Tree-ring widths from 880 living, dry dead, and subfossil northern Swedish pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) have been assembled into a continuous and precisely dated chronology (the Tornetrask chronology) covering the period 5407 BC to AD 1997. Biological trends in the data were removed with autoregressive standardization (ARS) to emphasize year-to-year variability, and with regional curve standardizat

Rapid economic development in the aftermath of the Chinese post-1978 reforms has resulted in a shrinking of grain grown area in the southern and eastern regions of the country which in turn is believed to have put the marginal northern regions under increased pressure. This paper examines key indicators of agricultural performance as well as cultivated land area development of the pre- and post-19

We studied the competitive effects within and between two taxonomically distant freshwater herbivores, a snail and a mayfly, common in Swedish lakes, Lymnaea peregra and Cloeon dipterum, respectively, and their effect on grazing in a laboratory experiment. The experimental set-up consisted of 2-l aquaria, each containing a periphyton covered tile. Intra- and interspecific effects were tested by in

This paper investigates the sustainability of Swedish fiscal policy performed during the period 1963-2000. The main emphasis is on assessing the effects of changes in fiscal policy, such as changes in taxes or public spending. On the basis of Johansen's VAR and the augmented Granger causality tests, the results show that taxes and spending are causally related in the long-run and the homogeneity c

Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome (ARS) patients with PITX2 point mutations exhibit a wide range of clinical features including mild craniofacial dysmorphism and dental anomalies. Identifying new PITX2 targets and transcriptional mechanisms are important to understand the molecular basis of these anomalies. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrate PITX2 binding to the FoxJ1 promoter and PITX2C tran

Depression and anxiety disorders are recognized as major public health problems with substantial personal, economic and social burden on those afflicted and their families. Despite this the development of quality of life research has been rather slow in the field but it is evident both from epidemiological and clinical studies that persons with major depression have a substantially lower subjectiv

Growth of mould fungi is one of the main causes of deterioration of foodstuffs, building materials and textiles. A new microcalorimetric technique has been developed for the study of mould activity as a function of water activity, temperature and atmospheric composition. This paper describes the method, in particular how to measure mould activity as a function of relative humidity.

Cells in mitosis were harvested from exponentially growing Chinese hamster ovary cells by the mitotic detachment technique. Immediately after harvesting, the mitotic cells were seeded in tissue culture flasks and incubated at 37 degrees C in a CO2 incubator. Care was taken not to perturb the progression of cells through the cell cycle. At every hour after seeding for 14 h, cells were collected for

We have published previously a prototype of a decision model for anaemic patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), in which transfusion need and serum erythropoietin (S-Epo) were used to define three groups with different probabilities of erythroid response to treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) + Epo. S-Epo less than or equal to 500 U/l and a transfusion need of < 2

The short-term limit value for PM10 having become effective in January 2005 was exceeded in many regions within the EU in 2005 and 2006. Therefore, strategies, particularly with respect to traffic control, are discussed, which could cause reduced PM10 concentrations leading to a more effective compliance with the short-term PM10 limit value. These strategies are often justified on PM10 differences

Vascular disease is differentiated throughout the vascular regions with aorta more prone to dilatation and with peripheral arteries more prone to occlusive disease. In this study, we investigated the diameter and distensibility in the common carotid artery (CCA) and abdominal aorta (AO) in healthy females of varying ages to assess potential differences in the aging process. The diameter and pulsat

Treatment of met-myoglobin (Fe-III) with H2O2 gives rise to ferryl myoglobin, which is closely related to compound II in peroxidases. Experimental studies have given conflicting results for this species. In particular, crystallographic and extended x-ray absorption fine-structure data have shown either a short (similar to170 pm) or a longer (similar to190 pm) Fe-O bond, indicating either a double

A capillary-induced phase separation (CIPS) can arise in a polymer solution enclosed between two walls, provided the solution is close to phase separation. Here the CIPS phenomenon is investigated in binary and quasi-binary polymer solutions by a mean-field lattice theory. A quasi-binary polymer solution represents a binary polymer solution with a polydisperse polymer. The CIPS involves a new phas

New interpretations are given for [ν]Έσσουπῆ ‘watching’, ‘the guard’; Ἀειφὸρ ‘the ever-shallow rapids’; βαρουφόροϛ – βουλνηπράχ ‘the bare rapids; Λεάντι, βερούτζ ‘the violently rushing rapids’. Στρούκουν has a Greek ending and is not a dative plural. Ναστρεζή is a collective formation with a diminutive sense. Both names mean ‘the small rapids’. The reduced vowels are not manifested in these name

Background: The haem-binding protein alpha(1)-microglobulin (alpha(1)m) is involved in protection against oxidative damage induced by extracellular haem/haemoglobin. A carboxy-terminally truncated form of alpha(1)m (t-alpha(1)m), formed by reactions with haemoglobin, degrades haem into a yellow-brown chromophore linked to the protein. The aim of this work was to investigate if t-alpha(1) in is pre

By surveying and re-surveying 12 forest sites in southern Sweden for the epiphytic lichen Lobaria pulmonaria with a 9-year interval, and measuring tree-related habitat quality variables, we have investigated whether the local distribution of the lichen is limited by poor dispersal capacity or by habitat quality. Dispersal distances were measured indirectly as the distances between colonised trees

A series of bis(terpyridine)Ru-II complexes have been prepared, where one of the terpyridines is functionalized in the 4'-position by a phosphonic or carboxylic acid group for attachment to TiO2. The other is functionalized, also in the 4'-position, by a potential electron donor. In complexes 1a, 3a, and 4a,b, this donor is tyrosine or hydrogen-bonded tyrosine, while in 2a it is carotenoic amide.

The cutting force dynamics in alloyed steel, stainless steel and cast iron have been investigated, although a direct measurement of the cutting forces could not be carried out. Usually, the response of the tool holder shank is measured by strain gauges and will be dependent on the stochastic character of the applied load and the structural dynamic properties of the tool holder. The characterisatio