Divergence in sexually selected traits in allopatry should affect the degree and direction of hybridization. However, few studies have established the causes and targets of sexual selection during secondary contact. Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) from north-central Italy have highly exaggerated male sexual traits compared to populations in Western Europe. Using experimental populations, we

The determination of the net charge and size of microgel particles as a function of their concentration, as well as the degree of association of ions to the microgel backbone, has been pursued in earlier studies mainly by scattering and rheology. These methods suffer from contributions due to inter-particle interactions that interfere with the characterization of single-particle properties. Here w

Efficient conjugation between biomolecules and electrode materials is one of the main challenges in the field of biosensors. Cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) is a monomeric enzyme, which consists of two separate domains: one catalytic dehydrogenase domain (DHCDH) carrying strongly bound flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in the active site and a cytochrome domain (CYTCDH) carrying a b-type heme conne

Isolation barriers work at different instances during the mating process in odonate insects. In territorial damselflies, heterospecific interactions are mainly precluded by sexual (visual) isolation, while in non-territorial damselflies, heterospecific interactions are mostly precluded by mechanical isolation and sexual (tactile) isolation. In this study we investigated the strength of three prema

The study presented concerns the dermal exposure risks during harvest work in greenhouses after fungicide application. The contamination of the fungicide vinclozolin on clothes, overalls and gloves, worn during harvest after application was investigated. The fungicide was extracted from the cloth with 1-chlorobutane and finally determined with HPLC. The average amount of fungicide found on the clo

Scope: 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a furanic compound produced in heat-processed foods by nonenzymatic browning reactions. HMF has been demonstrated to be hepato- and nephrotoxic in animals with a link to its metabolite 5-sulfooxymethylfurfural (SMF). To date little is known about either the formation of SMF from ingested HMF or the formation of DNA adducts in animals or human beings. Methods

Laser-induced grating spectroscopy (LIGS) is an experimental method in which two pulsed laser beams and a continuous-wave laser beam have to be superimposed under well-defined angles to generate a coherent signal beam. In this Note, the possible effects of different forms of misalignment are examined. This includes the overlap of the pump lasers as well as the influence of the probe laser alignmen

The emerging new psychoactive substances made available for recreational drug use have recently started to include designer benzodiazepines. As a consequence, the routine immunoassay drug testing for benzodiazepines may become less effective, due to an increased occurrence of 'false negative' and 'false positive' results. This work aimed to extend the knowledge of analytical cross-reactivity of 13

This paper investigates whether the Notional Defined Contribution (NDC) scheme prolongs working life. The evidence from the 1994 Swedish pension reform shows a gender and socio-economic gradient in the labor supply responses to phasing in NDC. While the reform exerted a large and significant positive effect on the average retirement age among highly educated and skilled, it had little or negative

Editorial comments about the proceedings of EMRS Symposium C: In situ studies of functional nano materials at large scale facilities: From model systems to applications, EMRS Spring Meeting.

We argue that commodity input hedging is different from commodity output hedging. Output hedging can be detrimental to "sector play." Furthermore, firms with market power that hedge outputs have incentives to over-produce and distort market prices. In rational markets, such hedging will be expensive and we expect to see a negative relationship between hedging and market power in "output industries

Spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SONK) is a feared condition of unknown cause, in its classic form appearing in the medial femoral condyle in middle-aged or elderly subjects. Diagnosis with radiography is notoriously difficult with a long latency before typical changes appear. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is regarded as a diagnostic tool with the possibility to give an earlier diagnosis

BACKGROUND: A thorough quality analysis of radiologic performance is cumbersome. Instead, the prevalence of missed cervical hip fractures might be used as a quality indicator.PURPOSE: To validate a computer-based quality study of cervical hip fracture radiography.MATERIAL AND METHODS: True and false negative and positive hip trauma radiography during 6 years was assessed manually. Patients with tw

INTRODUCTION: Osteoporosis of the axial skeleton is a known complication of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), but bone loss affecting the peripheral skeleton is less studied. This study on volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) and bone microarchitecture in AS was conducted to compare peripheral vBMD in AS patients with that in healthy controls, to study vBMD in axial compared with peripheral bone, and

Background Iterative reconstruction (IR) is a recent reconstruction algorithm for computed tomography (CT) that can be used instead of the standard algorithm, filtered back projection (FBP), to reduce radiation dose and/or improve image quality. Purpose To evaluate and compare the image quality of low-dose CT of the lumbar spine reconstructed with IR to conventional FBP, without further reduction

The Gaia all-sky astrometric survey is challenged by several issues affecting the spacecraft stability. Amongst them, we find the focus evolution, straylight and basic angle variations Contrary to pre-launch expectations, the image quality is continuously evolving, during commissioning and the nominal mission. Payload decontaminations and wavefront sensor assisted refocuses have been carried out t

The article is an introduction to the festival 'Visioner av Nuet' Stockholm, 1966. The article focuses on the historical event, and contextualizes it to both the discussions on art and technology at the time, and to the planned collaborations with the prominent artists from the American group E.A.T. such as Billy Klüver, John Cage, Robert Rauchenberg and Öyvind Fahlström, - collaborations that nev