The knowledge on the optics of fogbows is scarce, and their polarization characteristics have never been measured to our knowledge. To fill this gap we measured the polarization features of 16 fogbows during the Beringia 2005 Arctic polar research expedition by imaging polarimetry in the red, green and blue spectral ranges. We present here the first polarization patterns of the fogbow. In the patt

Cryostructuration is a technique which can be used to produce highly porous polymer materials from either monomeric or polymeric starting material. The technique utilizes freezing of dilute solutions or suspensions for the formation of porous materials. The process has been used in both aqueous and organic media for the preparation of porous materials. This mini-review highlights some recent trend

Our knowledge about how the environment influences sexual selection regimes and how ecology and sexual selection interact is still limited. We performed an integrative study of wing pigmentation in calopterygid damselflies, combining phylogenetic comparative analyses, field observations and experiments. We investigated the evolutionary consequences of wing pigmentation for sexual dimorphism, speci

The article looks at the Brontës' reasons for setting the action of their novels in the past, from the late-18th-century setting of "Wuthering Heights" to the twenty-year backdating of "Agnes Grey". The bulk of the article, however, deals with Charlotte Brontë's condition-of-England novel "Shirley". Like other well-known nineteenth-century novelists, including Dickens and Thackeray, the Brontë si

Trace element incorporation into foraminiferal shells (tests) is governed by physical and chemical conditions of the surrounding marine environment, and therefore foraminiferal geochemistry provides a means of palaeo-oceanographic reconstructions. With the availability of high-spatial-resolution instrumentation with high precision, foraminiferal geochemistry has become a major research topic over

In this study, we investigate which factors affect the false positive fraction (FPF) for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) compared to digital mammography (DM) in a screening population by using classification and regression trees (C&RT) and binary marginal generalized linear models. The data was obtained from the Malmö Breast Tomosynthesis Screening Trial, which aimed to compare the performa

Range shifts can rapidly create new areas of geographic overlap between formerly allopatric taxa and evidence is accumulating that this can affect species persistence. We review the emerging literature on the short- and long-term consequences of these geographic range shifts. Specifically, we focus on the evolutionary consequences of novel species interactions in newly created sympatric areas by d

Urban living in built environments, combined with the use of processed water and food, may not provide the microbial stimulation necessary for a balanced development of immune function. Many chronic inflammatory disorders, including allergic, autoimmune, metabolic, and even some behavioural disorders, are linked to alteration in the human commensal microbiota. Sedentary lifestyle is associated wit

A simple and efficient approach for profiling the greenness of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods is presented. This environmental assessment tool (EAT) takes into consideration the environmental, health and safety issues for all solvents involved in the chromatographic method, and calculates a total score that can be used for comparison of the greenness of different methods. A

Although effective therapies for haemophilia have been available for decades, the prevention and treatment of joint disease remain major clinical concerns for all haemophilia patients. Early identification of joint disease is vital to initiate or modify treatment, and prevent arthropathy. However, there remains a need for more sensitive and accurate methods, which may also detect improvement in pa

Postmenopausal women in the Western world are highly burdened by osteoporotic fractures. The aim of this study is to investigate risk factors at baseline for fracture in 6416 postmenopausal women during long-term follow-up. At baseline, all women completed a questionnaire regarding background factors, diseases, current use of medications and reproductive and contraceptive history, a physical exami

We report the observation of a thermoelectric power factor in InAs nanowires that exceeds that predicted by a single-band bulk model by up to an order of magnitude at temperatures below about 20 K. We attribute this enhancement effect not to the long-predicted 1D subband effects but to quantum-dot-like states that form in electrostatically nonuniform nanowires as a result of interference between p

Recently, a so-called 'crown-jewel' concept of preparation of Au/Pd-based colloidal nanoclusters has been reported [Zhang, Watanabe, Okumura, Haruta & Toshima (2011). Nat. Mater. 11, 49-52]. Here, a different way of preparing highly active Au/Pd-based nanoclusters is presented. The origin of the increased activity of Au/Pd-based colloidal bimetallic nanoclusters was unclear up to now. However,

The relative importance of exploitation rate and environmental variability in generating fluctuations of harvested populations is a key issue in academic ecology as well as population management. We studied how the eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua) is affected by fishing and environmental variation by using a newly developed single species state-space model. Survey data and auxiliary environmental

Aim: Assess association between UGT2B7 polymorphism -900G>A (rs7438135, also known as -842G>A) with morphine kinetics in preterm newborns undergoing mechanical ventilation. Materials & methods: Thirty-four infants were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial and allocated to rapid sequence intubation with remifentanil (1 mu g/kg) or morphine (0.3 mg/kg). The latter group was included in our st

Background: Final infarct size following coronary occlusion is determined by the duration of ischemia, the size of myocardium at risk (MaR) and reperfusion injury. The reference method for determining MaR, single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) before reperfusion, is impractical in an acute setting. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether MaR can be determined from the con

Many functions of galectin-3 entail binding of its carbohydrate recognition site to glycans of a glycoprotein, resulting in cross-linking thought to be mediated by its N-terminal non-carbohydrate-binding domain. Here we studied interaction of galectin-3 with the model glycoprotein asialofetuin (ASF), using a fluorescence anisotropy (FA) assay to measure the concentration of free galectin carbohydr

We describe the development of a novel versatile optical platform for active and passive remote sensing of environmental parameters. Applications include assessment of vegetation status and water quality. The system is also adapted for ecological studies, such as identification of flying insects including agricultural pests. The system is based on two mid-size amateur astronomy telescopes, continu

The first reported twisted bis-lactam, a racemic Tröger's base (TB) analogue (2), was resolved into its enantiomers on a chiral stationary phase HPLC column. The absolute configuration of (+)-2 was determined to be (R,R)-2 by comparing experimental and calculated vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. The absolute configuration of (-)-2 was determined