A series of ionic ABA triblock copolymers having a central polysulfone (PSU) central block and poly(2,3,5,6,-tetrafluorostyrene-4-phosphonic acid) (PTFSPA) outer blocks with different lengths were prepared and studied as electrolyte membranes. PSU with terminal benzyl chloride groups was used as a bifunctional macroinitiator for the formation of poly(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) (PPFS) blocks by

The progression of diabetes is accompanied by increasing demand to the beta-cells to produce and secrete more insulin, requiring complex beta-cell adaptations. Functionally-active and ubiquitous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have the capacity to take part in such adaptations as they have been shown to be key regulatory molecules in various biological processes. In the pancreatic islets, the function of

Ca/Na montmorillonite and natural Wyoming bentonite (MX-80) have been studied experimentally and theoretically. For a clay system in equilibrium with pure water, Monte Carlo simulations predict a large swelling when the clay counterions are monovalent, while in presence of divalent counterions a limited swelling is obtained with an aqueous layer between the clay platelets of about 10 A. This latte

Based on constructal theory, five different cases with multistage bifurcations are designed as well as one case without bifurcations, and the corresponding laminar fluid flow and thermal performance have been investigated numerically. All laminar fluid flow and heat transfer results are obtained using computation fluid dynamics, and a uniform wall heat flux thermal boundary condition is applied al

This study addresses predictors of occupational value, empowerment and satisfaction with the rehabilitation received in day centres for people with psychiatric disabilities. These outcomes represent varying aspects of relevance for the day centre context and together create a manifold outcome picture. This was a longitudinal study with approval from the regional research vetting board. Self-report

We introduce a new multi-region model for simultaneous segmentation of the left and right ventricles, myocardium and the left ventricular papillary muscles in MRI. The model enforces geometric constraints such as inclusion and exclusion between the regions, which makes it possible to correctly segment different regions even though the intensity distributions are identical. We efficiently optimize

BACKGROUND: Metastatic propensity of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is heterogeneous and may be determined by gene expression patterns that do not correlate well with morphology. The authors have reported gene expression patterns that distinguish 2 broad classes of clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC-gene set), and other patterns that can distinguish heterogeneity of serous ovarian carcinoma (OVCA-gene s

The severity of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) is defined by the degree of flow limitation measured as forced expiratory volume in 1 s, which mainly reflects impairment of large and intermediate airways. However, COPD is primarily a small airways disease. Therefore, better diagnostic tools are needed. Ventilation-Perfusion (V/P) SPECT is a sensitive method to detect obstructive lung chang

This paper deals with a diverse fauna of polychaetes possessing jaws (= scolecodonts) from the late Silurian Kopanina Formation of the Prague Basin (Czech Republic). The most common genera are Kettnerites, Oenonites and Pistoprion; the entire collection contains at least 16 genera. This is in stark contrast to the four genera recorded from this region by previous authors. The fauna described shows

This paper presents a method to investigate the behaviour of polymers on different scales during deformation using simultaneously collected synchrotron X-ray scattering, digital image correlation (DIC) and tensile loading. The method is demonstrated through experiments made on specimens of amorphous polycarbonate. Deformation is measured in-situ, simultaneously across different scales from the mac

The ego depletion effect has been consistently replicated using the typical paradigm that consists of two consecutive tasks. However, striking contradiction exists in studies employing multiple tasks. The aim of the current study is to replicate previous studies following a similar procedure and design in a sample of participants from a non-western cultural background (Chinese), while strictly con

Troublesome involuntary movements in the absence of dopaminergic medication, so-called off-medication dyskinesias, are a serious adverse effect of fetal neural grafts that hinders the development of cell-based therapies for Parkinson's disease. The mechanisms underlying these dyskinesias are not well understood, and it is not known whether they are the same as in the dyskinesias induced by L-dopa

Treatment with warfarin in combination with clopidogrel has been shown to reduce the incidence of major bleeding as compared to triple antithrombotic therapy (TT; warfarin, clopidogrel and aspirin). However, there are uncertainties regarding the risk for thrombosis since poor-responsiveness to clopidogrel is common. Ticagrelor is a more potent platelet inhibitor, but data supporting concurrent use

We study resonant two-color two-photon ionization of helium via the 1s3p P-1(1) state. The first color is the 15th harmonic of a tunable Ti:sapphire laser, while the second color is the fundamental laser radiation. Our method uses phase-locked high-order harmonics to determine the phase of the two-photon process by interferometry. The measurement of the two-photon ionization phase variation as a f

Many brominated flame retardants (BFRs)-including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)-have been shown to persist in the environment, and some have been associated with adverse health effects. The aim of the present study was to quantify serum concentrations of common brominated flame retardants in Inuit men from across Greenland, and in men from Warsaw, Poland and Kharkiv, Ukraine. Serum was sa

The aim of this study was to investigate how intensive and critical care nurses experience and deal with after death care i.e. the period from notification of a possible brain dead person, and thereby a possible organ donor, to the time of post-mortem farewell.

Sub-cell-fix re-initialization method was proposed by Russo and Smereka (J. Comput. Phys. 2000; 163: 51-67) as a modification to the re-distancing, algorithm Of Sussman et al. (J. Comput. Phys. 1994; 114: 146-159) that determines the distance function from an interface known as the zero level-set. The principal goal of sub-cell-fix method is to compute the distance function of the cells adjacent t