forms of stroke are rare. The aim of this study was to analyze pedigrees of young stroke patients regarding possible monogenic cerebrovascular disease and to evaluate the possibility of genetic stroke in these families. This may contribute to a better understanding of disease mechanism in stroke.

In forensic contexts it is common that witnesses retell and discuss the experienced event many times. It is of forensic importance to understand how this influences memory and meta-memory. Eighty-nine participants viewed a short film and were assigned to one of four conditions: (1) Laboratory discussion (five discussions of the event with a confederate), (2) Family discussion (five discussions of

The stress fields of expanding (precipitation) and contracting (dissolution) hydride plates were computed by finite element method using Zr-H solid solution and hydride properties at 25, 200 and 400 degrees C for fully and semi-constrained hydride plates. For the first time simultaneous hydride expansion and matrix contraction and vice-versa have been considered in a simulation of hydride precipit

The association of contemporary hosts and their parasites might reflect either cospeciation or more recent shifts among existing hosts. Cospeciation implies that lineages of hosts and parasites diverge in parallel at the same time, but testing this prediction requires time-calibrated phylogenies, which are particularly difficult to obtain in organisms that leave few fossils. It has successively be

When isolated conjugated polymer (CP) chains are studied by single molecule spectroscopy, excitation power density in the range of 10-1000 W cm(-2) is normally used. We show that at such excitation power densities the fluorescence ability of CPs is significantly reduced. A new methodological approach allowed us to measure the fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of thin matrix polymer films doped with

The aim of this study was to examine the expression of serotonin receptors in patients with breast cancer and to explore their utility as diagnostic and prognostic markers. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to examine the expression of serotonin (5-HT) receptor subtypes 1A, 1B, 2B and 4 in a tissue microarray containing tumor specimens from 102 patients. Statistical analysis was performed

We investigate the temperature dependence of the O-H stretch band in the infrared absorbance spectra of the proton-conducting hydrated perovskites BaInxZr1-xO3-x/2 (x = 0.10-0.75) over the temperature range -160 to 350 degrees C. Upon increasing temperature from -160 to 30 degrees C, we show that there is a redistribution of protons from nonsymmetrical structural configurations, such as Zr-OH-In a

The aim of this study was to employ an experimental protocol for in vivo evaluation of sols of 5 wt.\% poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) as artificial vitreous substitutes. A 20 gauge pars plana vitrectomy and posterior vitreous detachment were performed in the right eye of 8 pigmented rabbits. Approximately 1 mL of the viscoelastic PEG sols were then injected into the

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is started in 5000 victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden each year and the survival rate is approximately 10%. The subsequent development of a global ischaemic brain injury is the major determinant of the neurological prognosis for those patients who reach the hospital alive. Induced hypothermia is a recommended treatment after cardiac arrest and has bee

During breast cancer progression, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) switches from acting as a growth inhibitor to become a major promoter of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and metastasis. However, the mechanisms involved in this switch are not clear. We found that loss of CCAAT-enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBP beta), a differentiation factor for the mammary epitheli