Driver comprehension and acceptance of the active accelerator pedal (AAP) after long-term use were evaluated in a large-scale Swedish trial held in 2000-2002. The system was installed in the cars of 281 test drivers who then used it for between six months and a year. The participants' responses, elicited by questionnaires in the end of the trial, showed a positive rating of the concept of the AAP,

Trends in energy intensities for 31 countries are evaluated, over the period from 1950 to 1988, using a purchasing power parity-based GDP measure and United Nations energy statistics. With non-commercial energy included, the energy intensities of low income countries are similar to those of high income countries. Energy intensities have decreased for 15 out of the 31 countries studied. The analysi

This article describes a study where laboratory and theoretical work on the fundamental hygro-mechanical behaviour of wood is applied on convective drying of sawn timber. A material model describing the behaviour of wood during drying is used to simulate drying stresses in timber. Cross-sections containing heartwood, sapwood and a combination of both are studied. Simulations are compared with meas

Streptomycetes grow by cell wall extension at hyphal tips. The molecular basis for such polar growth in prokaryotes is largely unknown. It is reported here that DivIVA SC , the Streptomyces coelicolor homologue of the Bacillus subtilis protein DivIVA, is essential and directly involved in hyphal tip growth and morphogenesis. A DivIVA SC -EGFP hybrid was distinctively localized to hyphal tips and l

Relapsing polychondritis ( RP) is an autoimmune disease that affects extra-articular cartilage. Matrilin-1-induced relapsing polychondritis (MIRP) is a model for RP and is useful for studies of the pathogenic mechanisms in this disease. There are indications that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II plays a major role in RP, since DR4(+) patients are more commonly affected than cont

During the past 20 yr, aquatic microbiologists have reported 2 strong patterns which initially appear contradictory. In pelagic systems, bacterial growth and biomass is well correlated with the growth and biomass of primary producers. However, bacterial respiration often exceeds net primary production, which suggests that bacteria are subsidized by external inputs of organic matter. We hypothesize

A detailed experimental investigation has been made of the pyrolysis-the first step in biomass combustion-of single birchwood particles. In addition to mass spectrometric and gravimetric analysis, the pyrolysis volatiles were characterized by different optical techniques. Absorption measurements showed a nearly featureless absorption in the ultraviolet spectral region with a continuously stronger

Background Screening for cervical cancer based on testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) increases the sensitivity of detection of high-grade (grade 2 or 3) cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, but whether this gain represents overdiagnosis or protection against future high-grade cervical epithelial neoplasia or cervical cancer is unknown. Methods In a population-based screening program in Sweden,

Psychosocial stress could lead to a wide range of possible physiological reactions, due to both the total burden of stress as well as individual susceptibility. Two useful Swedish registers to investigate early life influences on stress susceptibility are the Swedish Medical Birth Register (MBR) and the Military Service Conscription Register (MSCR). In a previous study we showed a positive relatio

OBJECTIVES: Male psychologic stress can affect semen quality and couple fecundability. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of 430 Danish couples who were trying to become pregnant for the first time. In each menstrual cycle, both partners filled out a 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), an assessment of psychologic stress. A blood sample was drawn from both partners

Although mechanisms for chromosomal instability in tumors have been described in animal and in vitro models, little is known about these processes in man. To explore cytogenetic evolution in human tumors, chromosomal breakpoint profiles were constructed for 102 pancreatic carcinomas and 140 osteosarcomas, two tumor types characterized by extensive genomic instability. Cases with few chromosomal al

The temporal confinement of high harmonic generation (HHG) via modulation of the polarization of the fundamental pulse is studied in both temporal and spectral domains. In the temporal domain, a collinear cross-correlation setup using a 40 fs IR pump for the HHG and a 9 fs IR pulse to probe the generated emission is used to measure the XUV pulse duration. The observed temporal confinement is found

Transverse momentum spectra for charged hadrons and for neutral pions in the range 1 Gev/c < P-T < 5 GeV/c have been measured by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in Au + Au collisions at rootS(NN) = 130 GeV. At high p(T) the spectra from peripheral nuclear collisions are consistent with scaling the spectra from p + p collisions by the average number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The spectra f

Several commercially available systems for attenuation correction in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) based on a transmission scan have been introduced that vary in performance. A test procedure for attenuation correction in SPECT is described and applied to two principally different gamma camera systems (the Siemens Multispect 3 triple-headed system [3HS] and the ADAC Genesys Ve

[1] Convective available potential energy (CAPE), frequently regarded as an indicator of the potential intensity of deep convection, is strongly controlled by the properties of the planetary boundary layer (BL). Variations in CAPE observed during field experiments in midcontinent North America, the tropical east Atlantic, and the tropical west Pacific, can be accounted for mostly by changes in the