There is a common saying in Aotearoa New Zealand: ‘the only good possum is a dead possum’. This colloquialism demonstrates much about the negative reputation and maltreatment of brushtail possums in New Zealand. Introduced to this country from their native Australia in the 1800s, possums thrived in their new predator-free environment. Possums' adaptability has since proved to be problematic, not l

We present a review of elemental abundances in the Milky Way stellar disk, bulge, and halo with a focus on data derived from high-resolution stellar spectra. These data are fundamental in disentangling the formation history and subsequent evolution of the Milky Way. Information from such data is still limited and confined to narrowly defined stellar samples. The astrometric Gala satellite will soo

The separation of one weakly and one strongly binding impurity from a therapeutic protein by ion-exchange chromatography was studied with a mechanistic model. The effect of disturbances in eight potentially critical process parameters on two critical quality attributes was evaluated. It was found that the outgoing concentration of the weakly binding impurity was only affected by the ingoing concen

Background: Prostacyclin analogs are potent vasodilators and possess anti-inflammatory properties. However, the effect of prostacyclin on extracellular matrix (ECM) in COPD is not well known. Collagen fibrils and proteoglycans are essential ECM components in the lung and fibroblasts are key players in regulating the homeostasis of ECM proteins. The aim was to study the synthesis of prostacyclin an

As high resolution instruments are becoming standard in proteomics laboratories, label-free quantification using precursor measurements is becoming a viable option, and is consequently rapidly gaining popularity. Several software solutions have been presented for label-free analysis, but to our knowledge no conclusive studies regarding the sensitivity and reliability of each step of the analysis p

The difficulties of demonstrating that any specific form of psychotherapy is more effective than any other has led to the formulation of the so-called Dodo Bird Verdict (that all forms of therapy are equally effective) and to the suggestion that what really matters for therapeutic efficiency are factors that are common to different forms of therapy. The term “common factors”, however, is seldom de

The intestinal mucosa is exposed to large amounts of foreign antigen (Ag) derived from commensal bacteria, dietary Ags, and intestinal pathogens. Dendritic cells (DCs) are believed to be involved in the induction of tolerance to harmless Ags and in mounting protective immune responses to pathogens and, as such, to play key roles in regulating intestinal immune homeostasis. The characterization of

Existing evidence on the effects of manganese and selenium during fetal life on neurodevelopmental disorders is inadequate. This study aims to investigate the hypothesized relationship between fetal exposure to manganese and selenium and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in childhood. Children born between 1978 and 2000 with ADHD (n=166) were identified at the Department of

Poor insight has a negative impact on the outcome in schizophrenia; consequently, poor insight is a logical target for treatment. However, neither medication nor psychosocial interventions have been demonstrated to improve poor insight. A method originally designed for diabetes patients to improve their illness management, Guided Self-Determination (GSD), has been adapted for use in patients with

Biomass burning is one of the largest sources of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols globally. These emissions have a major impact on the radiative balance of the atmosphere and on air quality, and are thus of significant scientific and societal interest. Several datasets have been developed that quantify those emissions on a global grid and offered to the atmospheric modelling community. However

Two differently charged polypeptides, α-poly-L-lysine and poly-L-glutamate, have previ- ously been shown to effectively reduce postoperative intraabdominal adhesions. Though α-poly-L-lysine showed toxicity in doses too close to the lowest the-rapeutic dose, the aim in the present study was to investigate the possible antiadhesive effect of another four cationic polypeptides.

The milk metabolomes of 407 individual Swedish Red dairy cows were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as part of the Danish-Swedish Milk Genomics Initiative. By relating these metabolite profiles to total milk protein concentration and rheological measurements of rennet-induced milk coagulation together using multivariate data analysis techniques, we were able to identify several

The effect of axial forcing on the flame/vortex breakdown interaction is studied, with particular focus on the Precessing Vortex Core (PVC). Large Eddy Simulation (LES), together with a filtered flamelet model describing the subgrid combustion, is performed to study a lean premixed flame undergoing mass flow fluctuations in a wide range of frequencies and amplitude. In average, forcing at frequenc

The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study aims at examining the associations between islet autoimmunity and various environmental exposures (e.g. diet) in Finland, Germany, Sweden and the United States (US). In order to produce comparable results from dietary assessments, the national food composition databases (FCDB) must contain mutually comparable food composition da

To estimate intraobserver repeatability and interobserver agreement in assessing the presence of papillary projections in adnexal masses and in classifying adnexal masses using the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) terminology for ultrasound examiners with different levels of experience, to identify ultrasound findings that cause confusion and might be interpreted differently by differen