The levels of heavy metals in surface water and their potential origin (natural and anthropogenic) were respectively determined and analysed for the Obuasi mining area in Ghana. Using Hawth's tool an extension in ArcGIS 9.2 software, a total of 48 water sample points in Obuasi and its environs were randomly selected for study. The magnitude of As, Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb, Hg, Zn and Cd in surface water fro

To explore the impact of the sociocultural care and service context on dependence in instrumental activities of daily living, data were collected with 1448 very old women in 5 European countries. In addition, the influence of socioeconomic indicators was explored, using descriptive statistics and regression analyses. Highly significant differences concerning formal/informal support and use of mobi

In this paper, we study the performance of precoding schemes for cooperative transmission of multiple coherent base stations (BSs) that allow for overlapped clustering in a measured urban macrocellular environment at 2.66 GHz, in order to verify previous findings obtained by using simulated channel data. The evaluated precoding schemes include zero-forcing (ZF), layered virtual signal-to-interfere

Underdrawings and pentimenti-typically revealed through x-ray imaging and infrared reflectography-comprise important evidence about the intermediate states of an artwork and thus the working methods of its creator.(1) To this end, Shahram, Stork and Donoho introduced the De-pict algorithm, which recovers layers of brush strokes in paintings with open brush work where several layers are partially v

During sexual conflict, males and females are expected to evolve traits and behaviours with a sexually antagonistic function. Recently, sexually antagonistic coevolution was proposed to occur between male and female diving beetles (Dytiscidae). Male diving beetles possess numerous suction cups on their forelegs whereas females commonly have rough structures on their elytra. These rough structures

BACKGROUND: Recently, a leveling off in hip-fracture incidence has been reported in several settings, but the annual number is nonetheless predicted to increase due to the growing elderly population. METHODS: Using Swedish national data for 1987-2002 for all inpatients 50 years or older, we examined the annual number and incidence of hip fractures and explored age, period, and cohort effects. Ag

BACKGROUND: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in DNA repair are good candidates to be tested as phenotypic modifiers for carriers of mutations in the high-risk susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. The base excision repair (BER) pathway could be particularly interesting given the relation of synthetic lethality that exists between one of the components of the pathway, PARP1,

Soot particles strongly absorb radiation in the visible and infrared spectral regions, and the soot interaction with laser light during laser diagnostic interrogation leads to particle heating and often to subsequent sublimation. Consequently, laser-heated particles transfer heat to the ambient gas leading to local gas heating, a process that has received minor attention so far in the diagnostic c

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) generates large volumetric data sets consisting of mass to charge ratio (m/z), ion current, and x,y coordinate location. A typical analysis can acquire a dataset comprising tens of thousands of ion signals at each of thousands of sampling locations. This dataset volume often serves the limited purpose of measuring the distribution of a small set of ions with known m

Background: Long-term care for stroke survivors is fragmented and lacks an evidence-based, easy-to-use tool to identify persistent long-term problems among stroke survivors and streamline referral for treatment. We sought to develop a poststroke checklist (PSC) to help health care professionals identify poststroke problems amenable to treatment and subsequent referral. Methods: An instrument devel

Regime shifts present a big challenge to traditional strategic asset allocation. This article investigates whether regimebased asset allocation can effectively respond to changes in financial regimes at the portfolio level, in an effort to provide better long-term results than more static approaches can offer. The authors center their regime-based approach around a regime-switching model with time

BACKGROUND: Established risk factors for pancreatic cancer include smoking, long-standing diabetes, high body fatness, and chronic pancreatitis, all of which can be characterised by aspects of inflammatory processes. However, prospective studies investigating the relation between inflammatory markers and pancreatic cancer risk are scarce. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study within th

Recent studies show that both marine and limnic microalgal species often consist of several genetically distinct populations. This is also valid for the nuisance freshwater algae Gonyostomum semen, which originates from acidic, brown water swamp lakes, but can nowadays also be found in clearer lakes with close to neutral pH. We hypothesized that the observed genetic differentiation among G. semen

Biocatalysis has the potential to provide the chemical industry with several advantages for the production of chemicals; but the use of this technology for the production of speciality and bulk chemicals is unfortunately limited due to the high costs related to the production of the biocatalyst. We have immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) on different resins in order to obtain a more co

Temperature dependent charge carrier mobility measurements using field effect transistors and density functional theory calculations are combined to show how the conformation dependent frontier orbital delocalization influences the hole-and electron mobilities in a donor-acceptor based polymer. A conformationally sensitive lowest unoccupied molecular orbital results in an electron mobility that de

In preparation for future, large-scale, multi-object, high-resolution spectroscopic surveys of the Galaxy, we present a series of tests of the precision in radial velocity and chemical abundances that any such project can achieve at a 4 m class telescope. We briefly discuss a number of science cases that aim at studying the chemo-dynamical history of the major Galactic components (bulge, thin and

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogen that frequently colonizes patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Several pathogens are known to bind vitronectin to increase their virulence. Vitronectin has been shown to enhance P. aeruginosa adhesion to host epithelial cells.