Pharmaceutical residues are increasingly detected in environmental and biological samples, some at levels known to adversely affect non-target organisms; however, less is known of how these organism-level effects relate to the ecology of aquatic systems. Foraging processes may be used as behavioral endpoints that link effects on individuals to the population and community levels, enabling risk ass

Background Both patient survival and the proportion of patients diagnosed with thin cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) have been steadily rising in Sweden as in most Western countries, although the rate of improvement in survival appears to have declined in Sweden at the end of the last millennium. Objectives To analyse the most recent trends in the distribution of tumour thickness (T category) as

PURPOSE: We previously reported that two substrains of C57BL/6 mice respond differently to oats with respect to reduction in plasma cholesterol. Analysis of this difference might offer clues to mechanisms behind the cholesterol-lowering effect of oats. Here, we address the possible roles of hepatic steroid metabolism and the intestinal microbiota in this respect. METHODS: Female C57BL/6 mice were

In several extensions of the Standard Model, the top quark can decay into a bottom quark and a light charged Higgs boson H+, t -> bH(+), in addition to the Standard Model decay t -> bW. Since W bosons decay to the three lepton generations equally, while H+ may predominantly decay into tau nu, charged Higgs bosons can be searched for using the violation of lepton universality in top quark decays. T

The transcription factor Wilms' tumor gene 1 (WT1) is highly expressed in the majority of leukemias, suggesting a role in leukemogenesis. Acquired WT1 mutations are reported as an independent predictor of poor clinical outcome, and mutations resulting in deletion of the entire DNA-binding zinc-finger domain (WT1delZ), is the most common type. The aim of this study was to study cellular effects of

Densely phosphonated electrolyte membranes were prepared from poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) grafted with poly(vinylphosphonic acid) (PVPA) side chains. In the first step, PPO was lithiated in solution at room temperature by adding n-butyllithium to form an anionic macroinitiatior. Next, diethyl vinylphosphonate (DEVP) was anionically polymerized from the lithiated sites at -78 °C. T

This paper investigates how classical measurement error and additive outliers (AO) influence tests for structural change based on F-statistics. We derive theoretically the impact of general additive disturbances in the regressors on the asymptotic distribution of these tests for structural change. The small sample properties in the case of classical measurement error and AO are investigated via Mo

OBJECTIVES: Obesity is associated with a proinflammatory state that may be involved in the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), for which there are plausible biological mechanisms. Our aim was to perform the first prospective cohort study investigating if there is an association between obesity and the development of incident IBD. METHODS: A total of 300,724 participants were recruited in

The Swedish Family-Cancer Database comprises a total of 11.8 million individuals covering the Swedish population of the past 100 years. Version VIII of the Database is described in the present article. Cancer cases were retrieved from the Swedish Cancer Registry for the period 1958-2006, including more than 1 million first primary cancers. The number of familial cancers in offspring is 14,000 when

Biogenic silica (BSi) is used as a proxy by soil scientists to identify biological effects on the Si cycle and by palaeoecologists to study environmental changes. Alkaline extractions are typically used to measure BSi in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The dissolution properties of volcanic glass in tephra deposits and their nanocrystalline weathering products are hypothesized to overla

About one-third of patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy because of left bundle branch block (LBBB) and heart failure do not improve. Strauss et al. have developed strict criteria to more accurately define complete LBBB in this patient group. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the manual application of the Strauss criteria for LBBB (QRS≥140ms in men, ≥130ms

The speciation of iron (Fe) in soils, sediments and surface waters is highly dependent on chemical interactions with natural organic matter (NOM). However, the molecular structure and hydrolysis of the Fe species formed in association with NOM is still poorly described. In this study extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy was used to determine the coordination chemistry and

In 2005 and 2010 the Amazon basin experienced two strong droughts', driven by shifts in the tropical hydrological regime(2) possibly associated with global climate change(3), as predicted by some global models'. Tree mortality increased after the 2005 drought(4), and regional atmospheric inversion modelling showed basin-wide decreases in CO2 uptake in 2010 compared with 2011 (ref. 5). But the resp

Treatment of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) by reperfusion using percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or thrombolysis has provided clinical benefits; however, it also induces considerable cell death. This process is called reperfusion injury. The continuing high rates of mortality and heart failure after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) emphasize the need for improved strate

For a long time it has been discussed as to whether Melanelixia fuliginosa comprises one or two species: one darker, mainly saxicolous, and one lighter, mainly corticolous. To settle the question, a morphometric and a molecular analysis were carried out and analyzed using a principal component analysis (PCA). The morphometric analysis indicates a differentiation in several characters between mater

Cooling methods are needed for turbine blade tips to ensure a long durability and safe operation. A common way to cool a tip is to use serpentine passages with 180-deg turn under the blade tip-cap taking advantage of the three-dimensional turning effect and impingement like flow. Improved internal convective cooling is therefore required to increase the blade tip lifetime. In the present study, au

Bats are unique among extant flying animals, as they have compliant wings and an echolocation sensory system that distinguish them from birds and insects. Flying in the dark, guided by echolocation, has influenced the aerodynamics of bat flight perhaps more than previously realized and resulted in a characteristic flight that is now being revealed.

After stroke, brain inflammation in the ischemic hemisphere hampers brain tissue reorganization and functional recovery. Housing rats in an enriched environment (EE) dramatically improves recovery of lost neurologic functions after experimental stroke. We show here that rats housed in EE after stroke induced by permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (pMCAO), showed attenuated levels of