Background: The onset of birth in humans, like other apes, differs from non-primate mammals in its endocrine physiology. We hypothesize that higher primate-specific gene evolution may lead to these differences and target genes involved in human preterm birth, an area of global health significance. Methods: We performed a comparative genomics screen of highly conserved noncoding elements and identi

Background: Heparan sulphate is known to have various functions in the animal body, including surveillance of tissue integrity. Administered intraperitoneally, it induces a systemic inflammatory response syndrome and when given locally in the pancreas it initiates a protective inflammatory response. The aim of the present study was to investigate the underlying mechanisms behind cell recruitment f

The purpose of this study was to compare sexual-minority and heterosexual youths' exposure to sexual abuse off-line, problematic sexual meetings off-line with person/s met online and online harassment with regard to prevalence, psychological well-being and support seeking. A nationally representative sample of 3,432 Swedish high school seniors completed an anonymous school-based survey about sexua

Landforming processes are highly active in the Arctic, and luminescence dating can be used to establish a chronological framework for these processes. For example, luminescence ages of raised littoral and marine deposits provide the age control for many reconstructions of Pleistocene events in the Arctic. Due to the nature of the depositional environment (e.g. short transport distance, turbid wate

Neutron-rich isotopes around lead, beyond N = 126, have been studied exploiting the fragmentation of an uranium primary beam at the FRS-RISING setup at GSI. For the first time beta-decay half-lives of Bi-219 and Tl-211,Tl-212,Tl-213 isotopes have been derived. The half-lives have been extracted using a numerical simulation developed for experiments in high-background conditions. Comparison with st

Precipitation amounts and patterns at high latitude sites have been predicted to change as a result of global climatic changes. We addressed vegetation responses to three years of experimentally increased summer precipitation in two previously unaddressed tundra types: Betula nana-dominated shrub tundra (northeast Siberia) and a dry Sphagnum fuscum-dominated bog (northern Sweden). Positive respons

The subarctic environment of northernmost Sweden has changed over the past century, particularly elements of climate and cryosphere. This paper presents a unique geo-referenced record of environmental and ecosystem observations from the area since 1913. Abiotic changes have been substantial. Vegetation changes include not only increases in growth and range extension but also counterintuitive decre

A novel approach to reduce the multiple light scattering contribution in planar laser images of atomizing sprays is reported. This new technique, named Structured Laser Illumination Planar Imaging (SLIPI), has been demonstrated in the dense region of a hollow-cone water spray generated in ambient air at 50 bars injection pressure. The idea is based on using an incident laser sheet which is spatial

In this study, the production of enantiomerically pure (1R,4S,6S)-6-hydroxy-bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-2-one ((-)-2) through stereoselective bioreduction was used as a model reaction for the comparison of engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae and engineered Escherichia coli as biocatalysts. For both microorganisms, over-expression of the gene encoding the NADPH-dependent aldo-keto reductase YPR1 resulted

The mean squared displacement of a tracer particle in a single file of identical particles with excluded volume interactions shows the famed Harris scaling aEurox (2)(t)aEuro parts per thousand a parts per thousand integral K (1/2) t (1/2) as function of time. Here we study what happens to this law when each particle of the single file interacts with the environment such that it is transiently imm

Ozonolysis of methyl oleate monolayers at the air-water interface results in surprisingly rapid loss of material through cleavage of the C=C bond and evaporation/ dissolution of reaction products. We determine using neutron reflectometry a rate coefficient of (5.7 +/- 0.9) x 10(-10) cm(2) molecule(-1) s(-1) and an uptake coefficient of similar to 3 x 10(-5) for the oxidation of a methyl ester mono

The variation of the micro mechanical properties, such as hardness and modulus, of the material is important potential factor influencing the machinability of the material. The presented paper is to study the influence of variation in micro hardness and microstructure of the materials on machining performance in terms of tool wear and tool life, cutting forces and surface quality. The work materia

Purpose - This paper aims to assess the quality of the case study based research approach as documented in articles published during the past 13 years, based on a synthesis of indicators for the quality criteria truth-value, transferability, and traceability. Design/methodology/approach - Content analysis of 134 case study-based articles published in six leading logistics and supply chain manageme

Detection of analytes in complex biological samples, such as milk and blood, normally requires sample pretreatment. These pretreatment regimes reduce assay throughput and increase testing costs. Technologies that make it possible to eliminate sample pretreatment are of great industrial interest. Here we report the development of a dual-signal flow injected analysis device which eliminates the need

Fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) deoxyribonucleoside kinase (DmdNK; EC: 2.7.1.145) was characterized for its substrate specificity towards natural and non-natural nucleosides, confirming its potential in the enzymatic synthesis of modified nucleotides. DmdNK was adsorbed on a solid ion exchange support (bearing primary amino groups) achieving an expressed activity >98%. Upon cross-linking with

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are considered to be associated with different degrees of progressive beta cell damage. However, few long-term studies have been made. Our aim was to study the clinical course of 20 years of diabetes disease, including diabetes progression, comorbidity, and mortality in a prospectively studied cohort of consecutively diagnosed diabetic patients. Among all 233 patien

Introduction. The aim of this paper is to form a framework capable of theorizing how virtual communities are entangled with their new media environments, thereby contributing to the understanding of present-day virtual communities and how to preserve them. Method. An extensive bibliography on virtual worlds, virtual world preservation, document-and practice theory, and virtual communities forms th