The article analyses how Islam, traditions and modernity are socially negotiated and reconstructed in the Arab Gulf states under the influence of globalization and new communication technologies. Although these concepts are subjected to 'reifications', they are important in the official rhetoric for the legitimization of political power. The author bases her study on conventional anthropological f

Gaussian wave models have been successfully used since the early 1950s to describe the development of random sea waves, particularly as input to dynamic simulation of the safety of ships and offshore structures. A drawback of the Gaussian model is that it produces stochastically symmetric waves, which is an unrealistic feature and can lead to unconservative safety estimates. The Gaussian model des

A combination of material-specific surface chemistry, sequence-specific DNA hybridization, and size exclusion on the nanometer scale can be combined for high-precision self-assembly of lipid vesicles (see figure) to localized surface-plasmon-resonance-active nanoholes in thin Au films on SiO2.

In this population-based study, we assessed the relation between socioeconomic and psychosocial conditions in 1,094 pregnant women and subsequent infantile colic by means of self-administered questionnaires measuring exposures in the 17th pregnancy week and telephone interviews at infant age 5 weeks. There was a higher risk of colic in infants born to younger mothers, mothers with low instrumental

Peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in lipoproteins and cell membrane phospholipids occurs in many situations in the body, both under normal and pathological conditions. Low-density lipoprotein is particularly prone to oxidation and is believed to be a pathogenetic component in atherogenesis. Both antibody responses and T-cell responses to oxidatively modified lipoproteins have been demons

CD4(+) T-cell entry to the intestinal mucosa is central to the generation of mucosal immunity as well as chronic intestinal inflammation, yet the mechanisms regulating this process remain poorly defined. Here we show that murine small intestinal CD4+ lamina propria lymphocytes express a heterogeneous but restricted array of chemokine receptors including CCR5, CCR6, CCR9, CXCR3, and CXCR6. CD4+ T-c

We analyzed the transcriptional program elicited by stimulation of normal human fibroblasts with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) using cDNA microarrays. 103 significantly regulated transcripts that had not been previously linked to PDGF signaling were identified. Among them, a cluster of genes involved in fatty acid and cholesterol biosynthesis, including stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), fatty

Environmental factors are thought to play a major role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Because the use of ethanol is widespread, we assessed the role of ethanol intake on the propensity to develop chronic arthritis. Collagen type II-immunized mice were given water or water containing 10% (vol/vol) ethanol or its metabolite acetaldehyde. Their development of arthritis was assessed, as w

The Rician distribution of noise in magnitude magnetic resonance (MR) images is particularly problematic in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regions. The Rician noise distribution causes a nonzero minimum signal in the image, which is often referred to as the rectified noise floor. True low signal is likely to be concealed in the noise, and quantification is severely hampered in low-SNR regions. To

Objectives: The impact of social participation, trust and the miniaturization of community, i.e. the combination of high social participation and low trust, on cannabis smoking was investigated. Methods: The 2000 public health survey in Scania is a cross-sectional study. A total of 13,715 persons aged 18–80 years, of which 3,978 persons aged 18–34 years were included in this study, answered a pos

The aqueous phase behavior of mixtures of 1-glycerol monooleate (GMO) and its ether analogue, 1-glyceryl monooleyl ether (GME) has been investigated by a combination of polarized microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and NMR techniques. Three phase diagrams of the ternary GMO/GME/water system have been constructed at 25, 40, and 55 degrees C. The results demonstrate that the increasing amount of GME favo

Ultrasound scan for detection of ovarian enlargements was performed in a target group of out-patients attending the clinic for various reasons in the 40-70 years range. Overall 805 women were examined, in 99% of whom the ovaries and/or their vessels could be identified. Pathological findings were suspected in 83 patients at the first scan, and were confirmed in 50 after a repeat scan, 39 of whom s

Pathway-specific therapy is the future of cancer management. The oncogenic phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (P13K) pathway is frequently activated in solid tumors; however, currently, no reliable test for P13K pathway activation exists for human tumors. Taking advantage of the observation that loss of PTEN, the negative regulator of P13K, results in robust activation of this pathway, we developed and

The restorative potential of green outdoor environments for children in preschool settings was investigated by measuring the attention of children playing in settings with different environmental features. Eleven preschools with outdoor environments typical for the Stockholm area were assessed using the outdoor play environment categories (OPEC) and the fraction of visible sky from play structures

Objective: It is important to understand levels and social inequalities in childhood overweight within and between countries. This study examined prevalence and social inequality in adolescent overweight in 35 countries, and associations with macroeconomic factors. Design: International cross-sectional survey in national samples of schools. Subjects: A total of 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds from 35 co

Objective. The redistributive effect of the welfare state is traditionally measured by comparing the gross and net distribution of annual income among adults. This standard approach does not account for the fact that a large share of the taxes paid by adults are paid back to the very same individuals later in life. The objective of this article is to examine the factors that determine the differen