The European Union Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has failed to achieve its aim of preserving European farmland biodiversity, despite massive investment in subsidies to incentivise environmentally-beneficial farming practices. This failure calls into question the design of the subsidy schemes, which are intended to either function as a safety net and make farming profitable or compensate farmers

Background: The Swedish National Airway Register (SNAR) was initiated in 2013 to ensure and improve the quality of care for patients with asthma and COPD. Aim: To describe the development and design of SNAR, and to study the 2019 data to evaluate its potential utility related to improvement of quality of care. Methods: SNAR includes data from patients with asthma (both children and adults) and COP

Water security, a key policy objective for sustainable development, is under stress as a result of land use and climate change, especially in (semi-)arid areas like Iran. Land use change alters surface runoff and affects basin-wide hydrological processes and water consumption, while climate change modifies precipitation and temperature patterns and consequently evapotranspiration and water supply.

Measurements of the inclusive J/ψ yield as a function of charged-particle pseudorapidity density dNch/dη in pp collisions at s=13 TeV with ALICE at the LHC are reported. The J/ψ meson yield is measured at midrapidity (|y|

Background: Little information is available on the official postgraduate and subspecialty training programs in movement disorders (MD) in Europe and North Africa. Objective: To survey the accessible MD clinical training in these regions. Methods: We designed a survey on clinical training in MD in different medical fields, at postgraduate and specialized levels. We assessed the characteristics of t

This survey overviews the potential use of cryptographic primitives in the fifth-generation mobile communications system (aka 5G) and beyond. It discusses the new security challenges that come with 5G and presents the upcoming security architecture. It shows the use of current cryptographic algorithms and discusses new algorithms or modifications of existing ones, that can be relevant. It also dis

Two-dimensional laser-induced incandescence (LII) measurements usually involve the use of a cylindrical lens to illuminate the planar region of interest. This creates a varying laser fluence and sheet width in the imaged flame region which could lead to large uncertainties in the quantification of the 2D LII signals into soot volume fraction distributions. To investigate these effects, 2D LII meas

Global warming increasingly challenges thermoregulation in endothermic animals, particularly in hot and dry environments where low water availability and high temperature increase the risk of hyperthermia. In birds, un-feathered body parts such as the head and bill work as ‘thermal windows’, because heat flux is higher compared to more insulated body regions. We studied how such structures were us

Background: Migraine occurs 2–3 times more often in females than in males and is in many females associated with the onset of menstruation. The steroid hormone, 17β-estradiol (estrogen, E2), exerts its effects by binding and activating several estrogen receptors (ERs). Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has a strong position in migraine pathophysiology, and interaction with CGRP has resulted i

Malignant hyperthermia is a potentially fatal condition, in which genetically predisposed individuals develop a hypermetabolic reaction to potent inhalation anaesthetics or succinylcholine. Because of the rarity of malignant hyperthermia and ethical limitations, there is no evidence from interventional trials to inform the optimal perioperative management of patients known or suspected with malign

Numerous sandstone-hosted Pb-Zn deposits occur along the present-day erosional front of the eastern Scandinavian Caledonides. The largest deposit is Laisvall (64.3 Mt at 4.0% Pb, 0.6% Zn and 9.0 g/t Ag) and since mineralisations generally share similar characteristics (reminding of both SEDEX and MVT-style) the term Laisvall-type has often been used. Typically, mineralised zones occur along sedime

Classical plant uptake is limited to hydrophilic or water-dispersible material. Therefore, in order to test the uptake behaviour of hydrophobic particles, here, we tested the fate of hydrophobic particles (oleylamine coated Cu2-xSe NPs (CS@OA)) in comparison to hydrophilic particles (chitosan-coated Cu2-xSe NPs (CS@CH)) by treatment on the plant roots. Surprisingly, hydrophobic CS@OA NPs have been

Given the photocatalytic properties of semiconducting polymers and carbon quantum dots (CQDs), we report a new structure for a metal-free photocatalytic system with a promising efficiency for hydrogen production through the combination of an organic semiconducting polymer (PFTBTA) and N-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) covered by PS-PEGCOOH to produce heterostructured photocatalysts in the form o

Laminar burning velocities of methane + formic acid + air flames were determined using the heat flux method at 1 atm and initial gas temperature of 353 K. For fuel mixtures containing 75 or 50% mole fraction of HCOOH, a range of equivalence ratios from 0.7 to 1.3 was covered. In stoichiometric mixtures burning velocities were measured varying fuel composition from pure methane to 85% of formic aci

Background and purpose: To reduce relapse risk, Total Body Irradiation (TBI) is part of conditioning regimens for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in pediatric acute leukemia. The study purpose was to evaluate clinical practices regarding TBI, such as fractionation, organ shielding and delivery techniques, among SIOPE affiliated radiotherapy centers. Methods: An electronic survey was

The modeling of seasonally frozen soils is significant for understanding the hydrological process in cold regions. The water and heat transports of two seasonally frozen sites in northern China were simulated with the process-oriented CoupModel, and a more efficient Monte Carlo based method was employed to identify the uncertainties in multi-site calibration. Results showed that water and heat mea

Background: Plasma biomarkers may be useful to detect healthy individuals at increased risk for atherosclerotic manifestations, such as carotid artery stenosis. The aim of this longitudinal cohort study was to evaluate new biomarkers in relation to C-reactive protein and conventional risk factors for carotid artery stenosis during long term follow-up Methods: The following markers were measured in

Abstract: Annual cycle events may be interlinked, influence following annual cycle stages, and may alter performance of individuals. Such links, called carry-over effects, can explain individual variation in timing or reproductive success in migratory species. Identifying the key links affecting fitness may reveal the mechanisms of species population dynamics but the current evidence for the stron

Objective: In insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) producing non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia (NICTH), high molecular weight forms of IGF-II (big IGF-II) are produced as a cause of spontaneous hypoglycemia. MicroRNA (miRNA)-483 family, encoded in an intron lesion of IGF2 gene, is suggested to be co-expressed with IGF-II. Here, we tested whether serum miR-483-5p and -3p levels are associated wit

Background: Both bullying victimization and perpetration were associated with depression, social phobia, physical and psychological child abuse and Internet addiction in Lebanon. The prevalence of bullying in Lebanon is alarming, with 50% of school-aged children and adolescents reporting being bullied at some point. The high rate of both bullying victimization can be reflective of the inefficacy o