The Arctic land area has warmed by > 1 A degrees C in the last 30 years and there is evidence that this has led to increased productivity and stature of tundra vegetation and reduced albedo, effecting a positive (amplifying) feedback to climate warming. We applied an individual-based dynamic vegetation model over the Arctic forced by observed climate and atmospheric CO2 for 1980-2006. Averaged ove

Family caregivers experience both positive and negative reactions in caregiving situations. There has been considerably less published about the positive aspects, however. The general aim of this study was to explore a previously developed instrument to study rewards gained by caregivers and to determine the factors associated with satisfaction in family members caring for patients with dementia l

Abstract in French Le but de l’étude présente est de démontrer que la distinction entre le langage plastique et le langage iconique, introduite par Floch et Groupe µ, reste utile, à condition de la faire subir une série de modifications : d’abord, il ne faut pas parler du langage iconique, mais du langage pictural, parce que l’iconicité peut très se retrouver aussi bien du côté plastique. Ensuite,The task of the present study is to establish the useful of the distinction between plastic language and iconic language, as introduced by Floch and the Groupe µ, with the proviso that it has to be changed in a number of ways. To begin with, we should not talk about iconic language, but rather about a pictorial one, because iconicity is a much broader concept, and just as probably may found on the

GEANT4 is a Monte Carlo code originally implemented for high-energy physics applications and is well known for particle transport at high energies. The capacity of GEANT4 to simulate neutron transport in the thermal energy region is not equally well known. The aim of this article is to compare MCNP, a code commonly used in low energy neutron transport calculations and GEANT4 with experimental resu

The ForSAFE model, designed for modelling biogeochemical cycles (water, acidity, base cation, nitrogen and carbon) in terrestrial ecosystems, was modified with a vegetation response module (VEG), incorporating the effects of: nitrogen pollution, acidification, soil moisture, temperature, wind chill exposure, light and shading by trees, grazing by animals, competition between plants, above ground f

This study explores the relationships among U.S. public and non-profit organizations against the backdrop of the assistance they rendered to news media in Eastern European countries between 1989 and 1995. Ideological and administrative goals and strategies used by organizations such as the Department of State, the USAID, and the USIA, the International Media Fund, the Soros Foundations, the Freedo

Multi-level governance is a term that is commonly used to characterize the nature of the European Union. In this article we argue that multi-level governance requires a research focus on negotiations and networks. Our focus is on day-to-day negotiations rather than ``history-making'' decisions, and we proceed from the assumption that negotiations vary in character across issue areas. After discuss

The effect of atomic oxygen adsorption on the structure and electronic properties of monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) grown on Ir(111) has been studied using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS), photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). It has been shown that the oxidation of the h-BN monolayer occurs through a gradual substit

A search is presented for a high-mass Higgs boson in the , , , and decay modes using the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb. The results of the search are interpreted in the scenario of a heavy Higgs boson with a width that is small compared with the

Xylose fermentation in yeast has been a target of research for years, yet not all the factors that may affect xylose fermentation perfomance of yeast strains are known. In this study, the mutant S. cerevisiae strain TMB 3400, which has good xylose fermentation properties, was compared with its parental strain to examine the factors behind the improved xylose utilization at protein level. The prote

In 2011 a field survey of the bryophyte vegetation and flora of Stora Alvaret, the largest continuous alvar area in Sweden situated on the Baltic island of Öland (SE Sweden), was initiated. A number of transects crossing the alvar area from west to east will be surveyed. The aim of the investigation is to try and elucidate the realtionship between the bryophyte flora and environmental parameters s

The aim of this article is to reflect on the evolution of total quality management (TQM) as the most widespread quality management approach during the last 25 years. However, during the first 10 years of the new millennium, the term TQM seems to have lost its attractiveness in Western parts of the world and instead new terms such as Business Excellence, Organisational Excellence, Six Sigma, and Le

Minimally modified low density lipoprotein (mmLDL) is a well-known risk factor for coronary artery disease. Upregulation of vascular endothelin type B (ETB) receptors on the vascular smooth muscle cells is predicted to be the molecular mechanism that leads to cardiovascular pathogenesis. The objective of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that mmLDL upregulates ETB receptors in rat co

Per Olov Enquist's 1985 novel Nedstörtad ängel (Downfall) is, despite its modest proportions, one of the most poetically powerful and intriguing works in his oeuvre. It consists of a number of disparate stories which are presented as intertwined fragments. In this article I argue that the novel as a whole creates its meaning in the manner of a large-scale metaphor, in which the different stories s