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This article explores to what extent married middle-aged individuals in Europe are governed by the risk of experiencing divorce, when shaping their physical appearance. The main result is that divorce risks, proxied by national divorce rates, are negatively connected to body mass index (BMI) among married individuals but unrelated to BMI among singles. Hence, it seems that married people in societ

The neurohypophysial peptide arginine vasotocin, and its mammalian ortholog arginine vasopressin, influence a wide range of physiological and behavioral responses, including aspects of sexual and social behaviors, osmoregulation, stress response, metabolism, blood pressure, and circadian rhythms. Here, we demonstrate that, in zebrafish (Danio rerio), the vasotocin precursor gene arginine vasotocin

The aerosol in the Amazon basin is dominated throughout the year by organic matter, for the most part soluble in water. In this modeling study, we show how the knowledge of water-soluble organic compounds (WSOC) and the associated physical and chemical properties (e.g. solubility, surface tension, dissociation into ions) affect the hygroscopic growth and activation of the aerosol in this area. The

The monoclonal gammopathies are a group of disorders associated with monoclonal proliferation of plasma cells. The characterization of specific entities is an area of difficulty in clinical practice. The International Myeloma Working Group has reviewed the criteria for diagnosis and classification with the aim of producing simple, easily used definitions based on routinely available investigations

Mice were subjected to gastrectomy (GX) or sham operation (controls). Four to six weeks later the pancreatic islets were isolated and analysed for cAMP or alternatively incubated in a Krebs-Ringer based medium in an effort to study insulin secretion and cAMP accumulation in response to glucose or the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin. Freshly isolated islets from GX mice had higher cAMP conten

A search for resonant WZ production in the l nu l'l' (l, l' = e, mu) decay channel using 20.3 fb(-1) of root s = 8 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at LHC is presented. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed and upper limits on the production cross sections of WZ resonances from an extended gauge model W' and from a simplified model of heavy

In AIDS vaccine development the pendulum has swung towards a renewed emphasis on the potential role for neutralizing antibodies in a successful global vaccine. It is recognized that vaccine-induced antibody performance, as assessed in the available neutralization assays, may well serve as a "gatekeeper" for HIV-1 subunit vaccine prioritization and advancement. As a result, development of a standar

In working to reduce this increasingly intensified effect of climate change, one of the key strategies employed by different countries around the world is to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from the energy sector. As they are one of the biggest contributors, the strategies include the employment of different mitigation actions and fading away from the conventional fossil fuel source to a mo

Rushed efforts for a decarbonisation of the energy sector in Catalonia, Spain have been received with local opposition towards renewable energy projects. It has also raised a debate around the new energy model and whether it will perpetuate the lack of agency of civil society in the energy sector as well as the vulnerable situation some people are currently facing. This thesis examines whether ren

Cardiovascular (CVD) is one of the most common causes of mortality. Apart from known causal risk factors such as smoking, obesity, dyslipidaemia and hypertension, chronic psychological stress has been suggested as a possible independent risk marker, also because the CVD burden follows a social gradient. Another self-reported variable is self-rated health (SRH) which in many studies has ben shown t

The 'rule of law crises' in Hungary and Poland have shown weaknesses in the European Union’s system of enforcing the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU after accession. Especially Article 7 TEU as well as the other enforcement procedures have proven to be incapable of forcing Member States back into compliance with the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU so far. However, this thesis contests

The increasing pressure of climate change urges state leaders to transform economies to low-carbon alternatives on a local, national and global scale. The aim of this study is to analyze how effective the Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy has been so far in fostering inclusive rural development in the agricultural sector in Ethiopia, by applying a Triple-Bottom-Line (TBL) approach th

Small-scale fisheries are highly important in terms of economic productivity and environmental relevance in Mexico’s Northwest. The Santa María Bay (SMB), in Sinaloa, México, is the largest bay in the state and is highly productive in terms of fishing and the economic activities derived from it. It is also home to endemic species and the region’s largest mangrove wetland. It faces environmental an