Abstract in UndeterminedThis paper describes a method for assessing the effectiveness in the steps of the learning cycle: the 1st loop with reporting - analysis - decision - implementation - follow-up, and the 2nd loop on an aggregated basis. For each step, the dimensions considered the most relevant for the learning process (scope, quality, timing and information distribution) and for each dimens

Context: Intermittent androgen deprivation (IAD) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients has been proposed to delay development of castration resistance and to reduce the side effects and costs of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Objective: This review analyzes (1) the oncologic and quality of life (QoL) results from randomized phase 3 trials comparing IAD and continuous ADT and (2) the prognostic pa

Background: Despite virtually identical DNA sequences between the sexes, sexual dimorphism is a widespread phenomenon in nature. To a large extent the systematic differences between the sexes must therefore arise from processes involving gene regulation. In accordance, sexual dimorphism in gene expression is common and extensive. Genes with sexually dimorphic regulation are known to evolve rapidly

Nitrogen (N) fixation in the feather moss-cyanobacteria association represents a major N source in boreal forests which experience low levels of N deposition; however, little is known about the effects of anthropogenic N inputs on the rate of fixation of atmospheric N-2 in mosses and the succeeding effects on soil nutrient concentrations and microbial community composition. We collected soil sampl

During recent decades, the flows of Muslims migrants to Europe have increased. The integration of these new migrants into the mainstream societies, conflict and multiculturism have been discussed in the book.

Nutrient loads from the land to the sea must be reduced to combat coastal eutrophication. It has been suggested that further mitigation efforts are needed in the brackish Baltic Sea to decrease nutrients, especially in eutrophic coastal areas. Mussel farming is a potential measure to remove nutrients directly from the sea. Mussels consume phytoplankton containing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P); w

A new approach for the classification of patients with Sjogren's syndrome (SS) has been recently proposed. Although these new criteria substantially differ from the American European Consensus Group criteria, which have represented the gold standard for the last decade, when compared with each other the two sets show a high statistical degree of agreement. However, the fact that two different crit

The impact of coherence on the nonlinear optical response and stationary transport is studied in quantum cascade laser structures. Nonequilibrium effects such as the pump-probe signals, the spatiotemporally resolved electron density evolution, and the subband population dynamics (Rabi flopping) as well as the stationary current characteristics are investigated within a microscopic density-matrix a

Various microchannel heat sinks for dissipating heat loads have received great attention. Wavy channels are recognized to be suitable to enhance the heat transfer, and are successfully applied in heat-exchange devices. In this article, three kinds of water-cooled microchannel heat sinks, such as a rectangular straight microchannel heat sink, a single-layer wavy microchannel heat sink and a double-

The hydride iridium pincer complex [(PCyP)IrH2 ] (PCyP=cis-1,3-bis[(di-tert-butylphosphino)methyl]cyclohexane, 1) reveals remarkably solvent-dependent hydride chemical shifts, isotope chemical shifts, JHD and T1 (min), with rHH increasing upon moving to more polar medium. The only known example of such behaviour (complex [(POCOP)IrH2 ], POCOP=2,6-(tBu2 PO)2 C6 H3 ) was explained by the coordinatio

Marriage fields - the geographical areas where people meet to partner - traditionally tend to be relatively small and local. Increasing international travel and the use of the internet have broadened the geographical opportunity structure of potential partners. This increases the chances of meeting a partner from abroad, possibly resulting in a rise in international marriage migration. This paper

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is a major threat to public health in the United States and worldwide. Understanding the role of environmental chemicals in the development or progression of diabetes is an emerging issue in environmental health. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the epidemiologic literature for evidence of associations between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Using a Pu

We have studied solar variations during the Holocene (i.e., last similar to 11,700 yr) by combining a new model of the Earth's dipole moment with C-14 data from the IntCal04 record and 10 Be data from the GRIP ice core. Joint spectral analysis of the two nuclide records suggests that the periodic behavior of the Sun was particularly pronounced between 6000-4500 yr BP and 3000-2000 yr BP, with domi

Abstract in UndeterminedRelevant source area of pollen (RSAP) and pollen productivity for 11 key taxa characteristic of the pasture woodland landscape of the Jura Mountains, Switzerland, were estimated using pollen assemblages from moss polsters at 20 sites. To obtain robust pollen productivity estimates (PPEs), we used vegetation survey data at a fine spatial-resolution (1 x 1 m(2)) and randomize

The rationale for thrombolysis, the most promising pharmacological approach in acute ischaemic stroke, is centred on the principal cause of most ischaemic strokes: the thrombus that occludes the cerebral artery, and renders part of the brain ischaemic. The occluding thrombus is bound together within fibrin. Fibrinolysis acts by activation of plasminogen to plasmin; plasmin splits fibrinogen and fi

To any model of brain function, the variability of neuronal spike firing is a problem that needs to be taken into account. Whereas the synaptic integration can be described in terms of the original Hodgkin-Huxley (H-H) formulations of conductance-based electrical signaling, the transformation of the resulting membrane potential into patterns of spike output is subjected to stochasticity that may n